Fallen Feathers

Nekkid, I'm very unhappy with my car (2005 Toyota Matrix XR, 80k miles, manual) for several reasons:

• Desperately needs a new clutch
• Probably needs a suspension tune up
• Power steering staring to squeal
• Plastic is breaking all over the place. Both bumper covers, driver's side side step panel, wheel well interiors, rear hatch cover, center console and driver's door controls all have some broken bits that can't really be repaired without replacing.
• One headlight is shot due to the front bumper cover problems.

I realize that all of these issues are either ignorable or repairable, but taken all together I'm really ready to get rid of it.

I've been planning on selling it to buy a nice used motorcycle like I once had, but a couple of discussions with some friends have prompted me to entertain the possibility of Something Else. Would any of you wonderful people have any suggestions? I'm listing my requirements below. It doesn't have to meet all of them, but the more the better, and the budget will be hard to move.

• Small - The more I drive, the more I find that I like small cars. 2.5 doors is plenty.
• Tight - I want great handling, responsiveness and decent power. I'm not racing, but I do need to be able to be OK on the highway
• Sexy - It needs to look good, or at least interesting. No boring square boxes on wheels.
• Open  - Convertible, or at least a T-top, A sun/moon roof might be acceptable if everything else is great
• Easy - Parts should be easy to find, and working on it shouldn't require a ton of specialty tools and tiny hands
• Efficient - >30mpg
• Reliable - This will be a daily driver in New Mexico, so it needs to be able to deal with the heat and elevation
• Reasonable - I really don't want to spend more than $5000, and would prefer something in the $3500 range

Yes, I know this sounds like a midlife crisis-mobile. And... I don't really care.


Thanks!