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)
No interest in the Mazda. The others all have things I like about them.
I dismissed the Mazda due to the rotary engine. The Neon works for a fun little car, the Escort for trips to the home improvement store, and the van well… because it’s a van.
I voted for the Escort Wagon and I voted to kick it to the curb because it’s the least interesting of the bunch here… especially with that slushbox and mouse-motor seatbelts
The white Dodge Neon. Is there even a Neon White? Either way it started life as a POS and aged horribly and rustily.
Tough choices. I went with the van as I see it a great road trip vehicle. I would also have an epic 70s paint job added.
This was a tough one. I have little use for the van, but also little use for a car that’s going to suffer some sort of severe and costly malady in the near future. Finally decided to keep the RX-8, since I’ve always wanted a rotary and I’d probably get at least a few miles out of the thing before having to decide between repairing or junking it.
I’m going to pretend we don’t get to keep our current fleet, and kick out the Neon.
We NEED to be able to tow a horse trailer or flatbed and the Dodge van should be able to do that. We’re accustomed to crapped-out campers anyway.
The Escort can haul dogs and haybales.
With those two and a few motorcycles already, we can get away with enjoying the RX-8 when it’s running.
This was nice and easy – there are three drivers in my household, and we already have a shitty van with a busted rear window out back so no need for another.