Good morning! We’re up to the letter M, and we’re going to look at a pair of manual-transmission economy cars with nicely alliterative names. They’re fifty-six years apart in age, but almost identical in mission.
Yesterday we looked at two mid-sized luxury rides, and though they were very similar on paper, there is a huge difference in quality and real-world feel between them. One is a pretty good car, but the other feels like it has been carved out of a solid steel ingot. To absolutely no one’s surprise, the Lexus ran away with this one.
I guess I can understand that, and generally speaking, I agree. But I have had bad Toyota experiences before, believe it or not, so if a test drive and inspection revealed something I couldn’t live with, I’d take a closer look at the Lincoln. But the reality is that neither of these cars would ever find a home in my garage; if I never work on a transversely-mounted V-shaped engine again, it will be too soon. You don’t get to choose neither – but sometimes I do.
Today’s challenge was inspired by my lovely wife, and proofreader, Erika. She is a huge fan of the Morris Minor, and insisted that I choose one for an “M” car. I was happy to oblige. But since the Minor has such nice alliteration in its name, I had to find another car with a double M. But it had to fit well with the Minor. Mercury Meteor? Nope, that’s a great big American car. Maserati Merak? A bit expensive and exotic. Mazda Miata? Tempting – but too easy.
Then I figured it out. There is another economy car with a double M name, very similar to the Minor in its purpose and place in the market: the too-oft-maligned Mitsubishi Mirage. They’re not hard to find for sale, but I had to find the right one. It had to be a manual, and it had to be a good color. I think I did all right.
1959 Morris Minor 1000 Convertible – $8,990
Engine/drivetrain: 1.0 liter overhead valve inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Buellton, CA
Odometer reading: 56,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The Morris Minor is another example of a car developed after World War II to put as many people into their own cars as possible. It was designed by celebrated auto engineer Sir Alec Issigonis, later responsible for another British people’s car icon, the Mini. The Minor was in production for twenty-three years, with steady improvements along the way. This is a Minor 1000, the third generation, introduced in 1956.
The original Minor was powered by a Morris-designed side-valve engine, but following the merger of Morris and Austin in 1952 to form British Motor Corporation, that engine was retired and replaced with the BMC A-series engine, which saw duty in millions of Minis, Austin-Healey Sprites, and MG Midgets, in addition to the Minor. It’s a good engine with all sorts of upgrade potential and aftermarket support, even today. This one fires right up and runs great, according to the seller.
The Minor was available in a bunch of bodystyles over the years: two-door and four-door sedans, “woody” wagons (known as Travellers), steel-sided panel vans, and convertibles like this one. It was fully restored back in 1980, and hasn’t been driven much since, but it’s showing its age again a bit. The driver’s seat is a different color from the others under that sheepskin cover; apparently it was replaced at some point. Interior upholstery isn’t quite as readily available for the Minor as it is some other British classics, but a good restoration shop should be able to make the seats match again if it’s important.
On the outside, it’s in need of a good polishing, but it’s completely rust-free, and a lifetime California car. It’s located in Buellton, a town in Santa Barbara County that fans of the movie Sideways may remember. And I can’t think of a better way to tour wine country than in a Morris Minor convertible, personally.
2015 Mitsubishi Mirage DE Hatchback – $7,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.2 liter dual overhead cam inline 3, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Friday Harbor, WA
Odometer reading: 91,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
These days, the whole idea of an inexpensive people’s car has fallen out of favor. Everything has to be aspirational; cheap simple cars have to pretend to be fancy expensive cars, and even then they’re a hard sell. Mitsubishi’s sixth-generation Mirage has been the butt of jokes for its entire existence, simply because it is a cheap, simple little car. It doesn’t try to be anything it isn’t, and it gets shit for it. Hardly seems fair, does it?
If there’s one word to describe the Mirage, it’s “enough.” Everything is sufficient to the task, and nothing more. Its engine is a twin-cam three-cylinder, making 76 horsepower, which is just enough for a lightweight little car like this. I specifically selected this Mirage for its five-speed manual transmission, and believe me, they’re not easy to find. Most buyers seem to prefer a CVT automatic. This one has only 91,000 miles on it, and it runs and drives just fine.
The no-nonsense motif continues inside, with sturdy materials and a simple design. This one pre-dates the backup camera requirement, so it doesn’t even have a screen in the dash. Many inexpensive economy cars like this get absolutely trashed, but this one has been well-kept. It practically looks new inside.
The Mirage is the very definition of the term “cheap and cheerful,” and such cars should be painted in fun colors. Like, say, bright purple. Why the hell would you choose plain old white or silver when you could have this? It looks well-kept outside too; the paint is nice and shiny, and I don’t see any signs of damage.
One of these is already a classic, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say the other one will be someday, too. Why? Because there probably won’t be anything like it coming along any time soon, and some kid somewhere is making fond memories of one out there right now. In twenty or thirty years, when cars are enormous, self-driving, and dull as dishwater – I mean, even more than they are now – a little purple Mitsubishi is going to turn heads. So what will it be: the already-restored-once classic, or the well-preserved future collectible?
I’d take the Morris, just so I could have a tick mark list to track all the times non-car people say “Is that a Beetle? Cool!”
The Mirage could be free and I’d still pick the Morris Minor.
Not even a fair fight. I sense your proofreader’s finger on the scale here. $2K more suddenly seems like a fair price to upgrade to one more cylinder.
Would you say he’s scheming on a thing that’s a Mirage?
Are you trying to tell us now it’s sabotage?
(My apologies to the Beastie Boys.)
I would have no idea how to find a mechanic for the Morris Minor, and I don’t have a 3 car garage, and getting the seats to match might be a chore, but all of these possibly expensive things would be better than EVER being inside a Mirage ever again….
You’ll never need to worry about sourcing parts for that Minor. Any Amish blacksmith can make them for you and a child who is reasonably adept at making sandcastles can install them. Spend an hour or so cleaning the barn and give the kid two popsicles and you’ll be back on the road.
The Mirage is todays version of the Geo Metro! 3 banger, stick, minimalist everything. But the Minor would be hours of fun at British Car meets, with your shepherds pie and large glass of you favorite English beer! All for less than the price of a new Hyundai. Surely Lucas, the Prince of Darkness has been vanquished by now!
I’m pretty sure the Minor’s lighting is kerosene, so don’t worry about Lucas.
May be old enough for acetylene maybe. If there’s a small tank with tube to the lights…got a match? Lo
This is one that really needs a “Both” option. Daily driver and weekend toy for less than the average used car, combined.
I really like the color of the Mirage, but that Morris still feels like the cooler option. I don’t think I’ve seen a Morris Minor convertible in person. I’d definitely consider either of these, though, especially if one was local.
As much as I like the Morris, I don’t really need another convertible in the stable. On the other hand, my Mazda 2 is getting a bit tired at nearly 200k miles and starting to rust. And the magenta is the best color for the Mirage.
So Mitsubishi it is.
My Yaris is in a similar boat at 230k, but I don’t have a convertible in my life. The Morris would even fit between the door and the support beam in the middle of my shitty garage!
As much as I like purple, my favorite color, the Morris handily wins my heart.
I don’t want either, so I picked the Mirage because of the color and condition.
I want a Minor. I just don’t want a convertible. A two-door sedan would be more desirable. I’d just stick a Suzuki G13 into it cause it’d be lighter than a 1275 XD
Geez, the asking prices for these two!
Mark, you almost, almost made a compelling case for that Mirage. The thing about it, though, is that there are other, more compelling choices for basic transportation in that price range. I will give it points for being the hatch instead of the truly hateful sedan version, though.
The Minor is a perfect weekend toy and a great introduction to the money pit that is the Moss Motors catalog. For the money it looks to be a nice example. I respect anyone who goes for the Mirage today, but make my “M” mobile Minor.
That color on the Mirage grabbed me and won’t let go.
Aa much as people are deriding the Mirage for being basic, the Minor was in its place 60 years ago. That Mitsu is a future classic. Give me the unappreciated modern shitbox. In 50 years it’ll be quirky instead of shitty.
Mitsubishi for me. I like the colour, I like the manual and I like that it’s not a convertible.
Sure it’s not as novel as the Morris, but the Mitsubishi will be much more useful to me.
I’m normally skeptical of British cars, but LHD and a convertible? I can do that.
That Mirage spec, in that condition, is much more of a unicorn that people realize.
One you buy if you need transportation, the other you buy if you don’t.
The Mirage is a cooler color, so I voted for the Mirage.
Old British convertibles are kind of sus
My parents had a nearly identical Mirage for a few years, albeit with the CVT. It was terrible. It fulfilled the mission of basic transportation and absolutely nothing else, and I swore I would never own one myself. Morris all the way here.
These are both examples of “An Car,” to use a McMansionhell term, so with that in mind I’m going with the more recent example, one where I can find parts and service more readily, and one that won’t fold up like a tin can when hit. Plus, I prefer the purple over the dishwasher green Morris.
I’d buy them both, do a tasteful EV conversion on the Minor so I can use it every day. Tuck the Mirage away in the back of the junk drawer, so that when I rediscover it in 30 years it’s still in lovely condition and might actually be as desirable as Mark says.
To celebrate building a million, Morris built a special edition – the Morris Minor Million. It was also available as a convertible, and came in a unique shade of purple.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fotorus/14533487570
If we had the option it would be the best of both worlds, and with three Ms to boot!
I’ve seen one of those. Best part of it is the fender badge that says “MINOR 1000000” instead of “MINOR 1000.”
I’ve always wanted a Minor, ever since finding out about them as a teenager. As a VW Beetle first car driver, learning about post-war “basic cars” was a rabbit hole that led me to a lifetime of what my stepfather calls ‘oddball’ cars. That Minor would be a blast. Good thing I don’t have a garage or I’d be VERY tempted.
Duncan Imports is less than 10 minutes away, so I’m good with dealing with temptation these days.
Hard to make the call if the comparison was guided by alliteration.
But, the Morris Minor, cheap ‘n cheerful, obviously obliterates the bland, boring excremental econobox. Cute Cars? Certainly so. But Fiscally Frugal choices chart a wonderous way from financial follies.
This is harder than I thought it would be…