I’m somewhat surprised that a Mercury Lynx (rebadged Ford Escort) would have survived the years of enthalpy, entropy, teenagers, grandparents, and cash-for-clunkers in any shape…much less the pristine condition of the one we see today. Wow. Staggering, for such a miserable penalty box of an automobile. I’m not saying that the Lynx (in DIESEL!) would […]
If you ever open the radiator cap on your car and see something the color of coffee with milk, you know you are in trouble. If you haven’t seen that, consider yourself lucky, but lemme tell ya, that is the last thing you want to see inside your engine. HOWEVER, if you see the outside […]
Few cars are slower than a vintage Rabbit Diesel, trust me, I sold the one I owned about a decade ago and seller still hasn’t gotten home. Anyway, the Diesel passenger version of the Rabbit was noticeably slower with a passenger or four, but I can’t imagine how slow this Caddy would be with a […]
Today’s next Honda City isn’t the fender flare equipped 108 horsepower Turbo II version or even the regular 99 horsepower Turbo version…nope, it is a base model City. That means you get 60 horsepower from the 1.2 liter inline-4 and 0-60mph in about 13 seconds. Slow…yes…not non-turbo diesel Mercedes slow, but slow enough that you […]
The Porsche 914 is one of those classics that doesn’t get nearly as much love as it deserves, but at the same time if you drive a beaten-up version you will come away feeling underwhelmed. It’s not the same as driving something like a beaten up version of an old American muscle car — those […]
Perhaps I was a bit quick to judge the scenic middle California coastal town of Atascadero in my previous rant about the Jeep Cherokee with the chopped up bits. Perhaps I should not judge a book by its cover, an inmate by his straightjacket. The last car we featured in that small town was…well…strange, but […]
I would say that the driver of this next car is going to be told that he/she is going the wrong direction on the street, but I doubt the car will ever move since it is a “vintage” electric car. But the styling by Fischer-Price is unique enough to make this tempting. Find this 1965 […]
The North American Ford Escort was a pile of miserable steaming…oh…hi. I didn’t expect Ford Escort Owners Club of North America board members to read this website…errr…let me try again. The North American Ford Escort wasn’t as scrumptious as the European Escort, but you don’t really see them on the road anymore. However, I think […]
et it. A diesel powered Audi 5000S is going to be slow…really slow. But it has to be faster than a Rabbit diesel and that was one of the most memorable cars I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning/driving. And before you get the idea of LS1 swapping it or putting in a new 600 horsepower Audi inline-5 from an RS-somethingorother, note that this car has rust. So this is the car that you need to just fix the described piston ring issue (maybe new rings, maybe some Marvel Mystery Oil and a case of Seafoam…I dunno, we’ll see where the weekend takes us) and drive it till your wife starts complaining about all of the cars you own. All I can say is — that is the cleanest engine bay in a $1000 car I’ve seen in decades. Find this 1981 Audi 5000S Diesel offered for $1000 in Colorado Springs, CO via facedasher marketbeans. Tip from Mark.
When you see a car and think to yourself “wow, I’m glad this comes with a spare car” you should probably stop and think carefully about your purchase. Because, as a rule, cars that come with a spare car are ones where the parts availability is limited to what you can find in the homebrew junkyard in your front yard. However, according to a guy I know who grew up in Africa, the 505 was the last reliable Pug to leave the factories in wherever they were built. I think Jeremy Clarkson might have said the same thing, but he doesn’t have the same street cred as a guy who grew up in Addis Ababa. He probably told me some other things about the diesel powered Peugeot, but I should probably should pay more attention when people tell me things. Find this 1985 Peugeot 505 D Turbo Station Wagon offered for $3900 in Fortuna, CA via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!