Car Really eXplain High Falutin: 1988 Honda CRX HF

There are a few key things that I like about this next ride.  FIRST, is the color.  I'm a sucker for bronze/copper/gold paint that doesn't look like something aftermarket rattle can job...and this looks appropriately bronze without the brassy tones you'd expect from a bad dye job.  NEXT, the price is reasonable. And finally, those two little letters HF means high fuel economy (42mpg city, 50 mpg hwy) which wasn't achieved through hybridization but through weight loss and incredible gear ratios. Find this 1988 Honda CRX HF offered for $2,800 in Long Beach, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.

Smiles Per Gallon: 1991 Honda CRX HF

It is truly remarkable how a 62 horsepower car that does 0-60 in about 14 seconds Dodge Demon got me all misty eyed searching for victims to write about.  The fuel sipping CRX HF 40 city mpg and 47 highway mpg ratings are impressive to this day.  The most difficult part of owning this car may be trying to source a set of new 165/70/13 tires.  The second generation CRX holds a special place in the hearts of many a car enthusiast who graduated high school in and around 1991.  The Si models were the ones to own back in the day, but finding any unmodified and unrusted version today is no small task.  Honda has too many powerful 4 cylinder engines to count that could be swapped into this 1900 lb HF to up the fun factor.  Find this 1991 Honda CRX HF for sale in Naugatuck, CT for $5,000 via craigslist. 

Half Full: 1988 Honda CRX HF

The economy swings up and down as measured by various indexes and it needs to, because how else will the billionaires make more billions if the market was stagnant and just slowly growing....this is Market 101 here folks, nothing you shouldn't have learned at prep school.  Anyway, as the market swings up and down, so does the price of gasoline...and consequently so does the price of fuel sipping used cars.  A few years ago when gas was $5/gallon, you could sell a 2 year old Prius for more than MSRP, but today fuel prices are low so now is the best time to pick up some oddball classic from the 80s that gets great mileage.  Find this 1988 Honda CRX HF offered for $2,900 in Seattle, WA via craigslist.  Tip from FuelTruck.

20k: Eye For An Italian: 1989 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 8V

When shopping for an expensive used Italian car you have to dance the fine line between douche bag and cool dude.  If you buy anything with the prancing horse logo on the side, you instantly are painted with the douchebag brush.  Same goes for anything with a bull on the side, and lets face it, even some serpent badged cars are hoity-toity enough that folks will look at you sideways...but...can will never go wrong with lance and shield.  Find this 1989 Lancia Delta HF Integrale currently bidding for $22,100 with 2 days to go, located in Miami, FL via eBay.

0k: Beware The Idles of March: 1991 Honda CRX HF

Beware the non-idling cars of March, celebrated today on the ides of March.  Picking up a car that doesn't run isn't simply a risk associated with the cost of the engine that you need to sort/fix/rebuild.  It also means that you can't test the transmission, brakes, suspension, steering and often a car with a busted engine will need every other wear component replaced as well.  Suddenly, your good deal becomes a money pit and you are spending all your weekends fixing stuff.  The ides of March may come, but until that engine runs, they have not yet gone.  Find this 1991 Honda CRX HF currently bidding for $600 with 1 day to go in Elizabethton, TN via ebay.

10k: Non Integrale: 1987 Lancia Delta HF AWD

We featured a sweet Lancia Delta HF Integrale a few weeks back, but it was located in the UK, importation was left as a problem for any bidders and it was pricey...but what if you could find another Lancia Delta HF located a few thousand miles closer for half the price but missing the Integrale 16V engine? Find this 1987 Lancia Delta HF AWD for $12,800 or best offer via ebay, located in Quebec, Canada.

25k: Some Imporation Required: 1990 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v

The Lancia Delta was a little Giugiaro designed crap box that shared most of its architecture with the Fiat Ritmo and Saab 600 and would have been a totally forgettable car if not for the HF Integrale version with 6 back-to-back World Rally Championship constructor's title from 1987-1992.  The standard Delta's naturally aspirated front drive setup was ditched for a turbocharged 4WD setup and hooning has never been the same.  Audi's Quattro may have beaten the Integrale to the market by a few years, but we never got them on this side of the Atlantic, so while vintage Quattros are cool a Delta Integrale is a unicorn.  Find this 1990 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v Evo for sale in the United Kingdom for $24,000 (USD) on ebay.