Fun is never having to say: ”Oops, sorry officer.”
From the time you con that state driver`s license examiner into thinking you really signal all turns, go 25 in a 30 mile-per-hour zone and fasten your seatbelt before turning on the key, you realize how much fun the automobile can be.
For many, fun means exotic looks and distinct bends or twists in the sheet metal or fiber glass so anyone peering at your treasure from six blocks away starts to drool and slobber with envy.
And, for sure, fun for some is the ability to scoot from one stop sign to another while leaving a trail of Goodyear, Goodrich or Michelin on the pavement behind you.
But you can have fun without having to carry a stopwatch or pack a parachute in the rear bumper. To some, fun means hitting the button and watching the top go down on the buggy or maneuvering from first through fifth and back down again along that couple miles of twisting, winding, hilly country roadway or passing the fuel pump more often than stopping at it for a costly fill.
The assignment from the boss was simple: Put together a list of some of the cars that mean fun for the everyday motorist, vehicles that can be purchased by a person whose base salary, minus bonuses, stock options, kickbacks or skimming, isn`t at the seven-figure level.
With those parameters in mind, we ruled out the Lamborghini Diablo and Ferrari F40 and Testarossa. Any member of that trio is a fun car, and anyone who owns one would be considered a fun person you`d want your son or daughter to meet, marry and help support you.
But since buyers of that trio typically are limited to commodities traders, professional athletes, contingency lawyers and politicians awaiting indictment, we came up with a list of personal fun favorites more suited for the common man. Here goes:
Mazda Miata. Like fine wine, Miata is getting better with age, after two years on the market. Unfortunately, it`s also getting a bit more expensive as the $13,800 convertible that bowed in the 1990 model year now starts at $14,300 (add $1,400 for the optional removable hardtop).
You don`t buy a two-seater Miata for off-the-line power but for its maneuverability in sharp corners and twisting turns from its nimbly sprung suspension.
Sit back, cruise and enjoy without having to race the engine each time you pull up to an intersection and someone with ferns in the back seat of his or her Firebird or Camaro peers down at you in disgust.
Put the top down and let the breezes tangle your do, or if you`re older than 40, tingle your dome.
The 1.6-liter, 16-valve 4-cylinder claims 25 miles per gallon city/30 m.p.g. highway with the short-throw five-speed; 24/28 with optional ($750)
automatic.
About the only drawback to this little two-seater is that to own one is to love one-providing you slip back from the table at dessert time.
Chevrolet Geo Storm. Kudos to the stylists from Chevrolet-for letting the folks from Isuzu come up with a small, sporty car for the General Motors Corp. division to sell without stepping in to mess it up.
Storm combines sporty youthful styling with a peppy, yet highly fuel-efficient engine. That means you have a car that looks like it would be fun to drive, is fun to drive, but still gets about 30 m.p.g. from the 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder 130-horsepower engine.
Whether five-speed or automatic, you enjoy getting in and staying in-provided you don`t have to attempt a rear-seat entry or exit. Isuzu gave Chevy style, but shortchanged it on rear-seat room. The rear seat cushion, by the way, is a brick.
Perhaps the Storm`s biggest attraction is price. Base is $10,670, which puts it within reach of the first-time buyer looking for basic transportation but doesn`t want to be saddled with a cheap-looking box on wheels.
Corvette ZR-1. At the other end of the spectrum at Chevrolet is the fire- breathing King of the Hill ZR-1, the 375-h.p. two-seat rocket.
The `Vette recently has been subject of jesters who point out the engine problems that started showing up in December, when camshafts held up like peanut brittle.
Chevy says it tore apart about 500 of the 32-valve V-8s built by Mercury Marine before it found the cause of the problem-an oversized camshaft and a overzealous car hiker at the factory.
The young woman whose duty it was to drive the ZR-1 from the assembly line to the delivery truck discovered she didn`t have to spend as much time in the frigid December air if she redlined the `Vette onto the delivery truck-virgin engine and time for oil to circulate be damned. Snap went the camshaft.
The time lost to inspection and resolution of the problem, including getting a new supply of camshafts, means `91 ZR-1 output will be cut in half to roughly 1,500, so any demand should create shortages.
To those who covet (legally, at retail) a ZR-1, be advised you will be thrown back in your seat along about third gear and that you seldom will get into sixth gear without attracting one of those Caprice sedans equipped with the police package.
Chevy engineers said when the ZR-1 was being developed that a goal was to put a tinge of fear into the person hanging onto the wheel. The target was achieved.
Base price: $64,138.
Mercedes 300/500SL. Great looks? Not really. Fantastic performance?
Nothing to write home about unless you`re asking for more gas money. Low-price sportster easily within reach of the blue-collar crowd? You`ve got to be kidding, unless $90,000 is pin money to you.
Then why is the 300/500SL duo on our list?
It`s the convertible.
Remember when you had to pump iron for six months to work up the strength to unhook and unfasten all the clips and levers, then lower the bulky canvas top? It typically took all winter for the bruised knuckles to heal.
With the 300/500SL, you need press only a single button, and the side windows lower, the top lifts from the fasteners along the windshield, the plastic rear window separates from the top, the rear compartment lid goes up, the rear plastic window folds into the compartment, the softtop folds into the compartment, the plastic compartment lid lowers to cover the hardware and software and closes itself tightly. The task takes about 30 seconds. To raise the top, push the button and the procedure works in reverse.
The difference between the 300SL and 500SL other than price-$78,300 for the 300SL and $92,700 for the 500SL-is that the 300 is powered by a 24-valve, 228-h.p. 3-liter, in-line 6-cylinder engine offered with five-speed manual or four-speed automatic, and the 500SL comes with a 5-liter, 32-valve, 322-h.p. V-8 with automatic only. With a 14 m.p.g. city/18 m.p.g. highway mileage rating, the 500 carries a $1,300 gas-guzzler tax. With a 15/21 rating for the five-speed and 16/22 for the automatic, the 300 carries a $650 or $500 guzzler tax.
Dodge Stealth. Design gives the Acura NSX a run for the money, especially the Stealth R/T turbo with its concealed lamps, blistered hood and rear deck spoiler.
The R/T is powered by a 300-h.p., 24-valve 3-liter V-6 with twin turbos. All-wheel drive and all-wheel steering contribute to sure-footedness. The drawback is a finicky five-speed. No automatic for now.
Base price: $29,267.
Better bet is the Stealth ES. You`ll have to do without the R/T`s spoiler-blistered hood/rear deck spoiler, but you still get knockout styling, an automatic transmission option and a more affordable $18,056 base price.
With the ES, you get a stylish-looking car that acts far less intimidating with its 3-liter, 24-valve, 225-h.p. V-6. Antilock brakes are standard in the R/T, optional in the ES. Driver-side air bag is standard in all Stealth models.
Mitsubishi Eclipse/Eagle Talon/Plymouth Laser. The trio of sport coupes from Diamond-Star in Normal are roomy and comfortable, peppy and quiet.
Engine choices range from 2-liter, 135-h.p. to 190 to 195-h.p. 4-cylinder versions, which means you can opt for high m.p.g. or high m.p.h.
All are front-wheel-drive sport coupes, while Eclipse and Talon also offer four-wheel-drive versions, which means when the rear-drive Firebird, Camaro and Mustang are slipping and sliding on the snowy pavement, you can take your Eclipse or Talon out on the highway.
The trio of front- and all-wheel sports models also carry lower insurance rates than the rear-drive sports models.
If your only experience with Chrysler was an Omni/Horizon or Aries/
Reliant, don`t judge the automaker on those get-by-on-the-cheap makes. The sports coupe trio isn`t burdened with the same squeaks or rattles.
Base prices range from $10,800 to $13,900 for the Laser, $12,900 to $16,500 for the Talon and $10,800 to $17,500 for the Eclipse.
Pontiac Bonneville SSE. So you no longer are a teenager and not even newly married. In fact, it won`t be too long before your kids are driving. Check out the Bonneville SSE.
The beauty of the SSE is that it`s a four-door sedan with the sporty looks and above-average performance and handling that are the hallmark of two- door coupes.
This is the car for the mom or dad who needs a four-door hauler during the week but wants a spirited plaything for the weekend. One drawback. In trying to focus on performance, the suspension has become a bit too stiff on the `91 SSE. That should be corrected in 1992.
Antilock brakes are standard and will be joined by a standard air bag in 1992, when the car is restyled, and a supercharged 205-h.p. version of the 170-h.p., 3.8-liter V-6 now powering the SSE joins the lineup with the SSEi designation.
Base price: $25,264.
Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe. This is a testament to the importance of a suspension system in giving a car character, along with stability and control. Superior ride and handling-what you`d expect from Miata and Storm when they grow up and become big and expensive.
Road manners? It`s as if Cadillac wrote the book on highway etiquette. Add 16-inch pavement-gripping tires, quick-response power steering and ABS as standard. It has been replaced by a new version for the `92 model year, which we hope will keep the touring suspension. Base price: $32,000.
Acura NSX. The NSX is a gem, a work of art in an industry that too often turns out paint-by-number sets. Low nose with raised fenders at each flank, a rounded glassy roof covering a space-age cabin, functional scoops in the rear quarter panels that feed air to the engine hidden behind the driver, and an integrated wraparound spoiler across the deck that keeps the car from becoming airborne, are just some of the styling touches most automakers reserve for concept cars before stripping the vehicle to bring out a cheap production model.
The molded bucket seats are lounge chairs in disguise, providing comfort that would make cross-country motoring a pleasure.
The 3-liter, 24-valve V-6 boasts 270 h.p. with five-speed, 252 h.p. with optional four-speed automatic. The 0- to 60-m.p.h. claim is less than 6 seconds. We`ll take Acura`s word for it because every time we pushed the pedal the odometer was at 80 m.p.h. by the time we peeked. Performance should be measured in g-forces and warp speed. ABS and driver-side air bag are standard, as is traction control.
Our only gripe is the need for a non-glare windshield.
Base price: $61,000 with five-speed, $65,000 with automatic.
Porsche 911. When the White Sox traded Nellie Fox we became Cub fans, and when Porsche dropped the entry-level 924 we also lost interest. All is forgiven now that Porsche has introduced Tiptronic (the Sox still have some penance to do), a system that teams four-speed manual with four-speed automatic.
If that`s not novel enough, the manual operates without a clutch. With Tiptronic you can operate in four-speed automatic mode while maneuvering through the rush hour after work, then switch to manual once you reach the open road. With Tiptronic the Porsche 911 becomes a joy. Tiptronic next will be offered in the 1992 model 944 successor, the 968, which will bow after the first of the year. Prices of the 911 with Tiptronic range from $63,650 to $72,250.
