A non-horse post to address the coth forum challenge. I want the equivalent of dreamhorse for cars. On dreamhorse, you can enter search parameters like height, sex, price, breed whatever and it will find all the horses that mztch all those characteristics. I have spent a lot of time on autotrader, vehix, edmunds and msn auto and they don't work like this. I am looking (although Henry would tell you I have been looking for 6 years and just like car shopping, not car buying) for something with the following characteristics:
1. Hatchback
2. Short exterior length for city parking
3. Good gas mileage
4. Reasonable price
5. Good safety profile
6. High long term reliability
7. Good handling
8. Manual transmission

Looking for all of these thing in endless reviews and car comparisons, the currwnt short list includes the vw golf tdi. I currently own a golf and it does well on all parameters, maybe a little pricey. Going tdi ups the mileage. Mine has been super reliable, but mixed reviews on that. Other options are the volvo c30, but car & driver thinks it is a dog, and I admit to being a car&driver groupie; and finally the nissan juke, but who knows anying about it? If anyone has thoughts or opinions on these or other options, I would love to hear them.

There is also e problem of model creep. In 2005, I was pretty sure I wanted e rav4, but en Toyota redesigned it, makin it both undesirably longer and less fun to drive. The Matrizx was a thought, but no manual transmission. Briefly considered the scion xd, but underpowered and lacking in safety features, ditto thhe suzuki s4. You begin to see the dilemma, but at least car shooping is really fun