This, 4cyl a90 should weigh around 3200lbs, whereas the lightest mustang starts at 3500 and has an inferior trans to the extremely well developed ZF 8 speed.

Who knew that a $50k sports car from a non-luxury brand wouldn’t sell well.

What about a paint job that replicates patina?

The first build is probably pushing $150-200k. It has a full nascar motor, trick suspension, the best of everything. The second and third are probably $100k builds. All three probably sit in air-conditioned garages waiting to be driven once a month...

An older chassis isn’t always a bad thing. It has had more time available to fix the small problems that pop up, and has more time for the aftermarket to make parts for it.

I think I’d have to give a Frontier an honest try first, it’s still available with a manual trans, and it looks less bulky than the Ranger or Colorado.

I’ll take that yellow one....

Hey, I’ve been there. “Why do I hate this thing and like this other similar thing?”

I’m not so sure they’re all that easy to classify.

I get a little bored with seeing the same 350/350 drivetrain in all the “traditional hot rods”. It’s easy, it’s powerful, it’s easy to source.... but it’s boring to look at and it’s all been done before.

I can kind of understand the restomod popularity. It lets you drive a “classic” without the worry of destroying an original car, and without the pain of all the classic creature comforts and safety.

A car is a machine and removing functional parts diminishes it as a machine. Doors look naked without them. When you see a shaved door your first thought is “I wonder how you get in?” so now you’re wondering about the functionality of the car, rather than appreciating the design.

I despise traditional hot rods. I just do!

I have a feeling that there might be a strong dividing line between people who like that sort of hot rod and people who don’t like them would be people who grew up when Home Improvement was on TV and how you feel about Tim Allen.

That’s absolutely the case. I was just considering that if the desire to go off road isn’t present in the comparison testers, then of course the Jeep will get marked down for those “faults”.

yeah, i was in high school in ‘89. the 4 banger Mustang was a car a middle-class father might buy for his daughter.

The old 2.3L Fox Body wasn’t a sports car. It was a tarted up Ford LTD in a coupe form. That is why it had a useful rear seat and hatch.  

Well, if you’re looking for a 4 door car with an open bed, the Ridgeline is just about perfect.

$10,000 got you a 88 hp 2.3L 4 cylinder LX while the 5.0L V8 bumped the price up to $13,000 (or $27,500 today). That also just happens to be the price of a new Mustang that will run circles around that old 5.0.

Toyota totally has the guts to bring back the MR2. The problem is that BMW and Subaru don’t have a mid-engine car to build it from.