It’s pretty unusual with som eof the oddball cars featured here that you can have anythin gclose to the choice that you could get at the dealer’s 30 years ago. But in this special feature, you get the choice – 2 or 4 driven wheels? 2 or 4 doors? What you have to put up with is the semi-famous Audi 5 cylinder with a 5-speed manual transmission, but that shouldn’t be too much of a burden. To get things started, check out this 1981 Audi 4000 5+5 for sale for $2500 in Oregon City, OR.
It’s funny, in a way, to name a car after a number. There are definitely other manufacturers who have done it, and many manufacturers have numerical model designations that follow a definite logic, but but if you think of a certain Audi coupe with all-wheel-drive and a turbocharged five-cylinder, would you call it the “Audi 4”? Following this admittedly thin premise, let’s take a look at the 4’s cheaper sibling, the “2”, or in Auditalian, the “Due”. Check out this 1984 Audi GT Coupe for sale for $2800 somewhere west of Portland, OR.
Quick, think of an oddball Mercedes! What’s the first thing that comes to mind? The R-class cross-over? The pre-war W23, W28 and W30 with their rear-mounted four-cylinder engines? The Unimog? Well, yes, those are all rather odd cars. But how about throwing in W123 into that question? Most people will think of the slow diesel-powered sedans, but you’re not most people, so you’ll know that from 1977-1978 in the North American market, you could get your W123 sedan powered by the 2.3-liter, four-cylinder M115 engine. Putting out 93hp and 125 lb.-ft. of torque, it’ll leave everything but the 280E and post-1980 300TD in the dust. Check out this 1977 Mercedes 230 for sale for $2000 in Portland, OR.
Rusty But Trusty 