So it seems the roller coaster has come to a stop. I went back to the dealer last night to have a final discussion. They had come down on the price a little (mostly due to a cash back incentive Subaru is running on the 2014's that are still on the lot; they are starting to get 2015 models at this point) and were also offering me a bit more on trade in for my car after I provided some receipts for the air suspension.
I took the numbers and went for a long drive in the GT and, almost to my own surprise...I've decided to not go through with this. Yes, I want a BRZ. Yes, I think the Mustang isn't really the car for me and if I had to do it over I would have kept the fr-s. I think I'm just going to live with my fuck up, pay off mustang as fast as possible and when the dust settles in a couple years, I'll get my BRZ. The mustang isn't a bad car. It's even admirable how well it can step outside of its usual areas of expertise and actually throw itself around a corner.
I think for the past year since I bought the Mustang, right from day 1 I had a mentality of 'I just need to adjust this... change out that part and then POOF sports car!". First it was the shifter, then it was the suspension. Then it was winter and I was on snow tires so it got a stay of execution for 6 months. After it warmed up and I started really driving the car around some of the regional driving roads, and I had changed the suspension and improved the shift feel... then the car had no excuses and I was disappointed that it didn't feel like I had hoped. It doesn't feel bad by any means but it's getting things done with less delicacy. It has good balance and brute force grip but it isn't gentle or gradual. You throw it into a corner, pick a throttle position and you hold on while it undulates and squirms over every crack and pothole and lump but it keeps its line. You don't respond to what it does so much as you tell it what to do. It's the difference between a well trained German Shepard which will do as its told with no emotion, and a silly, excited and slightly dumb Labrador retriever eagerly waiting for you to throw a stick for it. The former gets your respect, but the later gets your adoration.
There are outside factors too. I am saving for a house, and even though I can do this trade without spending anything extra out of pocket or in terms of cash flow, it would look worse on a balance sheet because the ratio of debt to asset value would suck. The other factors (which I was looking at through tinted lenses before) are things already mentioned. I won't be commuting with the Mustang much longer because of my move to within walking distance to work. That will cut my fuel bill in half, and reduce insurance rates ( because of 'pleasure use only)
So, i'm going to stick with the Mustang. I'll continue to modify it. I'd like to focus on shedding some weight and improving turn in feel, but i'm also going to stop trying to make it something it is not, and play to its strengths of that amazing engine and quite capable, if chaotic, cornering limits. I'd like to remove some of the vagueness. I'm going to keep it to a budget, because of the other factor I decided on; to buy a cheap old lightweight sports car. Miata (I'll modify it...) or maybe the right e30. Not a lot of choices because it will be on the cheap so that rules out a lot of classic British roadsters.
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