Life of Brian

Today I set out to drive 3 cars, with the possibility of a fourth if Saturday’s Cayman is done at the upholstery shop.

Car #4: 2023 Toyota GR Corolla. It was over the river in Vancouver, Washington, and it is actually closer to me than either of the three places that I visited on Saturday. It looks tiny, but it is actually 6″ longer than the GTI. It felt almost new because it only has 27,000 miles on it. We went for a quick spin and stayed on surface streets. This has a distinct chance. My only worry in the background, on the Utah trip, I had a passenger that is a track instructor, and when I mentioned the GR Corolla, he said, “I know two people who bought one and got rid of it within 6 months.” I need more data

Car #5: 2021 Subaru WRX STi. This was on the same dealer’s web page, but the car is actually at a separate Dick Hanna dealer 30 miles south of me in Gladestone, Oregon. So I headed home and fixed lunch and searched for some WRXs locally. Bingo, Cascade Motors, LLC. They had several to choose from, but I zeroed in on one that was in that Subaru blue and it had bronze wheels. When I got there it turned out it was a Subaru heaven, and they had a garage packed tight with them. The one I wanted was towards the back wall and would require shuffling about a dozen cars to get it out. I told the guy that I wasn’t locked into that one, I just wanted to drive one to see if it was worth further exploration.

He showed me another one in blue that was right up front. He got the keys and drove it onto the lot. I was really looking for a stock-ish version, but this one had a lot of “upgrades.” But I could get a feel for size and interior layout. I think I’d like to find an unmolested one, like the one from Dick Hanna, that would be closer to my wants. I enjoyed talking about cars with Chris and told him of my quest, and he asked what else was on my list.

Car #5: 2017 Ford Focus ST. They had one sitting off to the side and only required a 3-car shuffle to get it. It has 66k miles on the clock, and they want just $19k. Off I went on the loop I did in the WRX. Their location doesn’t really have a nice place to test the handling of cars, but I did get a sense of the car. Unfortunately for the Ford, I just didn’t feel the love. The shifter felt a bit loose, and the steering felt numb with hardly any feedback. This gets crossed off the list. I have to wonder what the other Ford, a Fiesta RS, on the list will feel like…

Last night late I used Autotempest to see what I could find locally and to go for some test drives today. But first I went through my list and downloaded the size dimensions of all of them. I removed the Acura Integra and the BMW M4 because they are both over a foot longer than the GTI. But the M2 is only 10″ longer, so I added it. Then I remembered one that I knew just had to be added, the Hyundai Veloster N.

Acura Integra Type S / BMW M4 / BMW M2 / BMW Z4 Coupe / Fiat 124 Abarth / Fiat 500 Turbo / Ford Fiesta ST / Ford Focus RS / Hyundai Veloster N / Mazda 3 / Mini Cooper S / Porsche Cayman / Subaru BRZ / Subaru Impreza WRX / Toyota GR Corolla / Volvo C30 T5

Car #1: I located a BMW M2 in Milwaukee at the Gladstone Mitsubishi dealer. It’s from 2020, so the tech would be comparable to the GTI, and it wouldn’t be the uglier newer generation. It has 88k miles, and they want $44,229 for it. – I really liked this car, and even though it is longer than the GTI, it’s lower, so it looks about the same size.

Car #2: This is a 2015 Porsche Cayman base model that was at Mercedes-Benz of Beaverton. In Porsche speak, it’s 987.1 and in the “affordable” sweet spot of these cars. This is $48k but has just under 23,000 miles on the clock. – At first they couldn’t find the car, but then someone remembered it was at an auto upholstery shop fixing its headliner. We traded contacts, and he’ll call when it is back.

Car #3: A 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo. BCR Automotive was in a little lot on Division. This has the high HP motor of the Abarth version but is not so over the top in looks and sound. It’s almost a throwaway compared to the first two cars because it is listed at a mere $6,500. The mileage was not listed. – The OPEN sign was lit, it was 11:30 AM, but the door was locked, and it didn’t look like the lights were on.

While I was at BCR Automotive, I could see the Fiat in the other aisle, so I went over and looked. I think the outside is cute/quirky, but I’ve never seen the interior. Let’s just say that the inside styling was bad enough that I crossed the car off the list.

Dedicated listeners of the Everyday Driver podcast will know that a lot of them invariably have a lot of the same words, phrases, and cars mentioned. Way back in 2019 I created a standard Bingo card with 24 of those things with a center Free Space . If you’ve read yesterday’s post about my sending them a car debate to replace the GTI. I have tried to combine these two things into a second bingo card that I can follow along with if they do my debate on an upcoming podcast.

Did some searching on AutoTempest.com/everyday to see what’s out there that meets my criteria, and I started collecting cars. From there I gathered a rough estimate on the length and width of each car, and my choices were then narrowed down to just fourteen.

Acura Integra Type S / BMW M4 / BMW Z4 Coupe / Fiat 124 Abarth / Fiat 500 Turbo / Ford Fiesta ST / Ford Focus RS / Mazda 3 /Mini Cooper S / Porsche Cayman / Subaru BRZ / Subaru Impressa WRX / Toyota GR Carolla / Volvo C30

I needed to fill 24 squares with just 14 cars and not have 2 of the same car in any row, column, or diagonal. It started to make my head hurt, so ChatGPT to the rescue:

My favorite automobile-related podcast, Everyday Driver, does a new/different car “debate” where someone writes in and asks, “What car should I buy?” The two guys, Paul & Todd, based on your email, give you some ideas as to what might fit your needs. They are kind of like Dear Abby & Ann Landers for car nuts. *This is the second version I sent in to them because the I felt I needed to swap the Overture and the End credit teaser scene.

Overture:
On the Utah Adventure there was only one car I wanted to drive other than my own, and he agreed to swap. It was Bodie’s supercharged 2006 Mini Cooper S. It was an absolute hoot. Truth be told, if he kiddingly asked if we could swap titles, I just might have taken him up on it. So, feel free to recommend the 1st-gen car, but nothing newer, because according to the eminent philosopher Jonny Smith, “The new Minis has gone all Elvis in Vegas.”

Act I:
Previous cars I have owned, not including the flirtation with air-cooled VWs in the 70s:
1982 Honda Prelude (1982-1989)
1990 Miata (1989-1995)
1995 Miata (1995-2003)
2003 Miata (2003 – 2016)
2011 Hyundai Sonata (2011 – 2017)
2012 Mini Cooper (2017 – 2022)
2002 Miata (2016 – 2023)
2016 Mini Cooper (2022 – 2025)
2024 Miata (2024 – 2025)
2001 Miata (2025 – Present)
2020 VW Golf GTI S (2025 – Present)

Act 2:
This “new car” will be a replacement for the GTI. I really love the car, but I think I’d like a different, but somewhat comparable, experience. The only thing that is non-negotiable is that it must have a manual transmission and not be too much larger than the GTI. Good things come in small packages.

Act 3:
The budget is $40k, but there are two bonus levels attainable. If the car is green, so that I don’t need to wrap the car and I can keep my current personalized plate (GRN JKT) you get +$5k. The second is +$2k if the car can accept my current Rally Bronze Sparco DRS wheels and the Toyo R1Rs Size: 17×7.5, Bolt Pattern: 5X112mm, Offset: +48mm, Backspacing: 6.220″.

End credits teaser scene:
I have tested-driven a new BRZ back in 2023, and it is considered a possibility, but I don’t necessarily want to be someone who is just one of a big herd of sheep. 🙂

Don’t worry, you know I’m going to write about it here as to what they suggest.