With BMW 2002 prices on the way up, savvy car nuts should be looking at the same viable alternatives car nuts looked at back when they were new. So if 2002s (and Alfa GTVs) have moved out of your reach, or at least if a good one has, it pays to look back at the Datsun 510. With a good independent suspension and a respectably powerful 1.6 liter four, you can hardly go wrong, and you get some of that Japanese reliability to boot. Check out this 1971 Datsun 510 for sale for $2200 near Concord, CA.
The Miata doesn’t get a lot of love here. That’s not by design, but as a car in the modern idiom, and a fairly ubiquitous car at that, it’s not an automatic fit. That said, anybody who’s a lover of cars can’t ignore them, for all the reasons that anybody loves a Miata – they’re light, handle well, decent-looking, and the top goes down. And they’ve had a major influence on the car industry, way beyond what any second-tier modern manufacturer has the right to expect. The list of roadsters they spawned is just mind-boggling, including cars from some of the world’s biggest manufacturers (GM, VW, and Toyota brands have all produced open-top roadsters that aped the Miata’s formula) to some of the smallest (Elise who?). Since Mazda’s been doing it for 25 years now (ack!), some Miatas are naturally fully depreciated, and they make quite an appealing cheapo runabout. Check out this 1990 Mazda Miata for sale for $1400 in Miami Beach, FL.
Does it ever happen to you that you’ll see a car that would have been boring in the context of its contemporaries, but taken out of context, it’s nice to see it still on the road? Naturally-aspirated 1980s Subarus are such a car – not really that exciting to drive, or to look at, but seeing one of these relatively odd Japanese cars on the road, particularly in good condition, is enjoyable – it recalls the days when Subaru was still weird, and not cranking out flat-four powered versions of the same oversized, overweight crossovers and SUVs that everyone makes these days (well, and some fun rally-inspired cars). Check out this 1988 Subaru GL 3-Door Coupe for sale for $2500 in Torrance, CA.
Rusty But Trusty 