Welcome to the second-to-last letter in our alphabet game! Not what you were expecting, is it? Well, I don’t like to be predictable. So we’ve got a heavily-modified toy that may or may not be street-legal depending on where you live, and a cute little Italian hatchback that isn’t quite legal in the US at all yet.
We looked at two supercharged cars yesterday, and there was plenty of love for both in the comments, but only one can win. The Nissan Xterra took home a narrow but decisive victory, despite being what is apparently a love-it-or-hate-it color.
The Xterra would be my choice as well. I do admire the Jag, but I think I’d rather have an older one. If I’m putting up with British luxury car foibles, I’m going all-in and looking for a V12. Besides, I have a long and pleasant history with Nissan trucks. Yeah, the fuel economy is crap, but they’re built like an anvil.
All right, let’s move on to Y. Yes, there was that one Yugo for sale in Kentucky, with three crappy photos and no description. I didn’t want to deal with it. And there was absolutely no way I was going to waste a spot in the alphabet on a freaking Toyota Yaris. So let’s take a look at two less-obvious choices.
2002 Lancia Y – €800
Engine/drivetrain: 1.2-liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Roreto, Cuneo, Italy
Odometer reading: 155,000 kilometers
Operational status: Runs and drives well, registration just expired
If you’re a fan of classic rally cars, you might utter the name Lancia in hushed tones. Cars like the diminutive Stratos, the delicate Fulvia, and the fire-breathing Delta S4 are unforgettable. But in Italy, you’re much more likely to see the Lancia shield on a more ordinary car, like this Lancia Y, later known as the Ypsilon.
Mechanically, it’s a fairly standard small European hatchback, with a 1.2 liter four-cylinder engine and a manual transmission driving the front wheels. Nothing wrong with that; I’ve rented quite a few cars like this, from various manufacturers, and they’ve all been pleasant and fun in that “slow car fast” way. It sounds like it runs and drives just fine, and its registration just ran out in February, so it hasn’t been sitting around too long.
The Y’s interior is pretty dramatic for a small car, but where is it written that a small, inexpensive car needs to be boring? Whether or not you like the center-mounted instrument cluster (I don’t, personally) you have to admit it looks very stylish. The dash and door inserts are Alcantara, and the seats should match, but I see that the cheap seat cover fad has crossed the Atlantic.
It has seen some action on the outside, but from what I’ve heard about Italian drivers, that’s to be expected. You’d be upset about its condition if it weren’t for the price. It didn’t occur to me until I started writing that this car is actually two years too new to import yet – unless you could convince the feds that it’s worthy of a show-and-display exemption. Probably not.
2006 Yamaha Rhino 660 – $5,500
Engine/drivetrain: 686 cc overhead cam single, dual-range CVT automatic, 4WD
Location: Santee, CA
Odometer reading: Doesn’t have one
Operational status: Runs and drives great
I can hear the howls of protest already: “You cheated! That’s not a car; you can’t drive it on the road!” Well, not in California, where it currently resides, but in some states, all you need to do is add lights, mirrors, and license plates, and you’re good to go. But even if you can’t drive it on the road, you can still find places to have fun with a machine like this almost anywhere.
The Yamaha Rhino, in its stock form, is a lot more truck-like than this. It has a single-cylinder, four-stroke engine, driving a CVT through a centrifugal clutch. The transmission has a high and a low range, and all four wheels are driven. This one has a little extra displacement for a little extra power, along with long-travel suspension and Fox shock absorbers. It runs great, and the seller says it’s a lot of fun to drive. I believe it.
To go with the added power and suspension travel, it has racing seats with four-point harnesses, quite an upgrade from the stock molded-vinyl seats with grab bars. Of course, you can’t have something like this without an obnoxious stereo, and here it doesn’t disappoint either. The seller has also added a quick-release steering wheel, calling it an anti-theft measure. That’s true, I suppose, if you don’t mind carrying the wheel around.
There’s not much stock Rhino left in the exterior; the little truck bed is gone, replaced by an elaborate roll cage. The whole thing has been widened, it looks like, to match the widened long-travel suspension. That’s probably a good thing; the Rhino had a reputation for rolling over in stock form. The fire extinguisher bolted to the cage seems like a good idea, and I love the bespoke cooler carrier.
So that’s the letter Y, and we’ll finish up with Z on Monday. I’ve already got that figured out, but the rest of the week is still up in the air. If anybody has any suggestions, either for a theme or specific cars they’d like to see, please mention it in the comments. In the meantine, make your choice between these two, and have a great weekend!
While I really like Canopysaurus’ idea of matching up film/TV vehicles, I’ll throw a couple of alternative ideas out there:
Since you completed the alphabet, you could continue with cars with numbers prominently in their name. A BMW 1-series v. a Corvette ZR1, Audi A2 v. a MR 2, etc…
All-foreign showdowns with cars for sale in countries that have digital nomad visas so we can prepare our escape from the dystopian dictatorship that the US is becoming.
I brought up the numbers idea yesterday… but it might end up being BMW against the world until you get to 9, which belongs to Porsche. Turn it up to 11 with the VW Beryle 1100?
If Mark goes with the 1st digit rather than the complete number and ignores any preceding letters, then there would be a reasonable selection. E.g., Mazda has a 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9.
Lots of Volvo numbers, Lexus, Saab vs. Porsche for the 9s. Peugeot. Audi. I had thought about Mazda.
Oops Beetle. Damn autocorrect!
Can I have the sketchy Yugo in Kentucky?
I too was interested but there really is no info with it:
https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/d/florence-1986-yugo-gv-for-sale/7840517059.html
It looks better than I expected.
“Must look at it to appreciate”
I’d go all in with the full word and get a better deal. Look at this $ 1500 Ypsilon, right in Genoa, by the port, ready to be shipped: https://www.autoscout24.it/annunci/lancia-ypsilon-1-2-oro-bianco-metano-marrone-970c4605-d9c3-4cbc-98ee-0b1f4d346328?sort=standard&desc=0&lastSeenGuidPresent=false&cldtidx=1&position=1&search_id=14nxrkqg5uu&source_otp=t30&ap_tier=t30&source=listpage_search-results&order_bucket=5&new_taxonomy_available=false&mia_tier=t30&boosting_product=mia&relevance_adjustment=boost&applied_mia_tier=t30
A peach, innit?
You really missed the boat on finding an Ypsilon. Subito has hundreds for sale at bargain prices:
https://www.subito.it/annunci-italia/vendita/auto/?q=ypsilon&order=priceasc
But I’ll still take yours over the glorified farm tractor.
Lancia.
Leave it in UK until it can be imported.
Take the time to find some better seats and other bits to help keep it on the road.
Bonus…no CVT.
Don’t hate the player…hate the game.
I’m honor-bound to pick the Lancia. Besides, I’m a city girl, I almost never go anywhere that has off-road trails. That little Ypsilon could be stored for 2 years with friends, then sent over to join her sisters in my herd of uncommon Italians.
No Yale forklift?
Monday, I’m predicting a ZAP Xebra against a ZENN EV.
Zimmer??
Walking?
at least that’s street legal in the U.S. unlike either of these.
You should have mentioned that on Wednesday.
At first glance I mistook the Lancia for a Daewood Lanos hatchback. I was neutrally surprised to find it is actually a Lancia. Needless to say this is not a car I’m overly enthusiastic about. I am apparently not the only one who lacks enthusiasm given it is still for sale despite an asking price of ~$900 USD.
The Rhino is cool. I have seen a few of these on the road here in Florida, so I’m confident it could be made street legal. Even if it isn’t, this might be worth $5,500 just to drive off road.
It’s too bad the Yugo in Kentucky didn’t have more photos and a better (any?) description. I’m sure the price would be derided in the comment section, but I think it would have had a strong chance against the lousy Lancia.
Imagine the look on the importer’s face when they realize someone is going through the trouble and expense to ship that thing across the Atlantic.
With that said, $5500 on the Yamaha is laughable to me, so I guess cheaper is better today.
Having imported an extremely normal cheap car from Europe, the importers aren’t phased by it. It’s just 4 wheels and an engine to them. My ultra rare but unassuming Marea was lined up at the dock with a small herd of new McLarens and nobody got special treatment.
That’s good to know. I want to import a 1st gen Ford Ka, though I think I’ll wait until the Duratec ones are eligible.
Now if you live in Boston, a ford Ka would be funny.
Didn’t want to go with a heavily depreciated Tesla Model Y? ;-p
Anyway, it’s the Y for me today. One must choose and I have no use for the Yamaha
Yaris? Y-Type? 😛
Also, the Ypsilon was made earlier than that, so you could’ve found an example old enough to bring over here. Here is a 99 for example:
https://www.subito.it/auto/x-x-593909193.htm
“Oh, you got a golf cart? That’s nice, Bob.” **BRAAAAAAAAP**
We’ll take the Rhino and run rampant at our nearest Del Webb community.
Yobbery yellow yetified Yamaha yeets yonder yawny younger Ypsilon
You can drive the Yamaha on and off road (certain routes) in northern Wisconsin. The parking lot at the St. Germain flea market is loaded with similar 4×4’s every week.
For the first time ever I’m going to die on the neither hill.
Cheap scooter ftw
I can’t believe that Lancia is more of a snoozer than a Yaris.
Next week I think you should finish the week on a number theme: 1, 2, 3, 4.
As far as today, I’ll take the Lancia and figure out storage for two years, or something.
Next you can do alphanumerics from 0-9. Former cars of the year from various publications might be fun too.
But you can only use the specific digits without any others added. So, for the first day, only cars with 1 and no other digits.
Yes to the Y! I don’t hunt and I don’t own a farm, so the SxS doesn’t interest me. For the price, I’ll just vacation in Italy and drive the Y around Europe once or twice a year until 2027 and then bring it over the pond. It’ll save me so much in rental car fees!
Btw, in Italy and Germany (and maybe some other countries) “Lancia Y” is pronounced “Lancia Ypsilon”.
maybe Greece too? 😛
What if you go back through the alphabet to find the eight highest scores and make four showdowns?
Bonus points if the resulting eight letters can be used to spell a funny and/or rude word.
Taking a page from James May?
https://www.reddit.com/r/TopGear/s/PLDdgmuAUl
Maybe it’s a hint…”up in the air”
Plane Shitbox Showdown! Although they wouldn’t be flying…they could be from those huge plane junkyards in the desert…too bad that Elvis plane was already bought and repurposed
https://www.theautopian.com/i-toured-the-rv-made-out-of-elvis-jet-and-its-the-best-and-worst-thing-ive-ever-seen/
I’m a Yamaha fan (as the name implies) but the mods on the Rhino don’t appeal to me.
Still voted for it though..
This. I’ve had Yamaha products for decades now, but the mods done to that Rhino just had me disappointed. The worst part for where I am at is that the Rhino will no longer fit on the trails that are limited to <50" widths, but doesn't have enough tire the handle many of the trails dedicated to Jeeps and the wider SxSs like the YXZ and RZR. It still got my vote, though.
I may be an old crank but every time I see one of these side by sides I’d much rather spend the money on a decent Willys Jeep.
Or one of the Indian-made modern copies. I don’t really get the point of these things. You can buy a good enough, road legal Wrangler for what one costs. And then you don’t have to listen to a bike engine howling though a CVT as a bonus.
I dislike sxs but they have nearly completly replaced jeeps and trucks in my state becasue the trails are open to them and not the jeeps and you can break them on the trail and flat bed trailer them home.
Not the case where I live. <shrug>
In my probably wrong opinion my state is nearly all atv/sxs trails because arctic cat and polaris have a great deal of political power and do not make trucks.
As a guy on a dirt bike it’s crazy how wide of sxs they’re allowing these days. I come around a corner well on the right side to see a friggen turbocharged desert racer taking up the whole trail coming at me. Used to be most (all?) trails had a 50″ width restriction. Then some got bumped to 55″ but now it seems there is no restriction. Or if there is it’s not enforced..
Well said Many are now bigger and wider than CJs.
I helped my buddy get his 49 cj up and running it is fun the problem is that the thousands of miles of trails in our state are open to sxs but not his smaller jeep that is licensed for the street. Jeep and trucks have almost no trails open to them.
That’s too bad because a CJ could probably fit easily on those trails. Most of the trails around me are unofficial and it’s best to show up with something and drive right in before someone sees you.
Go with a Hollywood theme for the next series and face off examples from film and television.
second!
Ooo! I like this idea.
Love that as well. Bonus for finding a 1973 Gran Torino.
DT can be a special guest since he’s gone…Hollywood
Y not indeed? It is a Lancia and it already has battle scars, slap a couple fog lights on that bad Bambino and get rallying!
For Lemons racing, does the shipping cost factor into the “purchase price”?
I don’t think this would make it as a Ferrari, but it would be fun to slap some Lambo badging on it and paint it in one of those florescent Lambo colors. Maybe add fake Countach wings to the front and back?
This thing does kind of remind me of a ’90s Pontiac Lemans – are they related?
I think the shipping cost could easily be overlooked by the judges for the price of a case of beer.
Shipping doesn’t count against the budget. Think of shipping as a fancier version of the costs associated with renting a trailer and paying for fuel to haul a Lemons car home from where it had been abandoned in the woods.
I voted Rhino. What am I going to do with an Italian econobox that I can only look at pictures of for two more years? Hot babes are not going to be impressed by it even after it finally arrives!
The only women impressed by a side-by-each are into women themselves and are a better shot than you are.
I’m really in camp “neither” on this one. Even on the cheap, there are far more interesting things to pick up in Europe and ship over than a cheap Fiat in drag.