Hello everybody! Long time lurker that decided to register and post up.
Financial situations have changed and I had to sell my 2011 Ford Fiesta 5speed, which has returned excellent mileage by the way. 50ish mpg tank averages in the summer in ideal conditions, unmodded, simply using things like dwb and dwl.
My only other vehicle is a 1989 Toyota pickup that is my rock crawling 4x4 hobby truck. It has a lot of mods like a solid axle swap, 35" tires on heavy ass bead-locked rims, and a '99 gm 4.3 v6 I swapped in. Not the most comfortable ride, and it returns about 15-16 mpg for a tank average.
If I were to daily drive it, I've been doing research on aeromods I could possibly do. Things like an air dam to cover that solid axle, and deflect air from the horrible aero of a body on frame. Removable wheel covers. Grille blocks, and an aeroshell. I already have an mpguino in it. One problem is it would ALL have to be easily removable as I go wheelin' a few times a month.
So really I'm leaning towards buying a cheap commuter car, I have $2k or so to spend on one. Have been watching craigslist like a hawk for a month now on the lookout for a civic vx/hx or a geo metro. Secondary cars I have on my list are a Saturn SC1, Ford Aspire, or the right Civic dx/lx. Only manual transmissions of course. I'm still pissed at barely missing a $2100 140k '98 hx by minutes... I was on my way when he told me he sold it
Any opinions on what to do, or any other promising cars I should watch for?