Wish List; A Few Modest Proposals: If wishes were horses, here's how we'd ride.(car journalists state what they would like in a car)(Brief Article)

Wanna waste hours? Ask car journalists what they'd like in a new car that you can't get now. It's the roadside equivalent of bench racing. Here's what we got when we posed the question recently at One AutoWeek Tower.

BMW M3 GTR, Lotus Elise, Peugeot 206, Nissan Skyline GT-R, Ford Falcon XR8, Mazda RX-7 ``Spirit R'' Type-A, et al. What ties all these cars together? The fact that you, Mr. or Ms. American citizen, can't have one-not legally, not unless you keep garage space in Frankfurt or Perth or Cambridge. Because of federalization standards, safety mandates and emissions regulations, Uncle Sam succeeds at ``protecting'' the free people of the United States of America from getting their dirty paws on literally dozens of fun, unique, powerful and seductive cars. Some have fought the good fight and won, bringing us laws like Show or Display (AW, Jan. 8, 2001), but that only applies to no-longer-in-production supercars, not your Audi A3s and Smart cars. What we want is to be able to buy and drive, right here in the good ol' U.S. of A., whatever car any automaker builds, anywhere.

-Natalie Neff

I'd like an under-2000-pound 2+2 sports coupe, powered by a naturally aspirated four-cylinder making about 170 hp with 140 lb-ft of torque. Front-drive or rear-drive, doesn't matter as long as it handles and gets the power to the pavement through a limited-slip diff. No power amenities, no stability control, no nav system, nothing fancy. Trade all that garbage for four-wheel discs without ABS and a sensible 15-inch wheel and tire package. Radio delete and a/c delete are the only options. Manual steering. Five-speed manual. A cockpit fit for two normal-sized people. A trunk with enough room for a weekend trip, but too small for golf clubs. Something you can drive every day. You get the picture. Price? How about $15,000? Think it can't be done? Remember, the Toyota Echo weighs in at 2035 pounds and costs $9,995. No, it's not exactly my idea of fun, but it is proof possible. And a word on styling, should any car company take me up on the challenge-let form follow function and don't get too cute.

-Jeff Sabatini

Engineers think the only steering feedback you need is what it takes to aim the machine precisely. They give us crisp turn-in response, a small dead zone ...