I appreciate everyone's advice and opinions....that's why I posted...
I've considered older German, I know they are great handling, sweet drivers cars. But again, I don't want to get into higher mileaged cars, and more importantly, higher maintenance costs associated with said cars. They simply cost more to own, that's a fact. Still cool as hell, and if I had the means and the where with all, I'd be all over them. Have always loved some BMW/Mercedes/Porsche goodness.
Going new Mustang is a consideration, except that the new v6 doesn't make the same output as the 4.6 v8, either on the numbers or on the ears.

I did drive the new 5.0, and while very cool, it's out of my range.
I'm capped at 25. That's it. So going to 27, 28 etc isn't going to happen. Initially when I started I was trying to go 17-20, but 25 is doable.
All the others, the Lotus for example, really aren't good for anything but driving, and that's not practical for my sole means of transportation/daily needs. I couldn't even put my bike in that thing...lol....I've always dug them a lot, and someday if I have disposable income to spare then maybe a 2nd "weekend" car would be more realistic.
It's really a matter of finding just the right mix of practicality, something sporty that I can run up to a trackday or two, and fun while driving around town.....while being reliable and not killing me in fuel costs.
It's a tough find, but I've been researching the hell out of a lot of things. Insurance costs, maintenance costs, fuel, safety, fun factor, practical daily life factor, you name it.....