Happy Monday, Autopians! Today is all about compromises. We’re looking at a good example of a horrible car, and a horrible example of a good car. But before we get there, let’s see which overpriced toy you chose on Friday:
Yep. It’s hard to resist the appeal of the VW Scirocco. And someday, I would really like to have another one. But I sure as hell won’t pay twelve grand for it.
Let’s get back to some reasonably-priced fare, shall we? Doing that, of course, means giving something up, because you can’t have it all if you’re shopping at the bottom end of the market. So which do you choose: a clean, low-mileage example of a fundamentally undesirable car, or a desirable one that has been ridden hard and put away wet?
1981 Oldsmobile Omega – $3,250
Engine/drivetrain: 2.8 liver overhead-valve V6, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Odometer reading: 28,000 miles
Runs/drives? Sure does
The “malaise era” – a term coined by the celebrated Murilee Martin – is difficult to define, but the characteristics of the cars from that era are well-known: low power, poor build quality, gaudy trim, and utterly miserable driving characteristics. Generally, these traits can be found in cars from the mid-1970s, when emissions, safety, and fuel economy standards caught the American auto industry off-guard, to the mid-1980s, when technology finally started to catch up to the new regulations. All these cars were awful, but arguably the worst of the bunch were the early examples of the new breed of American cars: front-wheel-drive platforms still relying on old complicated carburetors, built in plants that didn’t know how to assemble the new designs, and put into production on a shoestring budget. Cars, for example, like the 1981 Oldsmobile Omega.
Oldsmobile’s version of the ill-fated X-platform featured slightly different bodywork, shared with the Buick Skylark, but was mechanically identical to the notorious Chevy Citation. This Omega is powered by the dreaded 2.8 liter V6, rather than the gutless but more reliable “Iron Duke” four. It powers the front wheels through – what else? – a three-speed automatic.
This car has only 28,000 miles on it, which accounts for its condition, and really, its existence in 2023 at all. Quality, reliability, and longevity were not words often associated with any domestic brands in 1981. The seller says it runs fine, and you can drive it home, and I guess what happens after that is your own problem. It’s not perfect; the bumper filler panels seem to have all disintegrated, and there is a minor dent behind the passenger-side door, but there is a very real possibility that this is the nicest ’81 Omega coupe left on the planet.
Whether that is reason enough to spend money on it today is a question I leave up to you.
1989 Honda CRX Si – $3,900
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6 liter single overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Monroe, WA
Odometer reading: 218,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yep
In sharp contrast to GM’s X-body fiasco, Honda’s second-generation CRX might just be the perfect small car. It’s lightweight, nimble, efficient, reasonably comfortable, rock-solid reliable, and wasn’t all that expensive when it was new. The Si model in particular was celebrated – it added just enough horsepower to wake up the chassis without sacrificing any of the CRX’s good qualities, and became a legend.
CRXs were built in sufficient numbers that they were available as cheap used cars for a long time, so they rode the import-tuner wave of the 1990s-2000s in the hands of their second or third owners, and all sorts of horrible things happened to them. Engines and suspensions were often haphazardly modified, body kits were slapped on, interiors were stripped out or hacked up, and the remaining CRXs that escaped such torture command some truly silly prices. Those that remain affordable are, well, like this.
The seller of this CRX at least appears to know a thing or two about cars, judging by the collection of classic Volkswagens visible in the photos. [Editor’s Note: Holy Shit a Type 3 Ghia! – JT] But this screaming yellow zonker lived a hard life before it came to this garage of wonders, and although they say it runs and drives well, one can only imagine the hard driving it has endured in its 34 years on the road. The misaligned body kit pieces and mismatched paint are disheartening enough, but look at the state of this interior plastic:
Granted, you could strip all that out and turn this car into a track toy, if it runs and drives as well as they claim. But it takes the right sort of person to want to do that to a car. Are you that sort?
So that’s our question for this Monday morning: Do you go for something empirically awful but well-preserved, or something once-wonderful but beaten half to death?
(Image credits: Olds – Facebook seller, Honda – Craigslist seller)
Even in its condition, the Honda is a better car. Plus, it’s yellow, a cool color.
I voted for the Omega. I like the styling for some reason, and I like well-preserved examples of ordinary old vehicles. My only reservation is that there appears to be a stain on the driver’s seat in a position consistent with the end result of a Taco Bell run gone wrong. It probably isn’t a turd stain (if it is a stain at all and not just wrinkled fabric), but it bothers me.
At first glance, this seemed like such as easy choice. CRX for the win. After looking at the pictures, and imagining the views that’s aren’t shown, I would need to make a Doctor’s appointment to ensure all of my shots are up to date before getting anywhere near that yellow thing. I’m curious if the current owner purchased the CRX looking to fix it up and add it to his stable, but getting cold feet after digging into it. If I must have one, it shall be the Olds.
CRX. It’s not even a tough decision to make. I’d prefer to pay less but given these 2 options and price ranges I’ll pay the car shortage premium on the CRX.
“Engine/drivetrain: 2.8 liver overhead-valve V6, three-speed automatic, FWD”
That Olds Omega drivetrain has guts.
I’m such an absolute sucker for malaise era cars. Add to that the fact that it’s an Olds, and being from the Pittsburgh area that WQED sticker really sweetens the pot. But ain’t no way I’m picking that over a CRX. Yeah, it’s rough, but it’s not unsalvageable at a glance. They’re just too cool of a car to pick a freaking OMEGA over it
The Honda is grody, but the Olds would be a boring car even if it were in perfect condition.
I usually don’t follow the links and instead simply base my decision on the writeup here, but I dug deeper today.
I was curious about the claimed 28,000 miles on the Oldsmobile and wanted to see if it had a 5-barrel odometer that had just rolled over. There was no dashboard picture, and instead the ad states: “driven 28,000 miles” which could mean that the current owner put 28k on it after a series of previous owners did many more. Also, most of the pictures of the car were taken from 100 yards away horizontally, then screenshotted vertically, making the car teeny tiny in the images. That makes me think that the yinzer selling it is trying to hide something. Oh, and the seller’s Facebook “Intro” section simply states: “f*** you” (Uh-oh, seller! Did you not realize that your profile is visible when you sell stuff on Facebook?). That’s not someone with whom I’d want to do business. Top it off with the listing location being a less-than-desirable neighborhood, and I don’t want anything to do with it.
I don’t know much about CRXs, but I know that people seem to love them. This one is in rough shape, but because of the following around these cars, there’s probably demand for it. I bet that if I find that I don’t like it, I could at least clean it up a little bit and get my money back by selling it to someone else. Plus, there’s some other cool stuff in that garage, and I bet the seller has some cool stories and would be fun to meet.
I’m going with the Honda.
Honda for me. Sorry, It maybe be a little well-worn, it is still more reliable than that Omega. Which is fitting, because you will meet your end in that Olds.
Omega, drop a 3900 in it (same engine developed over 30 years), and enjoy the burnouts.
Why does tuner culture have to ruin so many perfectly good cars? It breaks my heart seeing so many modern classics that have been driven into the ground by idiots who think they’re in the Fast and The Furious when they’re really just making fart noises in mall parking lots. I’d never go so far as to say tuning is bad across the board or anything but the folks that do this nonsense to cars from the era of peak Japanese performance inhabit a special place on my shit list. I periodically skim through S2000 listings and the state of like half of those cars that are still out there is criminal. Send these hooners to The Hague…
All that being said I’m still absolutely taking a beat to shit CRX SI over anything from the malaise era. If you give this example the TLC it deserves and de-hoon it as much as possible it’ll make for a very fun weekend, track, or autocross car. The high revving manual experience will never get old….whereas the carbureted malaise shitbox with a 3 speed slusher experience is old the second you turn the key.
I’d have to go with the Omega, as we had a Citation of the same era and I have an odd fondness for it, even though it had a baked in body odor scent that would not, could not ever go away. I brought it in to fix an oil leak and the shop repaired the leak…and neglected to add oil. I proceeded to drive from Albany NY to NYC to pick up my father from the hospital. When the car started to act funny on the return trip, he almost had a heart attack when I revealed that, no, I hadn’t checked the oil before I left. To its credit, that car lasted another couple of years, but was never quite the same.
I saw a CRX get rear-ended by a semi once and the vision has never left me. Not saying the Omega would fare any better. I only grew an appreciation for the CRX as I got older and would gladly have one but that fright pig interior scares me.
I saw a CRX crash into a Delta 88 (Delta 88 pulled out in front of the CRX which was going maybe 30 when it hit the front fender of the Delta 88). The CRX was mangled and obviously totaled (driver wasn’t hurt, fortunately). The Delta 88 had a dented fender and drove away. I can’t even imagine what a semi would do to a CRX. A CRX seems only slightly safer than a motorcycle.
CRX all the way on this one. Sure, this one has been ridden hard and put away wet and body parts are going to be basically unavailable in my area but it is a car that both my wife and I have always wanted. Does anyone make body kits for these anymore? I’d search out one that looked close to stock if I couldn’t find stock parts. Repaint, find some interior panels and enjoy the ride.
In high school, a friend drove an Omega similar to this one.
He was a very nervous driver. Total death grip on the wheel all the time. I think I rode with him once. That experience is enough to make me vote Honda.
I’ve actually driven versions of both of these cars. I had several friends with CRXes over the years, and my parents bought an Omega in a package deal* in the 90’s. The Omega was so boring it tossed a piston out of the block in city traffic, and was the most exciting thing that car ever did. If I’m signing up for crap-car headaches I’ll take the Honda thank you.
*It was a bargain deal of Omega, a FWD Charger, and a Chevy truck of indeterminate age, the truck was the only one that lasted more than 8 months.
Right before I turned 16 I wanted a car, ANY car, and ended up test driving an Omega for a few days. (Luxury of small town car dealers, test drives lasted a bit.). Even when I wanted literally any car I didn’t want the Omega.
CRX, with all it’s flaws.
Horribly abused by idiots versus designed and built by idiots, hmm. Let’s let the 80s have the final word with an iconic quote:
“The only winning move is not to play.”
I would have to go with the Olds man car here.
The ride sucks, the bumper fillers of that Era are know to disappear, and the 2.8 sucks more than… well, liver. But Porno red interior!
Plus, know what was developed from the 2.8? The 3.4. Bolts right in- more power, better reliability, and efi! Want to get crazy? 3.8. Crazier? 3.8 series II. Or III. Or IV. But not superman IV. But leave the rest of the badness bad. You’ll haul booty like grandpa in that car would pull boots at the local senior center. Grab that thin steering wheel and enjoy being lulled to sleep by the soft suspension and some blower whine…
Hmm, I may have an Email to write.
More power is the last thing an X-car needs… anything over 150 will be too much.
“Engine/drivetrain: 2.8 liver overhead-valve V6”
I knew they were weak, but only 2.8 livers?? Wow.
I was thinking the mileage must be horrible.
It drinks so much fuel it needs nearly 3 livers.
I resemble that remark…
How the hell did I manage THAT typo? And how did my wife not catch it?
Maybe you were so excited by the anticipation of typing the Vs in ‘overhead’ and ‘valve’ – a two-fer! – that you started typing Vs all willy-nilly.
And I shall assume your wife got a chuckle out of the typo and wanted to pass the happiness along to the Autopians and so she “missed” it. 🙂
It’ll take forever to get the vape smoke out of the CRX’s seats. I’ll pick Grandma’s car (an Omega BROUGHAM, tyvm), PDR that quarter panel, and be the hit of the next RADwood.
Typically I’m not one for “another person’s project,” but this CRX seems like a good price for what (seems to be) a clean shell and a worn drive train.
If the bones are good, this seems like a reasonable base for your turner dreams – or even a restoration.
I figure the issues with the CRX are cosmetic, which are easily(?) fixed. And I’ve always wanted another after my Gen 1 fell apart.
The dent in the Omega looks like you could pull it out with a toilet plunger and have a good bad car suitable for somebody aged 90+.
The Honda speaks volumes for itself and maybe a bad potential buy for a misguided high schooler.
An early lesson.
The 4 of you who picked the Olds (at the time of writing) clearly don’t know about the hellspawn that was the X-platform.
>The X-body cars were the target of an unsuccessful lawsuit by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which cited a tendency for the vehicles to lose control under heavy braking, and power steering problems. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_X_platform_(1980)]
I wouldn’t use it to commute or drive to work. It would only come out for the occasional Cars and Coffee, and once I have recreated those filler panels I would take it to Radwood.
agreed, that would be something to have just because of Super low miles and absolute rarity. I would definitely not want to rely on either of these piles. the prices on them are absolutely amazing though. I would never pay anywhere near that for either.
The CRX is in no way shape or form a desirable enough car to overlook the faults of this particular one.
Spend some more on a nicer one, or enjoy the Olds as is.
My conservative and practical mother-in-law became a Honda person after the fateful purchase of a GM X-body. It was truly awful so I can’t choose the Omega. The Honda, on the other hand, is just screaming “Don’t walk, run!”. Guess I’ll have to sit this one out.