A few years ago a friend asked for recommendations for a late model 4 seat convertible and as I did the requisite research, I discovered that there aren’t that many convertibles with back seats. They do exist and, oddly enough, Mercedes-Benz built quite a few in the past few years with its S-Class, E-Class, C-Class […]
Seeing a car like this reminds me that Honda made some great manual transmission equipped cars back in the 1990s and this one is…whoa…2010? Are you serious? A 6-speed manual in a 2-door Honda coupe in 2010? Hang on. Consults various interweb sources of information. This is the 8th generation Accord, 2008-2012 and obviously it was available with a stick, it was replaced with the 9th gen Accord 2013-2017 which was also available with a 6-speed in the i-4 and V6 coupe, which was then replaced by the 10th generation Accord which started in 2018 and was available with a 6-speed in a sedan (the coupe was discontinued) until the 2021 model year when Honda made the Accord only available with some terrible CVT or a 10-speed-slushbox. We only have ourselves to blame because instead of driving new cars we’ve been tooling around in old depreciated manual-gearbox BMWs and 60s muscle cars but I still weep for the future of mankind. Find this 2010 Honda Accord Coupe offered for $8,600 in Sunnyvale, CA via craigslist.
The W116 chassis Sonderklasse (S-Class) is known for its low buy-in price, incredibly durable interior materials, tank-like build quality, and stately appearance. We old school car nuts will laud the durability of the aging Benz, but even I don’t believe that a 43-year-old German car will be as trouble free as a few year old used Kia. However, this next car is a Euro import, which means it has all of the plusses of the US Market S-Class, but with smaller DEATH-TO-ALL bumpers and sealed beam DEATH-TO-ALL headlights. And probably a non US-Emissions compliant DEATH-TO-ALL inline-6. At least this car is over 25 years old, so US Dept of Homeland Security will no longer stop you from buying/owning/driving this literal rolling tomb on the street. Enjoy your premature death! Find this 1978 Mercedes-Benz 280S W116 offered for $5,200 in Worthington, OH via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
If you think we feature too many BMWs on the pages of Daily Turismo, rest assure it isn’t because we are closet BWM fanboys…no, it is because we are fully open about our BMW fanboyishness. It is simple, while other major luxury OEMs decided that the American market in the early 2000s only wanted slushbox equipped luxury sedans (Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Acura, Cadillac, etc), the guys over at BMW decided that perhaps some people wanted manual gearboxes, and wagons. Of course they will still only be offered in lame shades of white/black/grey, but at least getting a wagon with a stick is an option in BMW. Ultimately, BMW didn’t sell many of these (1 of 429 according to the seller) so you can’t buy a NEW BMW with a manual in a wagon body today (meh, don’t blame me, I don’t buy any new cars…oh…wait…maybe you can blame me…) but you can find used ones for sale, occasionally. Find this 2007 BMW 328iT Wagon offered for $13,500 in Napa County, CA via craigslist.
Most cars have a bell shaped popularity curve, but have you ever noticed that some cars have almost a step function of popularity — one minute they are all over the road and then suddenly they all just up and vanish. This seems to have been the case for the legendary Volkswagen Mk 3.5 Cabrio […]
The Alfa Romeo Spider built from 1995-2006 was a replacement for the aging Alfa Spider Giulia (1966-1993). The Pininfarina designed exterior was a radical step forward in looks, but regrettably the car moved onto a transverse longitudinal front drive set up shaped with the contemporary GTV. The tipo 916 Spider was never sold new in […]
Roush Performance was launched in 1995 as a way for NASCAR legend Jack “Panama Hat” Roush to provide power to the people. Roush Performance got a reputation for making fast ‘n’ loud Mustangs, but they also dabbled in other Fords like the Focus and F-150…but for two years in the early millennium, they built about […]
Up until the 1990s Brazil (the world’s fifth largest country by population and geography) did not allow imported automobiles — and as a result, major OEMs around the world set up local manufacturing centers. In the beginning, the local plants built vehicles designed and engineered from the parent company’s home country, but eventually the locals […]
The C4 generation Corvette ZR1 was the result of a project between GM and Lotus Engineering, which resulted in a 375 horsepower DOHC V8 engine, big brakes, heavy duty suspension and active ride control. It was really ahead of its time for a GM product from the early 1990s but a hefty price tag (twice […]
This next car comes as a submission from JB1025 who writes: Kind of an Odd Fellow er Duck here.. Odd is an understatement here, this thing is from another planet, a bearded Spock dimension Nissan Pathfinder if you ask me. It is a Spanish assembled Nissan that was exported to Japan where it was sold new […]