Notable eco-cars (old & new) spotted in the wild: post your pics! - Page 76 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

jcp123 · 03-13-2015, 02:44 AM

Saw another Mirage today...so, I have seen 5 Mirages since around Christmas, where I hadn't seen any before. I have seen more of them than the new Fits (seen two) or '15 Camrys (seen none) and Camrys are fairly popular here.

There's also an Insight I which comes into the dollar store next to where I work fairly often.

Seen a couple of Echos around too, one is silver with a Wall Drug bumper sticker and Holstein cow pattern seat covers and is extremely clean, the other a green colour in ho-hum condition.

cRiPpLe_rOoStEr · 03-14-2015, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by War_Wagon

1996 Civic CX, 5 speed, 229k KMs (142k miles). The other side is banged up on the 1/4 panel, but no rust.

I guess it wouldn't be so hard to fix it. Would be a shame to see it going to the crusher.

War_Wagon · 03-14-2015, 06:17 PM

The green '96 wouldn't have got scrapped, I would have grabbed it. But a car like that is worth $1000-$1500 at the auction, so it wouldn't end up at the crusher. It's the older stuff like '80s and early '90s that runs the risk of getting squished sadly. Like my '90 CX, it should have been recycled into beer cans 2 years ago, luckily it went to auction on a day I was there haha.

cRiPpLe_rOoStEr · 03-15-2015, 01:29 AM

Anyway, many cars that could still be sold at a profit in 3rd-world countries are getting crushed. I guess you know that old Corollas are still very popular in Iraq and Afghanistan.

freebeard · 03-15-2015, 04:45 PM

As the United Sates got dragged into the second World War, a lot of cars from the 20s and 30s were sent to the crusher as part of a scrap metal drive.

What was once an emergency measure is now business as usual.

War_Wagon · 03-19-2015, 10:45 PM

Well this is embarrassing, I totally forgot what year this thing was! I do remember that it had 388k KMs (240k miles), and it was a TDI with a 5 speed. The dashboard was lit up like a Christmas tree, and it needed a provincial inspection to be registered in BC as it had come from Quebec. So it was also rusty. I think it sold for a few bids over scrap value. It'd be a lot of work to get it legal here, but it IS a diesel wagon with a third pedal on the floor so I snapped a couple pics.

There was also something I have never seen before - a 2012 Prius with the mother of all death rattles in the engine! I always thought the I.C.E. in a Prius was bulletproof, but I assure you they are not! It was funny to watch it go through the auction, it was silent when it rolled forwards slowly, but then the driver would hit the gas and the ICE would fire up, and it sounded like a connecting rod was about to come out through the side of the block! I was beside it when it did that and I actually moved back, it was that bad, I didn't want to get hit with the shrapnel. I didn't get a picture as it was a normal looking white Prius with 243k KMs (150k miles).

MetroMPG · 03-19-2015, 10:56 PM

That Jetta is a Jalopnik unicorn: a brown diesel wagon with a manual transmission. OK, brown-ish.

War_Wagon · 03-19-2015, 11:15 PM

Close enough for government work haha, I'd drive it.

jcp123 · 03-19-2015, 11:32 PM

Jetta diesel wagon with manual. Mmmmm.

War_Wagon · 03-19-2015, 11:38 PM

Gah now I'm going to start to think I should have paid more attention to this car. We all know I dig the wagons, but the paperwork on this thing would have been a nightmare considering it's condition. It had so many strikes against it that even with a Dealer license plate on it, it would have been illegal to drive!