Posts Tagged ‘hatch’

Ur-Type Four – 1989 Saab 9000 Turbo

December 31, 2014

Looking for a rare bird among the world of Saabs? You don’t even need to look as far back as the 1970s 99 – you can find it right up through the late 1980s in a series 1 9000. Even on enthusiast sites like Saabnet, it’s hard to find many first-gen 9000s listed there. And those that are available for sale are either miserable $500 projects or high-mileage drivers. Alfa 164s, surely the less successful platform-mate in America, seem to survive in greater numbers than these. So it’s surprising to find a nice, cared-for example of the model, with turbo and manual transmission. Check out this 1989 Saab 9000 turbo for sale for $3000 in Seattle, WA.

1989 Saab 9000 turbo right front

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Powered by Mazda – 1984 Ford Escort Diesel and 1984 Mercury Lynx Diesel

October 22, 2014

American manufacturers were pretty slow to the game with diesel engines during their first wave in North America. While VW introduced a diesel engine in their compact Rabbit in 1978, it took another 3 years for a diesel to show up in the Chevette, and 6 years for it to appear in the Escort. And by the time those came out, the fuel crisis had waned somewhat, Americans had become disenchanted with the low power and smelly, smoky emissions of diesels, so sales were not particularly great. So it’s unusual to find a pair of Ford diesel compacts available. To get started, check out this 1984 Ford Escort Diesel for sale for $1700 in Clackamas, OR.

1984 Ford Escort Diesel left rear

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Why Not – 1992 Lancia Y10 GT plus bonus Autobianchi

October 3, 2014

The Lancia/Autobianchi Y10 is one of the underappreciated superminis of the world. Lancia was one of the first to embrace the premium hatch concept, giving their little Ypsilon such amenities as central locking, alcantara seating, and turbocharged engines, well before this was considered the norm in small cars. Furthermore, since the car was based on the Panda platform, Fiat was also able to adapt the 4wd platform to create a sort of mini-Range Rover, with luxurious trim and all-weather capability. To start, let’s take a look at this 1992 Lancia Y10 GT ie for sale for €1800 ($2252 today) in Bellevue-la-Montagne, France.

1992 Lancia Y10 GT left front

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