You Never See These Anymore: 1991 Dodge Shadow vs 2003 Chevy Blazer

It’s a little strange how ephemeral cars are. Certain models have staying power, and can be seen in the wild for decades after they’ve gone out of production, eventually becoming classics, but others seem to vanish almost entirely after a few years. Today we’re going to look at two cars that I haven’t seen in quite a while, let alone for sale.

I’ll be honest: Never in a million years did I guess that anyone would be clamoring for a “both” option for yesterday’s choices. But I saw at least two commenters who wanted just that – to tow the sandrail with the school bus, presumably to Burning Man or something. Hey, if you can get that bus moving under its own power, and overcome its registration entanglements, then more power to you.

Nearly everyone else voted for the sandrail, including me. The comments about it being a cheap alternative to a side-by-side are spot on, and it can be an even better choice if your state doesn’t allow side-by-sides on the roads; a sandrail or dune buggy could retain the title from its original VW donor, if there’s enough of it left, making obtaining license plates a breeze.

You hardly notice when a car stops becoming a common sight on the road, until you see one after a long period of not seeing any, and then you remember: Oh right, those used to be everywhere. Today’s choices jumped out at me purely because they used to be common sights, but I can’t even remember the last time I saw either of them. I bet you haven’t seen them in a while, either. Let’s check them out.

1991 Dodge Shadow ES Convertible – $1,900

Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter overhead cam inline 4, three-speed automatic, FWD

Location: North Hollywood, CA

Odometer reading: 75,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

You have to hand it to Chrysler engineers: They certainly know how to get their money’s worth out of a platform. By the time the P-body Dodge Shadow and Plymouth Sundance were introduced, its basic K-car underpinnings were already six years old (nine, if you go all the way back to the L-body Omni and Horizon), and had been used under everything from station wagons to sports cars to limousines. The K platform also reintroduced the convertible to the US market, after six long sunless years. Dodge was in on the convertible revival from the start, with the 400 and later the 600, but after the 600 convertible was phased out after 1986, the Chrysler LeBaron carried on alone – until 1991, when Dodge chopped the top off the Shadow.

Chrysler stuck with its well-known 2.2 and 2.5-liter four-cylinder engines for the Shadow, in some cases with a turbocharger. As far as I know, the turbocharged versions had a bump in the hood, and the 2.2 was only offered in the bargain-basement “America” trim level, so I’m going to take an educated guess and say that this one is a naturally-aspirated 2.5-liter. It drives the front wheels through a Torqueflite three-speed automatic. It’s not as fun as a manual, but it’s reliable, and this isn’t exactly a sports car anyway. It runs and drives fine, and has new brakes and front wheel bearings.

This is the fancy ES version, and it looks like it has power everything. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it’s surprisingly rough, especially considering its low mileage. The carpet is trashed, the seats are ripped and worn, and I don’t know what’s going on with the airbag cover – did someone paint in the lines and the logo? Very strange.

Outside, it’s not much better. Someone definitely painted the wheels, apparently after it lost one hubcap, and I don’t think the black lower cladding is original either. The red paint is pretty patchy as well. And speaking of patchy, the top is covered in repairs, some of which might be gaffer’s tape. At least it’s a California car, so it isn’t rusty. Besides, what can you expect for under two grand?

2003 Chevrolet Blazer Xtreme – $2,600

Engine/drivetrain: 4.3-liter overhead valve V6, four-speed automatic, RWD

Location: Reseda, CA

Odometer reading: 170,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Chevy’s Blazer, like the Ford Bronco and International Harvester Scout that inspired it, started out with two doors and a removable roof. Gradually, over the years, it morphed into the basic four-door wagon we all became so familiar with: in 1976 it lost the full removable roof; after that the roof over the front seats was fixed. In 1983, when the compact S-10 Blazer was introduced, it was still a two-door, but with a fixed roof. In 1990, to compete with the Toyota 4Runner and Nissan Pathfinder, a four-door was introduced, and quickly became the more popular version. But Chevy kept the two-door version around, and used it as the basis for the sporty versions, like the off-road ZR2, and this lowered, 2WD Xtreme.

Power for all versions of the Blazer in 2003 was the same: a 4.3-liter Vortec V6, making 190 horsepower. Either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic was available; this one has the automatic. It’s the same smooth, durable 4L60-E transmission found in everything from Corvettes to Yukons, and while it’s not perfect, its foibles are well-known and fixable. It has 170,000 miles on it, which is nothing for these drivetrains, and the seller says it has been reliable for them.

The interior is exactly like every other early-2000s GM vehicle: fuzzy upholstery and hard plastic, both in the same shade of gray. It’s not inspiring, but it’s surprisingly comfortable, and it looks like it has been well taken care of. The air conditioning works fine, and if you feel like fresh air instead, it has a power sunroof too.

The Xtreme package included 16-inch wheels, lower body cladding, and a lower, firmer suspension; supposedly, they handle pretty well. This one looks good, except for a wrinkle on the rear bumper, and I think it might be missing a spoiler on the front bumper. Good luck finding one; you’ll probably just have to live without it. Fortunately, aerodynamics isn’t this car’s strong suit anyway, so a missing spoiler shouldn’t make much difference.

We all know that rare doesn’t equal valuable, or even interesting. But these two are all but guaranteed to elicit a “wow, haven’t seen one of those in a while” from car folks. They’re not only cars you don’t see very often, they’re uncommon versions that were only made for a couple of years. Either one would be a cheap way into the wave of 80s/90s/00s nostalgia that’s going around. They’re not perfect, but they both run fine, and that’s more important than some cosmetic flaws. So what’ll it be – a convertible economy car, or a lowered, sporty SUV?