Kenny Payne (kpayne@baynetworks.com)

Location: Minneapolis, Mn.  USA
     Car: 1991, MkII Turbocharged, Black
     Tag: no
 Mileage: 83K miles

This is my second MR2. I have always been a driving enthusiast. Prior to
owning the Toyotas, I had a BMW 1600, a 2002, and a 320i. Then, they 
stopped making bimmers for guys like me so I switched to a VW Rabbit GTI.
That was a great car but the 16-valve Golf GTI didn't deliver the low end
torque of the older 8-valve engine so you couldn't really have that much 
fun unless you had no regard for speed limits.  Generally, I have all my
fun from 0-60 mph.

When the GTI was on it's deathbed, I started looking for some fun in the
4-6000 dollar range (1992 dollars). I found a 1987 silver MR2 without the
rear spoiler for $4500.  I actually liked the look of the car better 
without the spoiler. It had about 65K miles when I bought it and I ran it
up to about 110K before I sold it. In all that time it never needed any-
thing more than oil and gas.  I guess I had it tuned up once or twice, but
the fact is, nothing ever broke!  After the German cars, you come to expect
things like fan motors and door latches to start failing at around 50,000
miles. I was extremely impressed with the performance, reliability and 
sheer fun that I experienced with my 87 MR2.

In 1995, for the first time ever, I was in a position where I could spend
a lot of money on a car.  My wife told me to go out and buy my dream car.
Well, I live in Minnesota, so a front engine rear drive car really isn't 
an option; or at least it's a real pain in the butt. So the 300ZX was ruled
out. The VW Corrado VR6 and the Honda Del Sol VTEC were considered as 
possibilities. The VR6 is a very good car and because of VW's abysmally poor
marketing efforts they were going for a song. The problem is that you can't
take the roof off and the torgue steer that you invariably get with a front
wheel drive car.  The Del Sol VTEC generates 170 horsepower which is mighty 
impressive but again, no low end torque to speak of.

Then, I sat in a 95 MR2.  That was enough. I knew I wanted one. The price 
was a little tough to swallow. Roughly 33 grand for all the goodies. What's 
more, it was extremely difficult to find one here in Minneapolis. One dealer
had one, and they wouldn't let me drive it unless I promised to blow off 
the sales rep I'd been working with and buy it from them.  It was ugly.

The following Sunday, there was an ad in the paper for a Black 91 MR2 with
a turbo, CD player, AC, Leather, ABS, etc.  It had 58K miles on it. I was
pretty sure I didn't want to buy a car with that many miles but I figured 
at least I'd get to drive one; something I had yet to accomplish. Well, the
car was pristine.  I should have learned from my Silver MR2 experience that
58K miles is nothing for these cars.  What's more, the asking price was 
12,000 dollars.  A savings of 21,000 dollars from the dealer's price for 
a comparably equipped automobile. "This is a no-brainer", I said.

With the money I saved by buying the car used, I got the 60K mile stuff
done, and bought four super sticky Yokahama slicks for the summer and 
four Pirrelli snow tires for the winter. The Yokahamas work great. You
don't get a lot of miles out of them, but when you have that many horses 
driving that few pounds, you better have some good rubber. I'm a fairly
conservative driver anyway, but my MR2 hasn't ever gotten away from me 
with these tires.

In the winter, I put on the Pirelli's and I go as good as the four wheel
drive weenies. After all, the engine sits right over the drive wheels. I
swear I get better traction in the snow than my wife's Golf.

I've recieved a total of three speeding tickets in the two years that I've 
had my 91 MR2. All were gross miscarriages of justice. The fact is, I'm
the most consciencious driver I know.  I would never willingly do anything
to endanger myself or others on the road.  I think my problem is the fact
that when I pass another vehicle I PASS them. Once I've committed to it,
I do it. Oh well, I haven't recieved any nastygrams from the state yet,
so I should probably count my blessings.

Lastly, I'm deeply concerned about the fact that the Japanese have stopped
importing the MR2. I hope that the market for this extraordinary automobile
is revived in this country, because, for my money, there's nothing better.

Also, excuse my long-windedness, but this was fun.--Kenny Payne

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Last Update: Sunday 02-Mar-97 15:11:27