Who makes the most rudimentary cars?

In reply to frenchyd :

Im sure there’s a scenario where a low-optioned car is more expensive than a higher-optioned equivalent but it’s the exception not the rule. And even it it were more common, I just wouldn’t pay for it. 

spacecadet said:

The Chevy Spark are hilariously base trim optioned.... steel wheels, no cruise control, manual windows, manual transmission............. and a 7 inch color touch screen with android auto/apple carplay..

oh yeah, and they don't come with a spare. Nor run-flat tires. They come with a tire repair kit and some slime. Do you know any average person from your office who knows how to use a tire repair kit?

In reply to P3PPY :

About the same number can change a tire nowadays sadly.

I have a couple of early 90s Escort Ponys that are just stripped from the factory. No power steering, no radio, no cruise control, no sound deadener, no AC, no passenger side mirror , 13" steel wheels, no tint...nothing! It really seemed to have a lot of parts that were exclusive to this rare stripped model! Manual side mirror, no intermittant wiper, even the dome light waqs just a light while every other model got one with 2 reading lights.

The door panels and sunvisors were extra thin without padding, no cargo light in the trunk.

Mechanically it had smaller brakes and a special 5th gear for mileage. Kinda surprised it didn't have vinyl floor mats instead of carpet!

Bruce

This is a fun read see who made the most basic cars in the last 20 years, but I’m not clear on the objective or the reason you want such a basic car. 

Price? As previously stated, that will be based condition and situation more than options. Especially the lower the price

Reliability? For 5+ year old cars there are lots of sources to understand the reliability of a certain model. This (and condition/history) is going to be a better predictor than options. Plus very few of these options are going to leave you dead on the side of the road. Plus, in the last 10 to 15 years all the vehicle manufacturers have upped their game on quality and reliability. Most cars built in the last 10 can go to 200,000 miles without a major rebuild and only minor bolt on repairs

Weight? Yes you may save some weight and get better gas mileage, but as a daily driver will this really make you enjoy the car more?

Again, I enjoy the information and debate. 

I never enjoyed two vehicles more than my Samurai(s) which had NOTHING. Not even carpet and my 1988 Ranger with rubber floors and seriously zero options .

There’s something about very basic transportation, something you can hose out, something that doesn’t malfunction because you left the windows open in a rainstorm.

If not for my wife, my house would be that way too.

Beyond that I can’t explain it.

Since we are reminiscing, in highschool I had an '81(?) Plymouth Horizon Miser. Yes, it was called the "Miser" from the factory because it was as base model as it came. Carburated 1.7L, 4-speed, AM radio with 1 speaker in the dash, the roughest cloth seats money couldn't buy. The best part was that the dash was so minimalized, it didn't even have any gauges except the gas gauge and speedometer. Temp, voltage and oil pressure were covered by a "something is wrong" light.

If I remember right, my dad got it in trade for doing some welding for someone. It was remarkably clean. I  broke the carburator base (plastic) by doing clutch drops in the rain. The water pump was on its way out and would lock up occasionally and throw the belt. We got tired of replacing the belt just kept driving it anyway, and would charge the battery every night and limit ourselves to short-ish trips most of the time. I ran it completely out of oil once, so bad that it shut off. I let it cool down and drove it home.

ebonyandivory said:

In reply to frenchyd :

Im sure there’s a scenario where a low-optioned car is more expensive than a higher-optioned equivalent but it’s the exception not the rule. And even it it were more common, I just wouldn’t pay for it. 

 

I tried to find original sticker prices but gave up after a few attempts but you brought to mind the Peugeot 106 Rallye.  Built for homolgation purposes and obviously not sold here.  Definitely more expensive now than the fully contented non-GTi versions and certainly very desirable given the relative expensive of the iconic 205 GTi. 

Our Fiat was a fairly simple car. It had power windows but just one pair of buttons in the center, easy to maintain and not much to break.