Michael's Speed Zone

It's about time I brought you up to speed on my automotive state of affairs.

I always knew that replacing my now long-gone Subaru Liberty RS with something better was going to be a big ask - without spending heaps of cash, anyhow. But starting off with a low-to-mid 20 grand budget, I sure didn't expect to end up driving what I am now, that's for sure...

Of course, the obvious progression from the RS is to move to an Impreza WRX - the smaller, lighter and younger Subaru cousin. I did numerous WRX test-drives, but I quickly realised two things - the early WRX is poverty-pack inside, while the later cars lack top-end urge and are still quite expensive (for a decent one, anyway). The cheaper late model examples that I looked at were all suss in one way or another. One bodged-up example had a wastegate actuator rod that had actually been quickly wired back into place "because it had fallen off". Nice try matey! Oh, and then there was the wagon that had a huge miss that came and went...

Plus - to make matters worse - I wasn't really all that keen on going through the WRX's notorious clutch and gearbox failure issues. Not again; not after trashing a line of 'boxes in my old Liberty (which has basically the same engine/'box). And then another thing. To be totally honest, I wasn't convinced that the WRX was all that much better than the Liberty, anyway. So you roll these things together and there was enough to strike the letters W-R-X from my list of maybes. But believe me, it was difficult pen stroke to scribe!

After that, I looked at what other late-model Japanese performance cars there are to choose from. Why Japanese? Mainly because the Australian import wrecker scene makes buying the associated parts and accessories so damn cheap. First off, I wanted to drive a Lancer GSR turbo - the smaller successor to the Galant VR4. However, since none came up for sale locally for three solid months (except for a couple of highly modified examples), I never even got the chance. That might have been a blessing in disguise, though, coz since then I've repeatedly heard about rods punching holes through the 1.8 litre block... ouch!

Oddly enough, I even had a brief thing for the forgotten Subaru SVX. These big cruisers pack a strong flat six engine and have a radical interior and body design. They drive nicely too - and they handle pretty much like the Liberty did (although their extra weight is apparent). But there were two things that put me off - their price is very variable (because nobody seems to want them) and they are too slow. If they came with the option of a 5-speed manual instead of the standard auto, they'd go a bit better, no doubt.

So then I jumped out of the 4WD turbo boat altogether and tried a few Nissan 200SXs. I thought the S-e-X wasn't a bad all-round car. They've got that smooth and responsive SR20DET engine and all, but - for some reason - they just didn't do much for me. I can't really put my finger on the reason why - maybe it was because there wasn't any one single aspect that left a major positive impression. There was never a surge of power, the car never felt glued to the road, and nor did it impress me with a wonderful interior. I wanted to be inspired, and the SX was nothing but bland.

Honda's substitute for forced induction - VTEC - was my next avenue for investigation. But, geez - I gotta tell you straight up - what an absolute bloody disappointment these cars were. Especially when you're used to the push-in-the-back torque of a turbo! I drove both Prelude and Integra VTiRs and found them incredibly boring - Sound of Music sort of boring, we're talkin'!

Their high revving engines wind up, wind up and wind up - but they never really go! They accelerate fine if you launch from the lights at high revs and keep them on the boil through each gear - but what about when want to go-go-go when you're already travelling at 60? You're stuffed. You need to change down to flamin' first to build up enough revs to climb onto VTEC (which, of course, you can't)! One Honda car salesman summed it up pretty well, "unless you rev it to over 5500, you might as well be driving a non-VTEC." He was right. I knew within two minutes of driving the Prelude and Integra that the VTEC system wasn't for me.

Here entered the wonderful Japanese imports and their promised pot of gold. My first preference was toward the Nissan 300ZX twin turbo (2+2 preferably). And what a powerful, sweet lookin' car they are - phew! But after asking around I soon discovered the Zeds are notoriously unreliable and mega expensive to repair. "A problem waiting to happen," in the words of one importer (who was still selling them!). And - when I come to think of it - I sure have seen a lot of import Zeds stranded at the side of the road or awaiting repair in workshops. An inadequate cooling system is said to be the cause of many a cracked cylinder head (which are difficult to source and cost $$$). Of course, then was the problem of their limited practicality - especially since most are only 2-seaters. So, overall, I figured it was a good one for me to steer clear of.

Then came the ultimate Japanese fast cruiser - the big twin turbo Soarer. Mmm, what a fine bit of gear they are - especially for the money. They look tough (in a kind of pimp-gansta sort of way) and they come loaded with everything you'd usually pay over 100 grand for in a new LS400. And - after negotiating a test drive from a yard - I realised what a brilliant engine the 1JZ-GTE is. Drop the throttle and, all of a sudden, the Soarer's substantial weight vanishes and you're thrust off down the street in virtual silence. And when you're not exercising the dual wastegates, it's not at all hard to kick back in those gigantic seats and take in all the comfort. For this, I could forgive the barge-like dimensions without a problem.

So yeah, you could say the Soarer left a big impression on me - I love 'em!

But - like all imports - the Soarer's bargain price is also its Achilles heel. And this is one of the reasons why I disqualified the Pulsar GTiR, Bluebird ATTESA and several other grey-import cars before I even looked at them. I remember seeing a TT Soarer for "only" $30,000 barely a year ago, and now it seems if you're asking more than about $22,000 you're dreamin'. I've even seen one for as little as $16,500... And, no siree, I didn't want to tie my money up in a car that's retained value is falling like a Concorde... Obviously, another major negative is parts availability. I can't help but wonder how much replacement parts wound be for something like a Soarer - or whether or not they're even available. I've heard of one particular Japanese import owner who cracked a windscreen and had to wait five weeks for a new $700 'screen to arrive ex-Japan! That sure wasn't my kind of thing.

Then came my brief Euro trip - the Volkswagen Golf VR6 and Saab 9000 CSE/Aero turbo. And after driving that wheezy Integra earlier the same day, Volkswagen's 2.8-litre Golf really bowled me over. In stark contrast to the Honda, it's got an absolute abundance of torque everywhere in the rev range. I can vividly remember tromping it across an intersection and hearing the tyres squealing before we were catapulted past the flow of traffic. The driver of the VTEC Honda would've been left w-a-y behind, still fumbling around for a lower gear... But the hot Golf's price tag? Well, the one I drove was a fat $33,000, and no others came up for much less. Still, it was another great car though - in every way.

Then came the saga of finding a Saab 9000 (full pressure) turbo. These 2.3 litre beasts run a static compression ratio of 9.25:1 and get hit with up to 1.08 Bar boost - so they sure go pretty well! A manual version can crack 100 km/h in around seven seconds flat and push to a top-end of 240...Unfortunately, though, these full boost pressure cars are very thin on the ground. However, I did stumble across one immaculate late-model Aero - jet black and just s-o-o sexy. The black leather was to die for. But, again, this Euro was deep (in fact, deeper) into the 30 grand range - and it was already sold! So, I eventually gave up the search for the fast Swede - which was a real bummer.

Those tasty Euros seemed just too far out of reach.

So - at the end of the day - I was disappointed that I could only afford an early WRX (crap interior), a later model WRX (no top-end power and it would have to be a roughie), a Lancer GSR (look, there goes a conrod!) or a ho-hum 200SX. None of them set me on fire for one reason or another, and since the bloody thing was consuming literally all of my money, it really had to!

Compounding my frustration was the fact that comprehensive insurance was going to be a minimum of $1300 (some quotes on the cars were closer to $2000). And, or course, who'd be stupid enough not to insure something like a WRX? Those things grow legs like you wouldn't believe! Plus, stamp duty would be about the same amount again - so there goes two to three grand before I even get the privilege of slipping into the driver's seat!

It was time for a major rethink.

Dreaming back on my previous cars (Ford V8, Charade turbo, MX-6 4WS turbo and Liberty RS), I soon realised my cheaply modified Charade turbo was amongst the most fun. It was 993cc of pure Daihatsu ecstasy! It's weird, but that car brought me an ear-to-ear grin about as often as the Liberty. The Charade wasn't expensive, didn't cost anywhere near $2000 to insure and took peanuts to maintain. It was a great car, which could destroy many a more expensive performance machine.

So, with this in mind, I eased back my expectations and went looking at cars again. My taste for champagne had certainly dropped to lower shelf white wine. But at least you can afford a nice meal and a taxi ride home with the money that's left over! My short-list included a Supra turbo, Laser TX3 turbo, Nissan 300ZX turbo (Z31) and Ford TX5 turbo. But - without going too far into it - the Supra was overly expensive, and the others were a bit on the slow side.

Then - purely by coincidence - I spied a VL Commodore turbo for sale at only $6000. Even better, it was a manual. Hmm, a fast car I thought to myself - mid-7s to 100 and mid-15 quarters were figures that rang a bell. I can still remember running neck-and-neck with one of these things while I still had the Liberty. The bastard - all he had was an exhaust, intake, boost and an intercooler. And I'll bet he never went through a hundred clutches and gearboxes.... Certainly, I was heavily attracted to the VL's smooth engine, huge potential and un-equalled supply of aftermarket bits'n'pieces - so, yeah, it this car was definitely worth a look. Especially for what I hoped would be only 5-ish grand - after a bit of negotiation...

As soon as I arrived at the private seller's address, it was obvious the youngish lad was keen to sell - so I had the upper hand straight away! Not caring too much about a few scratches (from a dog jumping onto the bonnet!) and some typical VL rust areas, the car looked to be great value for the money. The engine seemed okay (despite a little breathing) and the bare-bones SL-spec interior was pretty neat. After an extended drive around the area, I was happy that the car was essentially pretty good.

But, nevertheless, I decided to get an on-site inspection at the guy's house - which was a good move. This revealed lots of little problems (none of which bothered me very much) but which gave me a great bargaining tool - especially since I took cash with me to buy the car immediately after the inspection! Running a finger down the mechanic's notes I said, "Mate, I'll give you $4800 for it - and no more." I thought I was being a bit ambitious, but I figured - what the hell.

I looked up and he has was already shaking his head and about to say something - but when I jumped in with, "Here's the money for it now," and pulled out a fat cash-filled envelope, things suddenly changed! About a minute later, the keys were in my pocket and I was signing the papers. I don't think stamp duty will be much for this one...

So after looking at all those (much!) more expensive cars, I've ended up with a humble VL Commodore Turbo! Some people can't understand, but it makes perfect sense to me. It's a fun car - like the mighty Charade was. Except, of course, this'll be faster! I'll spend a little bit on modifying it, waste a few WRXs at the lights, have a bash at its rough handling and wait for the price of my preferred cars to slip. And at the same time, my insurance premium will drop since I turn 25 in early 2001. I'm also comforted by the fact that - at present - all I stand to lose on the VL is $4800. And, of course, it'll never be worth nothing.

Hmm, I wonder what a Volvo T5-R will be worth once I've had enough of the VL?

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