Now that is a surprise. This might be the only time a Porsche has lost anything to a Fiero. Perhaps if the 928’s running status were known, the outcome may have been different. Oh well. Anyway, for Fridays, I still like to do something a little special, and I got today’s idea (well, half of it) while listening to an old album by The Refreshments at my day job: why not look for cars in Mexico? Well, apparently, Craigslist isn’t all that big south of the border. I found one interesting car, but not two. So I thought: well then, let’s go north as well, and look in Canada. After more searching than I was expecting, I came up with one car from B.C. (Baja California), and one from B.C. (British Columbia). Let’s check them out.
1997 Acura EL – $2,950 Canadian (about $2,200)
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6 liter overhead-cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD Location: Delta, BC, Canada Odometer reading: 182,000 kilometers Runs/drives? Sure does “You know what would be great?” asked Acura Canada execs in the late 1990s, “If we sold a car that was like the Integra, only frumpy!” OK, I can’t prove that that’s the genesis of this car, but it sure seems to fit. The Acura EL is nothing more than a gussied-up Civic sedan, and it’s as Canadian as poutine and Degrassi Junior High, having been built in Alliston, Ontario.
The EL features a 1.6 liter single-overhead-cam engine with VTEC (yo) variable valve timing, in this example bolted to a four-speed automatic. With the equivalent of only about 114,000 miles, this engine should be just nicely broken-in; these Honda engines run forever. And the automatic transmissions either work or don’t; there is rarely any in-between. This one works, at least at the moment.
Cosmetically, this car is a little scruffy. The front bumper is mismatched, there are some dings and dents here and there, and the leather of the driver’s seat is cracked. But for the price, it looks like a decent little runabout to me.
Since it is just a Civic, I’m not sure why anyone would import this car to the US, other than the novelty value. But you could, now that it’s more than 25 years old, and maybe that’s reason enough, just to give the finger to that silly import law.
1992 VW Beetle – 180,000 Mexican Pesos (about $9,500)
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6 liter overhead valve flat 4, four-speed manual, RWD Location: Tijuana, BC, Mexico Odometer reading: unknown Runs/drives? Yep I can practically see the excitement on Jason’s face as he reads this. What we have here is a Volkswagen Beetle, built in Mexico in the year Bill Clinton was elected President in the US. It’s also a full eleven years older than the newest Beetle built in Mexico, and one of twenty-one million built worldwide over a span of seven decades. [Editor’s Note: The idea of a not-old-as-hell original Beetle is so appealing to me. In 2000 I drove one in LA, where they were being sold via the loophole of using old pans/VINs, which got shut down within months. But it was incredible: all the old Beetle feeling but everything new and tight and not dealing with the wear of a half million miles or whatever. I wish I had the money back then. – JT]
Mexican Beetles look weird to anyone familiar with air-cooled Volkswagens; all the little details are wrong. Body-colored bumpers, black trim, clear turn signals, the exact same steering wheel as my old 1985 Golf, and a single exhaust tip all add up to one uncanny bug. It looks like a custom job. It has a carbureted 1600 cc engine (electronic fuel injection would be added a year later) and a four-speed stick (of course).
This Beetle appears to be in immaculate shape, practically new. It may be new, for all we know. The interior is claimed to be leather (“piel”), but is almost certainly vinyl. White with a brown interior is a good color combo for a Beetle, and I like the plain steel wheels on it.
Obviously, nine and a half grand is a lot for a Beetle, but bring this car to any VW gathering in the States and you’d draw a crowd. It’s too bad it isn’t one of the zillion special editions cranked out by the Puebla plant in the 1990s, but it’s still special just by virtue of being a late-model Mexican car. And there they are: two cars each from their home countries, both old enough to bring into the US if you so desired. Both are uncannily familiar, but just a bit different, and either one would be a conversation starter. What’ll it be?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers) Anyhow, it’s a bit much for it, but VW all the way. It’s just so much more interesting ‘ ready to go the distance! Now I’ll go back and read and see if anything is off. Nope. Just read it, no thoughts, no notes. Gimme the “new” Beetle. Do it. Do it now. Some people say you can bring a mexican beetle to the US, get a US VIN, go to secretary of state in Michigan and finish the process lol they dont even check your vehicle. None of that hassle seems necessary these days, since only the last 6 years of production are still too new to just import as-is, just find a car made in January 1997 or earlier and bring it in. Unless you really, really want a 2004 Ultima Edicion or something You might have a hard time in California with their onerous emissions shit that’s overly strict, but otherwise it should be no problem. If it was made in Mexico, there shouldn’t be any import duty due to NAFTA. If it was made in Brazil, then it’s 2.5% yugo for sale 1000 miles was ina museum would be a great shitbox showdown Beetle all day. The Beetle is always interesting. Perhaps this is a little more interesting, and you could dress it up like a “real” Beetle. Get the old style bumpers and fender top turn signals. Drill a hole into it. Who cares? Or you could get it painted like in the 70’s, where they’d paint an old MG sports car on the sides, using the fenders as the fenders for the painting. I was curious to see if there were any CSX Type S’s available (particularly at a price roughly equivalent to the Beetle), but there aren’t any currently, at least on Auto Trader nationally or Kijiji in the Toronto area. If Mercedes sees this, a luxury 8th gen Civic Si is a pretty decent Holy Grail. https://auto.mercadolibre.com.mx/MLM-1774692061-seat-leon-2018-20-cupra-5p-dsg-_JM#position=1&search_layout=grid&type=item&tracking_id=0a58f0de-8f15-416a-b6ee-e2c09647e5d3 I chose the Civic. You get all the good shit from Honda but with some more luxury and prestige. Also, the EL cluster has orange markings, which is cool As with most things, condition is everything. Rusted-out project Beetles are still cheap, it’s just the values on the remaining good ones that have surged She got about 10 rock solid reliable years out of it before a street racing moron ran a red light and totalled it. Sadly it is not. Take a look at eBay Motors: decent-looking Beetles start around $10K and they are not as nice as this one. I had a Super Beetle as my first car in high school 20 years ago, and had been thinking about getting another one for a few years, but holy crap, have prices gotten crazy. Air cooled VW enthusiasts were always lukewarm on Supers, but nice ones (not project cars or cosmetically ratty drivers) are like $15k now, and standard sedans in the same condition are more than that. And Type 3s and Ghias are more still. I suspect part of it is driven by the ridiculous surge in air cooled Porsche values, people priced out of the market there are dropping to the next-closest alternative and pulling all of it upward Fortunately, Corvair prices are still pretty much exactly what they were 10-15 years ago with no change.
