I Rockforded one of these into moving traffic once after making a wrong turn. My two buddies were able to enter traffic going the right direction, but by the time they cleared the way, the gap was disappearing. What little space there was left, I shot into ass-first, pivoted, grabbed second on the roll and took off like a wailing shot.

Driving - nay, HOONING - this little box was an absolute blast. The light weight and frantically eager engine made it a young boy's irresponsible fantasy, and the handling and grip were such to keep me alive to talk about it here.

makes me want to watch a John Hughes film
anyways cool the bumperstickers are a nice touch
the 80s spawned alot of forgotten cars
some bad (Dodge Aries etc etc) and some awesome (Mitsu Starion etc etc)

I hope you find a Subaru XT6 someday for DOTS
it had so many weird/cool details

@elhigh: you were lucky my first car was an 85 Buick so umm you cant do that....and live

@yellofury: in a BUick

I love how Toyota Red achieved the primer look in a matter of a few months/years depending on your climate dynamics.

At the time, they were kind of marketing these as GTI 16v fighters. My high school gf had one - in white.

@POLAЯ: I noes the mean mr.Veyron eated you, mr.fx16, glad you is K.

U think POLAЯZ krazie, but I noes dis happenen,
how doos I postes on topix at 8:48a.m. when topix time sez 9:20a.ms?! It got eated!

I sported one of these, great little car, fast , and invisible to the law. It was bullet-proof, could have welded the hood closed, I never had any problems with this little timex, untill I flipped it over into a cow field,,,

I'd love to take that thing for a spin. I had an '86 4 door 5-speed with a finicky carburetor that served as a reliable DD well into the current decade.

God, I must be getting old, because I remember these things when they were new, and it still does nothing for me. I can't even comment on how well it looks because, quite frankly, I don't care. I think this is the first DOTS car that I felt that way about.

@UDMAN:

Udman, I'm assuming you've never driven a car with a 4AGE, otherwise you'd probably understand this little rocket's appeal. Remember kiddies, the 4AGE is just a Japanese-reliable copy of the Cosworth BDA!

As an AW11 MR2 owner, I've been looking for an FX-16 to compliment it for ages, but they're rare as hen's teeth even here in SoCal.

My ex had an '89 Corolla coupe in this color, similarly oxidized. I bought some polishing compound and hand-rubbed the thing to like showroom newness. It faded back in about a month.

@mobilene:

Toyota Super Red II, my AW11 had the same problem when I bought it and I went through the same process to bring it back to a factory-new shine - fortunately for me it hasn't yet faded back yet 'cause that was not fun.

Basically an MR2 turned backwards. Not as much of a blast to drive as a GTI 16V, but close. Much better gearbox, that's for sure.

Cars like this are just proof that AMC was once again ahead of it's time.. This car says "Japanese Gremlin" to me..

Oh, except Gremmys are actually cool.

Good choice! I've always liked these things. I wonder if the 1st gen Matrix XRS will be remembered in the same way years from now.

I don't know which I'd rather have- this FX-16 or a '83/84 GTI... both were/are hoonalicious, will corner like a slot car. Not a top-end ride, but will chase ANYthing down the street with ease...

You think this FX-16 is rare? Try finding an 84 GLI- now THAT is hard...

-W

I bought one just like this in '99 after my previous Corolla burned itself to the ground. Drove it for two years before Beverly Hills PD confiscated it (turns out, you really CAN'T drive around L.A. on a two-year-expired Texas tag.) Damn, that car was fun, high revving, slick shifting, and reliable as Doxidan.

I love these cars. Fun engine, responsive chassis, not the fastest car but a FUN car. Classic hot-hatch.

There's one of these in PA that recently won the fwd class at a rallycross and is now being prepped for the August LeMons race.

This was one of those cars that wasn't imported to Canada, so i'd be all "what is?" when i spotted one.

Leaves me cold. An old Toyota that runs pretty well? What's the challenge in that?

Absolutely one of the coolest cars of the era!

My parents bought new and still daily drive an '88 FX-16 GTS and an '87 MR2. We were a two 4AGE family (along with my various Fiats and 18RC-motivated Toyotas)

The FX-16 is a sleeper - it's unassumingly grey with steel wheels. Oh the hoonery it tolerated in the East Bay hills in the year before I left for college... I actually prefered the FX to the MR2 for canyon carving, as the FX was so fun to toss around - it really responded to weigth transfer well. The MR2, on the other hand, was so prone to understeer that it forced me to deliberately slide around corners. (I was a drifter back-in-the-day, I guess.)

My parents hated the tire wear I inflicted on both cars. But put up with the behavior presumably since I had the credibility of club racing in Improved Touring. I'll have to ask them about that...

Now that I have a driving age kid, I need to call my parents and apologize for the wear and tear I placed on their cars. I don't think they'll mind since both cars remain as reliable as hammers.

Looks like that triangular gliding mini-monstrosity we had the other day.

The comments about polishing out the bad paint raise an interesting point--various jalops have remarked that they don't wash their cars or not very often and rattle paint is a good substitute for a wax job--but in my experience those same people will get an obsessed notion from time to time and spend a day, a week, however long it takes to try to restore a finish on that same car. Seems perverse, but maybe because washing alone just isn't hellish enough?

What I like about DOTS: big cars, rough cars, rusty cars, classic cars, high mileage cars, well-used cars, sexy cars, fast cars, cars with a story, cars with fins, cars with hood ornaments, cars with slotted mags, cars with turquoise paint, cars with 4 headlights, cars with mis-matched wheels, cars with chrome bumpers, cars with fancy interiors, cars with 2 doors, cars with 4 doors, wagons, etc. etc. etc. etc.

What I don't like about DOTS: This car.

I forgot damage. Damage is cool too.

If you lift up the grass skirt on the hula LeMons car, this is what you'll find....

I had a 88' FX of my own through undergrad. Amazing little car. I literally drove the thing till it died one night, where the tranny lost all of its fluid and left me stranded on 75 south of ocala one fall night in '97. They were fast, and the best freeway car because of their size and power, you could sneak right up around people and draft behind semi's with ease. Add in the super Japanese styling, the Toyota parts-bin interior and fun hatch to put your groceries in, and it made for a car that I will always love.

This was probably the last Toyota I had a fondness for. After this they became bloated parodies. I actually preferred this little car to the twin-turbo Supras and all the other attention getters. I never actually had one, knew somebody that had one, rode in one, or even parked next to one but I always thought they were kind of cool in a funky way.

Hey! That's my friend's house in the background. And of course you knew the pink Mercury wagon's owner; I've seen that car for years a few blocks over.

I hated these cars when they were new, but almost every hatch has a certain charm for me today (so very 80s').

@theeastbaykid: You mean like this?

@POLAЯ: So were these pictures taken before or after the Veyron ate it?

oh, these things can be total sleepers. The engine is readily upgradeable and modifications plenty. One of the cooler swaps I've seen is an AE111 20 valve 4AGE installed with a LSD equipped 6 speed tranny. It practically bolts right in with no fuss! These GT-S models also sported a sweet tach that goes to 9K rpms and you got disc brakes all around to boot

I always liked the power bulge on the passenger's side of the hood. It let your passengers know what lurked in the stable out front.

It's funny; the power bulge in my Levi's serves the exact same purpose. It's even on the passenger side. And yes, it's definitely "lurking".

@nassin2: I thinks these is post eatedness!

Why do pictures of this car, in this condition, somehow remind me of freecreditreport.com?

Don't forget that this was the early bigport 4AGE with the variable induction system. Pass 4,400 RPMs (on your way to something crazy for the 80s like 7,200) and the 4 additional runners in the intake manifold open up. Sounds like VTEC to today's Honda kiddies.

) Grocery getter, until you start revving...and yes, the 20V engines would just bolt right in. 120ish horses to 160-180ish and ITBs. Total sleeper hatches.

Woh. I never saw these on the road, nor in images. Many sedans were on the road though.

 

@POLAЯ: Oh noes. Polar's gone LOLCat on us. Guess that makes you a snow kitteh. Srsly.

As for the FX, that would make a pretty cool first car. Way more awesome than, say, the Aveo my middle stepsister drives, that's fo' sho'.

@Turbo Driver: GLI or GTI? My uncle had an '84 Jetta GLI for years... his second Vdub; he's up (?) to a '94/'95 (I forget) Jetta III now.

A good friend of mine had one of these until she moved to Scotland (from the West Coast). She called it the "Skateboard from Hell" - an apt description, truly.

Wow, the FX-16. I bought one new in 1987. I think they only made them for two years if I remember right. I actually still have a couple of pics of mine. In the first pic - a nice, smokey burnout. The second pic is after I got my fancy wheels. Man, what memories.

I wondered how long this DOTS thing could last. Now I know.