Living in southern California has its pluses and minuses as car lover. One of the positives is that cars do not rust away. The big negative is the smog rules making imported vehicles nearly impossible to legally drive. So this Japanese import with a clean California title is a unicorn. Find this 1986 Mazda Bongo Brawny offered for $14,500 in Santa Barbara, CA via Craigslist.
The Subaru Forester was launched in 2007 as Subaru’s first entry into the (then small, now large) segment known as the crossover SUV, but the Forester was a long way away from being an AMC Eagle. A few years later Subaru put a slightly detuned version of their 2.5 liter turbo motor from the legendary […]
Ask the average Joe what he knows about Subaru and he will probably talk about the new Forester or a variety of SUV-ish looking wagon-things that are designed to be lightly off-roaded and driven around the city. Press a little more and Joe might talk about the sporty WRX or STI versions of the Impreza…but […]
I love it when someone calls some car “the nicest around” because it often is such a stretch from the truth. And I won’t give the hyperbolists in the room a free pass with this next car, I’ll at the most admit that it looks like a blast to own/drive. Find this 1990 Toyota Celica All-Trac […]
The 5-door Honda Civic Shuttle (previously called the Wagovan) was a crossover before there was such a thing as crossovers, but it competed with Toyota’s Tercel Wagon and Subaru’s Wagon thing in the small 4X4 wagon segment. Power in the Civic Shuttle came from a 109 horsepower 1.6 liter 4-banger that was mated to a […]
The Mitsubishi Delica was a compact Japanese van with unibody construction, a mid-engine RWD or 4WD drivetrain, and a smattering of engine options. These were sold in North America under the creative model names Van and Wagon, and only lasted a few years here (1987-1990). Those were basic cargo and people mover versions, but if Mitsu […]
This next car comes as a tip from Jeff S who writes: Turbo Subies last forever…er…not really but this is interesting. I have to admit that this machine does have some interesting street cred regarding its turbo, hatch, manual trans, and push button hi-lo 4WD. Find this 1987 Subaru GL offered for $2,500 in Eastern West Virginia […]
How often do you run into classic 80s Japanese cars with all-wheel-drive that aren’t total wrecks or complete piles of rust? Not very often…well…actually we try and post those all the time around here, but I’m still regularly surprised. Find this 1983 Toyota Tercel 4wd offered for $3,200 near Boise, ID via craigslist. Tip from Fuel […]
The 60-series Toyota Land Cruiser was built from 1980 through 1990 and offered a combination of off-road prowess and comfort that was far superior to most of the competition. In the US market it was available with a thirsty inline-6 gasoline engine, but in some markets it could be optioned with a torquey diesel that […]
Photos of cars being used for their intended purpose greatly strengthens the persuasive argument come selling time, even if slightly abusive. Would you rather buy a Chevelle that you knew wasn’t too tired to do a burnout via photographic evidence? How about a Tercel throwing snow over its trapezoidal silhouette? Hell yes, please, on both […]