Good morning, and welcome to another Shitbox Showdown! For your Monday morning reading pleasure, I have a couple of convertible versions of General Motors cars more commonly seen with their roofs intact. But before we get to those, let’s finish up with Friday’s sandbox toys:
Baja Bug takes it, but not by much. Either one would make a fun toy, but I think I agree with the majority here; a lower price and more “car” left make the Baja the winner here.
It used to be that almost every car was available as a convertible. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, a droptop was just another body style on the option form. But when the regulatory shit hit the fan in the 1970s, American automakers believed that convertibles would no longer pass impending safety requirements (which never came to pass), and phased the soft-top option out. From 1976 until 1982, the closest thing to an open-air driving experience to be had from American cars was T-tops, and as cool as they are, they’re just not the same. It’s no wonder Chrysler’s LeBaron and Dodge 400 convertibles sold well. They were literally the only game in town in ’82.
Ford and GM wasted no time beheading their own cars, of course; in 1983 you could get a convertible Mustang, Chevy Cavalier, or Pontiac Sunbird. Even AMC got in on the act with a soft-top version of the Renault Alliance. And from that point, it was game on; convertibles were back. Not on every car, just select models, and sometimes the models selected made little sense. Like these two, for instance.
1991 Geo Metro LSi convertible – $3,300
Engine/drivetrain: 1.0-liter overhead cam inline 3, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Odometer reading: 118,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yep
I’m pleasantly surprised that the Geo Metro is still somehow relevant. This little three-cylinder cookie tin on wheels has hung around longer than I ever would have expected. People still love them, and still drive the hell out of them; there’s a dark red one with a mismatched door that I see quite often on my morning commute, being driving at suicidally reckless speeds, weaving in and out of traffic, and still somehow holding together. I’m making a prediction: If you want to see what the future holds for the Mitsubishi Mirage, take a look at Geo Metros now. I only hope the Mirages stay as reliable as Metros have.
This LSi convertible is just about the fanciest Metro you could get in 1991, I think. It even has a driver’s side airbag (only because the door posts to which the shoulder belts attach in Metro hatchbacks don’t exist in the convertible) and factory air conditioning (which unfortunately doesn’t work). It does, however, have the same little fifty-horsepower engine and five-speed stick as other Metros, so its fuel economy is somewhere between “wow, that’s really good” and “is there even an engine under there?”
There is indeed, and I’ve read that you and a strong friend can pull it for a rebuild without needing to use a hoist. This one is far from needing a rebuild, at only 118,000 miles, but the seller says it is due for a timing belt and water pump. All the parts are included to do that job, though. It also has a newer top, exhaust, fuel tank, fuel lines, and brake lines. And what do all those parts, besides the top, have in common? They’re all under the car, right where all that Michigan road salt does the most damage.
One look at the rocker panels on this car will send Southern and Western readers running for the hills. But this is life in snowy climates; cars get holes in the underside. The fact that a mechanic was willing (and able) to replace all that other stuff tells me that this car is still structurally sound; if they can’t safely put it on a lift to replace the brake lines, it goes to the junkyard. Believe me, I know. So this car must have at least a little life left in its structure. Maybe you could get under there and weld in some patches to shore it up.
1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme convertible – $3,900
Engine/drivetrain: 3.1-liter overhead valve V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: San Antonio, TX
Odometer reading: 131,000 miles
Runs/drives? Nope, sitting for years, and key is lost
GM’s W platform has become such a part of the automotive landscape in the US that it’s hard to remember how controversial it was. Replacing the traditional RWD G-platform with a front-wheel-drive car made a lot of purists mad – and marked the first time that NASCAR stock cars were driven by different wheels than their production counterparts – but it turned out to be a wise move; the W-body stuck around for nineteen years and sold in the millions. They were sold by all four mainstream GM marques, powered by no fewer than nine different four, six, and eight cylinder engines backed by both manual and automatic transmissions, and in both two- and four-door versions, but only one marque ever got a convertible: Oldsmobile.
This 1992 Cutlass Supreme convertible is one of only about 25,000 ever made, out of almost a million total W-body Cutlasses. And if you really want to get granular, it’s one of 746 in this color combination from this year. (It never ceases to amaze me how this kind of information is so widely available these days.) Apart from its unusual roof configuration, which retains the B-pillars and a “basket handle” roll bar, it’s your basic Cutlass, with a 3.1 liter V6 and a four-speed automatic.
Unfortunately, we have no idea how well, or even whether, this one runs. It’s being sold as part of an estate sale, and apparently, they couldn’t find the keys. It has been garaged, but all the seller was able to do is tow it out and hose off the dust for photos. A locksmith should be able to make keys for it easily; this is before the era of Passlock, so there’s no chip in the key. I’m not sure why they’re trying to get almost $4,000 for a car with no keys when keys are so easy to obtain.
That’s not the only off-putting thing about this car’s listing, either. The odometer is in plain sight in one of the photos, but they still listed it as “11111.” Couldn’t be bothered to actually go out and read it when writing the ad, I guess. It’s listed as being in “like new” condition, and it does indeed look awfully nice outside, but the “perfect” leather interior looks a little shabby to me. The best I’d give it is “still pretty good for an early ’90s Oldsmobile.”
The maddening thing about both of these cars, as I’m sure you’ll all agree, is that better examples of both of them turn up for the same price or less with some regularity. These are uncommon cars, but not unheard of. But you have to be in the right place at the right time to snag one, and these are what’s for sale right now. One needs a little mechanical attention and some rust repair; the other needs a locksmith and a reality check. Which one strikes your fancy?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
The first car I bought (rather than being a hand-me-down shitbox) was a Citroen AX GT. but it was very nearly a Suzuki Swift GTi. You call them Geo Metros.
I rejected the Swift because it relied on extra power to offset it’s much heavier chassis compared to the Citroen. I figured I could be faster through the corners and save money on gas with the French car. So I’m the only person you know who didn’t buy a Geo Metro because it was too heavy and used too much gas.
But I’ll choose it now even though I hate convertibles.
Bwahahahahah. I have driven an AX GT (swedish specs; they only got 75hp because we had emissions controls) and it was fan-tas-tic. Definitely lightweight, though, in every sense of the word. IIRC it had enormous cupholders in the doors, big enough to hold a high-end bottle of white burgundy.
Metro, please!
The Olds, as mentioned, isn’t running and has been sitting for quite a while, presumably without the fuel tank and lines being drained. It’s strange that the ad mentions the key being lost, yet one of the pics clearly shows a set of keys on the front passenger seat; maybe they’re just for the doors.
The Metro would be a fun purchase after some price negotiation. Yes, it’s a tinny little econo car but it’s lightweight and has a 5MT. Have the rockers fixed, wrap the whole thing to look like carbon fiber, replace the tragic wheels and tires with something fun, and go zip around. Heck, replace the cat back with a straight pipe for real racing sounds!
Ditto. Those Metros with a stick are a lot more fun than one might expect, in the “slow car fast” mentality. As long as you expect it to be a slow pile of crap, you will probably be pleasantly surprised.
The Olds is just a can of worms to have to dig through. For a lot less money it would win the day, but not at this price, even with its competitor presenting rust.
Everything just replaced on the Geo will give you headaches on the Olds, and then some. It’s just complicated enough to have real problems from having sat for so long.
The Geo’s about as simple as cars in that era got, and “runs and drives” is always a big plus. I’m not afraid of a little rust but it’d still be tempting to keep looking for one that was summer-use-only from new.
Both of these high prices need Marshal Lucky to intervene.
Ignoring the prices, hoping either seller would bite at $2000 or less… I’ll give it to the Cutlass. I’ve always loved the way they look, those seats look comfy and the leather’s in reasonable shape (granted, the Metro’s fabric’s great too), and I won’t be scared of it breaking in half if I hit a pothole.
In a world of MEH, I present Meh.
Todays choice sparks as much passion as Mike Pence bedroom. Both have less redeeming social value than the Great Depression. The thought process to make a convertible out of the Metro will be a disorder in the DSM 6. So reluctant W for the Olds, but if that’s the supreme I don’t want to see the grande.
Mike Pence probably hops off his wife (she NEVER gets to be on top) as soon as he is done so he can pray for forgiveness for having impure thoughts during sex.
I have always liked the cutlasses, and most I have seen had the 3.4 DOHC piece of garbage, so seeing a ‘vert that has an engine that will actually start regularly is nice, but yeah that price is at least a grand too high for not having keys and having been sitting for years. Really should be $2k, but who knows, maybe the mileage is really low and it’s worth it. I am going there, just because I don’t trust old rusty, but I honestly love both of these but hate both specific examples.
I had a Metro (not a drop-top, because they are already dangerous enough), but man what a sweet college car. I made great money delivering pizza in it. $2 of gas for a whole shift.
I also used to “Cannonball Run” it back home at full “wide open” throttle for a solid 2 hours during school breaks. I mean legit pedal to the metal/redline throttle. That’s the most thrill-enducing 79-81mph on four wheels you could ever buy. Every bump in the road/embedded lane marker was a game of Russian Roulette. YeeHaw!
Just like college, it was a good time but one I’ll gladly leave in the past.
This was TOUGH. Those squinty-eyed Cutlasses always looked pretty sweet to me (did any maker other than GM use those smaller-format sealed-beam headlights?), but there’s just enough about this example that raises concerns. So even though it’s medium-crusty, we’ll pick the Metro that someone clearly loved and drove.
I want to say the Pontiac Grand Prix used the same lights, but the headlight surround was way different.
Cutlass after some price negotiation.
I’m wondering what it’s like in the Cutlass trying to keep that dashboard toupee in place with the top down.
“Dashboard toupee” is David Tracy’s new SoCal indie band.
I was going to hold my nose and vote Cutlass until I found out about the missing key. If you can’t be bothered to get a key, I can’t be bothered to buy your car. And $3.9K? Neither for me.
Econo box with the roof cut off in Western Michigan? I bet you can distort that body 6″ with your hand! No thanks. I’ll play swap-the-key with the Cutlass.
There’s a good chance that ignition in the Cutlass will just turn without the key. Every GM car I ever had with that style ignition seemed to have worn out by about 100,000 miles and would just turn with a little wiggling or sometimes the wrong key. I usually figured that out by putting a key from a different car in it by mistake.
I’m abstaining from this vote. The Metro (sold here as the Suzuki Swift and given flush headlamps – although I recently discovered it was also sold as the Subaru Justy and given full-time all wheel drive, which might actually be something) was a horrible thing.
I would’ve voted for the Olds, because it’s exotic to my European eyes and sensibilities, but it’s condition and price don’t tally.
3,300 for lil’ rusty?! It’s got to be scary underneath. At least it still has the headlight buttons.
Oh god, those headlight buttons. I worked in a service station when these were in their prime, and even then, those stupid things would pop off. Once I had the window down on one and reached in to check the headlights, and when I hit the “off” button, the “on” button popped off and actually cleared the window. It landed – of course- with a plop in a tray of antifreeze in the pit below. Had to pay for a replacement.
I don’t hate the Metro but I have a weird soft spot for the W-body Cutlass Supreme convertible. That said, this one is a little dull for me – maybe it’s the air of suspicion about not just getting a key for it as well as the light mods to something that also sat for several years: the wheels, sound system (see speakers in the rear seat), and it looks like somebody tinted the taillights.
Still the condition looks decent enough otherwise and finding a set of wheels shouldn’t be too hard, even something else in the GM family that would look more at home.
Gimme the gutless Cutlass. No rust on my summer cruiser, please.
The dirty secret about 90s GM (probably before that as well) is that they only had a limited number of key templates, so you can often get a car to unlock or maybe even start with another GM key of similar vintage.
Either way, I don’t think it’s too hard to get the Olds going, and it’s such a better car than the Metro in every way that I have to go that way.
This is correct. I remember the ignition key from my Grandpa’s Sedan de Ville working in Gram’s Skylark.
My friend once locked his keys in his Olds Intrigue, but we were able to get the door open with the key to my dad’s Bonneville.
Both of these cars are twice what they should be. A rustbucket Geo that is only fun with nostalgia glasses and a Keyless Cutlass – the automotive equivalent of gruel.
God this is a tough call. When it comes to drop tops my rule of thumb is manual wins every time but the Metro is a rust bucket underneath and is on borrowed time at this point. The Olds has a slusher and a V6 that I assume is wholly underwhelming, not to mention the whole no keys thing…but it’s been garaged and presumably spent some or all of its life in Texas, plus that red interior is fantastic.
Ugh. Give me the Olds, I guess. I wouldn’t actually touch either though, for not that much more money you can find a decent enough drop top somewhere that’ll be way more fun than either of these.
The Olds wins me over. Keys are easy to replace and parts should be easy to find.
The Metro just looks like a major injury waiting to happen
The red interior is nice, but I’ll take the red car that verifiably runs, please.
Gimmie the Suzuki Miata! Shed some extra pounds deleting the AC and calling it good for mods.
Well they are both Japanese soft tops. The comparison definitely stops there.
I voted metro because I see one (or a badge mate) driving around my area every summer. Never liked the basket handle on the olds.
I love the basket handle, but voted for the metro as it runs. Our high school homecoming queen was always driven around in the “parade” in a white Cutlass Supreme that was provided by a local dealer, so I have a soft sport for them, but in this case I’ll take the metro.