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?
One of my great uncles, not too far from Russell KS of all places had a sedan that he drove around his farm in the Seventies.
I am all for classic cars,but it’s not going to be a Morris Minor.
Wow. The vote is not going the way I thought it would. I guess my problem is what I would buy, if I was in dire straits. The Mitsu would almost certainly be more a more reliable way to get around, but the Morris is cute in its own way. And who knows, maybe a billionaire heiress would be charmed and take pity on me/
i had a 60 morris minor 1000, same color, also a drop top. as a youth i used healy sprite engine parts to wake it up. i also kept blowing first gear trying to drag race the critter. i put heavier oil in the front shocks for better handling as well. i could beat midgets and sprites on the back roads. finally ran out of useable junkyard transmissions so i sold it. i did not know you could lift the rear windows out for the full convertible look until the guy i sold it told me! fun car but weak in the legs. god awful simple to work on. i still have the factory shop manual.
Damnit. The 59 Morris Minor 1000 convertible is one of my all-time favorite cars and I missed it yesterday due to a broken fire damper clip.
I was asked to sort some issues out with one that had been paint-pretty restored—but otherwise rough. I got it into reasonable running condition, then she called me and asked me to come get it and keep it exercised as she was recovering from knee surgery. I adored that car: people always smiled & waved and asked whatinhell it was. My electrical kit grew from a tackle box to a tote—but I’m not blaming Lucas as much as more than a 1/2 century of benign neglect.
I once ran new hot wires plus grounds (for good measure) at midnight in a rural county after an officer stopped me because there were NO rear lights. He was kind enough to illuminate the scene with his headlights, perhaps intrigued by my helpless laughter at being informed why he had pulled me over.
While attempting to replace the worn-out distributor, I discovered that it no longer had the 1-liter motor, but that of an Austin 1400. That accounted for its peppy nature. Some lovely Australians had a MM forum and I give all credit to them for the fact that it eventually became truly turn-key. I still have the entire manual on an old phone: used to peruse it while waiting for units to cycle deep in the bowels of mechanical rooms without signal.
I will say it wasn’t well suited to modern interstates, the lovely Ox-blood red seats were scary flat without seat belts, and the convertible provided NO protection against the ire of a mama bear when my tiny rescue dog vociferously insulted her upbringing and cubs. But, damn if it wouldn’t hoon surprisingly well—presumably because of that 1400.
10/10: would happily drive forever.
🙂
The Classic Morris all the way!! Such a cool car!
I’d also like both, but I already have a happy little hatchback, and the Morris has stolen my heart.
I went with the Morris, it just looks lovely. It looks like a great candidate for an enjoyable weekend ride.
But if I was looking for a DD I don’t think you could go wrong with that Mirage.
Honestly, there’s no bad choice today
I voted for the Morris Minor, but I actually like the looks of that Mirage. It’s simple and cheerful. I hope both find good homes.
I like old British cars, but this Minor is out of my preferred range. It looks cool, though, and it’s probably the right choice.
But I’ll take the Mirage, and I’ll name it Ellen after my beloved grandmother, whose last car was a purple Cavalier.
Well, this was one of the easiest ones in a while…that Morris is great and in a nice color. It’s an iconic classic and would be fun to drive! No thanks to the sorta pink, purple whatever…ugly Mirage w/ a puny engine, I don’t want a penalty box (but as noted on this site, it’s still good for someone who just needs a car- at least it’s manual)
It has to be the Minor – when I was a child we had a 1958 Tourer which was almost identical to this