I'm pretty much set on getting a stick.

I drove a Mustang yesterday, not a GT but a 5-speed. It chirped and hopped over bumps and had a little trouble keeping up with the Accord who thought I was trying to race him. I got bored after my 10 minute test drive. Its still a cool looking car and the GT is better for raw speed if that's what you're into.

It looks like I'm narrowing my choices down to a Mazda6 s Passat 2.0. Either one with a sunroof and manual trans falls below 25K. I'm a little bugged that the Passat requires premium gas. A late model 330i would also be nice, but I've become wary of used cars.

__________________
1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma