Parking Lot Photo Shoot: 1980 Fiat Strada

Owned by Pintopower on Flickr. Very rare with a factory sunroof. Thanks Alberto for letting me have a look inside your Strada. :)

Eugene Parking Lot Find: 1979-80 Ford Pinto Runabout

The Ford Pinto, along with the AMC Gremlin, are perhaps the most familiar and most loathed cars of the Malaise Era, and the Pinto will forever be remembered as the "firebomb", the "barbecue that seats four" and similar names due to a cost-cutting measure on 1970-76 Pinto and Mercury Bobcat sedans and runabout hatchbacks. This cost-cutting measure created catastrophic fires upon high-speed impacts (the most notorious of which, a case in Elkhart, Indiana in the mid-70s, killed 4 people, a railroad tie-bumpered Chevrolet G20 van hit a rusty 1971 Pinto sedan with no gas cap at 60mph and then backed away, killing all four occupants, but the G20 drove home with a cracked bumper, bent grille, one broken headlight and a scorched hood after the driver's questioning).

Most surviving, non-wagon 1970-76 Pintos and Bobcats will have had the brace and baffle between petrol tank and rear bumper and baffled petrol tank installed by the dealer, and that is a good thing since Pintos are finally starting to be taken seriously as a collector car.

Aside from being dirty, this appears to be a nicely preserved stock example of the final Pinto, with the two-year-only front-end design that appears to hint toward its replacement's styling as well as nodding toward its European cousin, the Cortina. 

Rarity: Japanese-Built 1989 Geo Metro XFi (Suzuki Cultus)

This 1989 Geo Metro XFi, one of very few to be built in Japan, is in very nice condition, it has some desirable options and upgrades like a passenger's side door mirror, rear hatch defroster, dealer-installed air conditioning (needs refrigerant) and LSi instrument cluster conversion, and has been cared for by a Metro enthusiast. The vast majority of hatchback Metros were built in Canada, making this car a rarity worthy of preservation.

A CD player stereo is included but is uninstalled (not installed by seller because the car has no rear speakers), and the owner needs to sell because they purchased a 1991 Metro convertible and also have 3 other vehicles.

Find it here in Oakridge, Oregon (near Eugene) for $3000 firm or part-trade

Parking Lot Photo Shoot: 1970 AMC Gremlin

Forbidden Fruit: 1990 Mazda Carol Kei Car

This kei car may be the only one of its kind in North America, and at $1750 CDN, with 86,000 kilometers, it seems like a great deal for those who can legally import a 1990 car or who live in Canada. The automatic transmission/660cc engine may make it sluggish however.

Find it here in Vancouver, British Columbia for $1750 CDN

SCCA Rarity: 1981 Plymouth Horizon TC3 Race Car

This 1981 Plymouth TC3 was built in 1984 for the Sports Car Club of America's Improved Touring B (ITB) class and won numerous regional championships in Colorado and New Mexico into the 1990s, then was put into storage. Owner has done lots of work, has numerous parts, log books and documentation, has done lots of work, and even says the car could be returned to street-legal (which is a big deal considering the rising values of Malaise Era cars)

Find the car here in New Mexico for $3000, (or go here if ad disappears)