Category Archives: Cheap Fun Cars

Fun enthusiast-aimed cars that can be had for under $30 grand

For me, as a driver, this is Genesis

Porsche_944_Turbo_Red_4New year, new beginning, and it’s making me think back on my journey as a driver and car enthusiast as I consider where I want to go from here.

My car obsession began as a kid, but my enthusiast driving really began with this, a 1990 Porsche 944 S2 just like the one shown here (not my photo). My Dad wanted to teach me to drive stick and he also wanted a sports car for some fun, so we found this 944 with 142k miles for around $9 grand and it was absolutely perfect. I first went over 100mph in this car, and my dad was very cool about it. I also learned to “drift” by sliding this car with it’s perfect 50/50 weight distribution (not sure if Dad knows that).

This car opened my eyes to the world of sports cars from the time I was 16 on a learner’s permit and I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the 944. For me as a driver, this is Genesis.

-Nick Walker

Advertisement

A tiny package with so much sting, my second take on the Fiat 500 Abarth

IMG_4096

I’ve recently been spending some time behind the wheel of my buddy’s Fiat 500 Abarth and I find myself thinking about it a lot. I drove one briefly a few years back when they first came out and I was enamored with it, but spending more time with the Abarth only makes you want one at a deeper and deeper level. It has all of those intangible things that don’t immediately jump out on paper, and those things give it what I call “staying power.” The Abarth offers a depth of experience that will keep it interesting long after you sign on the dotted line.

Continue reading A tiny package with so much sting, my second take on the Fiat 500 Abarth

The Lincoln Mark VII Chronicles, Part VI: All Good Things Come to an End.

Mark VII Front Angle 1//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

Well, like all things, this story has to end. It was September 2017, and the Lincoln was running and driving with a new battery, water pump, and fuel pump. The power steering system was still leaking like a sieve and it smelled funny like always, but I did not care. The day I picked it up, I took over running a poker game at a local bar and everyone was genuinely shocked to see me pull up in the thing, especially after I’d killed it on the highway a week prior. With a whole day of driving in hot September temperatures under its belt, I was confident the Lincoln could make it on the trip it didn’t make the year prior–Radnor. Continue reading The Lincoln Mark VII Chronicles, Part VI: All Good Things Come to an End.

Miata Meditation

Miata Meditation

I’ve owned my Miata Club Edition for two years now, and I’m still absolutely in love with it. That said, I have often thought back to why I didn’t get one of the faster, maybe more impressive cars I was considering at the time (Corvette, M3, Cayman, etc). I remember it was a feeling, a sense of calm rather than excitement or lust. It resonated so clearly with the personal journey I had been on that it seemed just right.

Moderation. Not abstinence, nor indulgence. That was one of the main philosophies of the Buddha, at least as I’ve come to understand. Many may find it odd that I apply Buddhist philosophy to my own pursuit of material pleasures, but for a car enthusiast it is a way of life. I’m not over here trying to be a monk, giving up all material things. I’m a real man with my share of hypocritical beliefs and practices, and I actually quite enjoy being afflicted with desire. Sure, it brings with it pain and anxiety, but it also makes life interesting. Like sitting on the tip of a pin, you feel very alive despite the side effects.

The key is to also be mindful, so you don’t take things too far and find yourself consumed to the very core with material interests. You have to keep these things in context with the experience you’re looking to have in life. I never want to be one of those people who can’t be happy no matter how far they go or how high they climb. What’s the point of all that if you’re going to die miserable anyway? Learning to embrace “what is” is just as important as focusing on “what could be.” Both are important to me, so I try and share my focus between each.

Continue reading Miata Meditation

Miata: The Snow Review

Miata Club Ace Snow 13

When it comes to sports cars there are so many fair weather fans, people who will question driving their car if there is even one cloud in the sky. I am definitely not one of them, and those people make me laugh. I once heard a man with a base Porsche Cayman brag about how his car had never seen rain, and I had to walk away so I wouldn’t crack up in his face.

The thing is, fair weather drivers are missing out on one of the most fun driving experiences there is. I’m talking about snow, yes, white, fluffy, salt-laden snow. It comes with some risks, but the rewards are truly special. At the end of the day, a sports car is all about having fun, so why not experience it to the absolute fullest?

Continue reading Miata: The Snow Review

$25K Used Car Shootout: Audi B8 S4 vs Lexus IS F

IMG_0354 IMG_0336

For $25K you have many great options for a high-performance daily driver. If you want a brand new car you can get a Honda Civic Si or a Volkswagen GTI, both great “hot hatches” with amazing handling and turbocharged power. Looking a couple years used, you can find a current-gen Subaru WRX, or variants of the Ford Mustang or Chevy Camaro. But what if you want something even more serious with more emphasis on luxury and even higher performance? For $25K, the cars will be a few years older, 8-10 years old in this case, but you are getting $60K worth of car for less than half the price.

I’m starting to look around in this general price range for my next step, and I have various options depending on what I decide to do with my current stable of cars. I decided to go have a drive in some of the cars I’ve been looking at to see what they’re really like from behind the wheel.

I went to a local dealer to check out two Audi B8 S4s, and low and behold, they had a Lexus IS F on the lot as well – it hadn’t been listed online yet. IS Fs are pretty rare, and this one was in my range, so I added it to my list to drive.

The S4 and IS F are a somewhat strange comparison, the Audi is AWD with a supercharged V6, and the Lexus is RWD with a 5.0L V8. When it comes to driving in bad weather, they don’t really do the same things. That said, both are midsize sedans that offer high performance with a lot of polish. Overall, they serve the same basic function for the same basic price, so, despite their vast differences in many areas, that means they compete.

Continue reading $25K Used Car Shootout: Audi B8 S4 vs Lexus IS F

Hyundai Elantra Sport DCT Review: An Unknown Gem

Hyundai Elantra Sport 10

Many good things in life fly just under the radar. Like the other day when I went to lunch at work, and noticed a bright blue Hyundai Elantra parked out front. The color caught my eye, but I figured it was just another Elantra. Then I noticed the wheels, the slightly aggressive body styling, and the dual exhaust tips protruding from the diffuser-looking rear valance. I thought to myself, “Damn, Hyundai is really trying to make the Elantra look like a performance model.” I saw the word “Sport” displayed on the back, and the subtle “Turbo” badge on the front grill. That prompted me to get out my phone and Google the Elantra Sport over lunch. What I found out was very intriguing.

Continue reading Hyundai Elantra Sport DCT Review: An Unknown Gem

Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Review: My Next Daily Driver?

Honda Civic Hatchback Sport 1

I’m starting to consider options for replacing my Volkswagen CC as my practical daily driver, and I’ve had numerous people tell me to try out the new turbocharged Honda Civic.

Now before any of you scream “Civic Si” or “Civic Type R” at the screen, just know that I need an automatic here because my girlfriend, Gab, needs to be able to drive the car. I have my Miata and my STI when I want to shift my own gears. Also, the mighty Type R is vastly out of my budget for this move.

I’m not going too deep into financials, but I’m considering a lease that would be the same or less than what I currently pay on my CC. I also want a car that is realistically capable of touching 40 MPG when I’m cruising.

So, automatic, 40 MPG capable, and a relatively cheap monthly payment. Sounds like driving excitement may not really be a factor here, right? The options are certainly limited, but the new Civic Hatchback Sport quickly captured my interest when shopping around. I’d heard some great things about the new 1.5L turbocharged engine, and it seemed like Honda had made the Hatchback Sport model a junior Si, of sorts.

I figured if I was going to try out the new Civic, I might as well try the one most likely to catch my interest. The 1.5L Turbo is available on all the Civic models, but the Sport would have the tighter handling and the sport exhaust, which would make it more my kind of car.

So, after work, I went to go check it out, and see if the Civic Hatchback Sport was the “8/10ths Civic Si” I was hoping it would be.

Continue reading Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Review: My Next Daily Driver?

The Lincoln Mark VII Chronicles, Part III: One Battle Ends, and Another Begins

Lincoln Mark VII Front 2

By the beginning of September, my life was finally coming back together, ever-so-slowly. With a job offer in hand and numerous leads calling me nonstop, I was finally hitting my stride for the first time since April of 2016. However, while I was improving, the Mark VII was starting to falter. Continue reading The Lincoln Mark VII Chronicles, Part III: One Battle Ends, and Another Begins

Polaris Slingshot Review: You’ll Be the Talk of the Town

IMG_6306

Glued to the window. I mean this kid’s face must have literally become fused with the glass. There is something about the raw enthusiasm of a child that’s quite effective for judging certain things about a car. Let’s put it this way, we were stuck in traffic, surrounded by hundreds of other cars, but this kid’s attention was transfixed solely on mine, and for good reason. Just look at this thing, it’s the Polaris Slingshot, and it’s friggin’ awesome!

The kid would’ve never even bothered to notice if I were in any sort of normal car, whether it be a Toyota Camry, a BMW M5, or probably even a Porsche 911. There was something vastly entrancing to his young mind about my Polaris Slingshot, to the point where he was trying to push himself through the window to get a better look at it. You’d honestly need to be in a Lamborghini, or something that exotic, to draw the same kind of attention this outrageous reverse trike does.

I think, by all definitions, the Polaris Slingshot can be considered a genuine exotic car. It commands crazy amounts of attention, it’s exciting to drive, and it’s totally idiotic in most practical ways. What I found in my time driving the Slingshot, though, was just how exotic it really is in the most classic sense. You see, the exotic car experience consists of a grand mix of excitement and frustration. The great aspects are incredible, but they are balanced out by serious flaws, which are often infuriating, excruciating, or both at the same time.

The question is, are the Polaris Slingshot’s good aspects worth putting up with its bad aspects? Or, for that matter, is it even worth your time in a world full of other wonderful cars and bikes?

I’ve wanted to drive a Slingshot ever since I first saw one fly past me on the road, so I decided to rent one and find out during a recent vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Continue reading Polaris Slingshot Review: You’ll Be the Talk of the Town

So I made another purchase this weekend…

Mazda NC Miata Club Edition 1

Wait, didn’t he just buy an old red Miata? Why the hell would he buy a new red Miata now?

That is the question everyone around me has been asking all weekend. Yes, I went and bought this beautiful 2014 Mazda MX5 Miata Club Edition this weekend, and no I’m not crazy, although it may seem that way to many people around me right now.

Here’s why I went and bought this car, as best as I can explain it right now.

Continue reading So I made another purchase this weekend…

2015 Ford Focus ST Review, Al’s Take (Grade: A)

Ford Focus ST Front 1

The Ford Focus has been on my radar for longer than we’ve been running this website.  Back in 2011, the first car I drove to review for the website was a 2011 Focus SE sedan and I thought it was a massive step in the right direction for Ford’s compact entry.  A few short years later, the ST launched–and we all rejoiced that Ford had thrown its hat into the hot-hatch ring, creating yet another choice for less than 30 grand. It’s taken some time for me to get around to it, but a few weeks ago, I took this 2015 model for a spin around Old Bridge–and learned a lot about what Ford’s doing to stay relevant in this super-competitive market. Continue reading 2015 Ford Focus ST Review, Al’s Take (Grade: A)