Column: Ratmobile really knew how to haul

Tag : doa test

The M in my Toyota stood for mid-engine; R for rear-wheel drive;and 2 for two driving wheels. Some called it Mister Mister. Others, MR Squared. I liked "Pooch,the Black Ratmobile" because of its quickness, wedge-like shape andthe alert way its hidden headlights flicked up.
 
The paint was sandblasted from its 188,000 miles, and the bodyresembled a cheese grater from its many door dings. Built in 1988,it offered no factory airbag - as if one could make a difference ina car this tiny - and its AC was broken.
No matter. This first Japanese production mid-engine model was myfirst sports car and it drove like a go kart on fire for 40glorious months and 14,000 miles. Its $650 cost and 32 mpg equaledan unbeatable cost/fun ratio, and it could be parked anywhere. Acommuter's dream!
 
Then it died. DOA with a thrown timing belt, leaky water pump,flickering check engine light and the malignant diagnosis no wifewill suffer: Old car smell. Off it went.

What a mistake! A week driving a daughter's gutless '92 Ford Tempoand the hunt was on for something sportier. A '91 Miata lookedpromising, but there were dealer issues. Other candidates fellshort during the test drive. Like many addictions, mine to sports cars began innocently. My sonfinished college and got a traveling sales job and he neededsomething more efficient than his 12 mpg V8; a neighbor's son gotout on parole for a job at a junkyard swamped because a looming taxchange prompted a glut of donated wrecks.
 
The MR2 stood out, despite layers of dust. A deal was struck.Thankfully, by the time my son got a different job and no longerneeded a car, I was hooked. The search for a replacement continues.