The story

I purchased the Ford Aspire from my Aunt in 2020 with 80k miles on the odometer. The car was purchased as a backup car while I was in college for $600. The car has been in the family for over two decades and was purchased for my grandmother in 2001. The vehicle came from Massachusetts some time between 1998 and 2000 after being involved in a roll over accident and being rebuilt. It was originally green according to the VIN and was built in August of either 1995 or 1996. I purchased this car for cheap with no intentions to keep it. However I fell in love with the minimalistic aspect of the Ford Aspire along with it's incredible reliability. It has no power steering, no ABS, no radio, no power windows or door locks, no traction control, nothing extra at all to comfort the drive beside, power brakes, two airbags, direct fuel injection instead of a carberator, climate control, and an adjustable seat. It doesn't even have an adjustable steering wheel which seems insane for a modern vehicle to have so little creature comforts. The Ford Aspire isn't fast, nor is it quick, and it surely won't turn heads with it's design. It's just a rebadged Kia and genuinely has nothing going for it... or does it? You see this car has something most modern cars do not have... personality and a soul. Most modern cars are controlled by computers and can't be fixed at home but the Ford Aspire only has a few sensors and can be fixed at home by literally anyone and when you drive the car it just man and machine with no computer to nag at you or interfere with your driving. I wanted the Aspire but to this day don't understand why. I figure it's because of the cars personality and the fact that you don't see them around much anymore so I purchased it and decided that I was going to restore the Aspire to manufacture specifications. Why? You may ask. Well, because if I didn't purchase the car it would probably have met it's inevitable demise in a junkyard or even worse.... a car crusher.