I found an orange Azuki Sebring like this one at the local thrift store today for only $20:
Other than needing a complete tune-up it appears to be in good shape. This bike reminds me of my brother's old Schwinn Le Tour, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was made in the same far east factory (or the one next to it) as Schwinn had their lightweight bikes made back in the 70's and 80's.
I have a real weakness for these bike boom 10-speeds - especially the ones like this one that have a cotterless alloy crank - because they have so much potential; when you swap in a pair of alloy wheels and decent set of tires it really wakes them up. It would even be tempting to convert this one to 14-speed indexed shifting. Then I think it would make a really nice commuting or light touring bike for someone. It would be sad to see a nice bike like this get parted out and scrapped or be sold to someone that lowers the seat down to the frame, turns the handlebars upside down and uses it to pop wheelies with (which is what some guys seem to do with these kind of bikes in the backwards town I live in).
I was just wondering what peoples' thoughts were on fixing up a bike like this with the idea of finding a good home for it eventually, and not losing out on the deal in the process.