As expected. That Spitfire is a hell of a deal – if it’s on the up-and-up. I think we need to enlist S.W.Gossin to go check it out for us and report back. Now then: We spend a lot of time trying to make silk purses out of sow’s ears on this column, stressing the good parts of $2500 cars and glossing over the bad. But the fact is that $2500 ain’t what it used to be; not too many years ago you could get quite a decent car for that money....

Earlier today, our David Tracy wrote about the Ganeshan family Honda Odyssey, a van that was in the family since it was purchased new in 2004. For many people, cars are just appliances that get disposed of when their duty is over. That’s not always the case, and in cases like the one David highlighted today, a car becomes a part of the family. Autopian readers are starting off the year not with one-liners that have us on the floor laughing, but with a number of comments that tug on our hearts....

Hey all! Mark here. I’m new. But the site is still new, so aren’t we all? I mean, they haven’t even taken the plastic off the screen yet. Makes it hard to read, to be honest. First, I want to thank young Thomas for getting the ball rolling while I worked things out with Jason and David. I ended up having to bribe them with a “vintage” box of Teddy Grahams Bear-Wiches that I found behind the seat of my truck to let me do this....

Surprisingly close considering that the Saab needed a subframe, but the 525iT takes the win. I get it, it’s easier to start with a relatively clean car rather than a rusty one, although who knows what lurks beneath that duct taped hatch? Anyway, today’s theme is reliability, and I’ve found two cars that seem similar on the surface. They both have four doors, they both have five seats, they’re both even made by the same company....

Looks like it’s bad luck for our Chevy Venture from yesterday’s showdown. Should have gotten that Looney Tunes package. Then you would have at least had a couple of rabbit’s feet for luck. (Which I never understood; always seemed like bad luck for the rabbit. But I digress). So with that, we have our four for the week. Let’s take a second look at them… 1988 Subaru XT6 – $2,250 This AWD stickshift spaceship-on-wheels beat out a scruffy Celica convertible, and I think a big part of the reason why is this unassailably cool steering wheel:...

However, not all CCS connectors are the same. In North America, Central America, South Korea, and Taiwan, most cars use a CCS Combo 1 connector, while everywhere else except China uses the CCS Combo 2 connector. To make things even more confusing, Tesla has now offered up its connector design for any EV manufacturer to use, while giving its connector a new name – NACS, short for North American Charging Standard....

Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday. Land Rover Launches A ‘Stendo Defender We knew a big boy Land Rover Defender was coming, but we didn’t expect the Defender 130 to look quite like this. It’s longer than the four-door Defender 110, but the wheelbase is identical....

In contrast, the 2024 Trax looks quite pleasant. Not just pleasant compared to the last one, pleasant overall. In fact, it looks a lot like the current Chevrolet Blazer. The headlamps feature a split design with thin daytime running lights, yet their design works reasonably well. Along the side, strong haunches offer interesting surfacing, although the rear end is a bit strange. The hatch finishing seems a bit basic and I’m not a fan of the faux vents on RS models, but nothing out back is truly offensive....

What you’ll see on our site (ours as in ours and YOURS) today is a lot of experimentation, with some classics mixed in. One of our main goals with The Autopian Powered by OPTIMA Batteries (That’s right, we got a launch sponsor!) is to bring true expertise directly to readers, so with this in mind, here’s a look at our rundown of Launch Day stories: I Led The Design Of The Tesla Model S’s And Ford GT’s Suspension....

Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday. Dial M For Motorsport It’s been almost 23 years since Yannick Dalmas, Pierluigi Martini, and Joachim Winkelhock drove the V12 LMR to first place at the 24 Hours of LeMans....

Smart was founded in 1994 as Micro Compact Car AG and launched in late 1997 with the City Coupé (later renamed Fortwo in 2004). However, it can be argued that its history goes back to the 1970s. Mercedes-Benz began experimentation with the concept of a two-seat economical compact car in 1972. Nothing reached production, but the automaker continued experimenting with the idea into the 1980s. A notable example is the 1981 Mercedes-Benz NAFA concept, which looks like what a Smart could have looked like in the 1980s....

The update to the story on these wonderful buses comes from the person who told the story about them in the first place. YouTuber The Tim Traveller introduced the world to these buses back in March. For a little background, Tim treks the world documenting obscure places in rich detail. The videos usually feature what the subject looks like today, but the Citroën Cityrama bus piece was different; the newest photo of a surviving bus dated back to 2008....

With that in mind, I’m going to throw something out there that I’m sure will bring out some of that passion, so get ready to blow up the comments section. Here it is: The Triumph TR6 is the perfect English car and the Cadillac Eldorado is the perfect American car. By that I mean they are the perfect cars for the environment for which they were intended. «insert picture of me ducking as various heavy and sharp objects are lobbed my way» [Editor’s Note: The image Huibert provided was too graphic for our current editorial standards....

One of my favorite sensations on two wheels in recent years is riding electric motorcycles. I straddled the Harley-Davidson LiveWire when it first came out, and it resulted in me doing my first burnout while simultaneously doing my first wheelie. The instant torque of an electric vehicle translates to pure hooliganism when applied to a motorcycle. But on the other end, the slow stuff isn’t bad, either. Riding an electric motorcycle can be even more calming than taking a ride on a vintage Honda Helix scooter....

The 2023 BMW XM is a new flagship SUV set to become the first M-only model since the BMW M1 supercar. If this seems distasteful to you, you’re not the only one who feels that way. While M originally stood for Motorsport, it sure seems to stand for Marketing these days. Hey, what better for marketing than a 650-horsepower plug-in hybrid super SUV? BMW has already confirmed in a press release that production will start this December in Spartanburg, S....

It’s unbelievably close, but the PT Cruiser takes it by precisely two votes. Anyway, we’ve had too many practical cars so it’s time for some projects. Let’s jet off to the most cursed state in the union according to the internet, Ohio, in search of some proper shitboxes. 1980 Porsche 924 – $2,500 Engine/drivetrain: Two-liter inline-four engine, five-speed manual gearbox, rear-wheel-drive. Location: Batavia, Ohio Odometer reading: 40,000 miles Runs/drives? Nope....

This week I’m bringing you some trucks, imports, and even the one kind of Smart that you’ll probably want to buy. I often search the entire country for a good balance of price and vehicle condition. But sometimes, some really cool cars end up for sale with really high prices. It’s disappointing, of course, but there’s nothing wrong with window shopping and dreaming. So join me in looking at some fun cars, motorcycles, and commercial vehicles....

Since turning right on a red light is far from a universal experience, here’s how it works in much of America: Flick on your right indicator, come to a complete stop, ensure no signs indicate that you can’t turn right on a red light, yield to pedestrian and vehicle traffic, then proceed when safe to do so. Pretty simple, right? Opponents of turning right on red lights cite pedestrian safety, and they do have a point....

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 14, 2022 Our good friend Tim Burke caught the whole thing one on of the Detroit Auto Show livestreams and it’s hilarious. Joe Biden, of course, is a well known Corvette enthusiast and was disappointed when he found out the Secret Service wasn’t going to let him drive his personal 1967 Corvette. Upon arriving on the show floor he’s immediately implored to rev up the C8 and gladly complies....