Video summary

Our Dream 2-Car Garage At EACH PRICE POINT

Main summary

Key takeaways

Lifestyle

Video Concept

Build a “dream” 2-car garage at each price point (prices shown in US dollars; Canadians add ~1.3×).

Rules

  • Cars must be real picks the hosts would actually own (no meme cars).
  • No more than one Miata total between them.
  • No more than one Alpha total for Thomas.

Search Help (Sports-Car Picks)

  • Use AutoTempest, which aggregates listings across sites.
  • Filter by price range, manual transmission, and body type (coupe/convertible).

Price Point Garage Picks (Highlights)

$10,000 Range

  • James (sports-car pick): 2004 NB Miata (MX-5) in British Racing Green with tan interior — ~$8,000
  • Thomas (daily/utility pick): 2004 Toyota Corolla LE — ~$2,000 as the “budget daily”

Additional contrast picks discussed

  • 2004 Toyota Tundra SR5 V8 double cab — ~$4,500, ~258k miles (the “big useful” option)
  • Ford Focus ST — ~$10k budget pressure, around 205k miles Favored as a fun daily/hatch pairing alongside the truck “when things break.”

Celebrity cameo (Zach Klapman / Smoking Tires)

  • “Liar’s Camaro” Z28 — ~$6,800 (LS1 5.7L) + Hypertech unit
  • Leftover budget mention: Volvo XC90 T6 — ~$3,400 (“Sisu” reference; feel-good vibe)

$20,000 Range

  • James: Ford Focus ST — ~$9,488 (jokes about color: “tangerine scream” / orange vs. yellow)

  • Thomas: 2005 BMW Z4 3.0i convertible — top-down motoring Note: electric steering; compared unfavorably to “M” feel, but still liked it.

  • Thomas also mentioned: Volvo 850 wagon (1996) — ~budget remains; classic comfort/swap potential (rear-facing seats, huge “sofa” seating)

Celebrity cameo (Carston Chong)

  • 986 Porsche Boxster — manual “perfection” pitch
  • Counterbalance: 1993 Toyota Previa — manual joke about interior (“hoop headrests”), “very involved” dash; blue leather

$30,000 Range

  • Thomas: E46 M3 convertible — discussed around $13,490 S54 inline-six, ~333 hp; suggests adding a roll bar to improve convertible “feel”

  • James: Lexus GX 470 — V8, 4WD, rugged “overlanding/soccer mom” usability Miles declared “irrelevant” because it’s a Lexus

Alternative picks discussed

  • BMW E38 740i — naturally aspirated V8 RWD; timing chain budgeting noted

Celebrity cameo (Chris Rosales / Motor1)

  • ND MX-5 (soft top) — ~$17k as the sports pick
  • Counterpick: Manual BMW 550i — ~$16k V8 not V10; “lovely E60 gen”

$50,000 Range

  • Thomas: Honda S2000 (AP1) — ~141k miles mentioned Debated as slightly overpriced, but still a cool manual Honda experience.

  • James: Range Rover (supercharged HSE) — early 2000s era “Luxury + Japanese-car reliability paired with likely eventual Range Rover problems,” but loved the condition and cult/enthusiast angle.

Shared note

  • As price rises, picks can become “too obvious” or “not you.”

Celebrity cameo (Jason Cammisa / Hagerty)

  • Lotus Elise — ~$43k
  • Spent leftover on: S-Class 580e — ~$6,000 range mentioned Framed as comfort/luxury as the “sleeper” pairing.

$100,000 Range (and General Shift)

  • James: Golf Alltrack wagon — ~$15k TSI noted “Boring but easy” daily

  • Thomas: Boxster GTS (981 generation, manual) — praised for lust/fascination (tied to Henry Catchpole film inspiration)

  • Thomas also says he’d rather buy:

    • Aston Martin V8 Vantage (manual, base spec) as the sports pairing in this region

$250,000 Range (“Big Dogs”)

  • Thomas: AMG GT R — green “Green Hell” / “mangno” spec mentioned Second comfort choice: Lexus LX 700h — cloud-like luxury; F Sport handling package; less lean

  • James: E63 AMG wagon as a daily dream Twin-turbo V8; early models referenced as having a stiff ride

Other “meme vs real” discussion

  • Modified “butchered” C3 Corvette idea (Thomas claims he saw/liked it; unsure he’d buy)
  • James chooses a modified 1953 Jaguar XK120 restomod-ish vibe Sounds “like classic racing,” described as extremely special

Celebrity cameo (Savage Geese fellows)

  • Mark: BMW XM Label / XM — valuation drop joke; called complete flop
  • Jack: ZR1 — praise (“best performance vehicles” framing)
  • Jack’s leftover: 1997 Geo Tracker — kids-toy vibe; humorous misstatements/errors noted (e.g., 14k vs. 140k miles)

$500,000 Range

  • Thomas: BMW M5 CS — only 24k miles; liked the spec (green/yellow lights)

  • James: Alfa Romeo GTA (GT Junior / Alleggerita) concept Lightweight race-derived road car; door-handle hook design; rare examples (often red), and finding a clean one is hard.

  • James also mentions 458 Spider as a favorite Ferrari spec direction Desired options: shields, carbon buckets, dash/steering-wheel rev lights (“sofas without lights” reduce price massively)

Celebrity cameo (Richard Porter / Top Gear / Grand Tour)

  • Family-friendly mega-sleeper: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner with Hellaphant conversion ~1,000 hp, 4 seats

  • Pairing: Ferrari 365 TC/4 — brown; classic four-seater

$1,000,000 Range (Thomas’s “Non-Buy” Reality)

Thomas’s “no normal cars available” solution:

  • Restomod a 70-series Land Cruiser (example: 79 series cab pickup base)
  • Swap in a modern Lexus V8 (LC 500)
  • Add heavy insulation
  • Convert leaf springs → coil springs
  • Goal: coolest off-road comfort + good sound

Money beyond that

  • He can’t decide what to do with remaining funds; suggestions floated:
    • GT-R concept (cost/availability issues)
    • “Original GTA” preference

Final celebrity cameo (Doug DeMuro)

  • “Replicated garage” vibe:
    • Round-belly Countach (early model)
    • Lexus LX 700h with Overtrail trim

Notable Locations / Products / People Mentioned

Products / Services

  • AutoTempest (search aggregation tool)

Vehicles (Recurring Mentions and Notables)

  • Miata/MX-5, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Tundra, Ford Focus ST, BMW Z4, Volvo 850 wagon, Lexus GX 470
  • Range Rover (supercharged HSE), Honda S2000 (AP1)
  • E46/E38 BMWs, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Porsche Boxster GTS (981)
  • AMG GT R, Lexus LX 700h, E63 AMG wagon
  • Jaguar XK120 (1953), Alfa Romeo GTA (Alleggerita)
  • Ferrari 458 Spider, Lucid Sapphire (referenced), Ford GT, Toyota Century
  • Countach (round-belly), Lexus LX

Celebrities / Speakers

  • Thomas & James (hosts)
  • Zach Klapman (Smoking Tires)
  • Carston Chong (Throttle House)
  • Chris Rosales (Motor1)
  • Jason Cammisa (Hagerty)
  • Henry Catchpole
  • Richard Porter (Top Gear / Grand Tour)
  • Mark & Jack (Savage Geese)
  • Doug DeMuro

Original video