For your consideration this morning, we have a bit of a mashup — two vehicles for which I could not find comparable mates, at least in the time I had to look. So, as typically happens in these cases, I’m pitting them against each other. I suspect I know which one is going to win, but I’ve been wrong before. We’ll just have to see.
Yesterday, we looked at a couple of compact domestic pickups. Let’s see how they did:
So the Ranger legend lives on. Personally, I’d prefer the S-10, but I’m a Chevy guy, and I try to never be in a hurry, so a four-cylinder is fine with me. And I do love those wheels.
Now, on to today’s contestants: One is a Great Little Car in the ultimate bodystyle and color, and the other is a brilliant off-roader spoiled (some say) by a pair of rectangles. Do they have any business competing against each other? Is anyone going to cross-shop these two vehicles, ever? Of course not. But we’re going to look at them, and then you must choose one. It’s what we do.
1980 Mazda GLC wagon – $1,350
Engine/drivetrain: 1.4 liter SOHC inline 4, 5 speed manual, RWD
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Odometer reading: 100,500 miles
Runs/drives? Sure does
If you’re one of our younger readers, the Mazda GLC nameplate might not be Familia to you. (Get it? Because it’s known as the Familia in Japan… Oh never mind.) GLC stood – and I’m not making this up – for “Great Little Car.” This name lasted through two generations: this rear-wheel-drive version from 1977-1980, and a front-wheel-drive model from 1981-1985. The wagon, however, remained RWD after the FWD sedan and hatchback were introduced.
This generation of GLC is powered by a carbureted 1.4 liter four-cylinder engine, connected to a five-speed manual gearbox. I never understood why Mazda chose sky blue for their air filter assemblies in the ’70s, but it is distinctive. Not as distinctive as the multicolored grille someone chose to gift this car with, however.
This little wagon is a rare sight these days, even in sunny California, and even rarer with only 100,000 miles. For all I know, it might be the lowest-mileage GLC left. It’s not in great condition for that few miles, with dings and dents outside, and a heavily-worn driver’s seat inside. The seller says it runs and drives great, but it has been on non-op status for an undisclosed length of time, so a careful examination is in order.
But hey, it is the fabled brown manual station wagon we’re all accused of loving so much! And it’s certainly cheap enough. A little elbow grease, some new soft parts, and you could be living the dream.
1990 Jeep Wrangler Islander – $1,800
Engine/drivetrain: undisclosed engine, 5-speed manual, part-time 4WD
Location: San Jose, CA
Odometer reading: 49,000 miles
Runs/drives? We don’t know that either…
I fully expect this Jeep to be sold by the time you all get a chance to read this, so I’m going to do something I never do: post a screen shot of the ad for posterity:
Ordinarily, I would have passed right over an ad like this: missing information and not many photos makes for a difficult write-up. But how often do you find a YJ Wrangler for under two grand? I’d suspect it of being a scam, except the seller sounds so earnest. I think this might be a case of the seller truly not knowing what they have. [Ed note: I need this. -DT]
The Jeep YJ Wrangler, which our illustrious editor-in-chief recently wrote about, is a bit of a polarizing vehicle among Jeep fans. One one hand, it’s the last Jeep with leaf-spring suspension all around, which in a way makes it feel more “Jeepy” than later Jeeps with coil springs. But on the other hand, it replaced the CJ5/6/7/8’s friendly round-headlight face with a squared-off, angled-back grille with rectangular headlights that don’t sit right with a lot of people.
Personally, I think the YJ is cool, and this is coming from someone who learned to drive in a CJ8. I’ve driven a couple of YJ Wranglers (on-road), and I don’t think the “Yuppie Jeep” nickname applies at all. This is still a real Jeep, with real engine and road noise bombarding you, and gives you a real jolt to the spine over bumps. There’s no indication in the ad what engine is under the hood of this one, but from what I understand, it’s either a 2.5 liter four or AMC’s good old 4.2 liter inline six. (The 4.0 six became available in the Wrangler the following year.)
The real draw of this particular Jeep may be the odometer: Forty-nine thousand, six hundred and ninety-one point seven miles. That’s all. The seller claims to have had “about as much fun as you can have with a vehicle” in that time, which I find hard to believe. I’m willing to bet this thing has at least another hundred thousand miles of fun left in it. And to be honest, if I didn’t need to have a day job and was able to just goof around with cars all the time, I’d be on my way down to the Bay Area tomorrow to snatch it up myself.
So that’s our show for today. You’ve got your choice of a bona-fide rear-wheel-drive brown manual wagon, or a ridiculously cheap Jeep that may or may not run. What’ll it be?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
What Brown Can Do for Me…
Wagon wheels.
Jeep guys phone number is from Florida… Sounds like a scam. I still called. Voicemail full.
Does the autopian get a cut if we buy something from craigslist? Asking for a friend.
Jeep guy’s pictures also look like Florida – that’s not San Jose. His grammar also appears to be Floridian.
I voted for the great little car! It’s a wagon in a cool color and much better than any Jeep 😀
Mazda’s only real problem is rust, and since this one isn’t rusty, it’s the winner by default.
The brown manual wagon was on the other site that hates cars. Here we get to go over new ground.
For me it is the Jeep. Though I am sure David bought it already.
That Jeep claims to be in San Jose, but I don’t think the pictures where taken there.
The surface mold on the Jeep and the siding of the house isn’t something that you get in San Jose. The house having a brick façade is something that isn’t done in earthquake country.
Going CSI on the plates, the partial plate on the red Ford doesn’t look like a California Plate, and neither does the full plate on the red Chevy. The bottom of the windshield on the Jeep appears to have a scraped off registration/inspection sticker. California puts the registration sticker on the plate and doesn’t have an inspection sticker. The phone number for the ad is out of Orlando.
The broken strap around the steering wheel looks like it might have used to secure the steering for towing.
I still voted Jeep, but would give this one a very close inspection to make sure it isn’t all rust underneath or have other issues not common in California cars.
The Jeep ad is a scam for sure. Way too cheap and the photos are not of San Jose, but some place back east.
I’m pretty sure I’m in a minority here, but god damn I hate Jeeps–especially Wranglers. You have to be some kind of deranged masochist to enjoy them, so a brown manual station wagon left over from the days of my youth seems like no brainer here.*
*please don’t kick me out David!
Maybe, because it’s a Jeep thing, that you wouldn’t understand. 😉
They are objectively not great cars,but have had 2 CJ’s, a TJ, a few XJ’s and a really bad J20. There’s just something about them. I can’t see myself reaching a point where I don’t have a Jeep. Maybe its just Automotove Stockholm Syndrome at this point.
What Is The Worst Years Of Jeep Wrangler YJ?
1990 And 1991 are the worst according to the complaints of NHTSA.
Re: YJ front ends looking like crap, how hard is it to swap the front end over to the cj5 or maybe TJ front end?
Closest round light grille is a CJ7 unit. You just have to shorten it by a couple inches. There’s quite a few forum threads on the grille swap or just putting a complete CJ7 body on the YJ frame.
I had a YJ with a 258 and it was the worst vehicle I’ve ever had to deal with. Something in the fuel system was turning to mush and the carb would gum up with black tar every hundred miles or so causing it to not idle. So I carried tools for roadside carb rebuilds. The 4.0 is gutless on the highway in my opinion but at least its reliable.
A friend had a YJ 4-cylinder and it could go 65mph if you kept the throttle pinned to the floor. Dangerously underpowered. But an LT1 swap solved that problem.
There is a special place in my heart for the GLC. I had one in college (the two door hatch, not the wagon), and it really was a Great Little Car. Simple, durable, gutless, it just kept running. I wish I had it back. It was a coppery-orange metallic with black/grey interior. The seats had cloth houndstooth inserts. It was a nice clean car and treated me really well.
But the GLC mentioned here is not that car. Man that thing is BEAT. How are you gonna out-do a YJ for under two grand, indeed. I’ll take the Jeep, even if I just clean it up and flip it for a tidy profit.
GLC because Jeeps are Jeeps and they’re a dime a dozen. Real rare find with the GLC, and completely restorable provided the ol rust devil didnt get to the underside too too bad……cant imagine it did in the Bay Area.
I’d rather drive the wagon. But I voted for the Jeep. Assuming it runs, that’ll be the world’s easiest flip.
That’s where I am. If you washed and buffed that Jeep, cleaned the interior and just did a basic fluid flush, belts and maybe brakes, someone would pay you $6000 for it. Maybe rear shocks cuz it looks like they’re maybe work out, too.
But if I had to keep it? That Mazda all day.
I love the brown wagon and almost any other day it would get my vote but I love jeeps and especially weird ones. My first vehicle was a 1980 CJ5, bright yellow and I used to be a bit of a YJ hater, but as I have gotten older I’ve realized that I always gain appreciation for the previous generation as soon as the new gen is released. I disliked the YJ until the TJ, disliked the TJ until JK. I still don’t like the JK or the JL much though.
When I was looking for a jeep to buy I came across a yellow “Super Jeep” CJ5 at a dealer in Denver. (pic for those unaware, https://barnfinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/1973-Super-Jeep.jpg)
I don’t remember what they were asking for it but this was in 2003 or 4 and the jeep would have been like a 73 or so, and at the time old Jeeps were still pretty reasonable (I miss those days). At the time I thought the graphics were a little too goofy but man I wish now I would have bought it. I didn’t know how rare it was at the time. Wound up with a different bright yellow Jeep from a private seller just across the street from that dealership.
Brown manual wagon! Not many left. Save them while they’re still alive.
That Mazda is the perfect city car! Throw some RX-7 wheels on there and park it wherever you like.
I’m taking the Jeep. The ad says the AC blows, so I’m assuming the engine runs.
Flawless logic!
I went with the GLC wagon because we had the hatchback version when I was in high school / college. It was silver and had the “sport” package, which meant that it had a woodgrain steering wheel and gearshift knob. Other than that and some “sporty” graphics, it was pretty much the same. I also remember how much stuff I could get into that little hatch with the back seats down, using it to move large tables, chairs and merch to my mom’s craft shows. I’ll bet the wagon could haul a small apartment if it wanted to. Seeing the pictures of that wagon’s engine and interior especially brought back so many memories that I had to vote for it.
I voted the GLC. I learned to drive in an 82 GLC manual sedan. Brown, just like that one. It was also the first car I helped do an engine rebuild on. Normally I’d vote the Jeep but I loved that little car. It would have been mine if a drunk driver hadn’t plowed into me in June of 92 so instead I ended up with an 84 Ford Escort station wagon (which I also oddly loved).
The coffee hasn’t even kicked in yet and I know this is easy. All day, YJ.
I had a ’95 with the AMC 2.5 four cylinder and I can tell you this thing is so light and the gear ratios so favorable, even if it is the 4 banger, you can scoot around just fine in this thing. If it’s the 4.0, which I’ve also driven in YJ form, it’s downright kinda fast. These Jeeps have SO MUCH character. When you get in one of these, you know it’s different, special, and the experience of driving one is visceral and gratifying. If you’ve never had the opportunity to drive a YJ (or a CJ for that matter), as an auto enthusiast you owe it to yourself to try one out, even if it’s not your cup of tea.
I do like the Mazda’s “pumpkin” interior. Very seasonally appropriate, I admit.
this is a 1990, so it would at best have the 4.2, but based upon the price, if it is not a scam, this is most likely an AX5 trans mounted to a 2.5 AMC 4 cylinder
Love that GLC, but I accidentally voted for the Jeep (the blurb started with “bro”, which my brain interpreted as brown and clicked).
Last time I saw a running GLC Wagon was in a mid-1990s episode of Cops; it was a blue one in barely operable state and was being driven by a family of methheads. I believe they were all hauled off to jail and the GLC was left on the side of the road.
The Jeep, easily, even if you have to buy and install a new frame due to David Tracy disease (rust). Even if you have to repaint it yellow. Even if you have to install a rebuilt 4.0.
Located in San Jose so probably not too much rust. At least not Northeast levels of rust. E
unless they used it for Beach cruising, in which case the most problematic part of the YJ, the rear frame arch will likely be toast regardless of mileage.
As much as I love a brown wagon that would look right at home parked in front of a 70s disco club, this one easily goes to the Jeep. Low miles, 4 wheel drive, a stick, and a roof that goes down. I’m not sure that there’s anything out there that offers the sort of fun per dollar ratio that this does. It’s a screaming deal.
You can keep it as is and enjoy it as a care free, fun beater, or put a couple grand into sprucing it up and make it into a daily or an off-road rig. Someone needs to buy it so I don’t. Get over here Tracey!
Jeepers creepers, I can’t believe I didn’t vote for the brown manual wagon!
I’ve always though YJs were cool though, MacGyver drove one!
Just imagine cruising down the road in a YJ, your mullet blowing in the wind. Not a care in the world because with your trust Swiss Army knife and a few paperclips you know you can fix any problem that comes your way.
I need some help deciphering that wagon.
“ZG” on the mirror, what’s it mean? The grille almost looks like a trans pride flag, but not quite. There’s something going on with the roof. And lastly, I just can’t make out the bumper stickers.
I thought the mirror said ’26’ not ‘ZG’.
Maybe! If so, 26 what? Students can fit inside it? (doubtful) 26MPG? other?
Age of the car in 2006?