Lots of good points in this thread. I like your first inclination in post 1. Both my daughters had F cars as their first cars. Oldest daughter a 85 V-6 auto, youngest
a 94 V-6 5-speed. Of course they loved the looks and style, buy safety was my biggest concern. The V-6 F bodies have a huge amount of crush zone in front and back too. Older daughter tested this 6 months after she got the car. Pulled out of a 2 way country road intersection right into a late model extended cab Chevy Truck going probably 50-55 MPH. She had 5 people in the F-Car. The front bumper was 200 ft from the accident scene. The right rear valve cover was 6" into the passenger compartment. Windshield cracked, but not broken out. Both doors still opened, no injuries in her car. A few bumps and bruises. The car absorbed a huge amount of energy. Pick-up also no injuries other than a few bumps and scrapes. Truck was hit so hard between the doors, only 3 wheels were on the ground. I was very impressed with the structure of the F-car. Not too impressed with my daughter who was without a car and a license for quite a while. My other daughter drove her 94 Firebird through 4 years of college and I think I replaced the alternator and a headlight motor other than maintenance. Good cars IMO.
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