Car Parts 2011

Like many petrol heads, the writers of FPH constantly click through page after page of listings on Ebay and dream about the possibilities.  Previous posts have shown things like crazily lusted after race homologations, rare European exotica, and high dollar custom builds.  Today, I decided to get back to my routes and looked for some (relatively) inexpensive Japanese performance.

2001Acura Integra Type R

Do you like high-revving, screamer motors bolted to a matching lightweight, agile chassis?

Here's a 2001 Acura Integra Type R with about 71,000 miles on the clock.  The owner seems to have taken good care of this limited edition car and it shows.  This is one of the cleanest examples the I've seen on Ebay and it's a low mileage car too.  All the modifications are performance oriented and are simple bolt-on affairs except for the MSD ignition.  The price seems to be a bit high considering Edmunds.com says it's worth about seven grand.  The low mileage, upgrades, and sentimental value are probably affecting the seller's pricing.  If you're as crazy as I was about these in highschool, the listing can be found here.

1996 Nissan Skyline GTR

Godzilla crossed the Pacific!

Yes, it's true.  There's a Skyline GTR on sale in America!  This is a '96 and is listed with a Buy It Now of $40,000.  That is very low for what these cars can fetch especially considering the extensive modifications.  Interior, exterior, and engine bay have all been modded in one way or another.  I am not a huge fan of buying pre-personalized cars because it doesn't reflect my personal tastes.  All the same, this car will make somebody's dream come true.  Check it out here.

Infiniti Essence Concept

In the past week’s Autoblog, a bit of emphasis has been put upon a seldomly discussed niche— Japanese premium brands. Paul Eisenstein wrote an article on whether Honda has lost its footing, questioning Acura’s direction. Noah Joseph reports plans within Infiniti to anchor their line-up with both an entry-level and halo models.

For years, the Japanese premium brands have ambitiously competed with the Germans in the luxury car market. Focusing their strategies in the United States, Honda was first to introduce the Acura brand in 1986. Following suit, Lexus of Toyota and Infiniti of Nissan stepped onto the North American stage in 1989.

Since the year of inception, the only Japanese model to consistently challenge the finest from Europe is the Lexus LS series. After just 14 months from its debut, the LS already outsold competing models from Benz, BMW, and Jaguar. Then, for the next fifteen consecutive years in a row, the LS remained the top ranked vehicle in J.D. Power Associate’s Vehicle Dependability Study.

Looking back fifteen years ago, the ‘90s were a fantastic decade for American consumers that were in the market for a Japanese car. The trend for modifying Honda Civics, Preludes and Acura Integras had yet to peak. The NSX turned the supercar game on its ear. The Notorious B.I.G. rapped about how he drove a Lexus LX four and a half with bulletproof glass tints if he wanted some ass. But you know what's really crazy? Ludacris only tweeted last Monday, “My 93 Acura Legend has 230,000 miles on it & still running strong. Still my favorite car out of every single one I’ve owned.” Check out Luda's twitter page here.

Unfortunately, the Infiniti brand never garnered similar success. Initial Infiniti commercials did not provide images of the car itself so many Americans were not even familiar with what they were trying to sell. And, although Q was one of the better handling and more driver-centric vehicles in its class, its less luxuriously appointed interior and premium over an LS made it less desirable.


Strangely, when we fast forward 15 years and consider the brands now, it’s as though Acura and Infiniti had switched places.

Acura? Don't stare too long... you might turn to stone.

As a resident of the northern hemisphere, I admit that things can get a bit depressing around this time of year.  The days are getting shorter, the temperature is slowly creeping toward single digits, and it seems like the sun is doing nothing but taunting us.  The good cheer and festive moods of the holiday season do help some but even the holidays are sure to cause a bit of depression.  The two main culprits for this are the slightly enlarged waistlines and those ridiculously large red bows in Lexus commercial!

lexusenthusiast.com

I have a few issues with those commercials.  Who buys somebody a car, never mind a Lexus, for Christmas?  How do you get it into the driveway without anybody noticing?  Where do you get a bow that big?!?!

I've never seen a bodaciously big bow like that in anybody's garbage after Christmas, so I can only assume that people don't get Lexuses (Lexi?) for gifts or those bows are fictional characters.  Regardless, if you want to please an enthusiast this holiday season with a car but you're in a bit of a financial bind (there is a recession happening after all), FPH has got the perfect gift giving guide for you!

To make this list, the cars had to meet three criteria:

I don't care who you are but nobody wants to get a minivan.  Even people who buy minivans don't want one.  Those people are just obligated to buy one because of wifey, the PTA, the soccer league, etc.

As stated earlier, we're in the midst of a recession.  Nobody has Puff Daddy money to buy their kids Rolls-Royces.  Plus, the receiver won't feel so bad about adding some speed mods to a used car.  If they decide to slap on a body kit, neon lights, or a giant wing, smack that fool and take the keys back!

Giving somebody a lemon would be like saying you got them a race-bred greyhound only to have the pooch crap on the carpet and lick himself all day.  OK, that analogy sucked but you get the idea.

netcarshow.com

The first car to make the list has, arguably, the best power to cost ratio of anything that meets our criteria.  It is the Dodge Neon SRT-4.  Dodge produced this vehicle from 2003 to 2005 for the enthusiasts who wanted a bit more kick in their sport compacts.  Its 2.0 liter turbo motor was rated at 215 horsepower from the factory which proved to be very conservative.  Dynos proved that this car actually put down that much power at the wheels.  This was good for 14 second quarter-miles and mid 5 second 0-60 time.  By adding Mopar backed upgrade kits, this car could put down over 350 horsepower with the same amount of torque.  The only car in Dodge's lineup that could beat this in a straight line was the Viper.

Jamesduncan.com

While the rest of the cars aren't laced with the same crazy-go-nuts-crack-cocaine-induced power as the Neon, they can definitely hold their own when the road takes a turn.  The 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege, a one year special, has the stellar chassis and driving dynamics of the original Protege while upping the ante with a turbocharger bolted onto its 2.0 liter four banger.  While 170 hp provide the locomotion, the thicker anti-sway bars, retuned suspension, and limited slip differential keep handling in check and prevent loco motions.  This car circles the skidpad with .89g of stick and runs the slalom at 70.9 mph which is comparable to rear wheel drive performance cars.

modified.com

OK, so maybe turbo power isn't your cup of tea.  The heads up competitor to Mazda's Protege would have to be the Ford Focus.  Seeing as we're looking as the Mazdaspeed version, Ford's foil comes with the letters S-V-T.  With more aggressive cam timing, intake plumbing, and compression in the engine bay courtesy of Cosworth, the Ford pumps out 170 horsepower, equal to the Protege.  The chassis and suspension don't give an inch to the Mazda either.  Automobile magazine even called it "the best front-wheel-drive chassis on the road."  With an endorsement like that, numbers and specs aren't needed here.

thecarpictures.info

While Ford brought us an amazing chassis in the Focus SVT, another powerhouse brought a phenomenal motor to the sport compact world, the K-series.  Honda released the K-series motor with its 2001 Acura RSX to replace the aging Integra and B-series motors.  The K20C in the RSX type-S provides 200 horsepower of thrust from a 2.0 liter inline-4 and redlines at a stratospheric 7900 rpm.  As per Honda standards, the chassis is strong, rigid, and lightweight.  The sum of these parts conspire to make the RSX the best balance of the previous three cars.  It will scoot to 60 in 6.5 seconds and circumnavigate the skidpad with a tick less grip than the Mazda.  What it gives up in hardcore performance, the Acura makes up with a cabin that is light years ahead of the competition, fitting for a luxury marque such as Acura.

mx5-car-parts.blogspot.com

Before everyone starts complaining that every car here is "wrong wheel drive," let's add the disclaimer that there were barely any rear drive options in the compact car segment until recently with the introduction of the Hyundai Genesis and the upscale BMW 1-series.  The lone exception would be the Mazda Miata MX-5 which I can wholeheartedly recommend.  While not the fastest in a straight line (even among this group), it carves corners better than any car here and will instill a sense of confidence with its perfect weight distribution.  Oh yeah, they've also been around the longest of this bunch, are highly modifiable, and have bullet proof motors that regularly see 200,000 miles.

Come Christmas morning, I hope you find one of these under your tree.  They should keep a real smile on your face long enough to save you from cracking a fake one when you get that ugly sweater or fruit cake.  For those that say humbug to these choice automobiles and think they need more horsepower, put down that slice of pie and make a New Year's resolution to fix your personal power to weight ratio.