This week, I’ve been showing you vehicles with manual transmissions for under $3,000, and we’ve ended up with a final four of ’90s vehicles that wouldn’t look out of place at RADWood. So that’s going to be your assignment for today: Choose one to shine up and take to impress the crowds. It’s a tough choice between two of them for me, but I’m curious to see what you all decide.
Yesterday’s crossover battle was an absolute bloodbath. That poor Subaru Forester didn’t stand a chance. In fairness, I had a hard time finding anything to compete against that RAV4; it’s such a clean and friendly little vehicle that almost anything in the same price range was going to lose to it.
Personally, I don’t want anything to do with any Subaru that isn’t a Brat or maybe a Justy, so I’m with you on the RAV4. No one is claiming it will be sporty, or fun, but it’s just so charming that it’s hard to pass up. And I had completely forgotten about the center differential lock on those; that is a cool feature.
I suspect that, to younger crowds, the ’80s and ’90s nostalgia wave is going to soon become as tedious as the ’50s nostalgia wave was to my generation. Hell, I’m already getting a little tired of it myself. But I do still love the cars. I have yet to make it to a RADWood event, but if there is one in Detroit this year, I will be there with my 1989 Chevy pickup. It’s no show car, but it is a survivor that’s still earning its keep, and I suspect that the Forest Service Green paint might turn a few heads just due to rarity.
Personally, I like seeing older cars with some patina on them, rather than pristine examples. I’m glad the nice ones exist, but I never want to be afraid to use a vehicle for its intended purpose, and that’s easier if it isn’t perfect, and you didn’t pay too much for it. I think all four of these fit the bill.
1995 Oldsmobile Achieva S – $2,450
The case for it: It’s a Quad 4 with a five-speed manual, which is orders of magnitude cooler than the V6 and automatic that most of these came with. And it’s a lot rarer than a Grand Am or a Beretta, which might score it some points.
The case against it: Despite the Oldsmobile badges and the interesting drivetrain, it’s just another old GM coupe. I’m not sure this thing is old enough to have hit “classic” status yet.
1993 Jeep Cherokee Sport – $2,200
The case for it: Everybody seems to love these things. And stock ones are getting harder to find.
The case against it: It’s pretty beat-up, and the flat black paint doesn’t do it any favors. I think your best bet with this one might be to repaint it in black, put a brush guard and KC Daylighters on the front, shoot a couple bullet holes in the back, and dress up as the Fratellis. But that’s a lot of work for RADWood.
1992 Mitsubishi Mighty Max – $1,950
The case for it: The name alone makes it cooler than its Dodge Ram 50 twin. And after the show is done, you’re left with a useful little truck.
The case against it: Nothing, really, except that it’s a little beat up. But on an old truck, you call that “character.”
1996 Toyota RAV4 – $2,900
The case for it: It’s by far in the best condition of the bunch, and it’s got that cool interior fabric. It’s also a genuinely useful little car; you could drive this one daily.
The case against it: This one is also pretty new, and still in service in some parts of the country. It might not be special enough for anyone to care about it.
I’ve been to a lot of car shows in my day, and I have to be honest: most of the cars I see at them are boring. You can only see so many perfect shiny machines before they all start to blur together. I’d much rather see cars like these, well-loved machines that have paid their dues. Would anyone else agree, if you brought one to RADWood and parked it among the whale-tail Porsches and the DeLoreans? Only one way to find out. Which one would you pick?
Definitely the Mighty Max for me. It has the best name of the bunch and you rarely see them in the wild. I didn’t even know they existed before this week.
The RAV4 is solidly in 2nd place because even if it is too new for Radwood, you will still get respect at any car meet for having such a ridiculously clean first year model.
Great options this week!
Long live the mini truck! I will concede for the money the RAV4 is probably the smartest buy if you want to daily it, but the Might Max has a cooler name, and mini trucks rule.
The XJ. As long as there isn’t too much rust, you’ve got a friend forever. It’s really the last great thing Jeep made
Here in Denver rust is a pretty non-thing. Unless it was moved into the state, it’s very likely surface rust only.
Also Easy to find upgrade and rebuilder parts. It still gets my vote as well. Though none of these are necessarily bad options, just leaning toward the one I know more about and feel like is more desirable.
If the Olds were in the same seemingly pristine condition as the RAV4 I might be tempted because of the powertrain and I’vealways liked the way Achievas look even though I shouldn’t. But I don’t trust its condition. The amount of grime and crap the seller left on the floormats is not a good sign for me.
The Toyota looks very much worth the modest extra coin and most likely to remain affordable to run as a daily.
The Olds is the weirdest of this group, so going to go with that. The Rav4 would be the obvious real world choice out of these though.
This is how I voted too. Least likely to see another, reasonably fun to drive
Mighty Max! It’s one of the first vehicles I ever test drove, and that’s a screaming deal for a pickup that’s not made out of oxide (at least in New England, it is).
RAV4 is the practical choice; its Corolla roots and manual transmission make that thing a cockroach if you can keep it clean.
The world has enough clapped out XJs.
And the Achieva is such a letdown after the Cutlass Ciera. It’s goofy looking, and the Quad4, for all its Offy inspiration and good power density, is like trying to drive one of those old school Red Devil paint shakers
The NVH will be especially egregious because it’s a transverse FWD car with a flimsy structure. Driveline lash AND odd-order harmonics/vibrations? Oh yes, I’ll take seconds, please.
I know it won’t win, but my case for the Achieva is that it’s from a segment that’s pretty much extinct; the others are simply desirable versions of stuff that’s extremely common now.
The sport coupe era was the last time when “fun” was a key goal for many everyday cars like this. Sure, they delivered to greater or lesser extent, but it’s cool that carmakers tried. It’s hard to name something current with that ethos.
I’ve been looking for the perfect Mighty Max for years, and while this one is a decent deal, it’s not The One. The RAV-4, however, is just too nice to pass up.
Mitsubishi, please!!
This appears to be just a fantastic little truck, and I cannot believe it has been on CL for 17 days (as of today) and no one has snapped it up.
When it arrived here in the Showdown, I started pricing a one-away ticket to LAX and plotting a route home.
The pickup fits my needs and preferences far better than everything else. Minitruck please. For RAD I’d put the vintage grand-national-style wheels I have sitting in in the garage on my Bug and just take that.
As a current owner of a daily-driven 2001 XJ with 250k+ miles, I’m still voting for the Jeep.
I’ll go for the nostalgia vote today. My first car was an Olds almost like this one. Black coupe, spoiler but had the 3.1 V6, it had some good looking factory wheels on it similar to the Achieva S/C, and it had red interior.
The RAV4 is the obvious choice. But I’ve owned a few Berettas with the V6s and never one with a Quad4, so I’m going with the Olds.
XJ it mostly meets my needs for an fixable off road beater.
I decided to go with the Jeep this morning. Scruffy or not, I bet I’d get a few ducks for the dash at a RADwood event.
The RAV4 is too good of a deal. For whatever reason, the Olds is somehow appealing to me, and I thought about it for a moment. But that RAV4 is probably worth 4500$ around here, in that sort of condition. You just don’t see them anymore.
Come to think of it, I’d be feeling a little guilty carnapping it from it’s lovely, saltless home in Oregon.
I predict a runaway victory for the RAV4. You could take your SO out for a nice dinner. You could drive it every day and not scare little kids. That said, I’d take the Mitsubishi to Radwood.
For Radwood, I went with the Olds.
For real life, I’d take the RAV4.