Good morning! We’re starting the week off with a pair of factory hot rod economy cars. One is a well-known canyon-carver, and the other is way faster in a straight line than it has any right to be, and they’re both proudly letting their check-engine lights shine. Sounds like our kind of matchup, doesn’t it?
On Friday, we looked at a Fiat that was prepped for track use, and a Subaru kei truck that isn’t quite ready for the DMV yet. I guess I’m not surprised that you favored the kei truck. Disappointed, yes, but not surprised. But hey, if you all want to overlook Alitalia graphics, an Enzo Ferrari connection, and an engine designed by a guy with the greatest Italian name of all time – Aurelio Lampredi – in favor of some wheezy little Japanese farm truck that can barely hit highway speeds, that’s your choice.
I have no idea what the process is, if there is one, for re-titling a former race car, but commenter and contributor Brandon Forbes pointed out that the kei truck may not be all that easily registerable either. It sounds like the seller has half-assed some paperwork, and that could cause all sorts of headaches for a new owner. It might be better to seek out a more legitimate deal, if you really want a kei truck, but you’d have to apply your own stripes.
Now then: The malaise era of the late 1970s and early 80s, and the resulting adoption of front-wheel-drive for most mainstream cars, felt like the end of high-performance vehicles. “High performance” FWD cars started showing up before too long, cars like the Chevy Citation X-11 and the Dodge Shelby Charger, but they were only fast in comparison to the standard versions of the same car, and they introduced us all to a new and terrible term: “torque steer.” It felt like the thrill was gone, and it wasn’t coming back.
A decade or two later, though, automakers had tamed the FWD beast a bit, and new engine technologies meant even more power and better drivability. And for a while, after engines got good again but before safety regulations added a bunch of weight, we had some really fun little FWD pocket-rockets to choose from. I’ve found a couple of them for us to look at today, both a little worse for wear, but probably still a lot of fun. Let’s check them out.
1999 Dodge Neon R/T – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Lancaster, CA
Odometer reading: 125,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
Any Dodge fan worth their salt knows that the R/T badge is supposed to mean something special. First appearing in 1968, the R/T package (for “Road/Track”) added horsepower, handling, and style to the Charger and Coronet muscle cars. Since then, there has been an R/T package for just about every generation of Dodge, from the sublime Challenger and Viper to the ridiculous Aspen and Caliber. In 1998, Dodge added an R/T badge to its Neon compact, making an already fun and quick car even quicker and more fun.
The Neon R/T came out of the Neon ACR, a stripped-down high-performance version of the Neon intended for club-level racing and autocrossing. The R/T kept the ACR’s 150-horsepower twincam engine, short-ratio five-speed manual, and stiffer suspension, and added air conditioning, a stereo, and some stripes and badges so everyone knew what you had. This one has covered 125,000 miles, and has been graced with a whole bunch of new parts, including the timing belt and water pump, which is not a fun job on a Neon. It runs great, but has a check-engine light for a code in the evaporative emissions system, which shouldn’t be too hard to track down.
It looks like it’s in pretty good shape overall; the interior is nice, though I’d like to know what’s under that dash cover. There may be a leaky door seal somewhere on the driver’s side as well, or maybe a grommet missing on the firewall. It looks like the car was just washed prior to the photos, and the driver’s side floor mat looks wet. It’s worth asking about and checking out.
Outside, it’s presentable, but not perfect. The seller says it has a salvage title from being hit while it was parked, requiring the front bumper, headlights, and turn signals to be replaced. It doesn’t take much to ding the title on a car this old, and on a specialty vehicle like this, it only really matters if you want it for an investment – in which case you don’t park it where it can be crashed into. This is a good driver-quality example of a rare and fun car.
2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS – $3,800
Engine/drivetrain: Supercharged 2.0 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Cerritos, CA
Odometer reading: 111,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
Chevrolet’s SS, or Super Sport, badge goes back even further, all the way back to 1961 and the Impala (or 1957 and a Corvette show car, if you’re being pedantic, which I know someone will be). Like Dodge, Chevy threw the SS badge around with wild abandon during the muscle car days, offering a Super Sport package on Chevelles, Camaros, Novas, and pretty much everything else. The SS packages sort of disappeared in the late ’70s in favor of the “Z” series of option packages, but the badge made a few memorable appearances in the 1990s. In 2005, Chevy’s then-new Cobalt compact received an SS badge – and a supercharger to back it up.
This car has been the subject of our GM Hit Or Miss series in the past, and I think, like other cars in that series, counts as both a hit and a miss. On the one hand, it was faster than snake-shit (though the Mopar fan in me has to point out that it was not faster than the Neon SRT-4, the R/T’s successor) and actually handled pretty well for what it was. On the other hand, it was, well, a Cobalt. You can cover a rental car’s interior in leather and fake carbon-fiber, but you can’t make it not be fundamentally the same car. (Though yes, to be fair, one could make the exact same complaint about the Neon.)
This one is pretty clean inside, at least. The seller says it runs and drives great, but one photo shows the dashboard, and the check-engine light is on, plain as day. Since the tags are up in November, and it will need to be smog-tested then, it’s worth asking why it’s on. But the seller did just have the air conditioner serviced, so that’s something.
Outside, it’s a little tacky for my tastes; I’m not a fan of the “none more black” look. Especially if you’re going to paint the wheels black and then curb the hell out of them. With stock-colored wheels, and without those dumb smoked light covers, I think it would look a lot better. The aftermarket ram-air hood can stay, I guess; it’s too much work to try to replace it.
Both of these cars, in pristine shape, are probably in the “future classic” family, but not these examples, and that’s what I like about them. These were meant to be cheap fun, used and borderline-abused and enjoyed, and I think these are both perfect for that. The prices may seem a little high, but we all know the used car market is nuts these days. They’re still cheaper than a whole lot of cars that are a whole lot less fun. So which famous two-letter badge do you want on your economy car?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I love those old Neons where Chrysler tried to make something funky and fun. I really want to say the R/T because it looks clean, but the asking price for a salvage title neon. The front end shunt may be an explanation of why there is water in the car as damage may have been unseen or bypassed. Also easy fixed CEL should be fixed by the owner.
The Cobalt SS is just…douchey looking. Un-murdering and maybe some cheeky late-70s 3rd-Gen Camaro graphics to match the Naca hood.
Very reluctant vote for the Cobalt.
Sometimes it’s as simple as asking yourself “If one of these cars were to magically appear in my garage, would I be happy, or upset?” If the Neon showed up I’d be like “Oh hey whoa, a Neon! What fun!” If a Cobalt showed up I’d be like “Whoever put this Cobalt in my garage needs to get it the fuck out of here NOW”.
I’m too old for either of these (I’m 35).
I’m 36 and I wouldn’t mind being seen in the Neon.
I too am 36, and I only wish I could be seen in a Neon.
1988 what a great year.
You could do much, much worse.
I’m 38, and daily driving a nitro yellow green neon 140ish miles a day. They’re great, honestly.
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I’m 50 and I would have fun with either one… but would prefer the Neon since it doesn’t have the stupid mods, limo tint or a check engine light on.
Plus I prefer the ‘drive-a-slow-car-fast’ thing.
I’d run a carfax on the neon and use an auction look up site, and if it comes back relatively clean (no structural damage reported and auction photos, if any, indicate little damage) I’d go for it.
If that were a neon srt4 I would be all in for the dodge, but since it’s not I’m voting cobalt. Agree that the black on black on black is a bit too much, but that can be fixed without too much effort.
I am unashamedly a fan of those supercharged Cobalt SS’s!
These came out when I was a teenager, and immediately bring me back to the fun and exciting days of the mid-aughts when almost every manufacturer had some sort of attainable “boy racer” car that my friends and I all lusted after while playing NFS Pro Street on the weekends.
When I was in college a few years later, the vehicles that made up my best friend group were an 06 Cobalt SS, an 07 Mazdaspeed3, an 04 Mustang GT, and my 04 STi. I had a good bit of seat time tooling around in that SS, and it was a certified hoot. The supercharger whine was addictive, and the gearbox was nice and notchy. Sure, the interior wasn’t great, but neither was the interior in any of it’s competition.
What I’d give to have been older with my current income back in that mid-oughts era of cool, cheap, and fun little cars.
Throwing trouble codes is a mortal sin in these parts, where the state bi-annually asks the car “Are you OK?”. Sure these are fun, but I foresee a lot of stress in the effort to get them to pass. And both are screaming at me “I was abused by a former owner!”.
Yo. That Neon’s a Sport Coupe.
How do you figure? If you’re basing it on a Carfax of the registration, it won’t say R/T, because the R/T package was just an option package, not a separate model. Interior trim, wheels, etc are all correct.
Neon easily. I’m kind of the target demographic for a tarted-up economy car given that I already slurp the wrx koolaid
I wouldn’t kick a Cobalt outa the garage, but I’m more into hitting apexes that straight line speed
Never ever would either of these darken my drive. The asking prices are madness.
Even though I’m bothered by the salvage title, I’m more bothered by the black on black on black on black on black… yuck. As such, to the Neon I say:
hi
Nice call back to those first Neon ads.
I also hate the murdered out look, yuck.
Honestly, if the Cobalt was blue, it probably would’ve been my choice. But while it may be faster, the Neon definitely my preferred choice here. Has to be a riot!
Neons were fun little cars to fling around, and I’m not hating the weird-ish shape. It’s either been repainted, or the factory spray-job was better than most, as all the Neons I’ve seen are peeling like a sunburn victim.
OTOH, the Cobalt has probably had the daylights beat out of it, and the mods (window/headlight tints, black wheels, hood pins) bug me no end. I foresee even more money to put it right and, enjoyable as these can be, just not going there.
So, by a narrow, narrow margin,my eyes are lighting up for the Neon.
I voted for the Neon just because I hadn’t seen one in a while, and it seemed a lot happier than the Cobal(t), which probably reeks of vape juice and Axe.
As an aside, anyone else miss two-door coupes?
Raises hand
I still drive 2 door Coupe’ (a Volvo C30) Does that count? 🙂
I’ve always liked the old fashioned festive glow from neon lights whereas a cobalt derived glow indicates a fatal dose of radiation. Taking the Neon so all my roads will be Hi Ways and not Die Ways.
Great comment—I didn’t even think of the elements
If you get the Cobalt, just make sure your keychain isn’t too heavy. Otherwise, it’s a toss-up on which teenage pothead’s sloppy seconds you want to fix.
Was waiting for this.
Got to wonder bigly, if that issue was ever addressed at all.
Maybe the owner was just too busy making the car look like rolling crap?
Goodness. More red flags on each than I am comfortable with, but the modifications to the Cobalt tells me it was driven hard and put away wet, and while that’s a good engine, it still isn’t great when abused, the Neon seems to have been better cared for, despite the issues, so I went that way, but both seem overpriced for projects.
I think the seller of the Neon priced it like its already a collectible. Assuming the Cobalt is mechanically in good shape, I’m taking that and swapping the hood.
Hood pins = Crashed in the front and the hood won’t stay latched.
Maybe, but the panels all seem to line up and everything so I think it’s more just a case of an owner with bad taste. See also the hood, all lights, wheels, etc.
This was a hard choice, the Neon was the only Dodge product I ever had any interest in, and I should have voted for it, but the dash toupe and the leak kind of turned me off. The cobalt’s questionable mods can be reversed and the interior looks to be a better place to spend time in so I choose that, but it was a hard call for me, both might have been a choice?
I think you were reading my mind!
That Cobalt looks like it’s trying too hard. The added, purely decorative hood pins in a completely useless location kind of send that point home to me. The Neon never really tried that hard, and I admire it for that. I also drove one as a rental back in the day (normal one, not an R/T of course) and I found it to be pleasant and fun, even in rental spec trim. There’s enough overtly aggressive stuff on the road, and it would be cool to drive this little Neon as a counterpoint.
Neon for sure. too many red flags on that “cobal”.. the hood, the blackout tint and rims, the undisclosed CEL which im sure the owner will say is just a sensor… just screams “i just impregnated my girlfriend and now i need a real car”.
Not any more of a red flag than “I promise the salvage title is only from being hit while parked” on the Neon, IMO.
If you slip on your rose-tinted glasses all these red flags become just flags.
Like that stock looking Neon. And I’ve never owned anything with racing stripes, so it’s Neon FTW.
Cobalt is an easy win for me. Wish it was the turbo but the S/C is cool too. Didn’t these have a fancy strut system that made them handle great and nearly eliminate torque steer?
Maybe it’s just where I live, but I see more Cobalts then I see Neons. I’m sure there are reasons for that but given the good condition of the Neon I had to go with it for the rarity alone.