Today Nice price or no dice Dodge is a type of car that was once called a “captive import” due to its mix of domestic branding and offshore assembly. Let’s see if this “all-original” edition wins our hearts for the asking price.
When Porsche introduced the front-engine, liquid-cooled 928 to the world in 1977, the company saw it as a replacement for and refinement of the older 911. That didn’t happen, and like “New Coke,” the 928 ended up playing second fiddle to its predecessor. The Porsche 928 from 1982 What we watched last Friday showed that the 928 didn’t get the infatuation of Porsche traditionalists for lack of trying. Still iconic and beautiful in its own right, and a powerful, capable GT car in its own right, the 928 is finally getting what it deserves. Unfortunately for the seller of our particular car, that figure didn’t add up to the $22,500 they were asking. That sentiment was made clear in both the comments and the 58 percent No Dice loss the Porsche suffered.
Production of the Porsche 928 spanned three decades, from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. During that time, the sports car market as a whole, and the number of options across performance and price points, grew and changed.
In the 1990s, Porsche had to contend not only with German and Italian rivals, but also with a whole new wave of sports cars from Japan. These were comparable in power to the old guard, but were miles ahead in terms of performance technology and fancy gadgets.
Today 1991 Dodge Stealth R/T is one of those cars. Built by Mitsubishi and sold by that brand in slightly different guise as the 3000GT, the Stealth offers big coupe styling and insane performance from its 300-horsepower, twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6. That sits sideways under the hood, but sends power to all four wheels via a standard five-speed manual transmission, so handling is a step up from your average FWD car.
There’s also plenty of tech in these cars. The dampers are electronically adjustable, and the rear end can do some of the steering. Inside, there are a ton of buttons in the driver-focused dash and even on the steering wheel. It’s all wrapped up in a body that has some seriously futuristic 80s show car styling.
With all those perks, it’s a shock to learn that this Stealth, with its electric blue over gray leather interior, has only been driven 30,107 miles. That’s the number listed in the ad, under the auspices of a single owner (with some obfuscation) who has apparently remained partially immune to the car’s charms.
That means there is still plenty of life left in this “STOCK” Stealth. The car looks almost new and has no obvious issues, apart from some stone chips on the hood. Furthermore, the sexy bodywork and the well-equipped interior look solid.
The R/T was the top-of-the-line version of the Stealth, and the seller claims that only three options were offered on the car: a sunroof, a CD player with equalizer, and leather upholstery. This car comes with everything except the hole in the roof.
Not everything on the car is as it came from the factory. The ad lists the replacement of the spark plugs, water pump, and timing belt at 28K. It also says the car has had annual oil changes, whether or not they were needed. One thing still on the honey-do list are the tires, which the seller says are old and, despite having plenty of tread, probably aren’t safe for doing any excessive heroics. The title is clean and the price is set at $23,500. Like Friday’s Porsche, it carries collector plates.
We’ve now looked at three somewhat similar cars in a row (Corvette, 928, and now the Stealth) that fit into a similar niche and are priced very close together. Today’s Stealth is the most expensive of the bunch, but it also has the lowest mileage and is perhaps the bluest.
What do you think of this Stealth and its $23,500 price tag? Are you planning on running covert operations with bank accounts? Or does that price tag mean the cover on this Dodge has been blown?
You decide!
Colorado Springs, Colorado, Craigslistor go here when the ad disappears.
Thanks to Jerry Cleveland for the meeting!
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