[jcp123]

You won't like any 240sx you find for $3k. Drifters have eaten those cars up.

That's the exact price point I was shopping for, and there's not much out there. A beater Miata can be done with ease, and I think that's your only choice, although I'm not up on the Mister Two market. I'm not the world's biggest FWD fan, but as a compromise I do have to agree it's something you should be open to. I don't know about up there in saltland, but down here I was finding Saabs, a stick V6 Mazda6 wagon, etc. If I could have gotten away with the lack of space, I think I'd have done Miata myself, but my Civic 2-dr is about as small as I can get away with. BMW could be a dark horse here, as I was finding the occasional E46 3-series within that budget, but I can't promise you won't be writing lots of checks afterwards. Fuel economy isn't quite there either, although I gather with careful driving you won't be wide of the mark if you miss it at all.

One side note: I've heard Subarus can be "tricked" into running straight RWD. I never chased that rumor down, but if it's true, I see Subarus everywhere, and for cheap. And more frequently with stick than almost any other car I can think of.