Suzuki Jimny Turbo, Opel GT, Pontiac Fiero: The Dopest Vehicles I Found For Sale Online

• $8,000
• ODO: 22,000 Miles
• Kingsville, Texas

The Jimny rocks. The only thing that makes a Jimny better is a hard top, and if you add a turbo to that, well, you’ve got a winner. This Jimny comes with a three-cylinder turbocharged engine with low miles, a five-speed manual transmission and, best of all, yellow-tinted fog lights (or french fogs.)

The seller claims it was imported late last year, and that it comes with a bunch of new stuff, including the battery, alternator, A/C compressor and belts. The seller also claims that the air conditioning works, which you might recall is the equivalent of “rust-free” for those who live in the Southern U.S.

• $4,750
• ODO: 170,000 Miles
• Dallas, Texas

There’s something about this car, which is the predecessor to the Mazda 3, that has drawn me in lately. Every time I see a Mazda Protegé on on the road, I find myself looking over at it with intense interest.

I don’t know if it’s the big fog lights or the understated rally car looks, but I’m digging the design a lot. It reminds me of a Lancer, but it’s a Mazda, so it’s low-key. I’d prefer a wagon body-style, but this is a fine example of a car that would go on to become a big hit that already looked good.

• $4,250
• ODO: 193,000 Miles
• Dallas, Texas

This is mostly a boring BMW at first glance. Take a look inside, however, and you might see something surprising. This X5 has a five-speed manual transmission, which means if you want an SUV (ahem, SAV) that can fit passengers comfortably without the road-numbing feeling that many SUVs suffer from, this could be the ticket!

Also, I always thought the first-gen X5 looked the most like its sports sedan siblings, and is therefore my favorite generation. It looks just like a taller 3 series that got a little bulky. In other words, the design is good. Cheap, too.

• $27,500
• ODO: 54,500 Miles
• El Paso, Texas

This is one of the few times that I will recommend a car that costs this much. I was weaned on beaters and salvage titles, so this Opel GT costs a veritable fortune to me, but it could be worth it because this is a beautiful machine!

The GT has a rich history, which we’ve covered before so I’ll just say that this design is incredible. Ditto the orange paint. The seller claims that this GT has Opel Manta lights, fitted at the factory when Opel ran out of GT tail lights as the car neared the end of its production. (I actually think those lights were normal for that year, when the reverse lamp was moved from a lone, low-mounted unit to be integrated into the taillights. — JT)

They also claim that the engine rebuild added some power to the original output figures, which is fine. I wouldn’t sweat the speed in this car, though. No need.

• $7,500
• ODO: 104,000 Miles
• Phoenix, Arizona

The CVCC in this Civic’s name stands for “Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion,” which is a mouthful. It made the tech in order to meet strict new emissions regulations, and it became legendary after GM talked smack about it, and Soichiro Honda proceeded to wipe the floor with GM’s opinions.

This Civic has had a transplant, though, as it’s running an engine from a later Accord, but that engine did also use the tech in the original, so I think the CVCC badging is not dishonest. The mileage refers to the chassis instead of the engine, but the interior looks immaculate. It wears its miles well.

• $10,000
• ODO: 37,000 Miles
• Deming, New Mexico

This MGB is clean, and I mean that both figuratively and literally. It’s in great shape. I like everything about it. The wheels, paint, bumper, all of it. The shape is vaguely that of a shooting brake to my eyes, and for all of the charm and personality that British roadsters may have, I’d pick the bread van every time.

This MGB has low original miles, which makes the price a little more palatable. There’s even a video, so you can mull over the five figure investment into — and I can’t state this enough — an MGB and the maintenance that entails. Even so, I’d recommend watching the vid more than once because I bet this is one of those cars that you fall in love with if you see it in person. You’ve been warned.

• $4,000
• ODO: 202,000 Miles
• Buckeye, Arizona

OK. Overlook some of the tackier bits on this little egg-shaped Civic Si and you could have a winner. The mileage is high, but it’s commensurate with the price considering how much used cars sell for now. I know, I know; it sucks.

I would prefer to have car with half that many miles, but the seller has a healthy list of mods that many drivers would have considered throwing on, anyway, and the interior is in good shape and is more or less undisturbed.

This Civic is nearly all the way there for a track build. First thing I would do is get it looking stock, although I might consider keeping the wheels.

• $7,500
• ODO: 89,779 Miles
• Rio Rancho, New Mexico

This CJ7 is sporting one gnarly finish and the wheels are just fantastic! It’s a little tall for me, but it does come with “factory winch,” according to the seller. That’s not something I’d rely on given the age of the car and the critical role winches play in potentially dangerous situations, but I’d consider it a cosmetic, period-correct add-on.

The seller claims there is some rust, but I’ve included it in this week’s list because it’s cheaper than a lot of similar CJs I’ve seen on Craigslist. It’s not exactly cheap, but also not unreasonable.

• $2,500
• ODO: 68,000 Miles
• Animas, New Mexico

Don’t let the general state of disrepair of this Fiero fool you. Lurking underneath that sun-baked paint is a pretty dope car. The seller of this Fiero Sport says you can run it as-is if you throw on some tires and a new windshield.

There’s no pictures of the interior, which is worrying but the ad says it’s tan. I think that specific color may have fared better than darker finishes in the car’s sunny environment, but either way, it’s cheap enough that it could be a great platform for a project.

It’s got a four-speed manual transmission and is powered by the Iron Duke four-cylinder engine. This particular Fiero has relatively low miles and a salvage title, but it is in running condition. This is how rocket cars start (or end.)

• $4,295
• ODO: 11,960 Miles
• Phoenix, Arizona

The Aprilia Futura is another of the great — and underrated — sport-tourers of yore. It was meant to be a competitor to Honda’s VFR, which is a legendary motorcycle, and it was sadly overlooked because it was unable to unseat Big Red’s VFR from its throne.

The Aprilia had better styling, though, and an engine that may not have beat Honda’s, but could put up a fight. It was powered by a 998cc V-twin that made 113 horsepower and about 71 lb-ft of torque. It had a beautiful under-seat exhaust and a single-sided swing arm, like the VFR of that same generation. The Futura looks like a fighter jet! All it needed to be perfect was ABS.