Guess I didn't have to deal with cramped cars growing up. My dad has always been into old classic cars and hot rods and would rather restore a chassis he picked up for $100 than loan $20,000 for a new car. I rode around in the back seat of a 1958 Chevy Del Ray (mmm 402), 1970 Challenger, and a 1964 Plymouth Fury (mmm 440) with two sisters. No I'm not that old, this was in the 80's/90's. Always plenty of room. And power was never lacking, I guess thats why I wasn't impressed with or interested in sports cars in my youth; IROCs and Corvettes didn't have squat against that Del Ray; anything new just seemed lesser of a car. Hand ported and polished heads, lumpy cam, headers, and 4" side exhaust would make your knees buckle if you were standing next to it at idle.
I also vaguely remember sitting sideways on the transmission hump in the front of a pickup for short trips with more people than could fit on one bench seat, as well as riding in the back without a seat, and this was in the city. Ah back when this country was America, people did what they wanted as long as they didn't bother others, people took responsibility for their own actions, and before we became too civilized and politically correct for our own good. Now we have thought police and have to wear helmets to walk on the sidewalk or face threat of force or prison. :roll:
The 2006 Avalon has the interior space of a minivan but only one back seat. The windshield feels like it's 20 feet away when you are sitting in the back seat. 280 HP with 32 mpg as well. It's funny smoking people in a stock non flashy desert gold 'old peoples' car. Smoked some black Lexus GS with a spoiler, tinted windows, chrome rims, etc on the freeway on the way out of Phoenix; we had five people and a trunk load of luggage, he was by himself Passed him with ease and he had it to the floor trying to prevent it. The Avalon is all the things people like in a Lexus, without the gaudy label and tacky gold emblems and teen bling appeal, and $10k+ less. And it's a Toyota so it will last longer than I will.
The Cobra? Forget it, I don't even know why it has a back seat... at least there is a place to stuff a third and forth buddy when we go out for pizza or something and go out for a cruise or go rice hunting (there are no real performance import tuners around here, they are all riced out Sentras and Civics, and not even SI hatches). If it was a Corvette or Boxster I wouldn't get to take it out some weekends because of that, thus defeating the whole purpose of a car like that in the first place.