I'm sure it's probably "too new" to be your perfect vehicle, but 99-04 Mustang Cobras are RWD, have 4 wheel independent suspension, manual trans, seat 4, make great noises, normal HVAC and make in excess of your desired power with ease. Domestic parts availability and Massive aftermarket too.
If you want that setup in something with less contemporary styling, the IRS goes into SN95 and fox body cars too with just a little effort.
In reply to STM317:
I've been in the back of an sn95. It doesn't seat 4 unless 2 of them are midgets.
In reply to STM317:
I'm pretty sure if a Mustang showed up at our house, Mrs. VCH would disown me and take the little VCHs with her.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse:
That's just unreasonable. I guess everybody has to have a limit though.
Chadeux wrote: In reply to volvoclearinghouse: That's just unreasonable. I guess everybody has to have a limit though.
Her first car was a black 1968 Camaro. She still has it. When we got married, I agreed that if we ever have to sell off cars, it would be the last one we sell. We'd probably live in it, and sell the house first. She has a tattoo of it on her right leg.
So, yeah, no Mustangs.
Fair enough.
So you want to re-body a Cadillac ATS with something cool and old? I can get behind that and recommend something cool from the 50's like a bathtub Nash.
oldopelguy wrote: So you want to re-body a Cadillac ATS with something cool and old? I can get behind that and recommend something cool from the 50's like a bathtub Nash.
I'd rather re-body a CTS-V with a '49 Series 62 Sedanette. 
A memorable car is like a memorable meal.
It doesn't have to be fancy to be terrific. Pasta al dente with fresh tomatoes, basil, and pine nuts on a warm summer day with your SO beats a $100 dinner at a fancy chain restaurant with a vendor you don't like.
Go out and drive a Ford Fiesta ST before telling me it's not something you'd walk across town barefoot for.
Currently, new cars are the best at being cars and giving you the best of all worlds with the fewest compromises: fast, quiet, comfortable, good handling, fuel efficient, etc. Get a CPO one and have a 100k mile warranty for piece of mind.
For me, I've owned over 130 cars on the last 40 years and found that I was taking cheap cars and modding them to be more like the cars I truly wanted. Handling, styling, speed were all modded to be more like the top European sport sedans. Then I got smart and simply bought said sport sedans, so the only modding was to slightly personalize them. I've settled on early 2000s BMWs as they give the best combination of everything I'd want in a car other than towing or offroading (which I simply have no interest in doing). These are not the 2002s of old.
My last one, bought for $7500 in 2008 and spent another $1500 in repairs and mods over the next 5 years:
And my current one, which I bought for $7500 2 years ago and have put another couple hundred in repairs since I bought it:
Stylish, comfortable, fast, fun, agile, 25-30mpg highway, cheap to buy and cheap to own if you buy them right to start with.
chaparral wrote: A memorable car is like a memorable meal. It doesn't have to be fancy to be terrific. Pasta al dente with fresh tomatoes, basil, and pine nuts on a warm summer day with your SO beats a $100 dinner at a fancy chain restaurant with a vendor you don't like. Go out and drive a Ford Fiesta ST before telling me it's not something you'd walk across town barefoot for.
I like the Fiestas, and I've driven Honda Fits (1rst Gen) and like them, too. Its just...they look like insects. The 1rst and 2nd gen Fits aren't as bad, but still. Meh.
At the last LeMons race I did, I drove a '92 Sentra, 5 speed. That was, admittedly, pretty sweet to sling around the turns. FWD, but actual IRS. I did some research and the wheelbase of the B13 Sentra is withing tenths of an inch of that of a 1959 Simca Aronde...the rolling shell of which I happen to have in my garage...
Perfection is impossible when you are dealing with things that are subjective.
In reply to dean1484:
I'm not looking for "Perfect":
volvoclearinghouse wrote: "Is there such a thing as a "Perfect" car? I'm sure there isn't. But could a vehicle exist that at least checks all the boxes, even if not in a perfect way? ... Has anyone here found a car they can honestly say is "Not Particularly Terrible"?"
volvoclearinghouse wrote: Is there such a thing as a "Perfect" car? I'm sure there isn't. But could a vehicle exist that at least checks all the boxes, even if not in a perfect way?
Just answering your initial question.
i think you are confusing "perfect" with "good enough".
In reply to dean1484:
Nope. I think you're confusing what I said. 
Or maybe I just said it in an imperfect way. I'm a terrible communicator, just ask Mrs. VCH. 
In reply to iadr:
Interestingly, the W123 Mercedes does both irs and sunroofs pretty darn well.
IMO, the two best (or least terrible) cars ever built are the W123 Benz and the 200-series Volvo. As built, they are both deficient on power (by modern standards) but that can be fixed.
Let me tell you why. Either can tow 3500lbs and/or haul 75+ ft^3 of cargo and/or 7 passengers. Both provide a great balance between handling and ride comfort, and that can be biased towards either with aftermarket parts and tire selection. Both cars are designed and built to be infinitely repairable and/or rebuildable. Parts are cheap and easily available, and there are Internet forums full of folks who are experts on both cars.
As for power... there's a stalled project on Hooniverse to put a Chrysler 5.7 hemi into a 123 wagon. Ought to be a hoot. Ford and Chevy small-blocks are well-documented swaps into Volvo 240, and an LSx would be a total blast.
If I had the skills and resources, I would find a rust-free 245 body and restore everything that isn't the powertrain. If I could make it fit, I'd fill the engine bay with a Ford 2.7 EcoBoost, but I could also take the easy button and do one of the tried and tested swaps.
If I did it right, I wouldn't want to own any more cars for the rest of my life.
I mostly agree with VCH and Tuna simultaneously. New cars are amazing. Also I don't like them. There are plenty of cars present and past that I like, but everything about them seems compromised.
I'd rather have a half dozen cars, each one fantastic at one thing to the exclusion of all others, than a couple well rounded cars. There are tons of well rounded cars out there, like all those sporty cross overs. Very good performance numbers, pretty decent all-terrain capability, comfy, spacious, etc... but each one of those traits could be drastically improved by sacrificing the rest of them. that's not a great way to make cars that will sell, but it's what I like, and what I wish I had in my garage.
That's why I love that dodge demon. I don't care for drag racing, but the more singular focus of its design is exactly what I like. Sure, they could go more extreme with weight reduction and stuff, but it's a great example of what I like.
My is300s have been anything but terrible, zero rust issues despite every winter in new england, drifty, comfy, stylish (imho), reliable as an anvil (no repairs aside from maintenance and 1 headlight ballast for 200k + miles despite track, rallyx and drift, no really, 1 god damn failure.... one), good audio (just add an amp/sub), and pretty damn cheap to boot.
In reply to EvanR:
Owning both a W123 and a 200-series Volvo right now, I have to say, my nod goes towards the Benz. I like the Volvo brick, but it sort of seems like a Buick that's about 25% better built.
A W123 with more power and functioning HVAC would tick a lot of boxes. I even kindof like the styling.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse:
I've owned both as well, although neither currently. My take is that the Benz is more sophisticated, but that renders it more complex to repair and maintain. I've never owned the 123 wagon, but that rear suspension frightens me - that's just one example of the differences.
Both cars have primitive HVAC by modern standards, but I've experienced a Volvo at its best, and it will fry you or freeze you.
It comes down to personal preference, they're both good cars.
In reply to EvanR:
I had the HVAC completely gone through in my 240 Volvo wagon, and on 90 degree days it seems like it can just barely keep up.
The 300TD Mercedes had that horribly complex and gawdawful climate control system. A Euro-spec 300 or a 240 has the much simpler manual controls. Other than the SLS mercedes suspension, W123s don't really frighten me anymore. And even the SLS has documented fixes.
The handling and ride of the Benz is much more relaxed and composed, IMO. So it depends on what you're after there. For my daily grind, I love the way the W123 soaks up Baltimore's worst.
AC is for pansies. Real men drive with every vent and window open!
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