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So many great ones from the 80's. Its too hard to just pick a few.
Quote:
Originally Posted by victimofGM
Just wish they were built with better quality
I've read on this board several times that the 80s was a bad decade for cars, but I never saw it that way. For me it seemed like the 80s was the best decade ever for cars. I owned:
1980 Subaru Wagon 4x4. Utilitarian describes this car best. It was a little noisy on the highway, but in the short time I drove it, I never had any mechanical problems -- unless you consider a crash that totaled it a mechanical problem.
1981 Porsche 924 Turbo. This was my wife's car, but I drove it now and then. It was very quick and handled nicely at high speeds, although I didn't drive it fast that much.
1981 AMC Eagle 4x4. I really liked this car. I ordered it to pull a 20-ft boat (Subaru was too small), so got it with the heavy-duty towing package. Among other things, that included shocks that you could air up with the flick of a switch on the dash. I also got it loaded with all the trimmings, such as leather, larger 6-cyl engine, etc. I guess this was an early crossover -- nice family car that I could drive (carefully) across the prairie for hunting. I kept it for 5 years, the longest I'd ever kept a car at that point in my life.
1986 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 4x4. I got peeved when a shock froze up on my Eagle, so instead of getting new shocks on it I traded for the Wagoneer. Okay, there was one car that was garbage. I had it loaded up with everything possible except a sun roof, and it seemed everything broke in the first couple months before I traded it for...
1986 Saab 9000 Turbo. It was the best car I've ever owned -- comfortable family car that handled like my wife's 924 Turbo and was just as quick. It loved to be driven fast. With the back seat down, it was like a pickup. While having it serviced at the 30K point I tried out the new '88 model with anti-lock brakes and traded for it.
1988 Saab 9000 Turbo. I'd still be driving it, but it finally wore out after 12 years at 175-180K. It still drove wonderfully, but "little things" started costing too much to keep it any longer.
1985 Toyota 4x4 pickup. I wanted to keep the Saab for the road so bought a used Toyota for running around town or mountain back roads. The most expensive thing to ever repair were wiper blades -- a great little truck.
1988 Chevy 2500 pickup 4x2. I needed a bigger truck to haul a camper. This was it. Never had a single problem.
1986 Suzuki Samurai 4x4. Got this for my wife for winter driving. We were in Denver when I spotted it on a dealer's lot. It was among the first load ever to arrive in the city just that day. It was after 10 p.m. when we pulled into town, and we were owners of this little gem before midnight. The kids took it over, however, each driving it for two years after turning 16. I hate to think of the things they put this little toy through, but it lasted 4-5 years and was just as reliable as the Toyota -- nothing ever broke on it.
1988 Subaru Justy 4x4. Again, my wife's car. Since the kids took over her Suzuki, this was my wife's work car. She liked it enough that we sold the Porsche. I can't recall anything ever breaking on it.
1988 Chevy Sprint Turbo. This was the car my son wanted for college. It was a blast to drive, and I don't know of any problems it had, but after a couple years he traded it for another Toyota pickup. He had grown a little tired of it, plus he wanted something he could throw his bike into and head to the mountains.
1989 Ford F250 4x4. I bought this used to replace the Chevy pickup, as I wanted 4x4. Zero problems. None. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it had an automatic transmission. I drove it until 2000.
So, there are the 12 cars that I bought in the '80s, and all but one or two were excellent drivers with few problems. If I could get a new '88 Saab 9000T and '86 Samurai today I'd buy them both. IMO, the '80s produced some great cars.
Ohh man I miss my 87 Turbo coupe. That thing was quick. I used to beat out Mustang Gt's off the line with no problem. That was a fun car but it had lots of problems. That car was not meant to last. After 90k miles everything started to go. It finally died on me on the highway in the middle of the night.
I've read on this board several times that the 80s was a bad decade for cars, but I never saw it that way. For me it seemed like the 80s was the best decade ever for cars. I owned:
1980 Subaru Wagon 4x4. Utilitarian describes this car best. It was a little noisy on the highway, but in the short time I drove it, I never had any mechanical problems -- unless you consider a crash that totaled it a mechanical problem.
1981 Porsche 924 Turbo. This was my wife's car, but I drove it now and then. It was very quick and handled nicely at high speeds, although I didn't drive it fast that much.
1981 AMC Eagle 4x4. I really liked this car. I ordered it to pull a 20-ft boat (Subaru was too small), so got it with the heavy-duty towing package. Among other things, that included shocks that you could air up with the flick of a switch on the dash. I also got it loaded with all the trimmings, such as leather, larger 6-cyl engine, etc. I guess this was an early crossover -- nice family car that I could drive (carefully) across the prairie for hunting. I kept it for 5 years, the longest I'd ever kept a car at that point in my life.
1986 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 4x4. I got peeved when a shock froze up on my Eagle, so instead of getting new shocks on it I traded for the Wagoneer. Okay, there was one car that was garbage. I had it loaded up with everything possible except a sun roof, and it seemed everything broke in the first couple months before I traded it for...
1986 Saab 9000 Turbo. It was the best car I've ever owned -- comfortable family car that handled like my wife's 924 Turbo and was just as quick. It loved to be driven fast. With the back seat down, it was like a pickup. While having it serviced at the 30K point I tried out the new '88 model with anti-lock brakes and traded for it.
1988 Saab 9000 Turbo. I'd still be driving it, but it finally wore out after 12 years at 175-180K. It still drove wonderfully, but "little things" started costing too much to keep it any longer.
1985 Toyota 4x4 pickup. I wanted to keep the Saab for the road so bought a used Toyota for running around town or mountain back roads. The most expensive thing to ever repair were wiper blades -- a great little truck.
1988 Chevy 2500 pickup 4x2. I needed a bigger truck to haul a camper. This was it. Never had a single problem.
1986 Suzuki Samurai 4x4. Got this for my wife for winter driving. We were in Denver when I spotted it on a dealer's lot. It was among the first load ever to arrive in the city just that day. It was after 10 p.m. when we pulled into town, and we were owners of this little gem before midnight. The kids took it over, however, each driving it for two years after turning 16. I hate to think of the things they put this little toy through, but it lasted 4-5 years and was just as reliable as the Toyota -- nothing ever broke on it.
1988 Subaru Justy 4x4. Again, my wife's car. Since the kids took over her Suzuki, this was my wife's work car. She liked it enough that we sold the Porsche. I can't recall anything ever breaking on it.
1988 Chevy Sprint Turbo. This was the car my son wanted for college. It was a blast to drive, and I don't know of any problems it had, but after a couple years he traded it for another Toyota pickup. He had grown a little tired of it, plus he wanted something he could throw his bike into and head to the mountains.
1989 Ford F250 4x4. I bought this used to replace the Chevy pickup, as I wanted 4x4. Zero problems. None. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it had an automatic transmission. I drove it until 2000.
So, there are the 12 cars that I bought in the '80s, and all but one or two were excellent drivers with few problems. If I could get a new '88 Saab 9000T and '86 Samurai today I'd buy them both. IMO, the '80s produced some great cars.
By quality I'm mainly talking about interior materials and how closely fitted the body panels and interior panels were. With most of the American brands of the 80s the seat fabric didn't last long, head liner began to sag earlier than some foreign brands, cheap interior plastic pieces discolor we and came apart quickly, and sometimes there were huge gaps in the exterior body panels. In some cases the quality issues have to do with mechanical on certain models. I loved the design of some of the sports cars and the passenger compartment design of sedans but seat fabrics shouldn't rip after only 4 years.
Not in my opinion. Berettas are plain awesome. The quad 4 5 speed ones are fast and the 2.8/3.1 Berettas sound great, just like any other car/truck with those engines.
Just realized that the 1991 Geos aren't 80s though...whoops Edited that.
Almost bought a Beretta. Many mechanical parts (engine and suspension) are pretty much from the Chevy Cavalier. The Quad4 engine was prone to blown head gaskets when pushed hard (happened to my sister twice). The 2.8L & 3.1L V6 was the same engine as in the Cavalier Z24 but with less body weight to pull. Even the base 2.2L engine was the same as the Cavalier.
My top choice would be the 7-series Volvo. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HF3al9eNsm...ieselphoto.JPG The styling was upright, elegant, formal, and chic. They made their owners look IMPORTANT. They were THRILLING cars to drive. The seats were quite elegant, and the interiors reflected the best of Eighties design.
Seven Series came in some fantastic colors, including some really outstanding blues and greens. http://mashintop.ru/images/photo/800...1370432445.jpg And, with the black trim, the colors were even better. I'm brown, and was often mistaken for "some little Mexican girl" - but not in our 7-series. I looked smart/important/upper-middle-class, in our 7-series. So did our children. So did my husband. There is no way to overstate just how good those cars made their occupants look. http://www.imcdb.org/i557447.jpg
Even today, having owned a number of hyperluxury cars, we still see a 7-series out somewhere (usually in Russia), and still say "DAMN!". They just have a certain 'something' - beauty - mystique - chic?
We did not consider Mercedes. In the South, it was not considered nice to drive cars from Third Axis countries. Generally, only the child brides of elderly surgeons, and people who were the same religion as Hitler, drove them. Volvos were a step UP, socially, from Mercedes. But then, we got Loubertha - out of prison, where she'd been sent, for killing her girlfriend, (and gutting her girlfriend's boyfriend). She was ex-military, and had been trained as a driver of VIPs (It's nice to know the Governor. You can arrange certain things...). She was to be our "Maid". Really, she was to act at the kids' driver/bodyguard. Loubertha was accustomed to performing evasive maneuvers in 'SEL' Mercedes. And that is what she wanted. So, we got her a VERY used one, from the Eighties.
Loubertha polished that thing to perfection, replaced all sorts of stuff under the hood, and (after I got her some dark Calvin Klein pantsuits, and loaded her up with vermeil and faux pearls from Steinmart), really had our children looking like VIPs, wherever she was picking them up or delivering them. http://www.imcdb.org/i006418.jpg Whether they were in Navy or in Creme, those were majestic cars - much more impressive, IMHO, than the series which came along in the Nineties. I certainly liked the interiors better. They felt indestructable - and proved to be, for us, with three children, and their carpool guests, and endless 'gear', being schlepped to and from endless activities.
My alternate top pick from the Eighties, though - a car which still looks wonderful when you see it 'in person', is the Silver Spur: http://www.rrab.com/rolls/spr-1.jpg
Not in my opinion. Berettas are plain awesome. The quad 4 5 speed ones are fast and the 2.8/3.1 Berettas sound great, just like any other car/truck with those engines.
Berettas were essentially a step up from the Sunbird/Cavalier platform. The trim and interiors were awful even when new. The INDY ones were essentially an ugly paint/sticker package, the 3.1 was decent motor but they used them in everything so "performance" wasn't what you thought when someone mentioned them. The base models and their Corsica counterpart were rental fleets.
The GTZ was the hotrod of the Beretta line but I'm not sure they were that noteworthy.
I had 3 friends with brand new Berettas (one GT, one GTZ and one INDY) and I would have rather had a new 16V GTI for the same money back then.
The Buick Grand National and GNX were definitely iconic 80's cars!
Hint: If the cars today are still pulling a premium, they were definitely cars of the day back then!
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Edited that.
