Curbside Classic Outtake: Get More Shorties Edition

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

All right, I have a thing about short cars. I haven’t spoken to a therapist about it yet. Perhaps its just a reaction against the obesity crisis in modern cars and trucks. But where did they all go? There were once so many of them. Well, I’m going to collect all of them: Have the Suzuki Samurai, X-90 and the shorty Kia Sportage. That leaves as few to still find:

Let’s see: Suzuki Sidekick, Geo Tracker, Daihatsu Rocky (in the can), and Isuzu Amigo. I already have a custom shorty VW (which included the shorty Lancer). I could use one of those crazy shortened VW buses to make the collection complete. Did I miss someone?

Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

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  • BuzzDog BuzzDog on Mar 11, 2010

    This isn't a factory-built shorty, but well into the 1980s there was a company in Simi Valley, CA that sold kits used to build a short-wheelbase roadster out of a 1975 - 1979 Cadillac Seville. It was called the "Milan," and the proportions were horrible. I recently saw one on eBay, and it made me sad to see a butchered Seville of that era. These are some of the few Cadillacs of the '70s that actually had halfway decent materials and build quality.

  • Bancho Bancho on Mar 11, 2010

    The 2 door mitsubishi Montero was a good SWB vehicle.

  • SCE to AUX All that lift makes for an easy rollover of your $70k truck.
  • SCE to AUX My son cross-shopped the RAV4 and Model Y, then bought the Y. To their surprise, they hated the RAV4.
  • SCE to AUX I'm already driving the cheap EV (19 Ioniq EV).$30k MSRP in late 2018, $23k after subsidy at lease (no tax hassle)$549/year insurance$40 in electricity to drive 1000 miles/month66k miles, no range lossAffordable 16" tiresVirtually no maintenance expensesHyundai (for example) has dramatically cut prices on their EVs, so you can get a 361-mile Ioniq 6 in the high 30s right now.But ask me if I'd go to the Subaru brand if one was affordable, and the answer is no.
  • David Murilee Martin, These Toyota Vans were absolute garbage. As the labor even basic service cost 400% as much as servicing a VW Vanagon or American minivan. A skilled Toyota tech would take about 2.5 hours just to change the air cleaner. Also they also broke often, as they overheated and warped the engine and boiled the automatic transmission...
  • Marcr My wife and I mostly work from home (or use public transit), the kid is grown, and we no longer do road trips of more than 150 miles or so. Our one car mostly gets used for local errands and the occasional airport pickup. The first non-Tesla, non-Mini, non-Fiat, non-Kia/Hyundai, non-GM (I do have my biases) small fun-to-drive hatchback EV with 200+ mile range, instrument display behind the wheel where it belongs and actual knobs for oft-used functions for under $35K will get our money. What we really want is a proper 21st century equivalent of the original Honda Civic. The Volvo EX30 is close and may end up being the compromise choice.
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