Color My World, Or At Least My Car: 1995 Chevy S-10 vs 2012 Ford Escape

Good morning! Well, wouldn’t you know it, we came back from 85 degrees right into a snowstorm. That’s got me back in a cheap winter-beater mood, so today we’re staying in that $3-4,000 sweet spot, and looking at a couple of colorful characters that would serve anyone well in crappy weather – as long as they know how to drive a stick.

I generally try to keep the prices of the two competitors somewhat close, but yesterday it just wasn’t possible. I wanted those two cars, and one was ten grand more than the other. Usually what happens in that situation is that the cheaper car wins by a landslide, and that’s exactly what happened here. The Renault Twingo may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s “normal” enough to just hop in and drive without dealing with too much weirdness. And for $4,000 Canadian – what is that, $3,000 US? – it’s an easy sell. The Ami is cool, but for that price, you have to really want it.

Personally, I’d love a chance to drive the Ami, or a 2CV, or even better a Mehari, but I wouldn’t want to own one, I don’t think. The Twingo, on the other hand, I could totally see myself in. And I even like the purple.

Color is an important part of a car’s personality, which is why it’s a shame that so many car buyers choose such boring options. It’s not hard to find the other color options; they’re right there in the back of the brochure, or in the buttons on the online configurator these days. You don’t have to choose white, silver, or gray. Luckily, the original owners of these two braved the more saturated end of the color chart, and chose colors that make them pop. They’re not the most exciting cars in the world, but at least they don’t blend into the background. Let’s check them out.

1995 Chevrolet S-10 LS – $3,991

Engine/drivetrain: 4.3 liter overhead valve V6, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Mountlake Terrace, WA

Odometer reading: 238,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

The second generation of Chevy’s compact S-10 pickup gets a lot of grief, and I’ve never quite understood why. Its bigger sibling, the GMT400, is a legend, but for some reason the GMT325 just doesn’t command the same respect. It has a lot of the same DNA, and in fact this one has the same 4.3 liter V6 and NV3500 five-speed manual as the base model GMT400. It’s a good truck. But for some reason, it has always played second fiddle to the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma.

This truck has well over 200,000 miles on it, but I have no doubt it runs strong and pulls hard. I’m a big fan of the 4.3, as you all know. It’s not the smoothest engine ever made, it has a lower redline than a Victrola record, and I guarantee you it leaks oil from somewhere, but it will keep putting out big lazy torque until the end of time. And the NV3500 is strong too, if maybe a little sloppy. It’s being sold at a dealership, so we’ll have to take their word for it when they say “well maintained,” but if you can drive it off with no funny smells or noises, it should be good.

It does have a weak spot, the same one as all GM vehicles of this era: the interior. All that gray plastic was cheesy-looking when Clinton was in office, and it has not aged well since then. This one has it all: scuffs, sun damage, broken pieces, even a missing radio knob. The driver’s seat and door panel show every inch of those 238,000 miles too. But what the hell; it’s a truck. And since it’s an LS model, it has some niceties like power windows and air conditioning.

It’s not as beat-up outside as you might expect a truck this old to be. It has some scuffs and dings, but no major damage, and it even has a nice bed-liner. I’ve always liked the alloy wheels on these, too. And it’s teal, which is a color long overdue for a comeback.

2012 Ford Escape XLS – $2,999

Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Zion, IL

Odometer reading: 168,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

The partnership between Ford and Mazda created a lot of really good cars. A lot of the heavy lifting was done by Mazda, though; the highly underrated 1991-2002 Ford Escort and Mercury Tracer were based on Mazda’s excellent BG platform, and the Ford Probe was mechanically the same as a GD/GE chassis Mazda 626. The Ford Escape was based on a Mazda platform as well, and Mazda sold its own version: the Tribute. It’s not the best crossover SUV in the world, but it’s pretty damn good.

Mazda also provided the base engine for the Escape and Tribute: the excellent MZR twin-cam four-cylinder, called the Duratec by Ford. This one has the simplest drivetrain available in the Escape, and probably the most robust, a simple five-speed manual driving only the front wheels. You don’t really need all-wheel-drive for most situations anyway; why bother with the maintenance and complexity for just driving around? This one is also being sold by a dealership, so don’t expect any maintenance history. Check it over carefully, or bring a friend along who knows cars.

The interior is nothing special, but it looks like a fairly nice place to be. It’s got all the basic power stuff, windows and locks and whatnot, and a CD player. You kept your CDs, right? It’s in good condition, and it doesn’t look like they Armor-Alled it to death before taking the photos.

It’s an Illinois car, so that cool green paint is a little bit crispy around the edges. The previous generation of Escape and Tribute had some serious issues with subframe rust, but I don’t think these were affected. It’s still a good idea to poke around underneath and make sure it’s not about to break in two. I appreciate the fact that the dealership isn’t trying to hide the rust, though.

One of the things I like about my big green Chevy is the fact that I always know where I parked it. It sticks out like a sore thumb, so there’s none of that “Is it this row? Is it the next row?” nonsense. Between that, and the visibility in traffic, and you could argue that brightly-colored cars are just safer all around. So which one catches your eye: the tough little truck, or the celery-colored crossover?