Owner: Christoper Smith / Location: Pinehurst, North Carolina / Purchased From: McBrayer Chrysler / Dodge of Aberdeen, NC / Purchase Price: $25,000 (bought new) / Mileage: 158,742 Months Owned: 29Back in high school, I was interested in all the Japanese sports cars that were out around then. But my parents had to be on board. That ruled out the rear-wheel-drive stuff. The Mitsubishi 3000GT and the Dodge version, the Stealth, though, were front-wheel-drive if you didn’t go for the twin-turbo versions. I said to my parents, “Hey, it’s front-wheel-drive and it’s not a two-seater. It’s safe.” Open GalleryThe New VintageChevy’s Crazy Roadster Pickup: 2005 Chevrolet SSRClassic ’80s Muscle: 1988 Mustang LX ConvertibleThe All-Wheel-Drive OriginatorThe Dodge dealership had two Stealths, red and white. I told him to call me when he got a black one—I mean, the car is named “Stealth.” I got the R/T. It’s 222 horsepower and has a five-speed. It rips. More New VintageChevy’s Crazy Roadster Pickup: 2005 Chevrolet SSRClassic ’80s Muscle: 1988 Mustang LX ConvertibleThe All-Wheel-Drive OriginatorIt was my daily driver for 15 years. For maintenance and repairs, it hasn’t needed much. I painted it and put different rims on it. But mechanically, it hasn’t had anything major go wrong. You look under the hood and it’s all Mitsubishi. It’s reliable.When I got this car, I said I was going to keep it for the rest of my life. That was 29 years ago. It’s been a blast.This article appeared in the October 2019 issue of Popular Mechanics. You can subscribe here.
