DT 5.0: $50k Cars For Sale

Fifty thousand greenbacks buys you a seriously mean piece of steel on wheels, but only if you avoid the garbage like Porsche 912s (seriously...why do these cost more than a similar condition Beetle?) and brand new Jeep Wranglers (newsflash...the car will be worth $5k in 10 years...sorry new Jeep buyers...I didn't make the rules, I just arbitrarily shout at people from my soapbox).  A few more comments on my $50k search -- I didn't just find $50k cars that looked nice or were new, I picked cars that got you in a group where you couldn't afford for $30k, but looked like they could be parked next to something that cost $100k.  So, awesome cars like the new Focus RS, or Civic Type R just won't make the cut -- same for a $50k restored muscle car from the late 60s...because you can get something that looks 99% the part for half the price. /end rant...on to the cars. The more I cruised through a selection of manual transmission equipped $50k cars on fleabay, the more I realized that this was indeed a difficult assignment.  But here goes...

Happy Birthday Honda: The 5 Best Used Hondas

Exactly 66 years ago on today (Sept 24th, 1948) the Honda Motor Corp was incorporated in Japan by Soichiro Honda.  Honda started out making a motorized bicycle (nicknamed the Bata Bata for its engine sound) using surplus Tohatsu 2-stroke engines from radio generators, but they soon ran out of the engines and started making their own.  It was from these humble beginnings, and only three years after multiple atomic bombs and uncountable quantities of conventional weapons had reduced the Land of the Rising Sun to shambles, that Honda in his 170 square foot workshack launched a commercial empire.  Today, we are happy to produce a short segment on the best cars to ever be born from Dreams.

N is for Naughty: 1991 Acura NSX

The NSX wasn't just one of many supercars in a scuderia full of exotica, a la Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, et al...it was the supercar in Honda's stable full of practical people movers and a few small sporty machines (Integra, Prelude, S2000). Despite being a mid-engined, rear drive world beater it was decidedly svelte and efficient in that oh-so-Honda way, packing a small V6 and weighing only 3,000 lb. It is a fantastic and reliable driver's car, but unfortunately the NSX is significantly out of the DT price range in most cases. For the 2nd Birthday Bash, however, we can make a few exceptions. Find this 1991 Acura NSX for sale by a dealer in Bloomington, Indiana for $28,500 Buy it Now via ebay.

20k: Coffee Brake Update: 1991 Acura NSX

Last week we posted a Coffee Brake question to everyone about a good weekend toy equipped with flappy paddle shifters for a friend of a friend.  A few good tips including something about a woman named Barbara...anyway, the report back from the recipient of this advice was positive, but he is looking at something a bit more expensive and closer to his original request -- which was -- a used and cheaper version of the Nissan GTR.  To find one, you just need to go back to the early 1990s and see who was building supercars in Japan.  Find this 1991 Acura NSX offered for $26,000 in Oakland, CA via craigslist.

DT Does SEMA 2012: Creativity Runs Rampant

Last week this DT editor traveled to the most wretched hive of scum and villainy known to man. Although the southern Nevada desert landscape does resemble the wastelands of Tatooine, we're not referring to Mos Eisley Spaceport - no, the closest place on Earth is the seething mass known as Las Vegas. For one week every fall, Sin City turns into the epicenter of the biggest car show in the country and a festival of aftermarket excess, a force to recon with in the automotive industry and the debut venue for thousands of new products every year. We are referring of course to the SEMA Show, which is an assault on the senses and sensibilities of anyone who has the terrible luck fortune to walk its halls. Not only will you find hundreds of show cars, hot rods, drift machines, and booth babes, the show can be a great place to spot one-off creations that incite reactions of confusion, awe, appreciation, and regret (that you didn't think of the idea first). With an eye towards the weirder and wackier side of the vehicles on display, we give you the best custom creations Daily Turismo could find at the 2012 SEMA Show.

25k: 1992 Acura NSX

Regular readers of the Daily Turismo will be shocked to find a legitimate supercar being featured at our site - mostly because they are way too expensive, but for those who are happy with mid engine and 2 seats, you can't get much more bang/buck than the Acura NSX.  The NSX was manufactured by Honda and sold in it's Acura dealers from 1991-2005 and today can be purchased for about the price of a new Civic.  This 1992 Acura NSX Coupe is for sale in Los Angeles, CA for $25,000 buy-it-now on ebay with 2 days to go.