I don't think I've ever seen one of these with the bright headlight surrond (is that a rattle-can job?) Not sure what I think about it, either... Otherwise, I have fond memories growing up in the liberal enclave of soutwest Montgomery County, MD, virtually surrounded by Volvos — though they were mostly wagons.

gotta be the scamp. i hear that mopar starter in my dreams.

I'm seriously considering one of these to replace our '02 Explorer. According to submitters on fueleconomy.gov, the FWD version averages 21 mpg, a hell of a lot better than the Explorer. But I'm not convinced our family of four needs a car this big at all — I'm also looking at the (ugh) Focus wagon (pre-'08, of…

@Plymsole: Hey Adrian, CafePress makes custom bumper stickers:

One last comment on this admittedly old and stale thread, which no one will probably ever read, and I'll shut up. I find Jalopnik different from other car blogs. The quality of comments is higher, but more importantly, there's an underlying respect for cars of all types, from all backgrounds, for all uses. If I…

@Moordryd: right back atcha cupcake. Did it ever occur to you that there are people on this site, fellow car enthusiasts, who own one? Maybe they're 40 years old, with a less-than-optimal financial picture, who'd just love to pick up the new ZR-1 Corvette as soon as it comes out (I'm thinking of the best quote from…

@SVERIGE: OK, I'll bite. Tell me another car that meets these requirements, and I'll dump my PT (which I don't love, but am forced to drive by economic reality):

MATER: ...Name's Mater.

I love this kind of article, full of the story behind the car. I love this car, too, but not enough to answer yes to "If I could have any 50 cars in the world, would it be one of them?"

@TheAstronot wins one internets.

whoa, i take my vote back. Ramcharge FTW!

@Al Navarro (@EuropaBambaataa): word. EB's got my vote for COTD.

Hey, where did you get that pic of the 340?

This reminds me of my first highschool girlfriend's '70 beetle. We were driving home one night from a swim meet, and the throttle cable broke. So, I did what any self-respecting boyfriend would do in that case: rode home crouched on the back bumper, hood open, working the carb by hand, while she steered and braked.

@Mad_Science: That's exactly what I did—sold my Lincoln LS V8 with 90K miles for $9,000, picked up an '03 PT Cruiser stick with 30K miles. Same interior space (in a more useful layout), same power accessories, sunroof, etc. Bought the PT for $7,800. Fuel economy went from 17mpg on premium gas to 27mpg on regular. …

@FreeMan: you obviously don't remember it that well. I think that was a little dude!

@BlackIce_GTS: 5 seconds off pole was only two seconds off QUALIFYING FOR THE RACE.

hmmm... photo she no appear... how you do that img src= thingy here?

My favorite photo from their pix of the concorso:

@Murilee Martin: T-O-P, of course. Or a flathead Ford V8.