First Car...17 years old?

[H Kang]

my parents finally gave me the O.K. to get a car, but now i'm lost for which car to get...price range is around $10,000
I'm looking for a manual transmission car. I really do NOT want a FWD car, but i realize that at this price, that may be the way to go, but i have no idea which ones to look for.
i know i'm 17, so i probably shouldn't be getting a fast car, so maybe fwd is the correct choice...help me out. i live in chicago area, and during the winter, the weather can get really slippery.

i would like a subaru WRX, but i'm having a hard time keeping it under $10k-12k. but anyhow, how is subaru reliability? at 50k miles? 100k miles?

i also found this 2002 pontiac trans am ws6 with 89k miles...how reliable are those? i've been doing some googling, and contrary to popular belief that american cars are crap, i haven't found any proof of this car breaking down unexpectedly. but it DOES have 89k miles...and it might get me into accidents or tickets, with the v8 and all, but i want an honest opinion on its reliability.

any opinion would be appreciated! you can even e-mail me at hhkang63@sbcglobal.net
oops, i meant 2000 trans am, not 2002.

[sdotmichael]

Honda and Toyota both are long lasting cars. Subaru's are good but parts are harder to find. I would recommend something from Honda or Toyota.

[supermanz44]

ford mustang.. no lie, you can get like an 05 with around 60k miles for 11,000 and you can usually negotiate and get the price down by 15%

[Brittany H]

Toyota Yaris. I have one and its pretty nice.

[dangdaina]

I would get a Jetta, they have excellent brakes, great sound, they are fun to drive and excellent on gas.