For all the coolness of a car that goes 180 mph, that has about as much relevance to the average driver in this country as a 180-foot yacht. Accelerating from a start, on the other hand, is sort of legal in every state in the U.S., barring law-enforcement officers with an inflated sense of purpose (don't ask how we know about "Unsafe Start" statutes).

Below are the 10 quickest vehicles available with a base price between $25K and $30K, ranked in order of 0-to-60-mph time. Ties were settled first by quarter-mile time, then by which was quicker to the highest speed both cars achieved (usually 120 or 130 mph), in that order. Most cars at this price point offer basic luxury or at least decent amenities and looks in addition to speed, as buck-banger boy-racer models are thousands less, maybe having something to do with the fact that burger-flipper wages haven't budged in nine years.

There's an arms race among auto manufacturers, with weapons of displacement, compression, and boost being waged segment- and industry-wide. It's no surprise that most entries in this list are not cut from traditional sports-car cloth; of the 10 vehicles here, one is an SUV and six have four or more doors.

Link: http://www.caranddriver.com/features/12238...0-to-30000.html

Odd, no Camry V-6, which does 5.8s 0-60 according to C&D, and it falls well under $30,000 (XLE V-6 is like $27). Accord EX-L V-6 6MT ties the Forester for 5.9s 0-60 by C&D's test, and falls under $30,000 as well.

wait... the GXP/Redline automatics are faster than the manuals?

Yet another reason why the Legacy is a great car that's vastly underrated.

A very good review for Custom-S' new car, the Grand Prix GXP. Good job, Pontiac!

They may be quicker by a split sec. 0-60mph but if you buy an

automatic Sky or Solstice you probably do not understand

what the car is all about.

A very good review for Custom-S' new car, the Grand Prix GXP. Good job, Pontiac!

True. Not a surprising one, either. Car and Driver had good things to say when it first came out. GM should have done more for the handling, though. Reaching .82 Gs is good, but not spectacular, especially when you consider a soft suspensioned Millenia can do the same.

wait... the GXP/Redline automatics are faster than the manuals?

Most autos are actually faster than manuals from a dig. I'm sure the manuals would destroys the autos from a roll. For instance, a stock auto GTO will outrun a stock manual GTO in 1/4 mile most of the time (depending on how good the driver is in the M6) but the M6 will have a better trap speed, just not time. From a roll, however, the A4 would likely get destroyed unless it was right at the right MPH for an auto to really use the power. In the manual you select you gear and go, knowing you're going to be in the correct rev range. With the auto, it's a guessing game.