Made In Oz: 1991 Mercury Capri XR2

The first Ford product to wear the Capri badge was a German built Ford and a few years later it was recycled as the Mercury Capri (a thinly disguised Mustang produced during the 1980's.)  The Capri nameplate left in 1986, but the name would appear again in 1991 on an entirely different car while the 3rd gen Fox Mustang was still in production. This time the Capri lived on a front-wheel-drive platform from the Mazda 323 (similar to Mercury Tracer) but it was built in Australia but not sold in right-hand-drive.  It only survived for a few years but the one to get is the turbocharged XR2 with a manual gearbox. Find this 1991 Mercury Capri XR2 offered for $2450 in East Mesa, AZ via craigslist.

Direct Injected 2-Stroke: 1997 Ford Aspire Prototype

Folks have toyed with the concept of direct injected two-stroke engines for years...in fact, I worked at a (now defunct) small alt-fuels engineering firm (BKM) in the early 2000s that was working with Yamaha on direct injection technology for small engines...and it was neat stuff that never went anywhere.  Anyway, at the same time there was a small (not defunct, but now in the unmanned aerial vehicle biz) company in Perth, Australia called Orbital Engines Corp that produced about a hundred direct injection engines and put them in Ford Aspires that drove around making two-stroke noises without the 2-stroke smells.  Here is one that has some engine noises according to the seller -- just head to your local Pep Boys for new parts, shouldn't be a problem. Find this 1997 Ford Aspire offered for $5000 in Newbury, NH. Tip from Cory.

Proper Bogan: 1996 HSV Maloo

While over in Oz scouting cars at Performance Car Mania at Winton in 2014, I heard both sides of a drunk argument of which is "the best burnout car from the factory, ever". The contenders were the VN SS, the Tickford EL XR8, and the VS Maloo. Though the VN SS won this particular Carlton Draught-fueled debate, the VS HSV Maloo was capable of epic feats of boganism with a simple touch of the throttle. Find this 1996 HSV Maloo here for sale in regional South Australia for $AUD12,500 ($USD9,465.88 as of today) via gumtree.  Tip from Michael

2006 Pontiac GTO

Australia took the muscle car ball and really ran with it, creating cars that we all lust after but can’t have. And then, as if AFL and poisonous creatures everywhere weren’t enough excitement, they conjured up things like Summernats and Performance Car Mania where engines, gearboxes, and tires get third gear clutch dumped to eventual death in powerskid and burnout competitions. Judged by such metrics as amount of smoke, the manner in which the car flies into the burnout box, number of tire blowouts, and amount of body damage, burnout competitions are essentially automotive hotdog eating competitions in which the best car that gets destroyed the most wins. Get yourself a piece of the Aussie action with this final year 2006 Pontiac GTO on craigslist in Palm City, FL for $10,000. This post is part of DT's 2016 Birthday Celebration of 100 cars; enjoy the ride!