Need a daily driver car soon!

TXSpeedDemon

Mazdaspeed 3 is a great option if you can find a good one under 10.

If not, an older Mazdaspeed Protege is another great option. Mine's an 03 with all the goodies. Would cost about $6K now for an unmolested stock one, and about $3K if you want some better performance out of it. I run about 10-12psi now and it's a little faster than a base 350 on the highway. Still gets over 30 MPG, 4 doors with TONS of cargo room for that sized car and is an absolute BLAST to drive. Not as fast as my 370 (especially off the line) but feels much more connected to the road, great feedback and steering feel. Not too bad looking either (check out my photo album) although starting to show it's aged design when parked next to the Z.

If you're in the DFW area there's also a pretty big group of enthusiast on DFWMazdas.com that can help you out with a lot performance questions.