OK. Bad news. The cheaper-than-an-Escort W8 is long gone, replaced by trusty Land Rover Disoveries and Audi TTs. But have no fear – Copart is here.

Copart is the Easter basket of bad ideas. It has a dedicated section just for cast-off projects, cars that were under a tarp in your neighbor’s carport yesterday. Heck, Hurricane Sandy’s victims are a common sight at Copart auctions, so if you’re in the market for a Chevelle littered with salt-cakes, give the Long Island district a call.

But enough chatter. On to Deal of the Day, v 2.OH NO.

A 1980 Saab Turbo. From Arizona, land of prison camps, undocumented citizens and rot-free Swedish goodness. This particular Copart special has a minty interior and the requisite aero bits, like a rear spoiler and those tasty pizza-slicer wheels. Good Lord, I love the 80s. It’s even baby blue!

Salvage title, but who cares. These cars are hard to come by and offer a perfect excuse to invest in rear window louvers and a set of obnoxious Bosch fog lamps. Need I say more?

So, as this blog grows, we’re going to try and sneak in updates whenever we can. In a test of the emergency project car broadcast system, we have breaking news.

An auction company in New Hampshire is seeking a measly $4,500 for a Passat W8. Who among you has the stones to roll the dice on an eight-cylinder project car that makes jumping rope blindfolded while holding a burlap sack up around your waist look like elementary school gymnastics?

I’ll bet you don’t. I’ll throw the link up later for colorful and passive-aggressive commentary.

So, by way of introduction, my name is Jeff. You can see my ’03 330i ZHP and the project E30, a 1987 Alpine White 325is coupe. I’ve become a bit enamored with the BMW brand over the last few years, and more so, the last of the truly analog cars.

And after this weekend, I want to get rid of the ’03 for something older. Now, not just any old thing – but a 1999-2000 Z3 M-Coupe with the venerable S52 motor. So, not a bad way to go if you’re going deeper into the automotive nursing home.

The strange thing is, the more I see older cars, the more I want to step back in time and buy the antiquated instead of the cutting edge (much to the chagrin of the wife). My ’87 E30 went through hell before I got my hands on it, and still has a long way to go. I look at the E46 and realize what a difference it makes when cars have caring owners who keep the carpets clean and do repairs correctly, bodywise or other. In the E30, I’ll need to invest in repairs to the floor before I put a proper carpet kit in. In the E46, I just needed to buy new floormats with the original mounting tabs still intact for it to be perfect.

Take the photo captured here. I spotted this old Alfa in a field in Vermont this weekend. If only someone had been a bit more sensitive to how much easier it is to take care of a car a little bit now – small projects, a worthwhile investment sooner to stave off major overhauls later – this once viable project car might have more of a chance than it currently does, what with rusty fenders sinking deeper into winter’s moisture-rich blanket.

It’s my mission. Save them now before they succumb to low resale and owners who can barely afford the badge on the hood, let alone synthetic motor oil.

Now, to figure out that latest coolant leak on the E30….