Faults:

Right strut blown.

Clutch cable snapped.

Needs tires.

Head gasket needs replacing.

Replaced sparkplugs.

General Comments:

Great fuel economy (15km/litre)

A little sluggish on acceleration.

Go kart in traffic.

Turns on a dime.

Easy to park (tiny)

Great deal for $450-CDN!

I'm suprised at its great condition for a vehicle with 215,000 km on it.

Faults:

The head pipe has just recently rusted out.

The sensors for the carburetor died, making the engine cough and sputter. I simply bypassed the sensors, and it solved the problem.

The interior isn't all that nice, but I usually drive alone, so it's not a big deal.

General Comments:

This car has been very reliable for the past year.

The interior is cramped, and my Spectrum has gone over 75MPH once (down a hill behind an 18-wheeler). But it's been very reliable, handles like a go-kart in traffic with excellent gas mileage, and is perfect for delivering pizza with. An excellent buy for $500.

Faults:

Recalls before I bought the car...

Replaced Head Gasket Set.

Replaced Spark Plugs.

Replaced Valves.

Timing Belt Broke twice before purchase (I bought it while it was broken and had to fix it all myself)

Replaced Wiring Set.

Replaced Radiator Tubes.

Need to Replace Exhaust Manifold.

Need to Replace Exhaust Pipe.

Need to Replace Brake Pads soon.

There are probably some other things I should fix up, when I received it it was in pretty bad shape...

General Comments:

It's a very fuel efficient car.

I like the feel of the accelerator and steering, less sensitive, so you have more range of motion, compared to a Honda Accord (1995 Automatic)...

Accelerates slowly, I floor it out of intersections and it still it slow.

I ran a test in a garage and my engine was 90 HP, but I've polished almost all the engine and nearly rebuilt it.

There is lots of room for me and my friends in this car.

Pretty good cornering, I can corner just as well as in the Honda Accord.

Faults:

Front strut replacement at 165,000.

Timing Belt broke at 196,000 miles.

New Brake pads 5 different times.

New Exhaust.

General Comments:

I purchased the car to take the running place of my Ford pick-up for delivery service at Pizza Hut. This car was definitely what I needed, except I had to replace the brakes 4 times that summer.

The car has had it's troubles getting down the road at times, but changing the timing on the car has cleared that up.

Using a horsepower formula and my 1/4 mile time in the car, I was able to figure it has around 75 horsepower. This is 5 more than Chevrolet claimed it originally came with.

Gas mileage fluctuates from 26 to 29 mpg with an even mix of highway and town driving in the same tank.

Faults:

Front axle.

Oil pump.

O2 sensor.

General Comments:

Despite the various faults, everything was cheap to fix, and I only paid $1800 for the Spectrum back in 1996 - I still drive it now in 2001!

Faults:

Oil leak.

Idles rough.

Runs rougher in cold weather.

General Comments:

Good little car, have had very few problems with it. Has good fuel economy. However low ground clearance and front wheel drive make snow/ice driving difficult.