This DoKa was recently brought over from England by an importer that specializes in turbodiesel of all sorts. This 3-door pickup, originally some light-duty military vehicle – has been upgraded with the venerable 1.9-liter TDI, giving it a good amount more oomph than stock. The interior is all business, with seating for 6, a table, and and a stereo representing the luxury highlights. The exterior looks like a well-used military vehicle, with a few different drab greens and a serious canvas top that needs some work on its frame. Custom-fit gear boxes have rails inside to hold them, underscoring a T3 that is built for neither speed NOR comfort – just business. My eye is always on potential when I approach Vanagons/Transporters, however, and this TDI truck looks like it could suit a lot of different needs in its next life.
Month: August 2015
If you were looking for a sporty small executive sedan in 1994 and opted to buy an Audi 90, something was amiss. You would have waded through the miring scandal of “Accelerategate” and the media implication that your Ingolstadt-born all-wheel drive wonder would suddenly attempt to go full throttle (preferably, when your husband was opening the garage door….). Okay, so you must have had some understanding of physics, logic, spacial awareness and could differentiate a square pedal from a rectangular pedal and your left from right. That, in and of itself, isn’t all that odd. But then you still bypassed the BMW dealer to look at the Audi; a move which probably surprised even them. After all, in 1994 the E36 chassis was still relatively fresh and won nearly every magazine competition it was entered into. In comparison, 1994 was the penultimate year for the B4 quattro as the new A4 was already on the horizon, and though it had received a refresh in 1992 the now B4 chassis didn’t really offer much new technology or refinement over the outgoing B3. It was dressed up with some newer clothes, wheels, and a slightly more powerful motor, but it was still numerically at a disadvantage to the BMW on several fronts. The V6 produced 172 horsepower – about 17 less than the inline-6 in the E36. That V6 also hauled around more weight than the BMW did, so the Audi was predictably slower in every measure, too. The weight and larger displacement meant it got worse gas mileage. And for the pleasure of this slower, thirstier, older chassis, you paid less, right? No – walk into your dealer and select the 1994 90CS quattro Sport as shown here, and you were going to pay over $35,000 – about $5,000 more than the base price on a 325i sedan. Is it any wonder that Audi only shifted a reported 773 of them that year?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1994 Audi 90CS quattro Sport on Orange County Craigslist
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Did someone say fast 5-doors? Amen! The bells on the Church of the Heavenly 5 Doors are ringing this Friday, and I’ve rounded up a unique quartet of very fast and very colorful wagons to consider, each around or below $10,000. We’ve got 5 turbos, 25 cylinders and 1,200 horsepower worth of people carriers here – which is the winner for you?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Audi S4 Avant on Denver Craigslist
3 Comments
It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a Porsche 912 that falls into that middle stage of the market: not a pristine collector car, but not a car in need of significant work either. That’s somewhat troubling since much of the appeal of the 912 precisely is the opportunity for getting your hands on a good vintage Porsche driver, but without breaking the bank. Entry-level Porsche at entry-level pricing. But as the market for the 912 has heated up there is more incentive to restore properly those that have been neglected, which also brings out the sellers who are less interested in putting in the time for a quality restoration. Of course, this also tends to mean that owners of the middle-of-the-road cars price them too high – a rising tide raising all boats and whatnot – but ultimately a patient buyer should eventually be able to find one for a reasonable price. The example we see here, a Tangerine 1968 Porsche 912, located in Maryland, I think falls into that latter category. It looks in good running condition and worthy of being a fun weekend cruiser, but the asking price will likely need to come down. That said, excellent examples of the 912 have slipped into $50k-$60K territory so even this asking price is well under where top examples will sell.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1968 Porsche 912 on eBay
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Here’s an E28 M5 that should provide an interesting litmus test for those out there still pondering trying to find a clean, driver-quality example. We’ve seen some sub-150k mile M5s reach into the $30ks, which still seems a bit steep to me even though they were nearly perfect. This one is neither all-original nor perfect, with a redone interior and Euro headlight upgrade with Frenchy yellow lowbeams. It also shares the Billy Boat exhaust present on my car, which I enjoy but is rather loud. The leather looks very nice and overall this looks like a complete, clean M5 that would be blast to drive. The seller says he’s looking to “get around $25k” which seems a bit steep to me. Are middle-market M5s there yet?