Best Summer Fling: 2009 Honda S2000
MSRP: $35,665
Like the cute girl you had a crush on at band camp, the Honda S2000 is ripe for a summer romance. But you'd better act quickly. The company's roadster will disappear from the lineup after 2009, and a planned successor has been cancelled - deemed an unnecessary frivolity as even Honda hunkers down to ride out the recession.
We'll eventually mourn this loss, but in the meantime, we suggest you strike now. S2000s are still at dealers, in either its standard form or the hardcore CR (club racer) guise. Although the latter is more apropos for tearing into apexes, the base car is slightly more comfortable in areas with less-than-perfect road surfaces.
It's not as if the base S2000 isn't sporty. The 2.2-liter DOHC four loves to rev, and reaches a peak 237 horsepower at a screaming 7800 rpm. The 162 lb-ft of torque may seem low, but it is tasked with moving only 2864 pounds. Better yet, the roadster sports an almost-perfect weight distribution (49/51 percent front/rear), making it simply brilliant in the twisties.
It's a limited time offer if we've ever seen one, but unlike that camp infatuation of yours, this fling could easily blossom into a long-term relationship.