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One of the things I love most about these 10K posts is the breadth of selections and ideas that I dream up to try to pull together. Today’s thought was about practical performance – what’s the most your can buy for $10,000? As a result, we have quite a diverse selection to make it through today, ranging from a 2.0 TDi gas sipper through a 5.5 liter, twin-turbocharged V12 torque monster. In their respective ways, each is a great car (at least, in premise) and probably defines its category. What’s your favorite of this group?
Earlier this week I posted a DoKa of such questionable taste that I would have posted it in our Friday Fail series if the auction had lasted long enough. Well, today we’ll right those wrongs with a Friday Win in the form of a gorgeous but barely-modified DoKa. It comes one owner removed from GoWesty, who, for all my gripes about their ludicrous prices, certainly do things right and take excellent care of Volkswagen vans. This one has been repainted in the Playmobil-perfect and T2-correct light blue with black bedliner on the lower portions as well as the bed and hinged sides. With just 95k miles, it has decades of life left in it. It may be on the utilitarian side of things with no frills inside or out (not even a Euro-map GPS!), but you can bet that the condition and GoWesty history will help it collect some serious interest.
I’ve been getting pretty into these non-pop-top Vanagons recently, and today’s is an interesting case. It comes with tons of miles and a rebuilt title, but has clearly been cared for and gone through a thorough mechanical rebuild. While normally title issues raise huge red flags for me, most older Vanagons are inherently going to be projects, and it’s nice to know that someone has done a lot of the important stuff here. Most of all, if you didn’t know about the title this would just present as a clean, excellently 80s gold-on-tan van. The few issues will keep it affordable, turning this versatile vehicle into a good deal.
The Volkswagen Passat has always been a bit of the odd-man out in the Volkswagen lineup. Not as wildly popular as the Golf or as trendy as the Jetta, the Passat has alternated between the smart choice if you wanted quiet and capable German luxury to the odd choice if you just wanted to be a bit different than the norm. Volkswagen also can’t seem to make it’s mind up on which platform it wants to utilize with the Passat; the B1 and B2 generations, for example, shared their DNA with Audis. But with the B3 and B4 generation, Volkswagen moved to its own bag of tricks and developed a new Passat which mixed items from the Mk.2 and Mk.3 Golf chassis. For the B5 and B5.5, once again Volkswagen turned to the upscale Audi platform and the Passat was more popular than ever – effectively, it was a budget Audi A4, right down to the same powertrains and all-wheel drive systems. As effective as the B5/5.5 was for sales, when the B6 launched it was once again a return to the Golf chassis for the new Passat – and now we hang in limbo with a U.S. specific B7 Passat. But if the B5 and B5.5 were popular as a smart and upscale choice for budget Audi fans, the B3 and B4 seemed a bit odd. First there was the B3, with it’s grill-less design. I always thought it was pretty cool, personally, but apparently it offended actual buyers so much that Volkswagen redesigned the car and in 1993 the car received new body panels and a normal grill. That didn’t seem to bring with it massive sales, though – the Passat was still quite expensive and effectively the same size as the Jetta it was sold alongside. There was really only one trump card that the Passat had – denied the Golf Variant in the U.S., it was the only Volkswagen wagon you could buy here at the time:
Time for another wheels roundup, and this time I’m focusing on some rare steering wheels. I have one for each major brand here. The Audi Sport Italvolanti wheel is simply an awesome period piece for an early Quattro and a rare find. It matches the Audi Sport colors from the beginning of the WRC run and would definitely suit a car with brown leather. The Ruf wheel goes down in my book as one best looking wheels out there – I simply love the elegant and simple look of it! The Atiwe wheel is one that I have to admit I don’t think I’ve seen before and would certainly help to set your 80s Benz apart. Speaking of setting apart, the Momo Benetton wheel is one of my all-time favorites. I would love to own a Harlequin Golf just to be able to install that wheel. And then there is the rare Petri 2002 Turbo wheel; a very cool period piece even if it is a bit pricey. Which is your favorite for your dream ride?
