Miata - top of the pile.

http://jalopnik.com/5951797/the-ten-...ung-enthusiast

The Ten Best Cars For A Young Enthusiast

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17q6.../avt-small.jpg Raphael Orlove

The most common question we get asked is "what's the best car for a budding enthusiast?" Well, Jalopnik readers know just the right cars to buy.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Before we go into specifics, let us say that when you're shopping for a car, pick something that you really love. That's the only thing that will keep you from giving up every time the exhaust falls off (again!) on a bumpy road, or whatever other problem sidelines the car a thousand times. Obviously some cars are better than others, but taste is a personal question. Just because you like '60s American land yachts or '70s Citroëns more than Honda S2000s doesn't make you less of an enthusiast.
We've put together a list that covers all the different bases for the car enthusiasts, and we've picked cars that are affordable, easy to find, easy to get parts for, and reasonably easy to work on yourself.