Good morning! This week, I’ve been showing you cars from a Facebook group called “Underappreciated Survivors For Sale.” Often, I think the cars shown there are too appreciated, or at least too spendy; there are a lot of $10-15k cars that I don’t think are worth that much. But there are some gems hidden in there, with reasonable prices. Today, we’re going to look at your choices from the week, and you can decide which one most deserves the title of “underappreciated.”
Yesterday, we looked at two little convertibles, and I honestly thought the Metro was going to win. I figured the Fiat would be too rough and too obscure for most of you, but I was wrong. You chose the little green machine by about a 60-40 split. It was that video of it buzzing down the street that sold you, wasn’t it?
Personally, I like them both, but I think I’d have to go with the Fiat here as well. I mean, I already have a scruffy, often-broken British car; it could use a scruffy, often-broken Italian friend, right? The Metro is neat, but I’d get a much bigger kick out of seeing the Fiat every morning. Oh, and by the way, there was some question about the originality of the Metro’s color – that is absolutely the factory color. Geo had an amazing range of paint options back in the day.
I don’t do much browsing on Facebook Marketplace for cars, because frankly, the interface sucks. I have yet to figure out any rhyme or reason to the sort order, and sometimes it ignores search filters altogether and just shows you whatever it wants. And the fact that it’s free means there are a lot of spam ads to sort through. But once in a while, it makes for a nice change of pace to brave the wilds, and see what there is to see. We did pretty well this week, I think – and if you disagree, you should have seen the cars I didn’t use. You almost had to choose between a Cimarron and a Topaz, but I thought better of it. Maybe next week, if they’re still around. For now, let’s recap our week’s winners, and you can tell me which one deserves more attention than it gets.
1992 Plymouth Acclaim
Why it’s underappreciated: Chrysler’s engineering team deserves a lot of credit for the K-car architecture. It was designed on a shoestring budget, put into production quickly, and stretched over an entire product line. Sure, the build quality wasn’t great to begin with, but if you keep producing something long enough, making small improvements along the way, eventually it gets good. The AA-platform Plymouth Acclaim and Dodge Spirit were the end product of a decade of improvements, and they were solid and reliable cars.
And no, they are not, in fact, fun. One hundred horsepower and a non-overdrive automatic transmission is as exciting a recipe as a bowl of plain oatmeal. But here’s the thing: Non-fun cars still get used for fun purposes. Road trips, concerts, dates, weekend getaways, trips to the beach – in the moment, no one cares what car takes you on those adventures, not really. But the memories of those adventures always include the car. When I first posted this car on Monday, lots of commenters had stories to tell about it, or a car like it, and those stories are what makes this car interesting.
1996 Audi A6 2.8 Quattro
Why it’s underappreciated: Audi took the US market by storm in the mid-80s, with the one-two punch of the Quattro drive system and the sleek new 5000. Sales were strong, and Audi’s reputation was growing – until 60 Minutes came along and ruined it. Audi’s sales tanked, but the cars just kept getting better. This A6 comes from a period when not many Americans paid any attention to Audi, but they should have, because it’s excellent.
Not long after this car was built, Audi’s engineers went absolutely nuts adding complexity, and reliability went to hell. But this car’s simple single-overhead-cam V6 is pretty solid. It also has timeless styling, a comfortable interior with plenty of comfort and convenience features but refreshingly few pointless gadgets, and of course, that famous Quattro all-wheel-drive system.
2002 Ford Escort ZX2
Why it’s underappreciated: For years, small economical cars had a sporty two-door counterpart. Nowadays, we don’t even have small economical cars to base sporty two-doors on. The Ford ZX2 was one of the last of its kind, and it’s a great example of the breed. It handles well, thanks to its Mazda DNA, and it’s pretty quick, thanks to its twin-cam Zetec engine. Sure, it’s a little weird-looking, but what Ford from the late 90s and early 2000s wasn’t?
The only real bummer about this one is that it’s an automatic. Cars like this are supposed to be a fun and stylish alternative to a typical economy car, without sacrificing the “economy” part, and checking the box for an optional automatic transmission takes away both some of the fun, and some of the economy. But Ford ZX2s aren’t hard to find, so if this particular one doesn’t float your boat, you can look for a stickshift example. Whether you’ll be able to find one in emerald green is another story.
1973 Fiat 850 Spider
Why it’s underappreciated: Actually, it isn’t, these days. For a long time, little sports cars like this were nearly forgotten and dirt-cheap, but now that so few of them are left, they’re starting to come up in value. And while MG Midgets and Triumph Spitfires are easy to find, the Fiat 850 Spider is much less common, and quite a bit more exotic, thanks to its rear-engine design.
Several commenters yesterday mentioned an engine swap to wake this car up, but I think that would be a mistake. Fiat has a long history of sports and racing cars, including hotter versions of these old rear-engine designs, and if it were me, I’d keep it in the family and wake this one up with some Abarth parts or something similar. It won’t be a drastic change, but it’s a lightweight car; a little extra horsepower would go a long way.
I’m a big fan of underdogs; always have been. I don’t know if it’s a contrarian streak, or just weird tastes, but the stuff nobody else pays attention to is usually the stuff I love. I like all four of these, and I think they all deserve more attention than they get. But what about you? Which one of these four are you singing the praises of?
A little bit of a tough choice. Back in high school, the kid across the street from me had an 850. I remember picking up the transmission and carrying it around by myself – everything on that car is small. And in the end, too small. The ZX2 would have a chance as well, but it’s an automatic. The K-car is the only one that’s really a no-go, so it’s Audi all the way for me.
I’m sticking with my Fiat. The fact that Midwest Bayless is only 1.5 hrs away makes obscure parts a lot easier.
C4 Audi is an EASY win here. The interior alone is light years beyond any of the other 3, it has quattro, and the build quality of pre-1998 Audis is really good, like old benz levels of quality. Community support is awesome (shoutout to Quattroworld), parts are available due to their continued popularity in eastern Europe, and they’re just great cars.
The K-car is embarassing, so is the ZX2… if you want a ford from that era, you want a Focus SVT.
The Fiat is interesting… but it’s a fiat. Unless you really love that design, and I’m not sure how you could, I don’t know why anyone would pick it.
For my closing argument, here is a C4 Audi passing stuck traffic in deep snow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ul5GUFeoo
All ZX2’s had the Zetec engine, no 1.9/2.0 CHV split port whatever junk was available.
Zetec’s had a timing belt but were non-interference, and they did have VVT on one of the cams. The only major issue that I saw was replacing the VVT solenoid/phasers on a few of these (and late contours).
Otherwise, these were actually pretty solid cars, with decent acceleration for their day.
I think it gets my vote.
Ferris Bueller’s dad has the right idea here, although I’m not sure why the license plate was “MMOM” when Mrs. Bueller drove that swanky-ass LeBaron wagon.
My vote goes to the Escort. the ZX2 had the Zetec engine and was a decent and reliable vehicle. The Escort is the best and easiest to live with out of this group.
Audis and VAG group products in general are way overrated by way too many people.
And while that Fiat is interesting, the proportions just look off to me.
I might be interpreting “underappreciated” in a manner unintended by the author, but I think the ZX2 got unfairly dissed earlier. Naturally it’s running dead last, but maybe that just proves my point.
(I had a 2013 Focus SE hatch for three years that I do miss, so forgive my prejudices for Found On Road Deads.)
The most expensive car is winning and everything else is displaying in descending order… interesting
The new A4 stole the show in 1994, and the A6 lingered in the shadows of the younger brother for years. This appears to be a well-sorted and modestly priced example of exactly that era – bonus for the metallic white/cream color which is really a wonderful choice from that era.
The A4 represented everything that went wrong with Audi; to compete against the japanese luxury brands, they added tons of features, cut costs, and reduced testing. When people say “Audis are unreliable”, it’s generally from B5 A4s onwards.
If the ZX2 had a stick I think it would be running away from the competition. I had a 2003, silver, with a manual transmission. My neighbor sold it to me for $400 and it was a perfect winter car. I sold it a few years later for $2500.
Was thinking the same thing. It’s one car where the lack of a 3rd pedal makes a massive difference.
Dumb-ish question, but how much to pay a gearhead to drop a used stickshift drive train in there? I’d think there’d be plenty available at salvage yards, no?
Messing with transmissions in FWD cars are PITA!
Used to be, but they’re starting to be hard to find – we did exactly this when Zx2s were a staple in our large family’s beater fleet a decade ago. A parts car is a must, but its all plug and play. Manual trans, clutch pedal, axles, complete underhood wiring harness and ECM.
I miss my ZX2 stick. If you overinflated the rear tires (by about 1.5psi, if I remember), the back would loosen up – I could beat v8 mustangs in autoX in that car.
The K-Car deserves love.
Especially one in this condition.
It’s a survivor, and its former owners likely called it a name like “Pet” or “Clarice” because they loved the sheer basicness of a car that worked for them.
The Fiat probably has the most curses tossed its way, trying to get things working or frustrations when not working, with the Audi following closely every time you were handed a repair bill. And the Escort long forgotten by its many prior owners.
Ah, yes, Clarice. Fits the “GSA motor pool car” discussion from the day.
Well, well, well….I was wondering which cars could usurp my vote of the Pontiac over the Audi, and I think I found the answer. There are three of them.
Audi wins.
Read the brief, folks! We’re not deciding on which one we want, we’re voting for the most under-appreciated vehicle. As for me, it has to be the Dodgey Plymouth. I actually appreciate the other three for what they are. I have zero appreciation for the Plymouth at all. Sure, it’s better than the K-cars, but that’s a very, very low bar. The other three have at least some credibility as decent and/or interesting vehicles. But the Plymouth is uninteresting, boring and barely qualifies as basic transportation.
Oh, I think the K-car is sufficiently appreciated. 0=0 after all.
Disagree with your conclusion. The brief is underappreciated, not least appreciated. Underappreciated means appreciated less than it deserves. The lack of appreciation for the Plymouth is in line with its lack of anything to offer beyond other cars. You can make arguments for the other three that they deserve more appreciation than they get. The Plymouth gets what it deserves.
Well darn it, you’re correct! I should have had my morning coffee before commenting. I was thinking un-appreciated rather than under. Oh well, se la vie.
There isn’t a single car here I actually want, but at least the Fiat is silly, so I guess I’ll go with that.
If we are going under appreciated, then it’s the over heating, bad head gasket, basket case Plymouth, all day every day. The Audi and Fiat are appreciated very much already. The Ford gives the Plymouth a run for the money, but there isn’t much to be appreciated about there.
There is exactly one car in the bunch that would have me smiling every time I look at it, even when it is inevitably broken. It’s a Fiat Friday. I think the Audi will win, and it is a good car that deserves respect, but I would never love it. I don’t have space for the Fiat right now, but I will probably dream about it tonight.
No to a used Audi is always the right choice.
I’m on team Grandma’s Plymouth. I miss simple no-bullshit comfortable roomy cars. This was a modernized recipe of cheap uncomplicated traditional American automotive diner food and the last of it’s kind.
I went with the Fiat. It is the only one I think is interesting and worth saving. If any car on this list is underappreciated, it is the Fiat. If I had to vote on which one car is the best deal, it would be the Zx2 since decent running cars for $1500 are few and far between.
I kind of like the Audi styling, but it is too expensive for what it is. I don’t like much about the Acclaim, and it is also too expensive. I think the Audi and Acclaim are underdepreciated survivors at these asking prices.
Fiat.
WE DIE LIKE MEN!!!
Reminds me of the first time I got into my buddy’s dad’s ’68 MGB.
I was trying to figure out the odd belt buckle setup when he looked at me and said “Don’t bother, it won’t save you.”
Now that’ll tighten your sphincter…
i voted the audi because it looks the least crummy, however, i had a spirit and know that you can basically rebuild that car from off-the-shelf stuff at your local part store.
I wish that Escort was a manual. Oh well, Audi it is then.
Eh, I still think I would end up using one of these as a winter beater, and I think the Newer ZX2 might survive a little longer for less funds than the K Car. the other 2 are auto DQ, though if I were adventurous the Quattro awd would be nice.
I’ll take the little Fiat. Looks like it could be a lot of fun.
I really wanted to write in the 6000STE, which used its six-lamp front to help guide the General out of the Malaise Era, but I voted Plymouth. It’s a pretty handsome car, that interior looks comfy as h*ck, and I always thought the Dodge Spirit ES was sharp.
The 6000 is probably the most under appreciated car out of the whole lot.