If the challenge was “buy the saddest, dumbest vehicle you can find for under $2k”, then here we have a clear winner, an all-time champ.

My wife rocks a Ducati. Spec Miata is a great argument for a convertible - but I do think that the Miata would be a better vehicle as a coupe.

Not for me. I think they’re remarkable machines and I understand the appeal, but I’d rather be in a fixed-roof car or on a motorcycle.

ND. Convertibles are stupid. First off, it’s a whole new category of maintenance hassle and expense.

Years ago, I was at a gallery show about the brilliance of Italian design. One of the first things I saw there would have been high on my list of “things that can’t possibly give me goosebumps” until I was standing there staring at it:

Agreed. IMO it’s the first one that’s arguably better-looking than the Livewire.

Holy shit - a newly-designed cap & rotor setup in ‘95??? How did they not just go with coil packs and waste spark if they didn’t want an old-fashioned distributor? They had been around for over 20 years by that point.

About 25 years ago I worked in medical imaging software, and attended RSNA - a giant radiology conference and trade show with ~30k medical participants, plus almost that many as vendors/presenters.

Makes sense, thanks!

Why throw a water pump at it before you’ve done a cooling system flush and thermostat?

Hatch, NP. Coupe? ND.

That’s one hypothesis. Of course, even if it’s true, it just doesn’t matter - because this is what transmissions are for.

You can get a very nice Bricklin for that price point. Anything else is dumb in comparison, IMO.

247 hp @ 14,000 rpm is 93 lbs-ft, same as for any other shaft-driven motor.

Holy shit - I actually found someone in the wild who understands this.

And what are the relative positions of “lock door” and “wear pants” on the effort spectrum?

   Bart: This is pretty tense, isn't it, Todd. 
   Todd: Yeah, my knees are shaking, I got butterflies in my stomach...          But I guess this builds character. 
   Bart: Who wants to build character?  Let's quit! 
   Todd: Okay. 

I don’t know about you, but that’s the whole reason I’m here.

His appearance on the RevZilla podcast is good, too.