In the early 1990s, after being exonerated from the “unintended acceleration” scandal which concluded with the simple fact that drivers are stupid and resulted in the brake release for automatic transmissions that are law today, Audi came back. Before the UI debacle, they had been lauded in the automotive press for bringing to market stylish luxury German cars that regular people could afford. They looked a little like Mercedes, but sleeker. As their resurgence took hold in earnest, the folks in the land of the rising sun took notice. Honda’s Acura brand had taken aim directly at the likes of Audi, but lacked a mid-size sports sedan in their lineup – the Integra was too small and the Legend was a little too cushy. So they borrowed a page from Audi’s playbook – longitidinally-mounted inline-5, short front overhang, availability of a 5-speed manual tansmission, strong list of standard equipment, and zebrano wood – and built the Vigor. Good examples are getting hard to find, but this clean example can be found here on Craigslist in Cornelius, Oregon for just $2,595, or click here for a listing of Vigors for sale from multiple sites.

Continue reading