Happy Friday, Autopians! Today we’re doing a four-way shootout, but with a twist: you’re going to choose which three cars you want to keep, by voting for the one you want to get rid of. Last time I tried this, it caused chaos and anarchy, so I’m putting the rules right up front, and I’ll remind you again at the end.
I told you yesterday’s camper vans were less scary than you’d guess. They were both well cared-for, and it shows. The voting was pretty lopsided, though, and I think it all came down to air conditioning. Nobody wants to sleep in a hot sweaty van, especially on a vinyl bed, so the Dodge’s rooftop A/C unit gave it the win. Personally, I think the Ford is a little cooler-looking, but the Dodge looks more functional, so it’s probably the better choice.
One thing that I love about this site is that, even though I make pop-culture refrences all the time, there will always be some that I miss, and someone in the comments is always there to step in. Name me another car site where the commenters make quips about both Red Green and John Steinbeck on an article. You all are awesome.
Oh, and just very quickly before we move on: I noticed a comment saying that Monday’s vote had actually flipped since the time I wrote Tueday’s post. That can happen from time to time, I guess; I try to wait as long as I can before calling the vote for one car or another, but I have to cut it off at some point, usually after I’ve settled on the next day’s cars, around 5PM Eastern. Votes entered after that still count; I don’t actually know how to close the polls out, so technically I think you can go back and vote in any poll since we switched to Crowdsignal, but I typically “call” the winner in the later afternoon.
And in the case of Monday’s vote, it was still really close, so I don’t feel too bad about sticking with the Neon today. Tie goes to the author and all that. Besides, it’s not like this is an important vote, like the Video Music Awards or the Pepsi Challenge or something. So let’s recap the week’s winners, starting with that Neon. And remember, you’re keeping three and dropping one.
1999 Dodge Neon R/T
The case for it: It’s cute, fun to drive (seriously, if you’ve never driven a manual first-gen Neon, you’re missing out), halfway practical, gets decent mileage, and is late enough in the run that the problems early Neons had were all ironed out by the time this one was built.
The case against it: It has a salvage title, and possibly a rain leak on the driver’s side.
2005 Mazda RX-8
The case for it: It’s a rotary, which is inherently cool. It’s also a really clean example of a car that often gets treated pretty badly. It’s a good color, too.
The case against it: It has a terrible reputation, and despite what sounds like careful maintenance from the previous owners, it’s getting to the mileage where things can start to go terribly wrong. This car will break your heart eventually; is the ride worth it until then?
1994 Ford Escort LX wagon
The case for it: It’s just about as practical as a small car can get. There’s tons of room inside, and it’s easy to drive and easy to live with. And it’s painted in one of Ford’s best colors from a decade full of good color choices.
The case against it: It’s an automatic. It has motorized seatbelts. And apparently some of you didn’t like the aftermarket wheels, though I do.
1984 Dodge B350 camper van
The case for it: It’s the only car of the bunch you can cook breakfast in. It’s also in great shape mechanically and is ready for all sorts of adventures.
The case against it: It’s huge, so it will be hard to park. It occurred to me this morning that this van is so big (how big is it?) that it would stick out of my carport by a foot at either end. Also, some vandals broke the rear window.
All right, so there are your choices. Now, your mission is to choose three vehicles to keep, and one to discard, to create a three-vehicle fleet. Three is, as we have established, the ideal number of cars to own, despite what outlaws like Stephen and Mercedes seem to think. You can have different vehicles for different purposes that way, but you aren’t spending a fortune on insurance and registration, nor do you have to struggle to find places to park all of them, or keep batteries from going dead, or tires from going flat, or any of that stuff. Three vehicles, you can keep up with.
So, for the voting, vote for the car you’re kicking off the island. Got it? Oh, and please do explain your choices in the comments; it’s always fun to read the justifications for these decisions. See you on Monday!
(Image credits: sellers)
I will daily drive the Escort wagon, track the Neon and tow it with the Dodge campervan. The RX8 looks good but is high maintenance.
I was torn between ditching the Van or the RX-8, but I can’t say no to a fun to drive RWD, 6 spd ride in great looking condition. Moreover I already have a towing rig.
So I can either daily the Escort or Neon and use the RX-8 on weekends and when it eventually goes kaput I might get some of my money back by parting it out. Overall shape is excellent and I’m sure there are dedicated RX-8 owners out there willing to keep their cars running and looking decently.
Edit: I guess i made a little bit of a cheat code by saying I already have a towing rig at home.
If I had to have only 3 vehicles at home I’d still be ditching the Van. I don’t think I could sleep there and the towing is useful but the Escort can be used to sleepover on a pinch or get parts needed when the RX-8 eventually fails. The Neon can be the fun daily driver.
I think I was 0:4 this week! But considering use, I’ll drop the Neon. Decent car, but the Escort fills what I’d need from it. The van is still too large for me, but it’d work as a residence in a pinch. And the RX-8 can be the hopeless project.
I hate Escorts, my knuckles still feel the pain of doing ANYTHING under the hood of far too many of them in High School Autoshop.
Side note: They weren’t particularly old when I was in high school, in fact most of the Escorts we got to fix were easily ten years newer than most of the other crap we worked on, which says something about the trash level of the engines and cooling systems in these things.
I would definitely use the van more than the rest, though I would still rather have the Ford.
This one was easy. The RX-8 is hideous, and I’m sorry fanbois, but rotaries are the quintessential good idea that doesn’t really work.
The Escort wagon will be a great daily driver. I’m totally fine with it being an automatic transmission, as I can play with the manual in the Neon when I want to. I can tell from the top belt being unbuckled that somebody did with the driver’s side automatic seat belt, exactly what I did with the one in the ’93 Legacy wagon I had for like six minutes. Disable the automatic part, pull it back permanently into its spot, and you just have to buckle two belts every time. Kinda annoying, but I got used to it pretty quickly.
Those Neons are kick ass little autocross or rallycross cars. I’d toss it on a car dolly and tow it to the track with the camper van, and we got us a budget race rig.
Three of these vehicles put me under no illusion of what they are:
The Neon with the salvage title and fancy Pep Boys pedals.
The Escort wagon with the funky wheels and being an Escort.
The Dodge mobile bedroom of maculate conception.
The RX-8 could pull the wool over one’s eyes. How clean! The low mileage! The six-speed! The rotary….and it will break my heart and wallet when the rotary goes ‘pop’ and it’s just so nice that I can’t not fix it. I feel my wallet being sucked into its vortex.
If I’m dropping the value of my home (and my neighbour’s), I’m going in full tilt. The hot trash threesome for me. The Neon for the windy backroads until something expensive fails. The Escort for winter-related slogging until it rusts. The Dodge for the illusion that I’m going to van-life across the country at ten miles per gallon even though I’m about 15 years past the point where my body likes anything but the comfiest of mattresses.
It feels so wrong, but so right.
I had to let the Neon go. I never liked them and esp. don’t want a musty salvage titled one.
I was going to take the RX-8 and the Escort wagon anyway and after I bring those home, I will have a place to live in my camper van (named “Beethoven”) when my wife voices her objections.
Escort is the daily. Nothing spectacular but can do 95% of what I need.
RX-8 is the weekend car. Fun for going out on twisty roads and practical enough to do weekend errands.
Dodge is the RV/Tow Vehicle. Go out on a road trip, or tow the RX-8 for a rebuild when it happens.
To me it was down to eliminating either the Neon or the RX-8 because wagon and van are fantastic so they are going to make it into my garage regardless.
I chose to skip the RX-8 because:
1 – it will break my heart and my bank account
2 – it is one of those cars that you have to explain it to people in order to try to make them understand why a rotary is cool.
3 – Stripes on a little car? Glorious!
I’m following Automobile’s old mantra, “No boring cars.” Buh-bye Escort.
The Escort handles workaday chores and the daily commute, the RX-8 is the fun weekend accomplice and the Dajiban is standing by for the weekend camping trip to Starved Rock.
Sorry, but in this group, the Neon gotta go.
Saying a fond farewell to the neon today. Gonna keep the rotary simply because if it does go bad (when it does go bad) I’m going to disassemble the engine and hang that Dorito on my wall as a decoration!
None of the above. Rules be damned, this week I’m dying on Econoline Mountain.
That’s one sweaty mountain!
A sweaty, hairy, 70s mountain.
Bow-chick-a-bow-wow…
I voted Neon but I’d probably kick the Escort to the curb too and just keep the camper and the rotary.
if you are 6 foot tall or more and never been in an RX-8, you will probably not have a good time in any available seat. i ditched the idea after a 10 minute test drive and eventually chose a much more roomy 1st gen (bmw) mini cooper.
Again, while I normally love an Escort Wagon, that one has to go. Even with the salvage title on the Neon, I somehow trust that more than McWheels over there.
One of these things is not like the other. Nope, not what you think!
One of them doesn’t have pistons.
Which is the one that you absolutely cannot eliminate!
I too ascared of rotaries.
On the contrary. It went immediately, without a second thought.
Sad day. Oh well, keeps prices down for me.
Enjoy your cheap explody oil burners!
I’ll keep the heartbreaker and the babymaker – that leaves the leak-taker and neck breaker. Strange as it seems, I’ll kick the Escort to the curb along with those stupid wheels. Little things make an outsized difference sometimes.
I’m keeping the Dodge megavan as my adventure/lost the house vehicle. The Escort can stick around as a practical runabout that fits in normal parking spots and won’t drink me out of house and home like the van. That leaves the RX-8 and the Neon competing to be my fun car.
I have to vote the Neon off the island today. The temperamental Mazda will be more fun when it is working correctly, however infrequent that may be. The Neon is also a salvage car which means I have to trust that whoever rebuilt it knew what they were doing. I’d rather not take the risk.
I’m dumping the Neon. Salvage title and water leaks tell me something structural may be compromised.
The Escort becomes my commuter. The RX-8 is my fun car. I’ll have to live in the Dodge because my wife is kicking me out for bringing home all these piles.
Drive the Neon to work, use the Escort to carry the RX8’s engine to my local rotary mechanic on a regular basis. Perfect balance.
Then live in the camper van to afford the rotary repairs.
We aren’t kicking the van off the island, it is just getting parked down by the river.
I’ll stay in Hotels before I live the VanLife. I’ll use the wagon to haul my camping gear to sleep under the stars.
The Dodge Camper doesn’t make the cut.
Id kick the 1994 Ford Escort LX wagon of the island.
Explanation: Automatic seatbelts, the wheels, and it being a ford in general.
Gimme the RV. I wouldn’t have to buy a house!
I can put down the seats and spend the night with the escort, I don’t need or want a massive RV.