It’s been a while since I’ve given you a silly scenario to help you choose between cars, so I think it’s high time we did one. Today we’re playing a game I’m going to call “Brewster’s Thousands,” and if you get the reference, you probably already understand the broad strokes. If not, hang tight, and I’ll explain in a minute.
Yesterday’s choice was between an automatic VW Passat with a check-engine light and an Infiniti G20 with a manual and some non-trivial body damage. Good arguments were made both for and against each one, but in the end, the Primera-by-another-name took a comfortable win, despite the whole driver’s side being banged up.
I agree wholeheartedly. If the Passat were a manual, I would have chosen it, but I just can’t get on board with an automatic in that car. And I don’t know what all is involved in a manual swap. I’ll take the G20, dents and all. Oh and by the way, I think the goop on the side mirror is glue or epoxy or something holding it together. You do what you gotta do.
Now then, for today’s choices, here is your made-up back story: Your weird uncle (mine was named Gordy, yours may not have been) passed away and left you something in his will: twelve hundred dollars, and a set of instructions. You must use that money to buy a car, and drive it to his celebration of life on the other side of the country next week. If you do that, his estate will buy you whatever car you wish – within reason, and subject to the estate lawyer’s approval. You’ve been looking around, and these two seem like the most viable candidates at the moment. Let’s review the finer points of both, so you can make a decision and hit the road.
1997 Ford Aspire – $1,200
Engine/drivetrain: 1.3-liter OHC inline 4, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Lynnwood, WA
Odometer reading: 152,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives
The joke almost wrote itself, and I heard it for the first time thirty seconds after I saw my first Ford Aspire: “Do they call it that because it aspires to be a real car?” This egg-shaped follow-up to the tiny Ford Festiva was the butt of jokes from the very beginning, but it never was all that bad of a car. It’s just cheap, simple, and honest. That shouldn’t be considered a character flaw.
The Aspire’s mechanical specification more or less carried over from the Festiva, and the Mazda 121/Kia Pride that spawned it: a 1.3-liter Mazda-designed four-cylinder, making 72 horsepower. It drives the front wheels through, in this case, an old-school three-speed automatic. Other markets got a 1.5-liter engine with more power and an overdrive gear, but we weren’t so lucky. The Aspire’s strong suit was never performance anyway; it was fuel economy. But don’t worry; it’ll cruise along the freeway at 75 without a problem. It just takes a while to get there, and makes a terrible racket doing it. We don’t get any useful information about this one’s condition or history; all the seller says is that it runs and drives. That’s good enough for our purposes, I guess.
Inside, it’s a typical ’90s economy car: crank windows, bare-minimum instrumentation, and gray seat fabric with a funky pattern on it. There’s some heavy wear on the passenger’s seat, but it isn’t ripped or damaged. Actually, for twelve hundred bucks, it’s pretty nice inside. I can’t see if it has air conditioning or not; the steering wheel is blocking the view of the button. But if it does, you probably can’t use it going uphill anyway.
Aspires were popular as tow-behind dinghies for motor homes, and this one has the tow bars for that use. I don’t know how you flat-tow a car with an automatic, though. You can’t just stick it in neutral like you can a manual. Maybe the transmission has been modified to allow it? It’s beat-up and tired-looking, but it doesn’t have any rust.
2000 Chevrolet Tracker – $1,200
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, 4WD
Location: Fraser, MI
Odometer reading: 134,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives
The Chevy/Geo Tracker, and its twin the Suzuki Sidekick/Vitara, were also popular with the motorhome crowd. But these little 4x4s were popular with pretty much everybody for many years. They didn’t have the mountain-goat-like off-road chops of Suzuki’s Samurai, but they were a hell of a lot nicer to drive on the highway, thanks to independent front suspension. Everybody these days wants a two-door with a soft top, but the more practical four-door wagon version sold a lot more units.
Power for the second-generation Tracker comes from a 2.0-liter four-cylinder. A four-speed automatic sends power to a traditional transfer-case-equipped 4WD system, complete with a big lever to shift between 2WD, 4WD High, and 4WD Low. Those were going out of style by 2000 in favor of push-buttons, but I’m glad to see the lever here. It runs and drives, but the seller does note a few flaws: it has a failed motor mount, so the engine shakes at idle, the check engine light is on for an oxygen sensor, and it’s leaking oil from somewhere. It does, however, have a new battery and good tires.
The interior of this one is surprisingly nice for the price, too. I was expecting it to be all torn up inside, but it looks remarkably well cared-for. It has power windows, but the passenger side rear one doesn’t roll down.
It’s a Michigan car, so of course it has some rust, and it looks like it has been parked outside, because the clearcoat is fried. Still, for the price – there’s that qualification again – it’s not bad. As long as the frame is still solid, it should have a road trip or two left in it.
So all you have to do, for the purposes of our game here, is pick which one you’d feel more confident driving across the country, after which you’ll have your pick of automobiles – within reason. (For reference, my own weird uncle Gordy’s idea of “treating himself” to a car was a brand-new Buick Skyhawk T-Type, but I think you can aim a little higher.) Vote on your choice of car, and then tell me in the comments what car you’re going to ask for.
I’d have complete faith in that Aspire to make it across the country. Knowing how weird I am, I’ll probably bond with it during that journey and not want to let it go….but I’d also ask for a new CX-90 for my loving wife.
Does the Aspire come with a Soul Asylum cassette and a trailer hitch?
Pick up a hitch hiker headed to Hollywood to help with driving.
Kramer? Ha ha
Kramer’s managed to hitch another ride, this time with a van full of drugged-out hippies. Kramer is telling them a story as they go down the road…
HIPPIE: “Don’t leave, Kramer, stay with us. You know so much about the world, we need you, please Kramer! (they all start chanting) Please, Kramer! Please, Kramer! “
The Aspire is the kind of vehicle you use when casting a down-on-their-luck character, preferably with a few dents or mismatched body panels. My goal in life is not become that character. Tracker it is. I’ll enjoy the frequent stops in interesting places to make repairs.
For someone else’s $1200, I might as well have a slightly interesting ride and go 4×4-ish.
Function determines form. So Aspire it is. Define reasonable. Depending on budget I’m looking at .new or late model used Toyota Highlander or Grand Highlander.
Less miles, newer car, bigger car, same price. It’s the Tracker for me
Also, Uncle Gordy is buying me a GR86 or BRZ
The Aspire can make it cross country. The Tracker might make it and provide a little more comfort over the trip. I’m in a gambling mood today and going with the Tracker.
If the estate wasn’t thinking Lotus money, I’ll keep it light and use this excuse to grab a Miata.
Tracker. Dead simple BOF SUV that actually looks like a half decent place to spend time in. If you want to do offroad shenanigans this is a great cheap way to do that.
Assuming frame isn’t rotted of course.
Aspire today. It was a hard decision because I’m actually looking for a 4 door, 2,0L tracker. However, with the rust, leaks, mechanical issues, and emission issues that is not the right Tracker.
The Aspire is rust free, runs, and cheap. The existence of cars like this is why the prices on the cars yesterday are crack pipe level. $1,000 to $2,000 is the right price for 3 decade old cars.
Initially I was down for the Tracker – I still am if it’s just for me. But for the purposes of the game, I’m going with the Aspire. Here’s why:
Good tires and new battery on the Tracker. That tells me that the PO was kinda-sorta invested in it and was making moves toward keeping it goodish, and suddenly the last straw popped up and they just threw their hands up and called it quits. What is the last straw, you ask? It’s gonna cost you twelve hundred bucks to find out. That, or this is them trying to make it good enough for someone to buy – it was an incontrovertible shitbox before the new battery went in.
The Aspire, on the other hand, looks like the PO has finally scraped together enough cash that they didn’t spend on PDR and interior cleaning so they can get a new ride. After decades of benign neglect – or just negligent neglect – the battered little beast is being shunted aside in favor of The New Hotness – probably a ten-year-old Cruze – and they just want it gone. They didn’t waste money on it before, and they’re not about to now. In light of the fact that the Aspire made it thus far with everything still attached, I think it might be the more likely survivor of today’s pretend challenge.
Those Trackers are off-road sleepers. True body-on-frame construction, low-range transfer case, and a 3-link solid rear axle. Slight evolution of the Suzuki Sidekick/Geo Trackers of the 90s but with more power.
“…and it’s leaking oil from somewhere.”
Being a Michigan vehicle, that oil leak could be the oil pan rusting through to the point of it being porous. You wouldn’t think something filled with oil could rust out, but that’s what happened to mine after only 8 years of driving it in northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula winters.
So a reluctant vote for the Ass-pipe today. Changing the O2 sensor and that oil pan on a 4WD Tracker is just too much of a PITA.
I have never had an easy time changing out an O2 sensor and I feel like it’ll be what eventually cripples that Tracker before it can make the trip – whether the fuel system gums up or the catalytic convertor clogs. Which is a shame, because it looks way more fun and comfy than the Aspire. But if we’re just trying to win the bet, I feel like that Aspire has slightly better odds at surviving the trip (with frequent stops to check fluids). Besides… Aspire is an anagram of Praise, which should lead to some level of divine assistance.
For a One-Shot cannonball cross country drive, I’ll take the Aspire. It will be a slow, boring, noisy and worst of all hot (I’m old and get cranky when I don’t have AC) because there is pretty much a zero percent probability of: A.) The original owner of this sprung for AC and B.) The theoretical AC still works, coming together on a 3 decade old $1200 crapcan. But it will likely make the trip just fine, just make sure to take the lowest passes in the mountains.
The Tracker has a few too many issues to trust on a long drive until they are resolved.
If we weren’t playing the game, the Tracker would have my money easily. Fix it up and it’s a fun little winter beater (until the frame dissolves).
There have been some flat-towable automatics over the years, notably Saturn S-Series and Vues, for some reason. I believe it has to do with the output shaft being designed to scoop up transmission fluid and lubricating the gearset, but, it could be something entirely different.
It’s a Ford Perspire if the a/c is lacking.
The Aspire = Le Oeuf
The deciding factor is when this trip is to be made. In winter time, I’d go for the four wheel drive. Late spring through fall, Aspire all the way.
Tracker. I had a 2 door, 2WD soft top version, and I’d have another in a heartbeat. The 4 door version is just fine by me.
And I’m getting another car after the road trip? Great!
Do I get to keep the Tracker, tho?
The Aspire, because I read the test question. The cross-country trip part gives it a narrow win. The Tracker with a bad motor mount, 4wd, and Michigan undercarriage means the poor thing will shake something loose that makes ir go forward at some point in the trip (possibly the driver’s spine).
The aspire will happily chug along loudly at 65-70, not use up a lot of gas, and will probably position itself to draft behind tractor-tailors automatically given its history. And when it’s made it to uncle’s celebration of life there will be no tears shed as it’s handed over to whatever “we buy junk cars” service is handy.
Yep, Aspire is 100% the way to go. If anything goes wrong, at least you’ll be able to fix it without risking tetanus or giant chunks of rust falling straight into your eyes.
Every single undercarriage bolt on the Tracker will have rusted and homogenized into a single amorphous blob. Just say no to 26-year-old Michigan cars.
Just say no to all Michigan cars. I check the title history on every used car I buy and if it has every been titled in the Midwest or Northeast it is a hard no.
I have a 2012 Prius plug in bought from OH 9 years ago. Replaced the shocks/struts/springs was an ok maintenance item. Same for the brake discs and pads.
Replacing 3 out of 4 of the wheel bearings/hubs as they failed? Each time that was a pita as each had rust welded themselves in place
The fact that you had to replace discs and pads is due to the salt. Regen should cover almost all braking needs and both of our Prius were sold with more than 50% of brake pad / shoe thickness.
On the other hand my dad had a 2010 Prius and ended up doing brake work on all 4 corners because the salt would make the calipers stick and drag.
As to Michigan cars – I grew up there and have spend enough time wrenching on rust buckets to fill a lifetime.
I do agree the regen should and I think it does usually take care of the vast majority of the braking needs. That said this prius has +250 miles now.
The brake pads definitely were at their minimum wear limits. The discs I maybe could have reused but 1 yes they were kind of rusty and too they were getting close to their wear limit (too thin) as well.
Replacement of both certainly could be due to the fact my son does a decent amount of driving it now even though he seems to enjoy the game of maximizing the avg. mpg… perhaps he is a bit heavier on the brakes
With my 2005 Prius the friction brakes didn’t kick in until under 7 mph and in normal driving that was the only time they were needed. The annoying thing was that the rear drum would rust up every time it rained so I would have to do my first stop in neutral to kick in the friction brakes and clean off the rust or they would be really jerky the first few stops.
We sold the car with 150K miles and like I said, more than 1/2 the fiction material left. We also spent a good bit of time driving in the mountains where the battery would fully recharge on downhills and regen stopped. We got to use the B setting a lot.
My parents had 185K miles on their 2010 and had to do the brakes on all 4 corners and replace the calipers on the rear brakes because the pistons rusted.
I’ve found them (Prii) to be comfortable daily drivers with of course super low operating costs. Which is how I ended up buying two. (1) 2012 plug-in and its next gen successor a 2017 prius prime
If someone told me 15-20 years ago I’d own 2 Prii at the same time I dont know if I’d believe it
Same. I didn’t believe the hybrid hype back in the 00’s until I rented a Civic Hybrid and got spot on the EPA mpg. My wife was pressuring me to get a newer and reliable car instead of going through a steady stream of sub $500 beaters that had me wrenching all the time and required her to come pick me up when the cars broke.
We ended up with a used 2005 Prius and it was by far the lowest TCO car we owned – even better than the 50 mpg TDI she was driving. When it came time to replace the TDI at 250K miles we got a loaded 2009 Prius for here (used of course). We were a two Prius family until 2016 when I was simply tired of driving a Prius for more than a decade. The 2005 Prius was still dead reliable and cheap to run but I was bored of it.
GM had $99 leases on the 2016 Spark EV. I could charge at work so that set a whole new level of low cost driving. That started a new phase and now we have a 2017 Bolt EV and I can’t see not owning an EV for regular day to day driving.
Personally I think the Prius has outlived it’s time. I’ve had the current generation as a rental for a week and the visibility and ergonomics are all wrong with the the low roof and high greenhouse. When pretty much every Toyota has at least a hybrid option I don’t see a purpose for the Prius anymore. The Prius lost its practicality trying to be sporty but it also isn’t sporty at all.
Ha similar paths!
My last daily before the 2012 Prius was a 98 Jetta TDI
And Last year we replaced our old family hauler (04′ Sienna) with an ev (26′ Equinox).
I’m certain when its time, I’ll replace the 17′ Prius Prime with an EV too, might end up being the Ford Falcons ev if it ends up being a decent well built vehicle that doesn’t attempt to tie me in to some stupid connectivity subscription And actually does come standard with a midgate
Depending on how long and how badly it’s been leaking oil, the rust might not be that bad! But it probably is that bad. Being a cheap 4×4 with low miles but completely sun-faded, this could have been someone’s winter beater they bought cheap with GM plan pricing.
There’s a picture on the Tracker’s ad link that shows some pretty nasty rust on the right rocker panel, just ahead of the rear wheel. I voted for the Tracker, but some of these comments make me wonder if I made the right decision. It’d be fun if my cousin was made the same offer and we started from the same location and made a race out of it Top Gear style.
Send the Expire to the junkyard.
“Let the Aspire… Expire” 🙂
I’d feel more confident going long distance in something low like the Aspire: it’ll probably get blown around less than something that doesn’t weigh much more and is significantly higher profile. It’s also less rusty. I’m sure both are out of alignment and will still be a bit white knuckle, and neither is particularly fast, but the Aspire I’d trust more on the interstate. It also suits my tastes better for after the trip.
I would have gone with the Asspire if it had been one of the fun colors they came in (purple, yellow, teal, etc.) but white??? And an automatic? Puke-a-tronic.
The transmission is irrelevant for the scenario. How often are you really shifting gears on a cross-country, all interstate drive? One time when you get on the highway and another time when you exit. Automatic or manual makes pretty much no difference here.
Overdrive. The 3-speed doesn’t have it, the 5-speed manual does, and when you’re merging on the highway, encounter hills, etc. it’s going to make the most of what little power there is. Listening to that thing drone on and at high revs with no OD would be terrible.
Fair point. I retract my previous statement
I’ll take the Tracker today. Hopefully the four speed auto is an OD unit.
Two-time AssFire owner here. Third times a charm? Seriously, for $1200 that’s a deal on a a gas-saving work commuter. Mine never had functional A/C, so I’ll survive.
I hope you do a member’s rides sometime so we can get the history of owning not one but two Aspires! Sigh…I miss happy little everyday hatches.
They stopped doing Members’ Rides
There go my dreams of recognition and glory!
Any idea why they stopped? Maybe the reason was in an email from Matt?
Thanks for the interest. I loved doing them, but they weren’t performing as well as the team wanted so they’ve been at least shelved for the time being. I’d love to bring it back again at some point though!
It’s not much of a story. They worked until they didn’t! 🙂 Lack of parts did them in. Good little cars that did their job, and nothing else. RIP Suzy Aspire (I &II).
I have a 2001 Focus ZX3 now that my youngest drives. SO MUCH BETTER!
Hadn’t considered the parts angle on them. I suspect back then, Kia parts were much tougher to source.
Own a ’10 Focus myself (essentially the same car) and love her…she’s been fantastic since the beginning.