So you wanna be the next Kenny from the Block, but your whip is a stock Impreza 2.5 RS...that's not gonna work. You might get your drift on during a blizzard or with aggressive use of the e-brake, but 165 horsepower and fun-sapping all-wheel-drive ain't going to catapult you to youtube stardom. What you need is a V8. Find this 1995 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS V8 Swap here on eBay bidding for $1,525 with 4 days to go, located in Cedar Hill, TX.
Is it more true that it is more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow? With about 53 horsepower on tap, the featherweight Triumph Spitfire 16 second 0-60 time falls clearly in the deep end of the slow car category. The malaise era was equally cruel to British car engine power outputs as it was to the USA V8's. Today's seller quotes The Guardian (UK) writer Jasper Gerard to do his selling for him, but whether any NYC craigslist shoppers actually care or not remains to be seen. Find this BRG 1978 Triumph Spitfire for sale in Weston, CT for $4,500 via craigslist. 
This next car comes as a tip from Art C who writes: Less than 300 (~280iirc) of this gen v70 t5 manual wagons imported (98-00). Best looking obviously. 2.3 turbo 5 is stout and sounds uhhhhmazing when downpipe/exhaust fitted. This is clean and priced very reasonably. Find this 1999 Volvo V70 T5 offered for $4400 in Westchester, NY via craigslist.
This past weekend I wrote up a E38 series and mentioned it's shape seemed to be aging very well. The E65 7 Series that followed came with a polarizing new exterior design (then and now) and was the first BMW to use the also polarizing iDrive interior command center. This was a 80 some odd thousand dollar ride back in 2003 so it was at the top of the food chain for BMW. Today's car has had a recent full drivetrain swap (good), but the dash is lit up like a Christmas tree with idiot lights (bad). Is this bargain priced Bangle butt sedan worthy of your greenbacks or a giant money pit? Find this 2003 BMW 745i for sale in New Haven, CT for $2,750 via craigslist. 
It is extremely difficult to find a rust free Saab 9000 most anywhere in the USA. Saab's first large car has virtually vanished from the pages of craigslist- even in New England. The Alfa Romeo 164, Lancia Thema, Fiat Croma, and 9000 all shared the same type four platform. While the Thema has the cool Ferrari sourced engine and Alfa makes wonderful Busso music, it is the 9000 that seriously moves out. The 2.3 turbo engine is one of the most underrated 4 cylinder engines of all time. They can produce a silly amount of power with moderate modification and reasonable cash outlay. A simple stage 1 ECU tune of the Trionic 5 software turns these cars into highway passing monsters. The one weak spot to be aware of on Aero models was the TCS traction control system. Find this 1993 Saab 9000 Aero for sale in South Vegas, NV for $2,900 via craigslist. Tip from Fuel Truck.
A few years after Malcolm Bricklin made a decent amount of money importing small Subaru cars in the USA, he launched his own auto company, which made the DeLoreanesque SV-1. The SV-1 was a cool car, but was arguably a financial failure, so Mr Bricklin went back to doing what he did best: importing cheap cars for the US economy car market. Except for the next project he didn't find a reliable Japanese partner and instead partnered with the Serbian based Zastava Automobiles....and the rest is a punchline to every other joke. Find this 1986 Yugo GV here on eBay bidding for $3000 with 1 day to go, located in Minnesota City, MN.
The plastic bumper C3 generation Corvette is not the most desirable of cars to have proudly displayed the crossed flags emblem, but if your budget is less than $10k and you don't like the plain looking C4...then the C3 is your best choice...or you can get this crusty looking "chrome bumper" Vette and apply some elbow grease. Find this 1973 Chevrolet Corvette offered for $7300 in Trumbull, CT via craigslist. From Cory.
From the firewall forward the 318ti Compact is identical to the basic E36 sedan, but behind the A-pillar the compact BMW is unique. It has a hatchback rear, uses the older E30 semi-trailing rear suspension (shared with the Z3/M Roadster & M Coupe) and is noticeably more tail happy than the regular E36 -which is already prone to violent outbursts of oversteer. The 318ti compact version was an attempt by BMW to capture some of the lower end of the market with a lower price and 4-cylinder power, but the handling was not compromised and the Ti badge *probably means it will be worth more than the average pile of bolts when it gets old enough to be cloaked in the narcotizing fog of nostalgia. Find this 1997 BMW 318Ti offered for $7995 near Northridge, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
The Mazda FD generation RX-7 was one of the best looking cars of the 1990's. Its twin turbo rotary engine made good power at 250hp, but had reliability issues related to the mess of vacuum lines on the engine. The replacement RX-8 car was neither as good looking or as powerful as its predecessor. The RX-8 Renesis engines were prone to flooding, did not run many miles before rebuilds, and were thirsty for the power output. The RX-8's were known to handle amazingly well and had a set of funky rear jump doors that opened so that full size humans could fit in the back seats. Today's car features a a single turbo JDM FD engine and totally custom gauge cluster installed into the newer RX-8. Find this 2004 Mazda RX-8 for sale in Philadelphia, PA for $14,500 via craigslist.
It is safe to say that the Ford Crown Vic could be the easiest car in the country to keep on the road. Police, taxi, and livery fleets kept these cars running for years. You could find a mechanic is most any town in the USA to fix one of these cars. The Ford panther car may not be as reliable as a Civic, but is arguably one of the most durable cars on the road. Today's feature car has had a 5 speed manual swap from a same year Mustang GT along with a Ford racing 3.73 posi rear and a impressive list of maintenance. Find this 2004 Ford Crown Victoria for sale in Keene, NH for $4,400 via craigslist.
The Tatra 805 is an oddball Soviet Bloc off-road military hauler built from 1952 through 1962 somewhere behind the iron curtain. According to various online sources, the 805 was called "crybaby" because of the peculiar engine note from the aircooled V8. Find this 1955 Tatra 805 offered for $16,000 CAD ($12,115 USD at time of printing) located in Mississauga Ontario, Canada via Kijiji.ca. Tip from Rock On!
The big boy E38 BMW seems to get better and better looking with age. These pre-Bangle designed cars were the last classically designed sedans that have excellent proportions. The USA 7 series never came with a manual, but today's feature has had a 6 speed installed from a E39 540i sport. The listing mentions some extensive exhaust modifications that should make this car sound like the devil's own chariot. Hopefully, the aftermarket BC coilovers on the car can be adjusted higher as the car seems to be a little too slammed for the author's tastes. Find this 1998 BMW 740il for sale in Deep River, CT for $7,000 via craigslist. 
The Volkswagen Golf was introduced in 1974 as a replacement to the 36 year old Beetle (Type 1) and sold like salty pretzels at Oktoberfest, with over 6 million of the front-drive compacts leaving worldwide factories through 2009. For the first few years, the Giorgetto Giugiaro (of ItalDesign - noted for his work on the Alfa Giulia Sprint, Ferrari 250 GT, Maserati Bora and Isuzu Impulse) designed family car was called the Rabbit for the US market. Find these 1981 Volkswagen Rabbits offered for $500 starting near Rome, GA via craigslist. Tip from Matt C.
Tip from Jeff who writes: As a kid, I remember that my mother LOVED this things. One of my earlier car related memories is of her and I driving down the road in one while she euphorically chanted, "Oh my god! Oh my god!!" She was genuinely excited... about driving a car. Mom and I have too much water under the bridge nowadays, but I do love that about her. If I had this kind of "expendable change" lying around I would buy it for her. Find this 1985 Mercedes-Benz 380 SL offered for $8995 in Houston, TX via craigslist.
Like a good 80s/90s action movie series, the fourth generation Plymouth Fury came in the form of a trilogy -- Fury I, Fury II, Fury III. The basic Fury I was a good piece of equipment, but the Fury II added some more of "the good stuff" and finally the Fury III was the coup de grâce. Find this 1965 Plymouth Fury III offered for $11,500 in Granite Bay, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
Looking for a car that no one at your local Cars and Coffee will have? The Pontiac Le Mans was a obscure and slow selling GM A-body chassis. Today's example has been given the restomod treatment on the inside and out. The malaise spec engine was swapped for a much more stout 69 GTO 400 HO V8 and 3.73 posi rear end which should provide plenty of juice to melt the larger than stock 17" tires with any prod of the right foot. There is not much to fault on the paintwork from the photos and the interior seems equally clean. Find this 1979 Pontiac Grand Le Mans for sale in Ludlow, MA for $11,000 via craigslist. 
I love it when someone calls some car "the nicest around" because it often is such a stretch from the truth. And I won't give the hyperbolists in the room a free pass with this next car, I'll at the most admit that it looks like a blast to own/drive. Find this 1990 Toyota Celica All-Trac Turbo ST185 bidding for $6,300 reserve-not-met here on eBay with 3 days to go, located in Palm Harbor, FL. Tip from Dave.