Do you also do a thing when you travel where you instinctively look at the local Craigslist just in case? It’s not even that I expect to buy a car, it’s that I need to know what it would be like if I lived there. This has only gotten stronger since I moved to New York, where the cars I’m interested in are both too expensive and look like abandoned oil refineries when you look underneath them.
Mark is fine, but he’s dealing with some family stuff so I’ve volunteered to step in to pick up today’s SBSD. The kids are playing, the in-laws are out doing something, and I’m warmly enjoying the basement spare room.
Yesterday’s battle was between a ’60s VW-based Dune Buggy and a sweet early ’70s Oldsmobile Toronado. I’m usually in the minority on my SBSD votes, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that a narrow majority of you agreed the FWD boat is better than the Buggy. A lot of this, I suspect, has to do with price and condition. The Buggy is some sort of strange kit and a barely complete one at that. The Olds looks ready to cruise. I also have a theory that large Malaise Era boats are making a comeback.
I’m currently in Western Michigan so I’m going to go in the complete opposite direction of this SBSD. What if it’s winter and you need to drive something cheap and just a little fun? The obvious answer isn’t RWD, though RWD in the snow can be fun if all you want to have is fun. AWD is the safe bet, but safe bets are rarely fun. FWD gives you the comfort of something that’ll track reasonably straight when roads turn wintry, as well as the joy of perfectly yanking a parking brake for a drifty turn.
Today I’ve got a couple of great options.
2010 Pontiac Vibe GT – $4,395
Engine/drivetrain: Toyota’s 2.4-liter 2AZ-FE inline-four, FWD, five-speed manual
Location: Lakeview, Michigan
Odometer reading: 194,900
Operational status: Runs and drives
It has been well established around these parts that the Pontiac Vibe is actually an excellent car, although the 1st generation car is generally more prized due to its more attractive aesthetic. I normally forget about the 2nd-generation Vibe, which remains a platform twin to the Toyota Matrix and was built at the jointly-owned Toyota/GM NUMMI facility in California.
While this doesn’t have the cool, two-tone faux rugged look of the 1st-gen car, this model does pick up the larger 2.4-liter 2AZ-Fe inline-four that also did duty in the same era RAV-4 and Camry. This isn’t necessarily a hot rod engine, but 152 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque it’s a decent step up over the outgoing Vibe GT.
This one seems to be remarkably clean for its high miles, and the fact that it doesn’t appear to have much rust underneath is a sign to me that this car didn’t spend almost 200,000 miles in Western Michigan and instead arrived from a different state. Otherwise, someone was keeping this car in the garage for winter, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given that it’s a Vibe GT.
This car is almost 15 years old and everything looks to be in order, with only a little seat-cracking here and there. I’ve seen four-year-old cars with worse interiors. The most important ingredients for happy happy fun time are the real e-brake and five-speed manual transmission.
Because the car has such high miles on it I wouldn’t feel bad hooning the crap out of it in winter. Yeah, it’s a nice car, but it’s a high-mileage econobox Camry built with a stout Toyota motor. Maybe rinse it off after you have some fun and it’ll last at least a few more Decembers.
2010 Honda Civic – $3,500
Engine/drivetrain: Honda’s 1.8-liter inline-four, FWD, five-speed manual
Location: Conklin, Michigan
Odometer reading: 199,900
Operational status: Runs and drives
This one is definitely ready to be a winter beater. Just look at how it was photographed. This car has probably served in this role for a long time and the owner is only selling it because he or she “needed a truck.” Otherwise, the car runs and drives great, according to the seller, and looks to be in better-than-decent shape.
While it has almost identical mileage to the Vibe GT, it is a little down on power at only 140 horses, although the Civic Coupe is almost certainly lighter. And, like the Pontiac, it shares the two keys to FWD winter fun:
Yup, manual parking brake and manual transmission. All you need to have a good time on a low-friction surface.
All of the photos from the seller are inconveniently cropped like it was shot on an IMAX camera for some reason, so you’ll have to use your imagination for interior quality. My guess is that it’s in at least decent shape given what I can see here. It’s an older Honda. They tend to hold up fairly well.
Would I love to see under the car? Unlike the Vibe, I’m assuming a little rust here, although nothing on the outside shows signs that it’s spread.
It’s an older Honda, so as long as it isn’t rusting through you should be able to fix anything broken on it fairly efficiently. Right?
All photos: Sellers
BOTH. But voted for the Vibe, which was the runner up for our first family car. (A manual VUE won, and turned out to be a great car too.) With teens who need first cars, these both look promising.
Bought an ’09 Vibe for my 19 yo daughter – she absolutely adores it.
Toyota without the Toyota tax.
Both are good choices, but the Vibe wins on account of being a hatchback which increases its usability.
i spent a week in conklin one night…it’s a special place.
That Vibe has another 100,000 miles left in it, easy. Pontiac all the way today.
Can concur – bought one with 260k for my daughter this summer. It’s just a Corolla wagon.
Civic easily. I love the Vibe (ha!) but I’ve owned enough low-production run cars where parts get hard to find just a few years after the car goes out of production that a beater HAS to be something that they made a ton of.
Sincerely, a Honda CR-Z and two-time Mazda Millenia owner.
Toyota sold the same car as the Matrix. All the underpinnings are Corolla. Engine/trans are Corolla or Camry.
Parts are not hard to come by.
I’ll vote for Nick and say Civic, obviously.
I picked the Vibe against type, just because the Honda owner “needed a truck.” You don’t need a truck. No one needs a truck. And when you do need a truck, Home Depot will give you one for $20 for the day you need it. Fight me.
I agree with you, but arguments could be made that you also don’t need a convertible, an suv, hell, you don’t even need a car if you live in the city. Take the bus. So let them have their trucks.
But what if people want comfortable trucks?…
…yeah, I’m not thrilled with the proliferation of pickups either. But there’s a handful of arguments for them I can relate to even if I think there should absolutely be fewer out there overall.
I tow a travel trailer 10 times, and 8k miles a year, and use the bed regularly, I can justify a truck. Your mileage may vary…
There are times would love to have an old S10 or Ranger on the property. 2wd is fine, I just want the bed for mulch, trash, yard debris, demolition debris, etc… All the stuff I can haul in my ’05 MDX but don’t really want too. The hitch mount cargo rack only goes so far.
Bought a dirt cheap 260,000 mile 2009 Vibe for the daughter over the summer. It is a solid little car (Corolla wagon). Hers just has the 1.8 and an auto but is going strong with only brakes, new fluids, filters, plugs and coils. Had to de-boy-racer the exhaust too. Wife has a Corolla that has needed almost nothing over the course of ownership.
Once cleaned, the interior looks near new. These are rugged cars.
Toyota FTW
Both are solid choices, but as much as I love hatchbacks, I hate gray. That era of Civic is an all-around nice car, is in a nice shade of blue, and is a coupe, which is basically an extinct body style at this point. And it’s cheaper – which is sort of important for a winter beater. So I’m going Civic.
I’m always tempted by those Hondas, as a friend of mine had an ’06 Civic he put 440,000 miles on before it was destroyed by a deer. This one here appears pretty crusty though. Besides, I just acquired a 2010 GTi. Along with our 2014 Spark, and the 2012 Volt, it just feels right to continue adding to the 4-door hatch-collection.
Wagon, for versatility, though the second generation dumped the 2ZZ 180hp engine AND 6-speed manual for a larger and weaker engine and one less gear. Vibe visually has nothing on its Toyota Matrix twin. But I’m biased, and both have GM’s shitty climate controls.
Great work Matt! I actually like both of these and really like and miss Pontiac but have to go w/ the Civic. I just like it more and I love the blue. It’s great these are both stick. I’ve heard a lot of good “vibes” about the Vibe but prefer Hondas…I’ll make it last a long time too
Matt! Please! Hear me out if you’re doing the next shitbox showdown for Mark. Give us two cars with the Xtronic CVT, just once. Give your readers a real treat.
Shitbox Showdown – The Last Two Cars on Planet Earth
2009 Nissan Rogue VS 2014 Nissan Sentra
It would set a new record for lowest reader engagement ever on this site.
Edit: on second thought… the comments section would be pure gold. Let’s do it!
Walking in the freezing rain.
Either that or an Xtronic vs a Powershift.
Vibe because a hatchback is always better.
So just checked my 09 Scion xB engine. 267 hp it says. So not certain where the Vibe hp output came from?
Same engine as the Vibe.
I would double check that- I dont think the scion XB ever had similar power to a mustang GT
Another end of year brain fart here.
Was thinking of the engine in my old Venza. Sorry.
Thanks.
In a way, Toyota did build that V6/Corolla combo…
It woulda been cool if it did, though!