This next car comes as a tip from Dave in Tampa writes: You know you want it. There’s no downside to this Pathfinder. My only criticism of it is that it’s not currently parked in my driveway. What does the crowd think — is there really no downside to a fully optioned early 90s V6 […]
What does it say about your car if you park it in front of your local auto parts store for you sale photos? It’s not the same as the “I’m so busy, I can only take a photo of my car when it is at the gas station”…but it does say something about reliability of […]
The Buick Regal was a G-body coupe from General Motors that introduced the US to turbocharged performance and in 1978 was one of three cars available with a factory turbo; (the others being the SAAB 99 and Porsche 911 Turbo). The 99 and 911 were canyon carvers with small engines and manual transmissions but the […]
This next car comes as a tip from Cory who writes: who says there are not deals out there? That’s right! There are plenty of good deals when it comes to front-drive American sport sedans that are powered by supercharged V6s. This isn’t the LS4 V8 powered GXP, but it is the GTP with the […]
This next Pontiac Fiero had an optimistic build — the GM L44 2.8 liter V6 had been boosted with a turbocharger of undisclosed size…but if the diameter of the intake tubes were any indicator…it has a huge snail. The little pushrod V6 didn’t have a chance and it is blowing smoke and running rough…but that is an opportunity. An opportunity to rebuild with forged low compression pistons and an fire-ringed headgasket so that this Fiero can be fierce again. Find this 1986 Pontiac Fiero V6 Turbo offered for $2,500 in Naples, MN via craigslist
At first glance this car appears to have the silhouette of something that’ll is just as boring as any bland Camry/Accord/Malibu/Taurus from the early 2000s…but it isn’t. It is way more interesting because first up it is an Oldsmobile. Wait, Oldsmobile was still in business in 2001…yes, Olds didn’t close the old factory doors until 2004. Anyway, the 2nd generation Aurora has one of the most unique V6s ever put into a GM vehicle and only used in the Oldsmobile Intrigue and Aurora. The LX5 was technically a shortened version of the Cadillac Northstar V8 and has been given the nickname ShortStar or Short North and was listed in Ward’s 10 Best Engines for most of all four years of production (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002). It is one of those cars that won’t get noticed by 99.9% of the population, but you can watch their eyes glaze over as you explain by the LX5 was the best V6 GM ever built and why your car isn’t just another boring box. Find this 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora 3.5 offered for $3,900 in Hayward, CA via craigslist.
Not every car can pull off this next shade of yellow without being accused of being a taxi cab or a school bus…but I think I’ll give this mid-engine Fiero a pass. Mostly because it has the desirable V6 engine upgrade (the iron duke inline-4 is terrible) and a manual gearbox, and I don’t mind that it is not the fastbacky GT version. Anyway, this Nuprin colored classic is ready for the next owner and priced high, but not insane given the 54k miles on the odo and the original paint. Find this 1988 Pontiac Fiero Formula V6 offered for $8900 in Seminole, FL via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
I saw this next car and thought to myself; another 3-row, 8-passenger, wood paneled Buick station wagon from the mid 90s, must be a Roadmaster…except that it didn’t have the space ship styling or the longitudinally mounted V8 engine. Could it be possible that Buick thought the market for 8 passenger station wagons was so great in 1994 that they needed to offer multiple levels of wagonness. This wasn’t 1965…what were they thinking? I’m not sure, but what am I sure of is that I love the idea of an A-body with transverse mounted Buick V6 that was designed in the 1970s (this generation lasted from 1982-1996) was still available for sale in 1994 with wood sides and a set of rear facing jump seats. Find this 1994 Buick Century Wagon offered for $2,850 in Somers, CT via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
When I first started reading about this next car, I have to admit that it got my nose crinkled up a bit. Why would you put a later V6 into a classic American muscle car when V8 power/torque/noise is so affordable…and then I thought…because you can. And because the Buick Grand National V6 was a turbocharged thing of beauty and not some junky Camry/Accord fuel saver. Nose un-crinkled, acknowledging positive head bob engaged. Find this 1968 Buick Skylark Buick V6 Turbo swapped offered for $14,999 in Lindenhurst, NY via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
The original iteration (1989-1991 & 1992-1995) Ford Taurus SHO (Super High Output) was a love letter from the engineers at Ford’s Special Vehicle Team to everyone who wanted to have fun in a sedan. It had a screaming Yamaha V6, a 5-speed manual gearbox, and Conan O’Brien’s seal of approval. In 1996 Ford introduced a V8 SHO that had more O in the SHO, but it lacked the S…because it was only available with a slushbox auto and buyers went elsewhere after 1999. A few years later (in 2010) Ford introduced a new version of the SHO that had a whopping 365 horsepower from a twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost engine and all-wheel-drive…but a 6-speed slushbox auto. Find this 2011 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $9995 or best offer in Cherry Hill, NJ via eBay.