Two things seem to be almost completely absent from the US auto market these days: manual transmissions, and two-door versions of four-door sedans. They used to be everywhere, though, and I for one miss them. So today, we’re going to check out a couple of them, one that’s kinda sporty, and one that’s more economy-minded.
On Friday, I showed you two cars with a gossamer-thin connection between them: both were red, and both had soft tops. The Nissan 240SX won in a landslide, with quite a few of you grumbling about the Citroën Méhari’s price. So few of them come up for sale that it’s hard to establish a baseline value, but I don’t think it’s outrageous, considering what 2CVs often go for. It may not be worth that much to you, but I have no doubt that someone will buy it for that price.
The Nissan is the one that felt overpriced to me, but I have very little interest in it. If I wanted an automatic convertible, I’d rather just look for a Mustang or a Sebring and save a bunch of money. But that Mehari is exactly the kind of dumb thing I’d buy if I were ridiculously wealthy. I’d keep it at my villa in the Caribbean, and drive it down into town to the local bar on karaoke night.
Looking back at all the cars I’ve owned, a whole lot of them have had two doors, and a whole lot of them have had manual transmissions. I guess I have an automotive “type,” and it’s one that’s hard to find new unless you turn to sports cars or muscle cars, and even some of them don’t offer manuals anymore. Luckily, new cars aren’t my type either. Three grand is pretty much my limit. Both of today’s choices come in well under that, and both have more pedals than doors. Let’s check them out.
1995 Oldsmobile Achieva S – $2,450
Engine/drivetrain: 2.3-liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Longwood, FL
Odometer reading: 190,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
For a while in the 1980s, Oldsmobile had three different cars called the Cutlass: the A-body Cutlass Ciera, the W-body Cutlass Supreme, and the N-body Cutlass Calais. If you just said you had a “Cutlass,” nobody knew what the hell kind of car you drove. To eliminate some of the confusion, when the second-generation N-body came along in 1992, Olds changed the name of the Cutlass Calais to the Achieva. It wasn’t a great name, and it was sort of a lackluster car; the nickname “Underachieva” seemed inevitable.
But if you ticked the right boxes on the option sheet, you could make the Achieva a lot more entertaining to drive. This one is powered by Oldsmobile’s Quad 4 engine, which powers the front wheels through a Getrag 282 five-speed manual transmission. I had a Calais with this same Quad 4/five-speed combination, and it was tremendous fun, more so than you’d expect from anything with an Oldsmobile badge. There isn’t a whole lot of information about this one’s condition; the seller says it’s “nice” and the air conditioner works. You’d have to test drive it to find out more.
Inside, it’s standard-issue GM gray, but it’s not in bad shape. It’s an S model, with manual windows but power locks, if I’m seeing things right. You used to be able to pick and choose options like that, instead of springing for a “Preferred Equipment Package” or something and getting a bunch of stuff you don’t want just to get the one thing you do want.
The outside looks nice and shiny, and though the photos in the ad aren’t great, I don’t see any damage other than a scrape on the front bumper. Of course, it’s sometimes hard to tell on a black car. It has aftermarket wheels that you may or may not like; I think they look pretty good on there.
1994 Nissan Sentra – $2,900
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Odometer reading: 164,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
There aren’t a lot of inexpensive cars left on the market. But I am happy to see that the humble Nissan Sentra is still hanging in there. It has never been a great car, but it has been a very good, inexpensive, and reliable car for decades. What we have here is the very last two-door Sentra that Nissan offered. The seller has it listed as a 1995 model, but the ’95 was a different design, and four-door only, meaning this must be a ’94 – or a Mexican-market model. This bodystyle stayed in production in Mexico for many years after it disappeared from the American market.
This generation of Sentra is powered by a 1.6 liter GA16DE four-cylinder engine, in this case backed by a five-speed manual transmission. It’s not all that powerful, but it is reliable. This ad is very terse as well; the seller just says it will take you anywhere. That’s as good an endorsement as any, I suppose.
Another thing that makes me think it’s not a US model is the lack of an airbag, combined with the door-mounted seat belts. US-market 1990-94 Sentras had motorized belts, and 1995 models had an airbag. It’s a very plain model, with no power options inside, and nothing but a speedometer, fuel gauge, and temperature gauge in the instrument panel. It’s everything you need, if not everything you might want, and it is in good condition.
It’s in good condition outside too, a little faded, but straight. The gray plastic bumper covers are another throwback; none of the few remaining economy cars on the market have such bare-bones finishes. I like it. It’s honest. This car has aftermarket wheels on it as well, but they look like the stock size, or close to it.
The terse descriptions of these cars make it harder for me to tell you about them, and harder for you to assess their condition, but from the sounds of it, you could hop in either one and drive off without much trouble. But which one would you hop in? Would it be the uncommonly fun-to-drive Oldsmobile, or the possibly south-of-the-border Nissan?
Stick shift Quad 4 takes the win for me every time.
It’s so nice to see silver wheels on vehicles again.
Thank you for this.
I’m a day late, but I genuinely like the Olds. I was a kid when those were new, I thought they were cool looking cars for the time, especially in Red or Teal with the factory sawblade alloys. I remember there was a red one on the cover of C&D in I want to say 1994.
Years later a buddy had a Grand Am with that Quad 4, even with the automatic it was a screamer once it got into the revs. I think that Olds would still be reasonably quick today, it could be a fun thing to bring to AutoX.
Like everyone else has said, I too hate that it’s black, I think black is a terrible color. I wish this was the 90’s teal.
Meant to comment yesterday to throw my support behind the Achieva. My grandmother gave me her 1997 Skylark Custom with the 3100 V6 and an automatic because she wasn’t driving anymore and my Crown Victoria’s transmission gave out when I was visiting her 300 miles from home. I ended up giving my fiance (now wife) the Skylark and we had it for years. I remember that it was a surprisingly sporty little car, I always enjoyed the lines on it, and I think the Olds version up there looks even better as a two door in black with aftermarket wheels (mine was white, four doors, with the chrome hubcaps). The interior was a comfortable place to be, the torque steer (for the V6) was surprising, and it overall just…worked. I’d gladly go back.
The Sentra is also excellent. My buddy had a 1994 Sentra in red as his first car until the time he loaned it to a friend who left it on the side of the highway where a semi drove through it. It was a spartan car that you could FEEL was going to last forever. It wanted to do a good job. This one is a bit dull, a bit more expensive, and even though I feel like it might hold value/hold up better…I am sticking with the neat little Olds.
I wouldn’t pick black paint for a number of reasons, but I can tolerate it on the Olds, and I think it’s a better car overall (both the Achieva in general, and this one specifically). But I don’t think you can go wrong with either one.
The Sentra’s back then were reliable, nearly on par with Toyota and Honda. They didn’t drive as nice as Honda’s though.
The many GM cars I drove back then handled poorly and owners I knew had regular, expensive repairs.
Neither of those are bad but I drove a black car once, didn’t like it so Nissan for me
Quad 4 and 5 spd might be fun, but I got fed of black vehicles and I wouldn’t do the sacrifice ever again unless it’s something desirable, which this one is not.
The basic but honest B13 for me
I’m not repulsed nor interested in either. Maybe a little towards the Nissan because it’s Mexican market. But that olds has quite a look to it. I haven’t seen one in years probably decades for a 2 door and I never really cared about them. The Nissan looks more honest and the olds more comfortable.
Overall, I like the Achieva more and it would be more fun to drive, but the damn thing is black, and even in imaginary-land, I can’t abide a black car. I’ll go with the Sentra and rent it out to young gearheads who want to learn to drive a stick but not on their own cars.
I genuinely love the American-ness of the Olds, but those wheels would have to go.
This was a fairly tough choice, though. Those Nissans were rather nice. Still, with the $450 internet dollars I’d be saving, the Olds replacement wheels wouldn’t be such a heavy financial lift.
Does the Sentra even have AC? No AC is a dealbreaker.
Even though the Achieva isn’t the powerful one we remember, it gets my vote.
Note that for the 1995 model year, it only had 150hp… but should be smoother and less noisy than earlier versions due to the addition of a balance shaft.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quad_4_engine#LD2
If that Sentra was an SE-R, then it would have swung my vote.
Nissan. I simply cannot overlook how ugly the Olds is.
I have big time nostalgia for the Olds Achieva. Weird, I know, but hear me out:
In 1993, I was 11, and found myself at the local Olds dealer with my dad, uncle, and cousin. It was time for my cousin to buy his first new car to replace his aging Volvo 244. While they looked around, I plopped myself down on a couch in the showroom in front of a TV that played a constant loop of Oldsmobile-branded propaganda. This video talked about how the Quad 4 had “Indy roots” and showed the futuristic Olds Aerotech concept car making high-speed laps on a test track. Then, they sprinkled a few bits about how the Achieva had the Quad 4 and how the new Aurora with that “Indy-inspired V8” was going to change the automotive landscape.
We later left the dealer in a gray-on-red 4-door Achieva S with the Quad 4 and Getrag manual trans, much like the one you see here. That car served him well for years, and sounded fantastic at full song.
So, as much as I love 90’s Nissans, I have to go Achieva here.
Yeah, this one was actually a tough choice. The Archiva was actually a decent bargain IIRC, and I thought it looked good for the era. This one is a great spec, other than the color, Olds had some great 90s colors at the time.
Then there is the Sentra, just and honest, probably fun in a manual but boring, Japanese 3 box. The Olds is more interesting, and come on, life it too short to drive boring cars.
The Olds and the Nissan have exactly the same passive restraints. They’re easy to deal with, since you can use them exactly like belts mounted on the B pillar. And while the Sentra isn’t a burning bonfire of power, it’s not exactly slow, either.
The Olds is the better deal and probably gives you more car for the price. Personally, I’d go for the Nissan; might even keep it around for a while.