The saying goes something like, "Speed costs money, how fast can you afford to go?"
Going fast may be a never-ending quest to go $faster$. It is definitely the "dark side." Fun, and all too tempting for any real car guy.
My car came with a 2.78 rear and therefore kept me headed down the "light side" of kind of factory originality and not all that fast. My car is fun and sounds good and with a 700R-4 I can cruise at 80 mph at 2100 rpm at 18+ mpg.
If you want a long distance cruiser, you almost HAVE to install an overdrive AT (700R-4, 200-4R) or overdrive MT like a Tremec.
No matter what you do, make sure you have good brakes. Either dang well maintained drums or power front discs like many of us.
