Well, we’ve reached the end of another week, and this week, I’m just going to keep things simple. We’re doing a runoff of the week’s winners – with the scenario that whatever car you pick, it has to be the only car you drive for an entire year. Sound like fun?
First we need our fourth contender, and it was no contest: the Mustang won in a landslide. From the sounds of it, it’s not because you all loved it, but because the Genesis redefined the term “sketchy.” I guess we’ll see how that Mustang does against the rest of the week’s winners.
For me, it would be the Mustang without a second thought. The only old Genesis I’m interested in involves Steve Hackett. And I actually like the New Edge Mustangs. They pay homage to earlier models without being heavy-handed on the retro look like their successor.
Now then: when considering today’s choice, imagine that whatever car you choose, it has to be your sole form of transportation (barring occasional rental cars when you’re away from home) for an entire year. Reliability is going to be a concern, as is fuel cost, but it also has to be something you’re willing to drive for a year. I’ll go through what I consider to be the pros and cons of each one to help you decide.
1977 Toyota Corona
The case for it: Toyota makes some of the most reliable and durable cars on the road, and that was as true during the Carter years as it is now. It’s also kind of a cool car, in a dowdy ’70s kind of way. Running costs should be cheap, too.
The case against it: No air conditioning and only a basic AM/FM radio might make for a dull, uncomfortable year. And you won’t get anywhere very quickly, either. Safety equipment has come a long way since 1977, as well.
2004 Mitsubishi Galant GTS
The case for it: It’s a nice, reliable, relatively modern car that anybody could jump into and drive without worry. It’s also rare enough that you won’t see ten more in every parking lot. And with as much power as it has, it could be kind of fun to drive.
The case against it: Nothing, really. It’s perfectly fine. It’s just a bit dull.
1994 Mazda B4000
The case for it: Old pickup trucks are incredibly useful things, especially 4WD ones. The ladder rack may be helpful, or it may just be in the way, but I’m not making any rule that says you can’t take it off. This should be a pretty reliable truck, too.
The case against it: It’s probably not a very smooth or comfortable ride. I think you’d get tired of driving this one about six months in. I think you’d get tired of fueling it, too; the 4.0 Cologne V6 is a reliable engine, but efficient it isn’t.
2001 Ford Mustang GT
The case for it: I mean, it’s a Mustang. It’s fun, more or less reliable, and practical enough for an everyday car. And this one seems to be in pretty good condition. It has a good stereo, and the air conditioning works. You could do a lot worse.
The case against it: Since it’s a V8, the fuel economy won’t be great. And it will be terrible in the snow, if you live somewhere where that’s a problem.
A year with a car really isn’t that long. I daily drove my green Chevy pickup for a year, commuting into downtown Portland in stop-and-go traffic. It wasn’t fun, but I did it. And many years before that, I made it almost a year in a ’78 Plymouth Volare that I bought for $175. My point is that you can drive almost anything for a year, so you could pick the one you think would be the most fun. Or the most practical. Or whatever. What do you think?
Galant. Assuming I could not drive any of my other cars.
I was going to go for one of the fun options but then I remembered I have a family. Galant I guess but I’m not excited about it.
It looks rough, but so does my daily driver. The Mazda is the only one of these that I would consider buying with real money.
I’d have to vote for the Corona. We had an early 70’s wagon when we were first married and realized the 850 Spider wasn’t the most reliable car. Traded it in when it hit 100,000miles because who trusts a Japanese car with that many miles. Right? A mechanic at the dealership bought it and drove it for years.
I live where there’s a good chance of getting snow over 6 months of the year, so I had to vote for the Mazda Ranger.
Of course, the first thing I’d do was have the wheels sandblasted to get rid of that black paint.
Galant is by far the nicest place to be. It probably drives the best too. The Mazda ranger is probably the most useful sans people hauling. The corona is a weekend car as best. Just no to new edge. So Galant by a long shot.
The Gallant is rare, awesome, and in a great color! If all these cars were in perfect shape it would still be my immediate choice. I don’t see how you can call an obscure green car with a big V6 and decent handling dull.
The Mustang may be more fun to drive initially, but all of that fun is quickly ruined by the god awful depressing grey plastic interior. Just looking at that dash makes me want to take a bottle of Zoloft.
The Corona is very very cool! A perfect second or third car, but too slow and under specced to want to daily for a year.
The Mazda B4000 would be my second choice. I’m not really a pickup guy, but the useful size, strong 4.0 six, and 4wd, make for a pretty compelling package. I like the mismatched door and matching rack. Just add some decent seat covers and its ready to go.
I just plain don’t want the Galant. I don’t know why. It just does nothing for me.
I picked the Mazda truck. Will I be comfortable? No. But it’s pretty neat and it’s just a year. Would make for a nice change of pace.
Heart says Mustang, head says Gallant. Part of my soul just died, but in my head driving it for a year means driving no other vehicle. The Gallant may be boring as dishwater, but it’ll be reliable, functional, and it’s in good shape from the jump. God, I’m boring.
Mazda! Zoom! Zoom!
(surprised it’s not winning)
Come on…you kidding me?
Obvious choice is…
Foxtrot is one of the best albums of all time.
Oddly enough, I had an SN95 Cobra and a Mazda Navajo at the same time, with DD responsibilities shared between the two. The Mazda was much more comfy to drive, but the Stang was much more fun to drive, at least on asphalt. But my pair were the opposite, Mazda was auto and the Cobra manual. The other way around, I’m taking the B4000.
That Galant is perfect. V6, four doors for the kids, CA car so no rust. Should start every day for the year, then I can give it to my buddy who needs something to drive to and from work everyday without issue. His current Fusion is quickly rusting away.
My vote is for the Toyota Corona Virus. It’s manual, it’s not sketchy and you don’t see them around much anymore.
The Galant or the Mazda are probably the better choices, but I actually like the old Corona. If I still liked it when the year was up, I’d keep it around for fuel economy.
Heart says cute Corona, but pickups are mandatary in my life so Forzda it is.
I was torn between the Fazda and the ‘Stang. I’ve driven a Mustang (well, Mustang II) in the snow. Put a set of Blizzaks on it and it’ll be fine.
The Toyota was ruled out for being too old to expect it to be truly reliable. It’s also too nice and too RWD for me to want to drive it in a Canadian winter. The Mustang is also out, for high fuel economy and RWD in winter.
That leaves the Galant, which is probably the reasonable choice, and the Mazda. The Galant looks just too reasonable, though! I don’t want to drive an auto for a whole year, and it looks much too boring! I could maybe force myself to drive it for fuel economy, but a 3.8 V6 and a 4-speed auto is probably not going to be notably better than the 4.0/5-speed in the Mazda, so I can talk myself into the truck! It was one of my favorites anyways
Given the brief, I’m picking the Stang. RWD is my preferred winter setup. It may not be a stick, but I’ll still have some fun with the Crowd Control Special.
I have a car seat aged kid that I need to transport every day so anything other than the Gallant would be uncomfortable and irresponsible.
Galant, followed closely by the Mustang. Both pretty clean, reasonable, and serviceable cars that will get you where you need to go for years to come. Even outside of the SBSD constraints, those both seem like half decent deals for someone looking for a 4 door commuter or american muscle car.
I picked the toy so I have a toy for a year, refresh my manual trans skills, and will remember how much more comfortable new cars are now 50 years later.