Bringing it back to the author, I've heard that the MX-5 is about the easiest car to work on that's still readily available. And Saturns. Saturns are like Lego.
Saturn cars are incredible. I had a 92 SL2. Drove it for 14 years and 350k miles. Sold it to a guy who delivered newspapers and saw it still running two years later. That plastic body that didn't rust was incredible. Sucks that GM just killed that car line.
