I've got four cars on the road right now, but hear the whole story....
2001 Ford Ranger; I've been driving it back and forth to work (26 miles one way) because it's 4 cyl. 5 spd. and kinda cheap to run. My wife and I work at the same site so we run one car at a time. She recently beaked it into a guard rail lighting off the airbags which took out the windshield. I figure ~$2,000 to get it fixed, no collision insurance. Add $2k to its value and it looks like I have to keep it a while. Besides, a small truck is nice to have.
1974 Porsche 914; Nice car, sometimes we commute with it in nice weather, never in the rain though. It hibernates in the winter which is right around the corner.
1986 Suzuki Samurai; my new hobby. Trish never really bonded with the whole Auto-X track day thing. After a Jeep Tour in Sedona, Az. where she was totally at ease climbing off camber rocks and gullies because "you're going slow", I sold off the Auto-X stuff and bought the Sammy. I joined a local Jeep club to learn, but with a short wheelbase and 32" tires it's a real handful at highway speeds. I'm keeping it but not commuting or going far with it. Events far away I would tow it.
1994 Toyota 4-Runner; owned it for 10 years and put 120,000 miles on it. It's japanese rusty. I've replaced a mile of fuel lines and last night replaced a steering stabilizer; front end shimmied. I like driving it, you're a little higher than traffic, it has 4WD, fold down rear seats, electric everything and cruise control. It's a 3.0 litre 5 speed stick. Because we have other "toy" cars, two "regular" vehicles are nice when we go in different directions like on weekends or whe has to go on travel for work.
Because we use the Ranger to commute, the 4-Runner just sits. In NY there is an annual safety inspection required; after crashing the Ranger we started driving the 4-Runner again and got stopped because the inspection was overdue by seven months. Oops. Anywho, I'm thinking of replacing the 4-Runner with something smaller, NOT a MIata unless they offer a hatch wagon. That would be cool!
I pushed a Renault R5 LeCar up and down the highway for five years so small cars don't scare me, a Suzuki SX4 (?) or whatever it's called, a Mazda 3 ot Toyota Matrix, that kind of car would be fine.
The Toyota was great for moving the kid around the country, it gobbled up tons of stuff and even had to haul the BatVan and trailer at the $2004 Challenge when the tow vehicle puked, it's been good to us. The kid is settled in one spot, I'm not hauling anything any longer and I have an off-road vehicle that can handle the snowy days when we used to take the 4-Runner. If they were lighter, more effecient and safer I wouldn't hesitate in buying a restored '63 Falcon or '62 Nova.
My only requirements are 4 cylinder, stick. Cruise would be nice. I didn't put any budget constraints on this because "If we need it bad enough the money is somewhere".
Thanks for your thoughts, Dan
