I purchased a Yaesu FT-1500M the other day:
htttp://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/829
Looks to be a good mobile or ECOMM box rig due to its size (almost 5" square). Easy to program.
If you do a HT, you may want to invest in a "Slim Jim" antenna:
http://www.2wayelectronix.com/
I use the Baofeng/slim jim combo to check into the Baltimore Traffic Net from time to time and have gotten good signal checks. You'd want to replace the stock antenna with this...
Last month I purchased a new in the box FT-450 on QRZ and an end fed antenna from these folks: http://www.earchi.org/proj_homebrew.html. I've since built a homebrew "buddipole" antenna using these plans:https://sites.google.com/site/w3ffhomepage/new-homebrew-buddstick-plans. I'm looking to...
I'm having a good time with my HT radio participating in numerous "nets" in the evenings. I plan to install a mobile 2M rig in my truck and I hope to purchase an Icom IC-718 HF rig in the near future.
AARC uses the ARRL guides for Tech, General and Extra. I have subscriptions on HamExamOnline for Tech and General. I use the No nonsense study guides for cramming a day or two before the exam.