Also known as the car Cameron Fry drove in Ferris Bueller's day off, the Alfetta was a spirited Italian sedan in a time when pretty much everything in life sucked. Fun has since been the theme for this particular Alfa which now awaits its final owner. Find this 1978 Alfa Romeo Alfetta for sale in Seattle, WA for a hopefully negotiable $2,800 via craigslist.
Cheap econo-box buyers in the U.S. today have choices from the home continent and Asia to pick from. Noticeably absent are choices from Europe. Only "German" 
Let's lay out the facts for a moment, shall we? Lag-then-scream twin cam turbo power, remotely adjustable fender mirrors, tight limited slip, and super-80's scripted interior - could it get any more JDM in the best ways possible? Find this 1982 Toyota Carina Twin Cam Turbo here for sale in Dallas, TX for $4,500 via craigslist.
Apparently you can own/drive a Lotus Europa when you have 3 kids, but the minute the 4th one is on the way you need to sell it and start looking for something with more seats. Or so it would seem from the seller's description of this 1973 Lotus Europa Big Valve available in Sunnyvale, CA for $14,000 via craigslist. Kids or not, the Lotus Europa is a fantastic automobile for the enthusiast on a budget and is way cooler than a minivan. Tip from Kaibeezy.
We keep an eye on the Lotus Europa market for signs of 911-esque appreciation, but so far they seem to be staying consistently reasonable given the rarity and sweetness of character. This 1974 Lotus Europa Twin Cam John Player Special was featured on this site 5 months ago but (again) failed to meet reserve on ebay at $15,200.
When you think of classic affordable roadsters, the MGB, Alfa-Romeo Spider, Datsun Fairlady/Sports 1600 and even the Mazda Miata probably come to mind. But there's another option in this genre that is often overlooked, still fairly plentiful, and worth consideration as a respectable alternative (if you don't have a healthy fear of rust). We are referring to the Fiat 124 Spider, which we've featured before here as a minty late-model and here as a vintage racer. Those were nice but the 124 was better looking and purer in its early form - as evidenced by this sharp little 1972 model offered here on ebay for $8500 buy it now, or make offer.
The Europa was a sporty two seater built by Colin Chapman's Lotus Cars in Norfolk, UK. Only 9300 of these high-butted gems were built between 1966-1975 and today they are surprisingly affordable. Find this 1972 Lotus Europa Big Valve in Westfield, NJ via ebay, currently bidding at $6,966 with 3 days to go.
We posted a Toyota Celica yesterday, but it was a later all-wheel-drive version when the Celica was a big moneymaker for Toyota and they were more interested profit than growing market share with enthusiasts by building fun to drive and affordable cars. This wasn't the case in the early 1970s; Toyota needed to build cars that delivered driving fun and value - enter the first generation Celica. This 1972 Toyota Celica twin cam is for sale in Gardena, CA for $14k via craigslist.
The Lotus Europa has always been a favorite car over at DT headquarters. We love its lightweight composite chassis, mid engine high revving powerplant and cheap entry price. Time has driven the nicer examples to higher prices, but you can still get nice Europa for the price of a basket case 911 and we think the Europa is a much sweeter drive. This 1974 Lotus Europa Twin-Cam Big-Valve is for sale in Buffalo Grove, IL and currently bidding at $17,499 on ebay. Previously the car ended an auction at $14,100 reserve-not-met, but the re-listed item has cleared its reserve and looks to go for a bit above DT money.