02Pilot said:I drove daily cars without A/C (one with a black vinyl interior and roof) and various other discomforts ~25 years ago. Reading this thread now makes me feel like an old, spoiled, lazy wuss.
Oh man. I remember when I used to daily my MK3 supra with no air conditioning in all those summers. How far I've come!
My least practical daily was probably my Miata back in California. Had functioning A/C and cruise control, but spec miata suspension and a kirkey racing seat bolted to the floor were not very comfortable. Current daily is a 2007 Mazda3... rough cosmetic shape and I'm expecting the clutch to E36 M3 the bed any moment now but otherwise it's fine.
On the other side of the impractical daily spectrum, I want a truck... Need to tow the Miata to the track, but I don't want (or really have space for) 3 cars. Is commuting 75 miles a day in a half-ton truck stupid? A new 2.7 2wd F150 should do the advertised 26mpg+ on my commute (flat, half interstate, half country roads <55mph)....
In reply to morello159 :
A modern half ton can be treated like a large Camry with no issues. Doing the same in a nearly 30 year old dually is a bit rough.
Somethings wrong with the AC in my Ti that causes it to freeze up after an hour or two. I removed the belt even though most of my drives are around town. Combine no AC with the worst breathing seat material in the world and people didn't want to ride with me.
I’ve had a few impractical commuters. My favorite was probably the loud, lifted, 2wd/2.3/5spd Ranger. I would still be driving it if it hadn’t gotten too rusty.
This thing. Cold starts are finicky, thanks to MegaSquirt and not knowing what I'm doing. No air-conditioning, cruise control doesn't work. Grippy clutch with a 10lb flywheel. Absurdly loud even with the baffle in the exhaust (blew 96.5db). It's on coilovers and poly bushings, with 200tw tires. And it makes 245whp. I drive it every day spring, summer and fall, and frequently take super long roadtrips with it.
AC is absolutely a requirement for a DD. I think Friday it was 110° with 50% humidity.
No PS only really sucks in a parking lot.
z31maniac said:AC is absolutely a requirement for a DD. I think Friday it was 110° with 50% humidity.
No PS only really sucks in a parking lot.
Yeah, having no PS isn't too bad. I've driven the track/race car on the road and it's fine, but lack of AC is the killer.
Oh, I forgot, I had a 1993 Subaru Loyale 4WD wagon for a few years. It had the 3-speed automatic, which with 23" tall tires and 3.90 gears, equated to 3500rpm at 50mph. The EA82 made a whopping 85hp, so it was far from quick. And, despite being my winter beater in Central New York, it didn't have any heat. In retrospect, this one didn't make much sense and everyone thought I was nuts, but I loved that car.
I have been absolutely loving my MR2 Spyder as a daily driver this year. I have two kids, but don't have to take them with me to work since they're not up to paying bills yet. We have family cars and then the daily and it's been awesome. Top's down as long as it's not raining, and a/c works well for when it is. I recommend them; just enough different from a Miata to really make you smile. Not that I don't still look at Miata ads. But do not plan on carrying both stuff and another person as pretty much anything bigger than a bag of chips has to sit in the passenger seat. I sold my motorcycle when I had kids (personal risk-assessment decision) and this is my 4-wheel motorcycle with airbags.
dculberson said:I have been absolutely loving my MR2 Spyder as a daily driver this year. I have two kids, but don't have to take them with me to work since they're not up to paying bills yet. We have family cars and then the daily and it's been awesome. Top's down as long as it's not raining, and a/c works well for when it is. I recommend them; just enough different from a Miata to really make you smile. Not that I don't still look at Miata ads. But do not plan on carrying both stuff and another person as pretty much anything bigger than a bag of chips has to sit in the passenger seat. I sold my motorcycle when I had kids (personal risk-assessment decision) and this is my 4-wheel motorcycle with airbags.
Those seem like a fantastic value for what you get, a mini toyota boxster (?). Does the engine warrant modification for more power to be fun on the street? A V6 swap would be inticing.
Are these worth saving coin to get over a used Boxster?
Waiting to see air cooled VW's on here
BlueInGreen - Jon said:I’ve had a few impractical commuters. My favorite was probably the loud, lifted, 2wd/2.3/5spd Ranger. I would still be driving it if it hadn’t gotten too rusty.
Can you elaborate on this truck?
engiekev said:Those seem like a fantastic value for what you get, a mini toyota boxster (?). Does the engine warrant modification for more power to be fun on the street? A V6 swap would be inticing.
Are these worth saving coin to get over a used Boxster?
I do think they're a fantastic value right now. Cheap ones are cheaper than cheap Boxsters, and even expensive ones compare favorably cost-wise to a cheap Boxster. They're quicker than I expected but still not fast, ie, faster 0-60 than a Mazdaspeed Miata, stock for stock. Mine is stock, engine-wise, and it's plenty quick for the street. Just the 2zz swap which is bolt-in with some wiring changes gives it a sub-6 second 0-60. A v6 would be demonic. A turbo on the 1zz is a good option; Carbon on here has one he tracks and an extra one he was talking about selling for cheap (thread here: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/mr2-spyder-thoughts/137556/page1/ check the last post). Avoid the SMT (autimated manual) transmission; it doesn't drive well and as it ages expensive repairs pop up. Gut or remove or replace the small catalytic converters on the exhaust manifold. Otherwise it's a simple and reliable platform.
OK, now I see maybe you meant you were saving money to buy the MR2. Yes, that makes sense. Drive both, though! I think the Boxster is quicker, and likely has a nicer interior, and definitely has more luggage space. But I love my Spyder and for the cost you can't beat it. I have almost nothing but labor in mine since I bought it broken and parted out a wrecked one to fix it.
Also, if it matters to you: I've been getting 29mpg on my Spyder, running regular gas and driving it hard in almost 50/50 mixed city/highway driving. But if you did it, the 2zz swap requires premium.
I drove cars before AC, power steering, boosted brakes etc. were even available, in all kinds of weather. some in the south.
And I do appreciate all of them on my new car.
If we want to get into past impractical DDs, there probably isn't enough room here. It is pretty much all I drive.
Flashback to the mid 90s, and you would see this in the morning commute on the Stevenson into Chicago. 440 powered through glasspacks with 5.87 gears on 38.5x11.00 Boggers. 
Even in bumper to bumper traffic, there was a full one vehicle cushion around my M715, for some odd reason.
I have had some impractical DD's. Drove this one for 3 years(no top because it wouldn't fit over the bar).
Then later this was my DD for 5 years (didn't own a 4 wheel vehicle, just a bunch of motorcycles).
In reply to Hal :
An FT500 was my first street bike. Bought it new back in 84, IIRC.
I drove one of these for about 6 months as a daily driver when the rest of my Fiats and Alfa Romeos didn't run.
Took a while to see the Answer as an answer.
I DD's a Miata from 1997 to 2014. Every day. In snow. Was a great excuse not to take more than one person anywhere.
My most impractical commuters were nearly identical black, 5 speed, Honda Civics. I had a 1996 with 250k miles, no A/C, no PS. Drove it for a couple years. It puked all its oil going down the highway sometime in the fall after the hottest summer I can remember. I replaced it with a 2000 that had PS and A/C, but no heat... Drove that all winter before admitting the office job has made me soft. The following spring I bought a Hyundai Accent with PS, heat, AND A/C. I've been a wuss ever since.
PS - the Accent was a pretty bad car by any reasonable person's standards. Hard plastic everywhere, geared way too low so it was screaming on the highway and got kinda bad MPG as a result, noisy, etc. I didn't care. It was so much more comfortable than my previous two cars that I felt like a king.
According to this thread -> Link my current RAM 3500 qualifies.
dculberson said:engiekev said:Those seem like a fantastic value for what you get, a mini toyota boxster (?). Does the engine warrant modification for more power to be fun on the street? A V6 swap would be inticing.
Are these worth saving coin to get over a used Boxster?
I do think they're a fantastic value right now. Cheap ones are cheaper than cheap Boxsters, and even expensive ones compare favorably cost-wise to a cheap Boxster. They're quicker than I expected but still not fast, ie, faster 0-60 than a Mazdaspeed Miata, stock for stock. Mine is stock, engine-wise, and it's plenty quick for the street. Just the 2zz swap which is bolt-in with some wiring changes gives it a sub-6 second 0-60. A v6 would be demonic. A turbo on the 1zz is a good option; Carbon on here has one he tracks and an extra one he was talking about selling for cheap (thread here: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/mr2-spyder-thoughts/137556/page1/ check the last post). Avoid the SMT (autimated manual) transmission; it doesn't drive well and as it ages expensive repairs pop up. Gut or remove or replace the small catalytic converters on the exhaust manifold. Otherwise it's a simple and reliable platform.
OK, now I see maybe you meant you were saving money to buy the MR2. Yes, that makes sense. Drive both, though! I think the Boxster is quicker, and likely has a nicer interior, and definitely has more luggage space. But I love my Spyder and for the cost you can't beat it. I have almost nothing but labor in mine since I bought it broken and parted out a wrecked one to fix it.
Also, if it matters to you: I've been getting 29mpg on my Spyder, running regular gas and driving it hard in almost 50/50 mixed city/highway driving. But if you did it, the 2zz swap requires premium.
This is not helping me reduce my fleet 
The boxster is appealing from a "buy and drive" proposition, but the ease of repair is not. I do admit a turbo MR2 would be probably the perfect car for the back roads in MI and Waterford Hills.
This is my impractical daily driver. Quite luxurious for its time, but being plagued by the Mitsubishi reliability curse is not ideal. It makes a perfect gravel b-road blaster for all the dirt roads in MI, point and shoot kind of driving dynamic
In reply to NickD :
One of my favorite cars was my GL wagon. I had the 5 speed, which was really a 4 speed because 5th gear was completely useless except for putting around town in the city, over about 55mph it couldn't pull that tall of a gear. (It would have been about 2800 at 60 in 5th, , but that little motor did absolutely nothing below 3500, or over 5500) Top speed was in 4th, too. 87mph. The carpet was my cruise control. Upshift to 5th and it would slow down.
Theoretically I could have driven it in 5th gear and 4-Lo, but I had too much fun driving in Low in 1-2-3-4, then shift to High and down to 3 for 3-4-5. It's not like I was actually accelerating much, but at least I was shifting a bunch so I had something to do.
In reply to engiekev :
I will trade you all the things for that car (except the RX-3).
Seriously. a GVR4 is on my ultimate wishlist. I have enough paid off on teh S60R that I'd need an adult to tell me no if you agreed.
(And yes, I HAVE driven them. I know they are laggy, and slow, and rust prone, and the rear wheel steering is perpetually broken, and they have weird smelling interiors, and they are a major PITA to work on for any reason at all.... actually, you know what, nevermind)
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