Build Thread-85 Cutlass Brougham-New Pics Added!

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, the Fit is the best choice in it's size class for practical reasons. I frankly don't like the looks of any small cars except for the MINI, and it's a POS. The Yaris has REALLY odd looks ( in the hatchback) and a center of the dash speedo, the Versa is a Renault Megane and looks like a shrunken Quest, the Aveo is a Daewoo, and the Accent has an interior that feels cheaper than a Rubbermaid tub. The Rabbit is a VW so it's a fun POS that will not be reliable, and the Rio is an Accent with a Kia badge. Oh, I forgot the Smart Fortwo which handles bad, only seats two and has a year-long waiting list. In terms of retaining value, interior layout and materials as well as reliability and overall dynamics, you can't beat a Honda for a small car. Plus, for a base price of $14k it comes with power everything, A/C, CD player, ABS, and electronic brake force distribution. The other cars are all more money when similarly equipped.

 

[midwestls]

Not a fit though! It sounds like an arobics class! lol What about a civic? Don't just sayin civic, sound better?

 

[jonnyslick]

Man I can't wait until you get more paint on it ... I wanna' see it all together! NOW! hahaha :lol:

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Not a fit though! It sounds like an arobics class! lol What about a civic? Don't just sayin civic, sound better?

Well, I COULD rebadge it as a Jazz, which is what it is sold as in Europe. Plus, the Civic is too big and several thousand dollars more. Plus, it does not get near 30mpg in the city. Any car I get can have no bigger than a 1.6 liter engine, and has to be a manual trans and weigh under 2500lbs.

 

[jonnyslick]

It's really hard to beat Honda for knowing how to build a small car. I just wish the Fit was a 2 door ... but given the fact of the market they are trying to reach, the 4 doors make more sense and are quite practicle. I wouldn't mind my wife having one for her next car (but she is insisting on a Tahoe or a minivan ).

But ... personally if I was going for a k-car here in America it would have to be a Yaris hatchback. I really think those cars rock. Yashio Factory has one that's pure k-car pimpness.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

But a Yaris is not a Kei car by any stretch of the imagination. I think the Aygo with a smaller engine is the Toyota Kei car, or it may be a rebadged Diahatsu ( Toyota owns Diahatsu). Kei cars are MUCH smaller, and only have 660 cc engines. If you have ever seen a Honda Z600, that is a Kei car, as is a smaller engined version of the Smart. I have the Yaris as my second choice simply because I dislike the way it looks and the odd dash design. At any rate, it's a year in the future so who knows what I will end up doing? My ULTIMATE small car would be a late 90's-2001 Rover Mini Cooper Sportpack, but they are not reliable and not technically legal to import to this country ( but there are ways around that...).

Now THAT's a cool small car! The wheels that look so huge are 13's BTW. After all, the car is only 10 feet long and 4.5 feet wide.

 

[jonnyslick]

Oh that's right ... engine size. I forget that. Never-the-less, K-car or not, I think the Yaris is one of the cooler sub-compacts in the States.

An old school mini would rock too. Get a BMW 2002 and retro-fit a modern EFI M10 into it ... yeah baby! Or be like me and drop in a 13B-T with about 300hp! 8)

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I was actually considering a E30 with a SR20DET swap in it and a M3 diff. Then again, I have no time to build a car for about the next 4 years.

 

[jonnyslick]

If you have an E30 chassis ... you HAVE to do the M50 conversion which is about the sickest BMW swap I know of.


http://www.e30m50.com/E30/mym50swap.htm

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The problem with the M50 is the huge buy-in cost. By the time I was done, I could have had an LS1 swap with a 6 speed ( and oh yes, it has been done before!) with more power and more headroom for modification later. I like the SR20DET because it is cheap and light, and places the weight further back than the BMW ETA that it replaces. Plus, the basic long block can support upwards of 400hp. I also like the idea of totally bastardizing a BMW with a swap from a company that is looked down upon by your typical Bimmer owner. There is a guy who did the LS1 in an E30 M3, but I don't think I would cut up an M car. I would use a more common 325is instead.