Golf GTi VR6: The Latest Addition to the FCC Stable

For too many years, I've watched guys drive around in their Golf GTi's looking so satisfied and, well, happy. I always wondered why. Now I know.

Having owned and driven plenty of old skewl VW Rabbits over the years, the Golf just seemed too...refined, too new, too pricey. I stuck with my dirt simple VW Rabbits and their 1.6 or 1.8 liter engines...

That was then. Fortunately, the effects of time have done more than fatten my midriff, shorten my patience, and dullen my intellect. Time has also made Golf GTI's affordable. What used to cost an easy $30k can now be had for around $5k-$8k. Nice...

So when I discovered a'98 GTi VR6 sitting all lonely like on the lot, I acted. I pulled the trigger. I made it mine. Had too: after a test drive for about an hour, I was left exclaiming in the cockpit, "Where have you been all my (driving) life?!?!!". It's true.

So, having driven, owned, raced, and lovingly Ghetto-modified Subaru Impreza's, Colt turbo's, Suzuki Aerio's, Honda Civic's, Mazda 323's, Volkswagen Rabbit's and Jetta's, and many more fun cheap cars, the latest addition to the stable is the Golf GTi VR6.

After the first few impressions, this feels, sounds, and pulls like a damn good driving decision.

If you have any thoughts, opinions, or advice to share, post a comment and let the world know!

More to come as the wheels spin...

Top fun cheap cars for under $1000

Ever wondered what kind of a car you can get for under $1000 bucks? Some pretty good ones, it turns out. I surveyed a few online classified ads for cars under $1000, checked out a few deals, and drove a few cars. Some good, some bad, some ugly, but all in all, pretty fun.

The cars listed below are all over 15 years old, but they would all make fine daily drivers with a little TLC. Just mind the rust, torn interiors, squeaky breaks, and ticking engines...

Fun cheap cars for under $1000
Click the links for more information from WikiPedia and RWUsed Car Reviews.

• Dodge Mitsubishi Colt - great little cars that keep running and running. Not pretty, not slick, but they handle well and are bulletproof reliable.
  
• Subaru Justy - where else can you get a 4x4 car that's great on gas, cute as kittens, rock solid reliable, and really fun to drive--for the price of a set of tires?
• Mazda 323 - well built, peppy engines, easy to modify, and they run for ever and ever. Amen.
• VW Rabbit - quick and nimble, nice interiors, classic looks, and one of the best engines ever assembled.
  
• Honda Civic - Honda quality, easy to work on, also cute as kittens, great on gas, and they don't know how to stop running
• Chevy Cavalier - not particularly fun to drive, but dang if these things don't keep going and going...
• Suzuki Swift - great fuel economy, good looks, and arguably one of the funnest to drive

There are more good cheap cars out there of course, and this is only a partial list based on the time I had. Watch for more though, because in this economy the emphasis is on the cheap part of Fun Cheap Cars.

Fiat Panda: Fun, cheap, and cute

That's right. Cute. The Fiat Panda is one of the cutest cars on the road. Why do I say this? Because I walked past one just the other day, parked under a large chestnut tree and partially covered by orange and brown leaves.

Yes...the car and I had a moment.

I think it was a mid 90's Fiat Panda. Cuter than the one pictured here as it was a 4x4 and freshly imported from Italy (still had the EU plates on it in fact). I walked across the street to get a better look, and to imagine myself hoping in, starting it up, and puttering away. I don't know if it had the 652cc or the 903cc engine, but these days the smaller the better so who cares. I want one.

In Europe the Fiat Panda is something of a legend. Love lived, incredibly spry for its size, and bucket loads of fun to zip around in. In North America, not so much: few were imported, few remain on the roads today. Which is a shame. More Fiat Panda's on North American roads would have meant a heck of a lot less gasoline consumed over the past 30 years. Oh well...that's oil under the bridge.

Toyota Supra Review

Ah, the Toyota Supra. The Rocket. The Classic. The Legend.

Over at Real World Used Car Reviews (they gotta do something about that URL!) they've posted the review of the Toyota Supra.

Check it: Toyota Supra Review

Superminis are the future

The Superminis are coming. Well, ok they already came in the 50's and 60's. And then again in the 70's. But...they are definitely back. In fact this may be the dawn of a new age of small, fun, fast, agile, efficient, and relatively inexpensive super minis.

We're big fans of small fun quick cars. Light weight, agile handling, and responsive, boosted engines make wonderful bedfellows. And thanks to fuel prices, efficiency standards, dwindling resources, or general consumer sentiment, super minis are poised to take an ever larger share of the car market.

We think this is a good thing, so here's a list (in no particular order) of some of the latest super minis that may find their way to a showroom or used car lot near you:

• Mitsubishi Colt
• Ford Fiesta
  
• Toyota Aygo
• Honda Jazz
• Mazda2
• Kia Rio
• Hyundai i20
• Chevrolet Matiz
• Fiat 500

Kia Forte: Modern Fun Cheap Car

The Koreans are coming...no wait, they've already arrived.

And it's time we--any any other previously biased fun cheap car fans out there--put away those biases for good or risk looking out of touch. Because, at long last, Korean car companies--some armed with German designers--are making some damn fine (looking) cars these days.

The latest eyeball grabber comes from Kia in the form of the Kia Forte Koup. Although I generally loathe intentional misspellings of words to look kewl, it kinda works with the Kia. The car itself kinda works too.

The Koup comes in two trims: EX (base) and SX (super). Both are good looking cars, the only difference being where it really counts: under the hood. The EX's 2.0 litre inline four churns out 156hp, while the SX's 2.4 litre inline four pumps out a respectable 173 horsepower.

Both engines utilize variable valve timing but lack turbo charging which would really light things up--as the very same engine sitting in the Hyundai Genesis or Didge Caliber SRT4 is turbo charged and fire breathing. Odds are a turbo will end up in the Kia as well...gotta love the trickle down effect.

While the EX makes a great around town car with soft, compliant suspension, the SX offers a firmer, sportier ride. Both cars offer great standard features, but the SX is really loaded. We don't really get into that stuff here thought, as we're really only into 3 things: engines, handling, and price (four if you count women...).

As you'd expect, the price of the Kia Koup is reasonable--even considered entry level--while the car itself really is anything but. Still....no turbo? Come on Kia, get with the times!

Hyundai Genesis Coupe: The game changer?

Who knew that only a couple decades (!) after the venerable, love-to-hate-it Pony, Hyundai would come out with a car that could tickle the fancy of performance car enthusiasts everywhere while at the same time giving nightmares to other car makers.

Why? Because the Genesis Coupe is a car that seems to be exactly what it claims to be: fast, fun, stylish, and cheap. Ok, Hyundai doesn't claim the Genesis Coupe is cheap, but cheaper than the competition by a margin wide enough to drive an American SUV though...

The Genesis Coupe (not that closely related to the somewhat sedate Genesis sedan) could be a game changer--not that Hyundai really needs to change the game. The Korean company is doing just fine thanks. In times of economic thrift, brands with practical appeal thrive and Hyundai practical, reliable, and fairly priced cars are rolling off the lots.

No, Hyundai didn't need to make the Genesis. But they did, and this is a very good thing for those who want a little more choice when it comes to a performance 2+2 that is, well, reasonably priced right off the lot.

And before you prejudge my use of the word Hyundai and performance in the same sentence, these specs that should make you want to book a test drive:

1. Rear wheel drive
2. Base model: 2.0-litre turbocharged intercooled four-cylinder with 210hp
3. Optional: 3.8-litre V6 with 306 hp and 266 lb. ft. of torque
   
4. Zero to Sixty in under 6 seconds
5. MacPherson strut front suspension and a 5-link independent rear suspension
6. Optional: front strut tower brace, larger front and rear stabilizer bars, stiffer spring rates, larger bushings, limited slip differential, Brembo brakes, Bridgestone Potenza RE050A performance tires
   

Wow. The Hyundai Genesis Coupe could indeed be a game changer for the competition.

How to buy a used car

If you're a fan of used cars (and I know you are, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this) here's a handy dandy guide to buying a used car in five simple steps. This takes much of the guesswork out of buying a used vehicle, so if you follow these steps, there a pretty good chance you'll avoid buying a lemon.

How to Buy a Used Car

Not that you don't already know all this of course, but a little reminder never hurts...

Ten reasons to buy a used car

If you've ever wondered about some of the best reasons to buy a used car--aside from just saving money--Real World Used Car Reviews has a list of ten reasons to buy a used car.

While money is a good one, my main reasons for owning and driving used cars are to drive something I actually like, and to be able to do most of the work myself.

Plus...they don't make many affordable cool cars these days. Where are the cheap and fast turbo charged 2dr hatchbacks and affordable AWD coupes?

Modern Fun Cheap Cars: The Honda Fit

In some ways, the Honda Fit is in a class of its own. This is a small, sporty little car that is in many ways, huge.

From the level of refinement to the amount of cargo space and the innovative rear seats that fold any way you need them to, to the refined 1.5 liter V-TEC engine and the improved close ratio 5 speed gear box, to the overall quality of the package.

The Fit impresses. For a world car platform, the Fit seems to fit perfectly into every market it's sold into.

While today new Fits aren't particularly inexpensive cars compared to some of the used car bargains out there, for a new car they are reasonable priced. And, from the engine to the seating to the accessories, the Fit has the makings of a future fun cheap car classic.

The new Civic? Perhaps, though it's doubtful the Honda Fit will ever be a street or strip contender or darling of the import tuner scene (but, who knows it may yet be). But with typical Honda build quality, the Fit looks like it will be around for a while.

Five, ten years down the road fuel efficient, practical, and fun to drive little Fits probably will still be holding their value, depreciating slowly, and getting people where they need to go. You could wait that long, or...you could get a slightly used one now. Either way, if you're looking for a fun little car, the Fit is pretty hard to beat.