Change Your Name To Mikkola – 1988 Mazda 323 GTX

September 17, 2013

Mazda was one of few manufacturers to sell a World Rally Championship homologation model in the US market – the lack of interest in the WRC here being the main reason other participants like VW and Subaru did not sell their homologation specials here. Although for more money you could also get the Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 or a Toyota Celica AllTrac Turbo, this remains the most affordable and (anecdotally) most common of these cars. Find this 1988 Mazda 323 GTX Turbo for sale in Fairfax, VA with bidding at $1652 and only 8 1/2 hours to go.

1988 Mazda 323 GTX left rear

Read the rest of this entry »

The Anti-E30 – 1987 Maserati BiTurbo Si

September 16, 2013

The BMW E30 3-series of 1983-91 is currently filling the niche of affordable used sports sedan. However, in the time before Mercedes was trying to be both sporty *and* luxurious, and before Lexus and Infiniti were a glint in their Daddies’ eyes, there still was some competition, however feeble. And two of those competitors were Italian – the more fully-developed Alfa Romeo Milano, and the somewhat quality-challenged Maserati BiTurbo. This 1987 BiTurbo Si is available in Shingle Springs, CA with bidding at $2475 and only 2 1/2 days left to go.

1987 Maserati BiTurbo Si right front

Read the rest of this entry »

Rare Alternative – 1974 Jensen Healey

September 16, 2013

The Jensen Healey roadster was one of those ideas that sounds great in theory, but falls apart in the execution. Take a Lotus engine, combine with some mechanical bits from cars like the Vauxhall Viva and Chrysler’s fine UK model range, a tidy if not very creative body style, and 1970s British labor strife, and presto! Snark aside, though, most of the surviving cars have to be the best of the bunch, and many have had fixes applied to overcome the weak points that made them less-than-ideal daily drivers. One such survivor is this 1974 Jensen Healey, available for $4000 in San Francisco, CA.

1974 Jensen Healey right front

Read the rest of this entry »