The Pinto was released for the 1971 model year from an optimistic front office at Ford. It was intended to be a light and compact import fighter…but due to a design flaw in the fuel tank it ended up as a punch line in every joke involving fiery death for the next 3 decades. The […]
This next car comes as a tip from Art who recently purchased his own version of the 7th generation Honda Civic hatchback, which hopefully isn’t as sunburnt as this one. These cars live in the shadow realm between modern cars that normal folks are willing to drive everyday and classics that everyone wants to pay […]
I’ve always enjoyed being a bit of an outlier. Well…maybe counter cultural. A square peg in a world of round holes. Anyway, as the prices of used cars have escalated to stupid high levels, I find myself heading in the opposite direction, towards cars that are cheap cheap cheap. $20k for a car? That’s nuts. […]
Sometimes you need a car that is just a car. It doesn’t need to be a statement about how rich you are (ahem Mercedes-Benz owners), or how eccentric you are (ahem Saab Owners) or how sporty old you are (ahem, Corvette owners). Sometimes a car just needs to get you from point A to point B in reasonable comfort…but it better well darn have a manual gearbox and a hint of fun from the driver’s seat. For less than $4k I don’t think you can get a newer car than a Mazda 3. Prove me wrong. Find this 2011 Mazda 3 offered for $3,950 in San Diego, CA via craigslist.
The third generation Honda Accord hatchback is was built from 1985 through 1989 and it features a few things that other accords didn’t have including…double wishbone front and rear suspension, and pop-up headlights. Guess which one of those features is gonna get you more points at the next classic 80s Japanese car show? Find this 1987 Honda Accord offered for $5,500 in New York via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
This next car comes from the year 1983, which was the year of the theatrical release of Return of the Jedi and the year of the first mobile cell telephone call. If that doesn’t sound very long enough — check your calendar. This car left the factory 38 years ago. So if anyone looks at it like a potential cheap daily driver, remember it is a classic. Not that you couldn’t drive it every single day, but then I know people who drive vintage Beetles every day, so can be a daily or a classic. One last thought — forward hinged hoods rule. Find this 1983 Honda Accord offered for $5,400 in San Mateo, CA via craigslist.
For 4 generations and 17 years the Chevrolet Nova was a decent sized front-engine rear-wheel-drive economy car from GM. It was called compact, but by today’s standards it was pretty big and by the 1979 it was powered by big gas guzzling V8s and Chevrolet decided to discontinue the model. But it was with some shock when the Nova name was reincarnated with a rebadged version of the AE82 Toyota Corolla for the 1985 model year. Today we’ve got a super love mile version of the 80s Nova built in at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, CA (which is now a Tesla gigafactory) offered for a reasonable price. Find this 1987 Chevrolet Nova Hatchback offered for $5,850 in Elk Grove, CA via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
Anybody who lived through the 1980s in the USA will have memories of the the North American first generation Ford Escort (1981-1990). Those memories will certainly be mixed…some good, some bad…but our squishy grey lobes tend to suppress the bad things; but DT is here to help recover some of those negative memories. First, you learned your first full set of curse words from your Mom when it wouldn’t start for the third time in a week. You also learned to dress for rain when the electrical system stopped working in November 1987. And finally, you learned why your Dad started buying only Japanese cars in 1990. But if you want to relive some of the good experiences in a Ford Escort…then you should buy the best preserved Escort you’ll ever see for less than four large. Find this 1985 Ford Escort Hatchback offered for $3,700 in Dallas, TX via craigslist.
BMW’s 1994 launch of the E36/5 generation 318ti was the first hatchback on a BMW since the classic 2002 Touring was sent to the glue factory in 1974. Styling response was hit & miss the normal folks, but BMW fanboys love the classic 318ti truncated trunk and the fact that it rode on E30 semi-trailing arm suspension borrowed from leftover bits of the previous generation 3-series parts (also used on the Z3). But that didn’t phase BMW planners, because they were aiming to sell cars to a younger demographic and didn’t care of well todo executives didn’t want their little 4-cylinder powered import fighter. Find this 1998 BMW 318ti E36/5 offered for $7000 in Grantham, NH via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
I’m feelin’ like it is gonna be a good day for posting cheap used hatchbacks from the 80s today…and if the Grandpa’s Tercel we just featured seems a bit slow for you…then maybe you’ll want a turbocharged manual-gearbox equipped Chevy Sprint…yeah…what a beast. Find this 1988 Chevrolet Sprint offered for $2000 in San Francisco, CA via […]