[Robert Coats]

Back in the early 80s, the Rabbit GTI was the hottest hatch on the market. I had grown tired of the terrible NVH of the my daily driver, a base-model stone stock '72 Corvette, and was eager to buy my first-ever new car, a black-on-gray GTI, but a charcoal Scirocco caught my eye at the dealer and was too sexy to ignore. It was brilliant even with an anemic 90hp and 13" wheels. With a sunroof, it cost me $10.5k off the lot.

I had a friend in Scotland who helped me obtain some euro-spec halogen headlights, and fitted an aftermarket oil cooler and Recaro seats I had in the Vette. The little 1.8 liter wundercar ran flawless for 10 years, and the black golf-ball shifter snicked through the gears with ease, but the water pump and fuel pump both failed within a month of each other. The head gasket blew. It was hastily traded for a Ford E250 work van I needed at the time, but man-o-man, I really missed that car.

At least until the work van helped me make enough coin to buy a '91 911 C4 sunroof coupe. If only it was lest costly to maintain than the Scirocco, I'd still have it today.