Welcome back! On today’s Shitbox Showdown, we’re looking at one of the hottest fads of the mid-1990s. No, not Friends, or Tamagotchis; I’m talking about teal cars. But before we discuss everyone’s favorite Clinton-era car color, let’s see how daring you all were yesterday:
Huh. I confess, I’m a little disappointed. Where’s your sense of adventure? I mean, it’s not like that Altima is some ’70s Jaguar or ’00s Audi; it’s basically a reliable car. Was it the title thing? Yeah, that’s a little sketchy, but it’s worth finding out what the real scoop is, right? I mean, if the alternative is the official car of “ketchup is too spicy for me”?
Well, I hope you’re not all as allergic to color as you are to dangerous fun, because today we’re looking at two cars that inhabit that wonderful mythical world between green and blue. Why did teal suddenly become a popular car color in the early ’90s, and why did it almost entirely disappear again only a few years later? We may never know. We have only the artifacts, brightly-colored and rapidly-aging cars that stand out in a sea of modern grey vehicles like the heads of the ducks for which the color is named. Teal cars take us back to a simpler time, before electronic stability control or turn-by-turn navigation, when Taco Bell burritos were seventy-nine cents and Counting Crows were on cassette. Was it really so long ago? Yes, yes it was. Just ask these two cars.
1995 Subaru Impreza – $2,200
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8 liter overhead cam flat 4, five-speed manual, AWD
Location: Vancouver, WA
Odometer reading: 227,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yep
Subaru wagons represent about every fifth car here in the Pacific Northwest. The combination of practicality, economy, and all-wheel-drive traction has filled every parking lot with star-studded oval badges for years now. Personally, I’m not a fan; I think the flat-four engine is too fussy and weird, and the all-wheel-drive instills too many drivers with a false sense of security in bad weather. But the market has spoken, and lots of Subaru sales means lots of used Subarus.
And this little Impreza is definitely used. It has well over 200,000 miles, mismatched paint, a missing gas flap, and little signs of wear and tear everywhere. It also has a rebuilt title, which may have something to do with the impromptu two-tone paint. It’s a base model, which for 1995 means a 1.8 liter version of Subaru’s EJ engine. It’s not what you’d call a powerhouse, but it’s a lot more reliable and durable than some later Subaru engines. This one makes the most of the meager power available with a five-speed manual and all-wheel-drive.
An aftermarket seat cover on only the driver’s seat almost certainly means the upholstery under it is trashed. And since the passenger’s seat is pristine, I imagine this car spent a lot of miles hauling only one person around. This car is for sale at a dealership, which means we don’t know much of anything about its history for sure. And that includes how it came by the branded title. Best to check it over carefully.
Still, if you’re on a budget and you simply must have a Subaru, this is probably the best you could ask for.
1995 Nissan 200SX – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Oregon City, OR
Odometer reading: 225,000 miles
Runs/drives? Sure does
Looking for something with a more conventional small-car drivetrain? Something with fewer doors, perhaps? Well, here you go. This is a Nissan 200SX, a name that was used on a number of different coupes over the years, but in this case applies to what’s pretty much just a two-door Sentra. It’s no sports car, but then, it wasn’t meant to be; once upon a time, you could just choose to buy a car with only two doors because you liked how it looked with only two doors.
This 200SX SE is equipped with a 1.6 liter twin-cam engine, good for 115 horsepower. It powers the front wheels through an overdrive automatic transmission – don’t blame me; blame the original owner. Hey, at least they picked a good color. This particular automatic has a little slip between second and third gears, but then again, it has 225,000 miles on it.
The seller claims the interior is “immaculate,” but it has aftermarket seat covers and a steering wheel cover. Does that mean it’s immaculate under the covers? Or that it’s worn out, and the covers are new? Inquiring minds want to know.
Outside, it looks like it might have had some body work done on the right rear quarter panel; the paint doesn’t quite match. And the rear spoiler is black instead of teal. It’s nicer than a lot of $2500 cars, but it’s not the “squeaky clean” example that the seller claims.
I kinda wish we could still get teal as a paint option on cars. But then, I wish we could still get simple, lightweight two-door coupes or basic little station wagons too. These cars are relics of the past for more reasons than just their color. But even though they’ve both been around the block more than a few times, I’d wager they both have some life left to give.
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I voted for the subaru only for the trans and utility…but I have to admit that these things kinda look a little like a latter day pacer. Not that there’s anything wrong with that (obligitory 90’s reference)
I’d buy the Subie just based on the condition of the passenger seat. Someone loved that little wagon.
Teal was available on the Wrangler recently – there’s a couple around me that I see frequently, and do a double take each time I do. They unfortunately are in 4D grocery-getter spec, but still.
In this comparo, I’d go Subie all day long
I took the Subie-doo for the manual transmission, and similar to Mark’s location, these things are a dime a dozen here in Colorado so the junkyards are full of them. A few friends have had beat to hell Legacy wagons of this era that just kept on going so I’m willing to roll the dice on this one.
Rebuild might concern me if it was fresh. But getting significant miles & time on a rebuild implies to me that it’s been entirely serviceable.
The Subie comes with a manual, and a hatch. Very useable.
Nissan is not at a BHPH shop, it is reputationally more reliable and the fact that is not molestered into a drift car is amazing. Drive it all winter and sell it to a Car Boi in California next spring. The auto trans is really the negative for many of the Hoonigans, but it makes it better for commuting I suppose.
This is not the 200SX you’re thinking of. It’s not been molestered into a drift machine because it’s FWD.
As someone who owns a somewhat unreliable manual wagon, I feel duty bound to vote for the somewhat unreliable manual wagon. The risk vs reward of that Subaru is so great, especially for the price. Wagons are the best vehicle: all the space of an SUV without having to accept that your life is over
Awesome color! Maybe the EJ18 isn’t as bad as the EJ25, but Subaru still isn’t the greatest.
Also, I remember the commercials for that 200SX using the Batman song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U5cY1nMNaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2AxA4j_fsk
so I voted for the Nissan
Teal is the best, that and purple are the highest on my list of colors I want to own, unfortunately only buying used means I am limited so I may be waiting a long time to get either, though going new is equally limited since no cars come in these colors…
Anyways, the slipping trans killed the SX for me. I wanted to go for it, I really did, but a pathetic auto that is on its way out is too much to ask for me, so I went with the Subaru that I don’t like, but it has the right transmission and will most likely last longer.
Teal is a wonderful color!
Ford sold the current Escape in a dark teal, but it looks like that option is gone with the restyle. So boring.
Make Teal a Common Care Color Again!
MTCCA? 🙂
Manual wagon. The end. Next!
I’m with everyone else; I’ll take the Subaru. I had a similar vintage Impreza, so little of the car scares me since I’ve done nearly all of it before.
The Nissan wouldn’t be bad either if it were a stick, but that slipping issue could end up being more expensive than the car is worth in a few months time.
My first new car was a 1995 200SX manual. I drove SF in it after a week of ownership. Had to use the parking brake to help on the hills. My Mom then drove it and then she sold it to her cousin. My Mom still talks about how fun that car was with a manual.
my mom has the same fondness for my old ’89 sunbird, with the iron block and 5speed/fwd that car could go anywhere in Syracuse!
Subaru, please.
The Nissan has some issues, including the famous “The check engine light is just a bad sensor” (an actual quote from the ad). Also, spoiler alert: the original spoiler is in the trunk and it appears to have been removed with a pry bar. To clarify one of Mark Tucker’s points, the ad refers to the PO – not the car – as being “squeaky clean”, which is frankly a little odd.
The Subie would probably be the better bet, though I would be tempted to make a low cash offer and then walk away from the dealership in slow motion, chucking a lit Zippo over my shoulder as I went.
I’ve owned rebuilt title cars without issue, and this one has been on the road for 10+ years after being totaled so I’m not overly concerned. AWD, manual and snow are a fun time. I’ve owned Subarus and not had any weird issues. Voting for it hands down.
The website for the dealer selling the Subaru includes a carfax report. Looks like it was totaled in 2011. It doesn’t give a mileage at the time of the incident, but it appears it has been registered and driven continuously since then. Given how long ago the incident was, I’m not concerned about it.
I’ll take the Subaru. Both seem like ok-ish vehicles for the money, but the Subaru has a manual transmission and is a wagon. It would be more fun to drive and more useful than the Nissan.
My first guess on the rebuilt title was that it was a theft recovery, but it seems like the wave of old Subie thefts in the area started after 2011.
That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the adjuster had totaled out a 16-year-old base-model Impreza for a fender-bender.
I had one of these and it got totaled in a hail storm so it really depends on what did it. Ended up buying it back, basically got paid a couple grand for my trouble. Love this car.
“Was it the title thing?” That certainly didn’t help the cause, but it was the rust. I know you’re from the land of rust Mark, but you’ve been gone long enough to not know which modern cars can last and which ones are a lost cause. I guarantee you yesterday’s Nissan had no rocker panels and not much floor left. Hopefully whoever bought it is using it as a parts car for a better body shell.
As for today’s rigs, I would have picked the Nissan had it not been a slushbox, but decided a manual wagon would be more fun. I miss teal cars, and the Black Crows cassette I bought for my ’99 Corolla would go nicely in these.
The Soob, but maybe by a smaller margin than the votes indicate so far.
I don’t like shiftless cars.
Subaru.
I don’t think it needs explaining.
Slushbox in that era…just no. A snail would be faster. Gotta go with the subie despite the red flags
If the Nissan was a manual, I’d take it any day over a Subaru.
But with an automatic? Eh, I’d rather have a stick shift wagon at that point.
Easiest one yet. Even though I hate that interior color, I’d buy that Impreza if it were local and swap in a 2.2.
WHAT? that interior color is awesome 😀
Better than the lame-ass gray and black shit
Not better than the blue my Legacy had (though that wouldn’t go with the teal and I don’t recall if the Imprezas had that color as an option, anyway) and I’d still prefer black or gray over beige even if it’s the default only choice today because the beige made the plastics somehow look even cheaper than the darker colors. I’m more than familiar enough with this era overrun with teals and beiges that it isn’t interesting to me for its present novelty. The teal, I don’t mind, though.
Blue interior is cool, and also, yes, it would go fine with a teal exterior with no problem 🙂
The rebuilt title on that Subaru concerns me for sure…but what concerns me more is the slipping automatic transmission in the Nissan. Maybe it’s as simple as a flush and new fluid, but automatic transmissions are one step away from witchcraft as far as I’m concerned, and I wouldn’t want to take that gamble.