Ed, I gotta ask you a question of what you stated when you were talking about the Neon and the 5th.
You realize a lot of Chrysler fans don't feel the same way about the 5th or any M-body. They were throw away cars then, much like the perceptions of the cars being built now. They were mass produced by the thousands and seen as no big deal to toss in the junkyard when it needed to go. Thanks to fleet builds to go along with general public sales these cars were readily available and one sat on every corner for sale. Of course, attrition rates are making these cars more rare to find now.
I'll let you know, I'm of a like mind as you when it comes to the M's. I've been a fan of these cars since the the '80's and have had at least one in the family since 1991.
But, I'm also a Neon fan. The old man has a '97, stripped out Plymouth version. It's a nibble little car and with all the curves on the roads around here it's a blast to drive. If only it was a five speed. We have a lot steep grades in the area, too. Grades which my V8 powered F150 with 3.73's, my V8 Ramcharger with 3.23's, and my V6 powered Dakota with 3.92's need a run at the bottom to make it up at speed. Pop drops the little Neon back into 2nd, pushes the throttle a bit and that little SOHC 2.0L pulls those same hills at 60mph with room to spare.
Being a Neon fan I realize these were throwaway cars. Look at most of 'em on the road and then look at the drivers. There's a reason most are in the condition they're in: driven hard, put away wet, with very little routine maintenance, usually by some young kid with a Fast and Furious complex. I won't touch one in the used department with a stick.
But, there's the ACR's and the SRT4's as well as the early production model R/T's. Should they be thrown out the "bad," too, even though these cars were limited production runs and part of a niche market or are they all "disposable" simply because they're Neons? Are there exceptions to this rules, taking into account these sub-badges are as much a part of Chrysler history and as much a limited production run as some of the rare cars Chrysler has built over the years or do we throw the baby out with the bath water and call them all junk?
Maybe it's because of my history of turning a wrench and being in the collector car market for so long, starting when I was 16 and a rare car which everyone said "oh well" to landed in my hands. It's a factory 383 4bbl powered Sport Satellite 4 door. It may well be the last of it's kind in existence simply because the other 30 or so were wrecked, parted out for Road Runners,or simply seen as "oh well, it's a 4 door... who cares?"
Sarah and I were in the market for a used car for her, something newer, I'd driven, at the point, literally thousands of cars in my career. I've big block and high horse small block everythings. I've driven modern performance in GT500's and P51's. I've driven LT1 powered everythings. I've driven run of the mill cars like Neons, Focuses, and Cavaliers. I'll tell you the truth, I'm rarely impressed by any car. I was impressed with Sarah's Hyundai. I'm impressed with Pop's Neon, simply because of the fact these aren't the cars of rumor and myth, these cars actually are more than what you expect.
But, being in the collector car market, I've also come to the realization of "you can't save 'em all." What's your junk is another man's treasure and vice versa. And it's the reality of the situation.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of the situation at hand, but I'm also a realist. These cars have been touched so many times by amateurs I can guarantee you that there's nothing "right" with these cars to even begin. I've been part of the tech/vocational school programs. These kids, while learning, may or may not have the passion to follow through on what's a correct repair vs just bandaiding it together for a grade. I've watched it happen more times than I care to count. Hell, in my last business I made a lot of money fixing what these kids "fixed." And some of that was the most basic shit that anyone who knew what end of a wrench was which could accomplish. But the instructors? Well, I've dealt with a lot of them, too and the old saw about those who can, do? It applies.
No, unfortunately, these cars are test mules. They've been hacked, butchered, and band-aided.