I’m in too deep. My love for cars, which has dominated pretty much every element of my life, has me at a point where my taste is really, really niche. Case in point: The car I most want to buy on this day of our car-lord, December 26, 2023, is a minivan that was never sold in the U.S. with this engine or transmission combination. It is an absolute marvel, and I will buy one someday. Hopefully soon.
Back in June, I took my girlfriend — someone who isn’t at all a car enthusiast — to Germany, and introduced her to my family. Most importantly, I introduced her to my European car-family, which is really just one 1994 Chrysler Voyager Diesel minivan. It’s my pride-and-joy, a 32 MPG, stick-shift, seven-passenger cruiser that was built in Austria, and that comes with an Italy-engineered VM Motori turbodiesel engine mated to a beefy five-speed stick. It’s a version of a van sold in the U.S. as the Plymouth Voyager or Dodge Caravan, though in the U.S. you couldn’t get that good engine.
My girlfriend doesn’t really why I’m so obsessed, though she did marvel at the van’s comfort, and ultimately approved it as much better road-tripper than she’d feared. The truth is, most people don’t get it, because when you get to my stage of car-enthusiasm, you’re so deep into the weeds, you’re basically the leader of a cult, citing Haynes Manual verses so obscure only the most devout even know what you’re talking about. It’s with this in mind that I show you another vehicle that I’m obsessing over at the current moment — one that, in truth, I’ve been obsessing over for years. Just look at this article I wrote way back in 2020:
That’s three years thinking about the same minivan; suffice it to say, I will be owning one at some point. This itch must be scratched. Behold the current Apple of my Eye, a 1995 Pontiac Trans Sport:
“Wait a second,” you’re probably thinking. “Didn’t the Trans Sport have a bit more of a…buck tooth look?” Indeed, in the U.S., the early Trans Sport had some big front teeth:
“Wait, but didn’t even that get a refresh in 1994?” Right again. This is how a 1995 Pontiac Trans Sport looks in the U.S.
You see, the van I’m obsessing over is actually a European Dustbuster van, and in Europe, GM basically just took the Oldsmobile Silhouette…
…and added Pontiac badging and a few Euro-market changes like different color taillights and front turn signals, the addition of rear fog lights, and more.
But most importantly, the Euro-market Pontiac Trans Sport was the only dustbuster van to get a stick shift:
And more importantly, that stick shift was hooked to the legendary Quad 4, one of the most important GM engines of all time. It’s actually a surprisingly powerful engine in the U.S., making usually 150 ponies minimum — that’s solid for a 2.3, especially if you consider that the big 3.8-liter V6 offered in the U.S. (and also in Germany) made just 20 horsepower more. Sadly, in the European Trans Sport, power was just 135 horsepower pulling around a curb weight of 3,825 pounds:
According to the German Pontiac Trans Sport brochure I’m currently obsessing over, the four-cylinder takes 12.3 seconds to do zero to 62 mph, while the V6 takes 10.6. So this isn’t a fast van.
Above you can see the power plot for both the Quad 4 and the V6.
The German brochure paints the Trans Sport as a luxury family hauler, though the stickshift four-cylinder is meant more for economy. Look at those gorgeous leather seats in the image above.
To have a luxury vehicle that can haul seven people, can look that good, and can give you the joy, fuel economy, and ease-of-repair that only a manual transmission can? All with a fascinating engine with good reliability and a rich and important history for GM?
I’m in love. Now you tell me: What car are you currently obsessing over?
Images: All by manufacturer except for-sale images, which are from Annunci Al Volante
BMW F30 generation 3 series and 4 series. It was the last generation to be sold with a 6MT, 3.0L I6 and AWD. An extremely rare combo in sedan form and even more rare in the 4 series coupe form.
VW ID Buzz. Too bad it’ll be an overpriced underwhelming cash grab instead of a real family vehicle. The idea of it was awesome.
There are 3 promising looking multipurpose potentially van shaped people and stuff carriers all hopefully coming to market soon, realistically even if they can move super duper fast likely won’t happen till 2026.
1. Telo T1 this is by far the one I’m most excited by although it is the one with the least amount of development so far. In the footprint of a Mini Countryman is a 4 door, 5 seater small pickup with a dropping mid-gate that extends the bed from 5 ft. to 8 ft.. They are supposed to be plamming on a van version that adds a 3rd row of seats and encloses the back
2. Canoo supposedly close(ish) to production. They too are supposed to have a (almost) cab over truck and van versions available, although this one looks easily full American market minivan (Sienna / Odyssey) sized.
3. XBus which IS the real spiritual successor to the original VW Bus in ev format, ie supposed to be super utilitarian and affordable and looks really close size wise to the original VW Bus too. Sadly I highly doubt it will ever be sold in the US.
The Canoo would probably be the available one. They have had cash issues but here’s hoping the government contract they have with NASA leads to more orders for them. It’s a neat vehicle. I also like that they’ve been more transparent about their development than other companies.
Two in particular.
My E36 323i manual coupe. It needs a handful of jobs done over winter before seeing the road again in spring.
Also my dad’s 1955 series one Land Rover. It’s a running and driving chassis right now. Good fun, but next time I drive it I’d like to not be washing mud out from between my teeth with a cup of tea. So bodywork is next on the agenda!
Citroen C15. This has been on my bucket list since I first saw one in Spain many years ago. I just have to find a way to import one without the wife finding out.
https://www.parkers.co.uk/vans-pickups/citroen/c15/1985-review/
Word! I want a gasoline one; they’re pretty rare but they also tend to be cheaper because they don’t make much sense in Europe.
I would love to have one of the super odd-looking four-door conversions by Gruau, but they probably number in the hundreds. There were six-wheel conversions, too!
The problem I’ve found with these is that they are basically worthless in the more expensive markets while on the other hand, in the current markets,they are overpriced because the curr owners really aren’t that interested in selling them.
Somewhat realistically, an original Honda Vamos, ever since I found the probably unsalvageable one in my avatar in the backwoods.
https://www.autotrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/hondavamos-1.jpg
Unrealistically, find whoever currently owns the Pininfarina 512S Berlinetta Speciale Prototipo, buy it off them and pay Pininfarina to restore it. Alternatively, get them to build me a new one – I believe they still have the original wooden armature in storage.
https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/b2/ac/9c/b2ac9c9e62ec37bf01cc3959ecec6bbf.jpg
I want another beater. I want a beater I don’t care as much about that I can just send. Rallycross with ZFG. I kept thinking “New Beetle? New Beetle time? IS IT NEW BEETLE TIME?” when I was looking at jobs out of state, potentially in places with salty roads where I’d want a winter beater to ice race. (I still want to go ice racing, FWIW.)
Either way…New Beetle? NEW BEETLE? Look, I am on a stupid Y2K nostalgia kick lately. Big pants are even back, dammit. I bought the big pants and butterfly-themed hair claws, LET’S FRICKIN’ GOOOO. I want a New Beetle in THAT metallic lime green. I want to duct tape the flower into the vase so it doesn’t fall off during shenanigans. I want to send a New Beetle. NEW. BEETLE. NEW BEETLE NEW BEETLE NEW BEETLEEEEE
This car is one of my favorite rally cars in existence, too, by sheer merit of it being a New Beetle. LOOK AT IT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtBAfmZHUzY
Been cruising the interwebs lately for a 6th gen Celica convertible. The one with the rounded headlights. Very few for sale, but for ~8k I’ve seen some decent looking ones with higher mileage.
Saw a nice, top spec manual with leather and in good shape for a ~25 year old car that’s oh so tempting and might’ve jumped on if I were in the market. But LA traffic would suck all the joy of a m/t and it’s just a little to small, at least compared to my Solara that’s spacious compared to most convertibles.
I had one several years ago. It was a lot of fun for a fwd. I had my kids in the back all the time, it was fine!
Don’t temp me!
The Solara is an underrated real 4 seat convertible. There just aren’t many options in the US for a 4 seat convertible + since it is basically a convertible Camry its frickin All the reliability too
My 1967 Mini Traveler (station wagon) woody.
I had a ’23 Ford Mavrick Hybrid on order that finally shipped after nine months. I was originally told it would be here Labor Day weekend. Three months later I found out it had been stuck at the local railyard, first due to the theft of dozens of keys from the yard and then when that was sorted out and they finally opened the rail car they found it had been damaged in transit. The frustration finally got to me and I ended up buying a 2007 Boxster S instead. It cost me half what I would have spent on the Maverick and now I have a nice toy to wrench on over the winter and something to play with once the weather starts to clear up.
Chevy, Astro. Brown ideally. GMC Safari is also acceptable.
I’d love to pick up a CJ7, or even better a a CJ8 Scrambler, but the prices on those are a bit high just for me to turn into a dedicated off-road rig. I’ve been toying around with the idea of taking something like an early C4 Corvette and making an off-road Vettekart, but the practical requirements to do that lends more credence to the idea of just picking up an older Jeep and throwing in Dana 60s and an LS V8.
12 seconds 0-60 actually is fast for a minivan from the early 90s. Most at the time took over 15.
Honestly, my dad’s 2014 Sienna blows me away every time I drive it. Why the hell does this thing need 250 horses and a super-touchy gas pedal (at least, from a stop)?
Makes my old 1997 Econoline with the 4.6l V8 Triton feel downright sluggish.
Yeah fords in the 90s had super duper dead gas pedals. People drive my pickup and stall it because the gas pedal doesn’t even do anything until it’s like 1/4 of the way down.
Yeah new(relatively) cars are way faster than they need to be.
My 98 Polo is on its way out; oil and water seemingly vanish without any obvious leaks, engine is ticking and making all sorts of noises that seem to indicate it’s slowly chewing itself out of existence, so I’ve been looking at possible replacements. While I drive it to death. I can’t say I’ve been obsessing about any of these, but here are the ones that grabbed by attention recently:
RHD Renault 18 breakPeugeot 504 breakRenault 21 NevadaVolvo 940 station wagonCitroën CX breakPeugeot 304 break
These are all vastly different from the Polo, because I’ve always wanted the practicality and comfort of a station wagon for longer trips, and for city driving nothing beats the Renault 4.
But here’s the thing: the Polo is my wife’s daily driver, and as a replacement she’d rather get a modern car (I know, ew… the things you do for love). She does seem to like the Volvo C30, which is one of the very few modern cars I’d totally be on board with. But dear lord, the idea of dealing with modern car maintenance/repairs… Any C30 owners out there who can share their ownership stories to either ease me into the idea or scare my wife out of it? And how do I explain that a 30+ year old station wagon would be the ideal replcement for the Polo-that-just-won’t-die, once it finally does?
I had a Volvo 240 Wagon, and while my wife enjoyed riding in it, she hated driving. Too large, too clunky. Now she dailies a Toyota Caldina (=JDM name for Carina E Estate).
One of my dreams is a 305 Break Injection (or GTX, or whatever they were called, with the 1905 motor).
As for a C30, I think the experience will be wildly different for Americans. Different specs, different mentality about maintenance.
Because of David, I’m obsessed with getting a BMW i3. It’s my preferred shape, square hatchback, will hold my dog, and it’s a German car (I’m partial to how German cars drive).
Truly, if they fit my use case, I’d be interested in one, myself. But as a Pennsylvania resident in an apartment, regularly visiting friends in apartments more than an hour away, it is decidedly out of my use case.
Ever since visiting the Porsche Experience Center in LA, I have been looking at used Boxters a lot. Perhaps the only thing holding me back is a driveway slope that’s too steep for a low-slung sports car (yay California!)
The spec I’m leaning toward — late 1st gen or early 2nd gen Boxter S with the six-speed, as low-miles as I can find. This seems like a perfect entry into the Porsche world and a great balance between convertible fun, reasonable practicality and an attainable price…as long as the IMS issue is addressed, of course.
Gah, I have driveway problems where I live because the soil is so damn shifty, and the city’s botched repave made the road surface juuuuuust high enough that the Lancer now scrapes. Yeesh.
I’ve ruled out taking the 944 home until I can get some kind of filler plop in the driveway-to-road dip to make that transition doable for a lower car. They make little rubber speedbump-looking things that bolt in there. One of my neighbors also just took thick sheet metal and cut a driveway-shaped bridge over it. That one actually looks pretty cool, and if it works, it works.
tl;dr—get the good parsh anyway, if you can.
Newer 4Runner TRD Pros are the thing for me. Toyota figured out how to make the man that would otherwise never touch an offroad trail his entire life long to take a 4Runner through the Kenyan wilderness.
These came out when my grandfather owned a Buick olds pont gmc dealership. I remember him being one home for my gma to demo for a few trips into the city, I marveled at how huge the dash was, a kid could sleep up there.
Not so much a particular car, but a series of concepts regarding racecar aerodynamics. Specifically the possible effect of a mid chord gurney flap on the high pressure surface of an extended front splitter, and the inclusion of a verticle step with notches to the mid chord of a rear wing element.
Thoughts?
I’m obsessing about getting a Dodge Journey and lowering it 3 inches or so. Make my own modern station wagon.
I’m also deep in the weeds about getting a Dodge Charger with a Hemi and the 8-speed, or an RT with AWD, and converting that to pickup with a Smyth Ute Kit.
It’s going to be a while. I don’t have time or space for either until at least this coming summer, possibly longer.
Currently obsessing over the ’78 and ’79 W72 Trans Ams.
Not the ’77, it was rated 20hp less.
I have been obsessing over early Z cars for years and nothing topped that yet. I really need to clear my schedule and put my 280Z back together.
The regular Trans Sport was also sold in Europe. GM introduced the model this side of the pond with the original bumper in 1990 and they sold them for four years, before switching to the rebadged Oldsmobile from 94 to 96. Apparently early ones came with sealed beams.
My boring answer is my own. I absolutely love my 2015 Fit (Elroy), and hope to keep it for many more decades.
My difficult to envision buying choice: second generation Honda CRX Si. Good ones are priced in the stratosphere, if you can find one.
And that’s before the unobtanium Ferraris: 330 GTC and 550 Maranello.
I’ve been obsessing over a Lotus Esprit since about 1982, when I was 11. That ship might have sailed though, Gen-X nostalgia doing what it does to current prices.
Right before the pandemic I started looking at used KTM RC390’s and was surprised how cheap they were. Then the pandemic hit and they weren’t.
However for some reason lately a lot of my Hemmings Daily emails are containing 15-year-old Rolls Royce Silver Spurs for Honda Accord money. I mean what’s the worst that could happen? Sliding up to the restaurant in one of those must feel pretty regal.
Then I remember my wife needs a new daily and that puts the kibosh on all that.
A kid I went to highschool with drove a black Esprit s2 to school most days. I was so very jealous, then I tried to sit in it, polynesians don’t fit apparently.
I want to buy another Jensen Healey, couldn’t find one that fit my interest so I bought a 1978 Fiat Spider. Hopefully when done I can sell and get a nice JH. The JH is a British 2 seater but with actual HP and still affordable.