Ford Festiva

Most people I know think I'm crazy, but I've been casually looking for a third car. I have full faith in my current lineup in getting me to where I need to go and I absolutely love using them as daily drivers. But I mainly worry about winter conditions. I love my cars and still want to have them in ten years without having to rip up rusted floorboards in the process. I basically want a car I don't care about to absorb the worser conditions. Also, I'd like a car smaller than my Grandmother's van, since it takes up quite a bit of space in the garage.

I've been looking at the Ford Festiva, a car that was made up until 1993. It's a subcompact with a tremendously reliable and fuel-efficient, if not a bit underpowered, engine. It's only a few inches longer than the Midget and reminds me of the awesome Yugo featured in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It would allow me to position the Mini and Midget at the front of my garage side by side...so I don't have to flip-flop cars if the one I'd like to drive is in the back. This is the case currently with my Grandmother's van in the mix.

I found a guy on craigslist selling a '93 down in Collegeville, so I took a trip down last weekend to take a look. It was a pretty solid car for its age. It had one small rust spot and about 160,000 miles on it. He was a nice guy and let me take it for a spin on my own. It handled quite well and shifted very smoothly - actually almost too smooth for my tastes. Shifter cars should feel like shifter cars, in my opinion.

But anyway, the guy - let's call him Andrew - was asking $2000. Kelley Blue Book suggests $775 for such a car. I offered $1200, knowing he probably wouldn't take it, and left it that. He was pretty firm with his asking price so we parted ways. I'm glad because at this point I shouldn't be spending $1200. But I'm keeping my eyes open for something more reasonably priced.

Though I don't regret selling it, I wish I still had my MINI!