window shopping regular and c/d contributor jonathon ramsey is ready to sell the 1997 buick park avenue he found for our reliable-car challenge. while he loves the buick’s comfort, features, reliability, and supercharged goodness, warmer weather has him itching for a change. so the window shop crew went to work finding ramsey a new-to-him $5000 car to enjoy until the snow starts falling.
after spending the past year seeing what sorts of cars and trucks ramsey likes, contributor john pearley huffman should have at least a fair idea of what he likes. but pearley goes in a strange direction, picking an electric car that can’t go very far on a charge.
despite missing the mark by 73 miles, pearley still levels plenty of criticism at senior editor joey capparella’s very original pick. while the mazda minivan might be slow, we can't deny its undeniable jdm vibe, and its four-wheel drive appeals to ramsey.
though the pandemic has made us hesitant to board a plane, deputy testing director k.c. colwell tries to convince ramsey to take a vacation to hawaii, where he can pick up a clean 1996 volvo 850r. smitten by the choice, ramsey appears to consider the trek until he hears just how affordable it is to simply have the car shipped from the aloha state.
ramsey puts up an inexpensive and vintage ford bronco for himself but then admits that he already has too many trucks. that's when deputy editor tony quiroga steps in to offer up a clean ford taurus sho that meets the budget and provides a fun driving experience.
along the way, you'll hear pearley’s idea for a sho-based coffee table and a lot of trivia about the yamaha-built engine: did you know it became the v-8 in the later sho and in volvo's cars and suvs?
we crown a winner, but will ramsey actually buy it? tune in next week to find out.