Honda Civic Si Turbo, Daihatsu Rocky, Chevy C-10: The Dopest Vehicles I Found For Sale Online

• $3,900
• ODO: 105,362 Miles
• Buckeye, Arizona

This is a cool Saab not only because of its high trim and lowish miles, but because it has a 2.5 liter, V6 engine. It’s an Opel design that was known as the 54 degree V6 due to its uncommon angle, which made it more compact than the usual 90 degree angle of V6 engines.

I chose this 900SE because it is so clean. It almost looks like a permanent coat of Armor All lives on the surface of this Saab’s interior. Its rear passenger headrests look intact. Even the rubber boot on the shifter is in good shape. I worry about the condition of its steering wheel, which is unseen due to the cover. I understand it and the red seat covers match the paint, but I prefer a stock wheel and seats.

Oh, and this Saab has working A/C — which you will quickly learn is the South/Southwest’s equivalent to “rust free” when shopping for a car on Craigslist. The seller claims the top is in pristine shape, and given the condition of the rest of the car, I believe it. I would miss the OEM three-spoke wheels but otherwise, this is one cherry Saab.

• $4,5000
• ODO: 183,000 Miles
• Payson, Arizona

We’ve covered the Daihatsu Rocky before, briefly. Andrew Collins looked into the little SUV a couple of years back, and he discovered that during their sales run in the U.S., from 1988 to 1992, Daihatsu sold only 7,249 Rockies.

If you ask me, that’s all the better. This is a rare, ladder frame, rear-wheel drive, tough little SUV with a manual transmission and AWD. It might be slow, some would even say underpowered, but I wouldn’t mind crawling along in this even at a snail’s pace. I love a Samurai, but this Rocky is just that much rarer. It even has a hardtop and a sunroof. Talk about a bright greenhouse.

And look at those seats! They seem to be in excellent condition. The rest of the cabin looks fine, but three digital displays that look like alarm clocks have replaced the original circular dash pods, which is unfortunate. But the paint on this Daihatsu looks great and its wheels are incredibly stylish.

• $3,700
• ODO: 131,000 Miles
• Sahuarita, Arizona

This Focus hatch comes from Ford’s Special Vehicle Team, and its engine was developed with Cosworth, famous for the Escort RS. The retuned engine is a 2.0-liter Zetec-R good for 170 HP. The car puts it’s power down through a six-speed Getrag manual transmission, which spins its wonderful five-spoke wheels.

This Focus may not be as flashy as other cars on this list, but that fits perfectly with its demure appearance, which only hints at the machine’s intent with its subtle SVT badge.

The Focus looks to be in decent shape, but the bumpers and rocker panels have some wear. The interior is in decent shape, too, but the shifter is showing some cracking. That would be the first thing I would change, given how much contact with the shifter driving entails. Points of contact, people! These are the most important. It’s how we connect with our cars. Seats, steering wheel, shifters, pedals, floor mats. Handle these first. The rest comes later.

• $6,700
• ODO: 39,765 Miles
• Plano, Texas

This Honda kei car has AWD drive. I’ll rephrase: This Honda passenger kei car has AWD. Let that sink in. This is like the Honda Acty’s little wild child brother. The car bears the Humming name, which indicates it’s a special edition that was produced from 1994-1996.

It has a three-cylinder, 656cc engine and a five-speed manual transmission. Its max weight was listed at around 1,600 pounds so I bet it’s a lot of fun to toss around and wring out. Oh, and don’t forget: It has permanent AWD!

The seller has an informative video posted on YouTube, and even if you’re not remotely interested in this car, watch it for the sake of the exhaust note and to hear this little thing spring to life. The paint looks incredible. The interior is in good shape. It has power windows, functioning A/C and even though it does have a trunk and a rear bench, I don’t know that I would put any passengers in the rear seat. Still good for cargo, though!

• $4,850
• ODO: 333,272 Miles
• San Antonio, Texas

Ah, the Toyota Tacoma. The old Toyota Tacoma. This is a pickup from another era, a time when pickups were not statements but rather useful tools. This is obvious from its low stock height and long, functional bed.

The Tacoma replaced the Toyota Pickup (which was really just a Hilux) for the 1995 model year onward, and would go on to become a very popular model. The rest is history. Tacomas are as beloved as they are ubiquitous nowadays.

But I still miss the older versions, such as this Xtracab from 1999. It’s not the stripes I miss, even though those are great. It’s how unpretentious and self-assured these pickups looked. They had a simple, unfussy design.

This pickup is like a golden retriever in some sense, a best friend. That much is evident by the amount of miles and its amazing condition despite the distance traveled. The interior of this truck is in excellent shape. Even the engine bay looks good! Someone cares for this truck very much, so I wouldn’t let its miles scare me. The only thing I’m not crazy about are those aftermarket wheels.

• $2,800
• ODO: 130,729 Miles
• Mesa, Arizona

I know this is really a 1987 Dodge Charger, but there isn’t any Dodge branding on it, and it is legally recognized as a Shelby car. Sure, there’s a Chrysler Pentastar in more than one place, but we’ll give those a pass because the Shelby graphics totally overshadow them, anyway.

Shelby named this reworked Charger the GLH-S, which means “Goes Like Hell - Some More.” It went like hell due to its Turbo I engine, a 2.2 liter, four-cylinder, forced-induction mill that made 175 HP and put its power down through a Getrag five-speed manual transmission.

This particular example is a little rough. It’s got a spun rod bearing. It’s dirty and is not completely rust-free. But the low cost of entry means you can sort these things out, and still keep the project on track for a reasonable amount of money. And remember there are only 1,000 of these. This one is number 190 from that bunch and it has a plaque to prove it.

• $6,499
• ODO: 109,000 Miles
• San Antonio, Texas

Here’s another pickup, a Chevy Silverado, that would be a pretty uneventful car but still a cool one, except that this pickup has a very neat livery. It’s an old U.S. Forest Service truck. We’ve written about these before and now is your chance to own one.

I wouldn’t call its appearance subtle, but that mint green is so nice, and it comes with some cool accessories like a Warn winch and a Delta toolbox with period-correct rust and scratches. There’s a liner already on the bed and the pickup rides on its original two-tone steelies. You’ll have to overlook the short bed, but I think the truck makes up for it overall.

The seller is asking for a good chunk of change and I would normally refrain from recommending it, but the combination of its Chevy 350 V8, manual transmission, four wheel drive and that glorious paint could be worth it. It has pretty low miles on the engine, too. American V8s will just keep going if you treat them right, so I think this truck has a lot of life left.

• $8,500
  
• ODO: 80,000 Miles
• Starkville, Mississippi

Here’s another Chevy, but this one is much older. This is a first-generation C-10 Apache. The C-10 would eventually lead to the Silverado we just looked at, but this is how the pickup looked at its inception. It’s a pretty handsome truck. I do prefer a fleetside pickup, which is the straight panel version, rather than the stepside on this model, but there’s no denying its appeal.

This particular model is in need of some TLC, and there’s carb issues plaguing the inline-six engine. Think of this as a good start to a knockout C-10. It’s got some rust, but it’s nothing David Tracy would worry about. Admittedly, that’s not the best metric, however, if you are a fan of early C-10s, I think you could do worse.

A well-restored C-10 is a stunning truck. Hell, even before restoration, a C-10 can look pretty damn great. This truck already seems most of the way there.

• $6,800
• ODO: 3,050 Miles
• Santa Rosa, California

I could not overlook two-wheeled machines. This bike represents the 25-year celebration of the Interceptor nameplate and is the best way any car or bike maker has ever celebrated itself. The Interceptor is a legendary bike and this anniversary model proves as much.

The “F” in “VFR” means four, as in four cylinder. Compare that to other Hondas that are designated “VTR.” The “T” in those bike names means twin. The VFR800 sports a 782cc, V4 engine that loves to rev high but is happy to rev low due to its clever VTEC valve-gear. Yes, Honda even put VTEC on its bikes.

In the Interceptor, that means the bike is rather tame at low RPMs, but comes alive around the 6,500 RPM mark. It’s almost the perfect sports-touring bike. It’s not a kilo bike, but who cares about that when you have the glorious exhaust note of four cylinders?

This particular model is my favorite Honda of all time. It’s livery is incredible. The single-sided swing arm is beautiful and functional. And the tail pipe wraps it all together. Honda scrapped the under-seat exhaust on the successor model, and it’s a mystery to me why. I assume it’s maintenance related, but, man, that tail pipe is gorgeous.

The model I’ve picked out commands a high price, but it has a rare combination of the 25th Anniversary livery and ABS. Trust me, it’s worth it.

• $9,500
• ODO: 175,000 Miles
• Glendale, Arizona

We’ll finish with another really red car because as enthusiasts we all know red cars are faster. This red Civic is so fast, actually, it’s likely set up for track use only.

It’s a fourth-generation Civic Si hatchback. This was the second Si to come to market, and I won’t get too much into the history of the car because of how heavily modified this model is.

For starters, it’s sporting forced induction. The engine in this car is an LS/VTEC mashup, which takes two separate engines — one VTEC, the other not — and combines them to make more torque and power. This Civic’s motor is good for a whopping 500 HP! And that’s only the beginning; you can read the long list of mods in the ad. I love the Mickey Thompson tires on it and the wheels are fantastic.

I can’t quite explain the cane, other than to venture a guess the hood has shed its struts for the sake of cutting down on weight. It’s obvious from the left headlight this is a track machine, not a daily. And that’s unfortunate because everything about this Honda seems well-conceived and executed.

That’s it for this week, y’all! Please let me know if you end up buying any of these cars. I would like to congratulate you and express my jealousy. Tracking these listings is fun, but the thing I miss most is running across dirt cheap gems. Mercedes has noted previously this is becoming less and less common, and she’s right.

If you find or stumble across something cool and cheap, drop us a line or shout us out on social media. Of course, you can also put it in the comments below, and it may end up on a future list of The Dopest Vehicles For Sale Online!