Here's my story:
I've been a 240sx guy for the last 5 years or so, having owned a '91 and a '92. I put a lot of blood sweat and tears into those cars, and absolutely loved having a cheap, sporty rwd. However, as far as practicality goes, the 240 is not exactly the family truckster, not to mention that it seems every cop in Orange County just loves to pick on the cars.
Anyways, about a year ago I ended up wrecking my black '91 on the freeway, and couldn't repair it, so I ended up parting out my wheels, some suspension parts, etc. and sold the rest to a guy for about half of what i should have. From then on, I drove my truck ('86 Toyota 4x4) just to get around. Fast forward to 2 months ago, $5 gas, and the truck getting the fuel economy of a Hummer, and I finally decided to go car shopping again. I knew I wanted a sporty, manual transmission car, but I also wanted something with room for more than legless midgets in the back. Started looking at SE-R Sentras, Mustangs, even 4Runners and Civics.
That search ended when I went to visit a friend at the Honda dealership he works at. I had just randomly stopped by to say hi and see what the new Civics had to offer, and he said "You've got to see this Mazda we just got in"
So, hidden in the back of the lot, covered in dust was this little grey car that didn't look like much at first (from the back... mine's wingless and de-badged). He grabbed the keys and we went for a spin, and I knew I wanted the car right there. We probably drove 20 miles on the test drive (It helps having a buddy at the lot) and when we finally got back I told him to start drawing up the paperwork.
So I went home that night and researched the car a bit, finding out that it was a limited production, etc. and after looking up comparable values, bought the car the next morning. My buddy had it completely detailed from top to bottom for me that morning, so the car was BEAUTIFUL when I drove it home that afternoon.
2 months later, and I'm loving every minute of wheel time in this car. It handles better than my old 240s, is super comfortable (Especially compared to my truck) and gets sick gas mileage. I look forward to many years of ownership.