Although many think that a fun car means that it costs a lot, it simply isn't true. We all know fun can be had in cars of all price ranges. Today, let's look at $5000 or less.
Children have expensive taste in cars. The cars that covered my walls as a kid were the most expensive, exotic, and rare cars that could be found. It could be because they didn't mass produce posters of old finned Chrysler products but it was more likely because at the time I truly believed that I would have a Lamborghini Countach sitting next to a Ferrari Testarossa in my driveway someday.
As these children who dream of supercars grow up and mature their love of cars usually changes and progress with our understanding of reality. Many of us discover we will not all be the first President who walked on the moon around the same we realize that our driveways may not be filled with Lamborghinis and Ferraris and over time modify our dreams accordingly.
Just because you don't have a 20 car garage full of poster worthy super cars, or even if you do, it doesn't mean you can't have fun in a cheaper car. A car doesn't need to have a huge price tag to be a lot of fun. What makes a car fun varies greatly with every person you talk to, so what do you think? What is the most fun car you can buy for $5000?
Although I'm tempted to pick a couple cars just to weed out an obvious choice, I have to go with what I know. The car I would buy is actually an archaic SUV, my very own 1967 Scout. Having owned a decent variety of different vehicles, I haven't owned one yet that comes close to the fun factor I have driving this vehicle. The top comes off for the summer, the 4 speed with the 266 V8 are a great combination, and the dual exhaust makes it sound much faster than it actually is. Not nearly as nice as the above picture suggests, it's a solid old truck that puts a smile on my face almost every time I drive it, that makes the budget with ease.
So I ask you, Given a strict budget of $5000, What is the most fun car (or truck) that you can buy?