Winter beaters

I say get a suzuki samurai. Necessarily cute for the ladies, but also surprisingly versatile vehicles. The Kurosawa associations that come with it are a freebie.

The little 4 cylinder is fuel efficient enough for today's most environmentally conscious hicks, yet provides enough oomph with the 63hp engine to outrun the strongest of lawn mowers.

Available in convertible or hardtop, it allows you to shed your masculinity with the top for any occasion. Picture you and your girlfriends driving around listening to Katy Perry with Caramel Macchiato's in hand, talking of the many ways the inadequate men in your boring and uncertain lives don't satisy/appreciate you. Didn't I say it was versatile?

Perhaps a local ad said it best:

**HAS RUN ON THE HARDEST TRAILS AT BIG DAWGS WEST VIRGINIA WITHOUT A PROBLEM**

Pretty soon, I'll be looking for a winter beater. My budget is probably around 2-3K for something reliable, with some snow tires.

Toss me some ideas, so I don't have to spray Fluid Film on the bottom of my car and just drive it. I'd really rather not do that, but I guess if I have to, I will.

I was thinking maybe a Subaru Impreza. I've seen some Outbacks for like 2K. FWD isn't out of the question either. A generic Japanese appliance vehicle would be fine as well. Farbong, should I get that Infiniti G20 that I've been yearning after? MikeK and I can hit the noodle house in style with a nice bronze colored G20.

What about junky Japanese trucks, or 'murrican quarter/half ton pickups? I defer to the expertise of r3vlimited hick members JGood, gazellebeigem3, and honorary Connecticut hick Desaevious. mrsleeve's advice will be summarily ignored. I do not need a diesel 1T with a dump body and welder.

r3vlimited family men also need not pipe up. I don't want a Honda Odyssey. I don't care if it has 270 hp and can get the holeshot on anything but swapped E30s, while the children are being entertained with the rear seat DVD player.

I have tossed the idea around of a mid-mileage E30 325iX. They seem to hold their value pretty well, and it's a platform I'm reasonable acquainted with. I've seen a handful of decent candidates. nando, please sing the praises of the iX. Can I buy one for $3K, then in the spring, flip it for 4K, after dumping in $2500 into the front end (the cost of 2 iX tie rods and 2 iX control arms)?

Miata with snows?