Archive for April, 2016

Low EXPectations – 1988 Ford EXP

April 12, 2016

There are plenty of examples of interesting sports coupes based on ho-hum platforms – look at the Ford Capri, VW Scirocco, and Honda CRX to get an idea of great cars that shared a lot with their siblings. All were widely appreciated in their time, and are still today appreciated as young-timer collector cars. Unfortunately, some cars on ho-hum platforms can’t escape their roots – consider the mildly funky-looking but bland-driving Honda Prelude, for example. But Honda’s not the only one who managed to make that kind of transformation – Ford is also guilty. For a good example of how that happened, let’s take a look at this 1988 Ford EXP for sale for $2888 in Portland, OR.

1988 Ford EXP left rear

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He Named Me Molalla – 1985 Mazda RX-7

April 11, 2016

Mazda’s RX-7 was arguably one of the first proper, modern-era sports cars. Debuting at a time where most affordable sports cars had roots solidly in the sixties or even fifties (just look at Triumph’s Spitfire, or Alfa’s twincam engine), the Hiroshima-built sports car sported a design that referenced Porsche’s 924 among others, and a modern version of the rotary powerplant, the Mazda version of which only debuted in the market in 1965. The smooth, revvy nature of the engine made it a natural engine for a sports car, and its fuel consumption was less of an issue for buyers of those cars than the rotary-powered family sedans Mazda sold in the 1970s. Let’s take a look at this 1985 Mazda RX-7 for sale for $3000 in Molalla, OR.

1985 Mazda RX-7 right front

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Handlebar Mustache Required – 1980 Pontiac Trans Am and 1964 Chevrolet G10

April 11, 2016

If you have a handlebar mustache – original dating back to the seventies, or ironic recent growth – your choice of suitable transport is fairly limited. You can’t really have that kind of bold, in-your-face declaration of style and then drive a ’92 Honda Civic or, say, a ’10 Toyota Sienna – you need something that matches your facial hair. With such a divisive but timeless look, you need a similarly divisive ride that’s grown into timelessness by coming back thanks to a healthy amount of elapsed time as well as a similar dose of irony in current pop culture. So the first car, predictably, is this 1980 Pontiac Trans Am for sale for $3600 somewhere in Clark or Cowlitz counties, WA.

1980 Pontiac Trans Am right front

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