$10,000 Used SportsCar: Help Us Choose!

Time’s up for this old lad to get a new ride but while it would have been great to be able to buy a brand new set of wheels, this month’s (and the previous…) bank statement has set a limit on the budget: under $10,000. In most parts of the world, that wouldn’t buy you much of car but luckily here in the States, there are plenty of sub-$10k sportscars to choose from.

A couple of days ago we started our sportscar-hunt in the greater Boston area searching simultaneously on eBay, Craigslist and Autotrader. Up until now, we’ve found a few presentable BMW E36 M3s, one or two 1990’s Corvettes and, the one we liked the most, a mid 1990s Nissan 300ZX –albeit overpriced at $11k especially for a non-turbo model.

We’re going to keep you updated as we continue our search, but we’d like to hear what sub-$10,000 sports car -or GT for that matter- would you propose we’d search for. Give us your answers in the comment section.

Smart Fortwo Gets Hit by Two Trucks, Makes It Out Alive

This previous generation Smart Fortwo (it’s not the one coming to the U.S.) was involved in a “double whammy” accident somewhere in the States when a large delivery truck decided to play a little snooker with the German mini hitting it from behind and serving it onto a bypassing GMC van.

The pictures, courtesy of Jalopnik and their reader “Polar” whose friend was behind the Smart’s wheel, show that the Fortwo received quite a battering. However, the driver managed to walk away from the accident with minor abrasions from the airbags. Having said that, the first-gen Fortwo did its job by protecting its passengers. We’re not aware of the extent of damages, but bear in mind that the Fortwo’s exterior body panels are made from (interchangeable) plastic. -More images after the jump

Via: Jalopnik

Toyota Prius Hybrid Sells Like Crazy as Fuel Prices Spike

Have you tried to find a new Prius at a Toyota dealership lately? Well we did this past Sunday when we went car-scouting for a friend. We paid a visit to Toyota Westborough in Massachusetts and listen to this; not only is there a one month waiting period to get the compact hybrid (once you pay the $1,000 deposit) but the dealer didn’t even have a single Prius in the lot for us to see, let alone drive!

The same goes for most Toyota dealers across the U.S. as Prius inventories are limited by production capacity in Japan, which must be shared with Asia and Europe. Talking about the problem, John Hanson, a Toyota spokesman in Torrance, California, told Bloomberg, “This is a special vehicle, and as fuel prices keep rising, it gets more special. Rght now, U.S. customers can get a Prius. Next month or the month after that, it's tough to say”.