You know those seemingly operational manual 3 door hatches you find on CL for cheap?

You know those seemingly operational manual 3 door hatches you find on CL for cheap?

Anyone have any experience with them? An early 90s swift/metro/civic/etc.

t. looking for one but not sure if it is a horrible idea

I've actually been thinking the same thing myself; found a few 90's civics in the area and wanted to see if anyone had gotten one before.

Hello newfriends, let me share with you one spicy pasta

Shitboxes are loved by Veeky Forums. We like to say they have character. We beat them to hell, and they somehow still go another 50k miles. When brand new with 4 miles on the odometer, we smugly donned these vehicles "econoboxes". But they matured, such as a fine wine does. They surived to 300k miles with minimal repairs. Just like a soldier earns the Purple Heart, our "econoboxes" earned their reputation as the "shitbox". There are a few cars that will always be known as great little shitboxes: the Toyota Corolla, our beloved Twingo, and America's frontrunner, The Geo Metro.

The Geo Metro was conceived much the same way I was: during a 4am cocaine fueled grope session in the back seat of an AMC Gremlin.

The year was 1987. A few Detroit executives who were down on their luck decided that we need a car designed for real human beans. A car that would love its 8th owner more than its original buyer. A car that had seen 3 oil changes its first 100k miles, but now is pampered by synthetic blend every 2,999 miles. Sunroof? Fuck that! 4 cylinders? Nope! We want 4 wheels, 3 cylinders, 2 doors, and one goddamn good car.

Thus the 1989 Geo Metro was born. It reigned supreme for decades, much like a dictator in Asia. Jay Leno owns 7 Geo Metros in case you forgot. The Geo Metro is the only car to win at Monza, Laguna Seca, Silverstone, and Talladega. Ford and Chrysler appealed to the US government in 1990, saying that production of the Geo Metro created an unfair advantage for GM. Unfortunately for Ford and Chrysler, 98% of the members of Congress drove Geo Metros and loved them to death. The Geo Metro placed 4th in the 1992 Presidential election behind Ross Perot.

Some say the Chevrolet Aveo was the successor to the Geo Metro, but I refuse to believe. Nothing can ever succed over the Geo Metro when it comes to its main purpose: being a spectacular shitbox.

Swifts and Metros are horrendously dangerous but not actually fun enough to be worth it.

retard alert

It's a utility vehicle. It's about insane MPG and nothing else.

>insane
calm the fug down, freund

Question for o

Would a 65hp shitbox like a geo or a hatchback civic be a good first manual for someone who doesn't know how to drive manual

Or would it lead to bad habits.

Yes it will lead to bad habits that you'll have to unlearn later but a 300+ hp rwd as your first manual might well lead to death so it's really up to you. You can kill yourself in any car if you're reckless enough and you can learn safely in any car if you're cautious enough.

What sort of habits

50+ mpg was pretty crazy for a car in the late 1980s.

I bought a 94 metro from CL about 3 months ago, it had Minor things like no ac, no seatbelts, no working radio, and the driver side windows doesn't roll up, and the interior was gross. But for 300 American dollars and the fact it running flawlessly, I love the little thing

ever consider hitting up a junkyard to pick apart a dead geo for parts? seems like they're common to find in junkyards

Rev matching is way different on a torquey engine, breaking traction feels completely different on rwd

What would be a good first car to learn manual in? A miata?

You get what you pay for. A $1000 Civic is going to be pretty beat up and need some TLC along the way. Will it get you from point A to B every day of the week? It absolutely will

Yeah, that's basically perfect but the secret is out and the prices are going up. You could probably find a better V6 Mustang cheaper at this point. People will call you gay either way.

With a Miata you look like somebody who knows it's a gay looking car and drives it anyway while with a v6 Mustang you look like somebody who thinks he looks cool which is extremely uncool in our post-ironic culture.

There's probably a perfect $5 sticker you can buy that all by itself could re-image it but I have no idea what it might be.

NRA sticker? Would be unique at least

I miss my old shitbox :< Maybe one day I will pick one up again

Pic related. She was one clean EF

what happened to it

Sold it and bought this turbo ball of fun which I also no longer have as of last year. Started creeping up on 30 and a vehicle like that felt a bit too childish.

no kids of your own to hand it off to?

also get off of this board, gramps

even if I had kids they wouldn't remotely be near driving age. Also I'm not that old. You'll know this feeling sooner than you realize.

Another pic for the general shitbox crowd