Here's an interesting thought exercise: What GM

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Funny, my buddy and i actually parked in front of one of these yesterday at Bdubs in his S2000. The S2000 was HUGE next to that thing.

1990 to 1992 Isuzu Impluse.

I had 2 Starfire GT's. With a V-6 and 4 speed, they were fun cars.

That's a hot Impulse, and those things are amazing cars if you get the right combination. RWD and DOHC 4-cylinder, available with turbo. What's not to love?

Why did the Opels get ruled out? Have you ever driven a Manta? There is a reason they are banned at most local tracks, even down 400cc to the Pintos they routinely beat.

oldopelguy wrote: That's a hot Impulse, and those things are amazing cars if you get the right combination. RWD and DOHC 4-cylinder, available with turbo. What's not to love? Why did the Opels get ruled out? Have you ever driven a Manta? There is a reason they are banned at most local tracks, even down 400cc to the Pintos they routinely beat.

Impulses of that generation weren't RWD. Front or AWD. One of the lightest awd turbo cars in "recent" history, though. Too bad parts are a nightmare to find.

In reply to 93celicaGT2:

So true, I have wanted one of those since they were new.

I almost traded my MX6 for a very nice one in Ohio a couple months back. In retrospect, i'm a little glad that the dude flaked. I can still get parts for the Mazda. You aren't getting parts for that thing.

Another point to ponder: If you had also restricted the rules to cars that weren't developed by a foreign subsidiary or built as a joint venture with a Japanese company, the only postwar GM cars that fit the requirements of 4 seats, a sub-100" wheelbase, and 14" or smaller wheels are the H-bodies (Vega, Starfire, Monza, etc) and the Saturn SC series. There's nothing else in the American-designed lineup that even meets these three requirements. Even the Chevette started as an Opel.

GM's American divisions just don't do tiny, it appears.

HappyJack wrote:

Nevermind, I forgot it is a 2 seater.

What about this?

It has GM parts.

+2 for the Vega Cosworth.

14" tires aren't too bad right now. Dunlop currently offers two 14" sizes in the Star Spec. Hopefully, they'll continue.

MadScientistMatt wrote: A Corvair 95! It rides on a 95" wheelbase.

fixed.

to meet the seat requirements, they were available with a front bench.

14" wheels and a back seat eliminate anything interesting worth driving.

Several of the cars nominated violate one or the other of those requirements.

The Cosworth Vega was a (sort of - as long as it was in warranty) decent engine encased in a ton of garbage. Which usually rotted away in quick order.

I give them points for even trying that engine, but take them all away again for screwing it up. It would have been interesting to have had an engine with decent output like the Quad 4 12 years earlier.

I actually rather like the Manta nomination - they weren't really appreciated over here. I used to race against an Opel GT in the old days.