[johnmyster]

The downfall of the american mindset is that we consume goods in order to solve our problems. "Consumer spending" is the solution to all problems, even consumption.

The most enviornmentally sound decision you can make is to continue driving your car. You may consume more gas, but consider the amount of energy, materials, and labor required to produce that new car you were considering. There's no comparison.

Finding a wrecked volvo with the manual parts you'll need would be a good bet. Their manual transmissions seem to hold up really well. I've driven in a few with well over 250k miles.

Strange as it may sound, there are some people out there that go high performance on the old volvos. You should be able to find resources to add an electric fan, underdrive pulleys, lowering springs, and a taller final drive ratio without too much trouble.