The Fiat 850 Spider had the same throttle lock.

I had one of these as a loaner for three days (an AWD version). When the service representative first handed me the keys, I looked at it and muttered “what the hell is this.” After driving it a while, however, my opinion changed. It handled all right and seemed to have sufficient power. The interior was comfortable…

There was also a time when the Jeep Cherokee came in a 2-door model. The wheelbase was only 101 inches - just a little longer than the Eagle Summit.

I have had terrible luck buying used cars. Mechanical inspections often miss problems that can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars in future repairs. Intermittent electrical issues, for example, can be almost impossible to find. Someone trading in a low mileage car may have also neglected regular oil changes or…

My favorite vehicle for driving in the snow was a 1994 GMC Safari with a V-6 and AWD. It had a fairly long wheelbase and a 40/60 front-to-rear torque split. With good snow tires, the GMC had plenty of power and traction to get up hills, while the rear wheels provided adequate hold to keep it stable on descents. It…

My wife bought a new 1996 VW Cabrio and, although it is not as small as some of the other cars featured here, it easily fit in the back of the moving van when we relocated. It was a lot of fun to drive on the backroads of Vermont. You can still see it on Google Maps (street view 44.029240, -73.139519) near our old…

It was also very reasonably priced – about $12,000 in 1989, if I am remembering correctly. I bought a new one and spent many hours pulling people out of the sand on Oregon beaches. It was also very capable on mountain roads in the Cascades. We eventually moved to Vermont and sold it with 160,000 miles on it in 2005.