That Eighties Funk

[Blake Noble]

What is, in your opinion, one of the worst cars from the Eighties era?

For me, it's the Renault Fuego. Rather looked much like a bloated pig and tended to sound like one too after a few years age.

Gotta love it when someone makes a five minute video tribute to their car that becomes utterly redundant after fifteen seconds.

Edited February 25, 2008 by YellowJacket894

[04monteintimidator]

i would like to submit... for the committee's approval... the third generation mustang

spanning the entire decade of the 80s, this was a car with a base 4-cyl engine producing 88hp, the mid-range engine, a V6 put out 109 hp but due to supply issues would later be replaced by an 85 hp inline six... the top level engine on this particular masterpiece of the 80s... was a 140 hp 4.9L V8... later they would offer a turbo 4 that put out a whopping 132 hp...

when you are carrying over engines from the mustang II, in packaging that somehow was less attractive... you have officially disgraced the nameplate of one of the greatest muscle cars of all time...

while i am aware that throughout the decade, engine power started to increase again... it wasnt until 1986 that the GT would finally have 200 hp again and even later than that would it go to an astounding 225!

i feel as tho it is also worth noting that at some point during this decade... Ford almost made the Mustang FWD... luckily customer response was so quick and vicious that the idea was scrapped... unfortunately the resultant car was not... and hence... the Probe was born...

[Blake Noble]

You know, I almost came close to posting the Chevy Celebrity instead. I don't think you could ask for a more dreadfully boring looking American car. It generates all of the excitement of red hospital Jell-o or retirement home tapioca. When you're giving the Toyota Cressida of the same era a good run for it's money in terms of how boring you are, that's not a good thing at all.

Edited February 25, 2008 by YellowJacket894

[04monteintimidator]

i think the fiero and pinto are also worth note... if for nothing else than the fact that they each deserved the name fuego a bit more than that renault...

[Robert Hall]

You know, I almost came close to posting the Chevy Celebrity instead. I don't think you could ask for a more dreadfully boring looking American car. It generates all of the excitement of red hospital Jell-o or retirement home tapioca. When you're giving the Toyota Cressida of the same era a good run for it's money in terms of how boring you are, that's not a good thing at all

True, the Celebrity was dull...the Ciera and Century were just as dull if not worse (at least some years the Buicks tried to look semi-interesting with the forward leaning front end). Most of GM's FWD generics from the early '80s well into the '90s were forgettably bland. A friend once described them as cars you could misplace in an empty parking lot.

[vonVeezelsnider]

Hmmm... Any 1980s BL cars on there?

[K.C.]

Yugo GV, by far and away!

[Robert Hall]

Yugo GV, by far and away!

Yeah, it's hard to think of anything that was worse in the US market... the Renault Alliance and Encore were pretty naff also..

[Sixty8panther]

The Worst car of the 1980s?

Can't pick just one.

Ford Festiva, Renault Reliant, Hyundai Excell, Toyota Wunderwagen, Honda CRX (only 1st gen.)

[Robert Hall]

The Worst car of the 1980s?

Can't pick just one.

Ford Festiva, Renault Reliant, Hyundai Excell, Toyota Wunderwagen, Honda CRX (only 1st gen.)

Wot's a 'Toyota Wunderwagen'? Or a 'Renault Reliant'? (The Reliant was a Plymouth..)

[Enzora]

i would like to submit... for the committee's approval... the third generation mustang

I know that it took them until the 90s to do it, but the 80s Mustangs did eventually become pretty good cars. The 93 Cobra was a pretty nice car, and a good way to send out a generation that lasted way too long.

[Sixty8panther]

Yes Virginia, there was a Toyota van even LESS safe than the Previa!!!

The Reanault I was thinking of: Alliance.

And let's not forget the pathetic "LeCar"

Edited February 25, 2008 by Sixty8panther

[Robert Hall]

Speaking of the boxy '80s Japanese vans, I seem to remember Nissan and Mitsubishi sold some in the US also, but I haven't seen one in many years... I actually saw several of the Toyota vans in California and Hawaii last year, in various states of wear..

[bobo]

Ford Tempo. I had the misfortune of driving that hunk of junk for a while as a work vehicle.

[04monteintimidator]

I know that it took them until the 90s to do it, but the 80s Mustangs did eventually become pretty good cars. The 93 Cobra was a pretty nice car, and a good way to send out a generation that lasted way too long.

oh im aware... but i was talking about the ones in the 80s... hence the "worst car of the 80s" thing...

i have nothing against the 93 cobras... and in fact would buy one if given the chance for a good price... its just that this particular car... from 1980 to 1989... was astonishingly awful... and it had no excuse to be so given its rich heritage... which is what lifts it above all the japanese and french craptaculars IMO

[Blake Noble]

And let's not forget the pathetic "LeCar"

How about we all do forget about the Renault 5/Le Car. Good lord, it and the Fuego both have faces only a drunk mother could love.

Edited February 25, 2008 by YellowJacket894

[Enzora]

oh im aware... but i was talking about the ones in the 80s... hence the "worst car of the 80s" thing...

i have nothing against the 93 cobras... and in fact would buy one if given the chance for a good price... its just that this particular car... from 1980 to 1989... was astonishingly awful... and it had no excuse to be so given its rich heritage... which is what lifts it above all the japanese and french craptaculars IMO

Well, I certainly can't argue with that.

[daves87rs]

You know, I almost came close to posting the Chevy Celebrity instead. I don't think you could ask for a more dreadfully boring looking American car. It generates all of the excitement of red hospital Jell-o or retirement home tapioca. When you're giving the Toyota Cressida of the same era a good run for it's money in terms of how boring you are, that's not a good thing at all.

I'm going to get for this one-but that's a pretty sharp Celebrity.....I always liked the Euros........

I thought they were boxy, but not bad.

They ran forever, and you could take your crew (people, group, whatever) around town...

[daves87rs]

Ford Tempo. I had the misfortune of driving that hunk of junk for a while as a work vehicle.

Yep. I have plenty of stories of those...

[daves87rs]

Ford Tempo. I had the misfortune of driving that hunk of junk for a while as a work vehicle.

Yep. I have plenty of stories of those...

[Blake Noble]

Hmmm ... yeah, I guess I can put this on my list as well: the Chrysler LeBaron.

My aunt had one of these, actually. And one of my earliest childhood-related memories is of my mom and myself following my aunt in her little LeBaron up a winding mountain road in our Cavalier. I think it was about ten or fifteen minutes into the trip going up that road my aunt had to pull off on the side of the road and let her LeBaron cool off because it had started to overheat quite badly. And I also know she had, in addition to the mechanical problems, horrible electrical problems as well. Makes me think Chrysler let the British build it.

And then there's the styling. Makes me think of Bermuda shorts, golf, really old men, retirement homes, and Florida.

Edited February 25, 2008 by YellowJacket894

[SuperSport623]

i disagree with about the mustangs.. with very little work they can be made into insanely competent cars.. the fox platform is one of my favorite...

[daves87rs]

Hmmm ... yeah, I guess I can put this on my list as well: the Chrysler LeBaron.

My aunt had one of these, actually. And one of my earliest childhood-related memories is of my mom and myself following my aunt in her little LeBaron up a winding mountain road in our Cavalier. I think it was about ten or fifteen minutes into the trip going up that road my aunt had to pull off on the side of the road and let her LeBaron cool off because it had started to overheat quite badly. And I also know she had, in addition to the mechanical problems, horrible electrical problems as well. Makes me think Chrysler let the British build it.

And then there's the styling. Makes me think of Bermuda shorts, golf, really old men, retirement homes, and Florida.

I always saw those involved in accidents...never wanted one based on that reason alone...

[vonVeezelsnider]

i disagree with about the mustangs.. with very little work they can be made into insanely competent cars.. the fox platform is one of my favorite...

And they were bulletproof reliable too.

[2005 EquinoxLS]

The 1981-1990 Ford Escort. What a piece of trash. At least the ones I rode in and drove. The Cavalier was a luxury car in comparison. I didnt find the Tempo to be so bad other than the fact that I couldnt get in one without banging some part of my body. The Renault Alliance also fits there. A neighbor was blessed with one of these in about 1988. It never wanted to start when it was cold. The 1965 Chevrolet Impala she got rid of for this piece of garbage never failed to start in the cold. I was not much of a fan of the ohhh so popular Dodge Aries-Plymouth Reliant. They just seemed like bigger Escorts if you ask me.

[mustang84]

i would like to submit... for the committee's approval... the third generation mustang

spanning the entire decade of the 80s, this was a car with a base 4-cyl engine producing 88hp, the mid-range engine, a V6 put out 109 hp but due to supply issues would later be replaced by an 85 hp inline six... the top level engine on this particular masterpiece of the 80s... was a 140 hp 4.9L V8... later they would offer a turbo 4 that put out a whopping 132 hp...

when you are carrying over engines from the mustang II, in packaging that somehow was less attractive... you have officially disgraced the nameplate of one of the greatest muscle cars of all time...

while i am aware that throughout the decade, engine power started to increase again... it wasnt until 1986 that the GT would finally have 200 hp again and even later than that would it go to an astounding 225!

i feel as tho it is also worth noting that at some point during this decade... Ford almost made the Mustang FWD... luckily customer response was so quick and vicious that the idea was scrapped... unfortunately the resultant car was not... and hence... the Probe was born...

Whaaa...? :AH-HA_wink:

Just to keep some perspective though, the Camaro wasn't that great in the early 80s either. And up until '89 I believe, both the Mustang and Camaro were putting out 225 hp, and the Mustang had the advantage of less weight (which I why you still see so many Fox Stangs at the track).

Third gen Mustangs are easily my favorite car from the 80s. 1985-1993 were the best years of the third-gen...the ones before that were kinda forgettable unless it was something like the '84 GT-350 or the '80-81 Cobra. '82 GT's were kinda cool looking too even though they didn't have much power.

If I ever get a Fox Body, it will be one of the following:

'86 fastback GT

'88 LX notchback or GT coupe with T-tops (last year for them)...plus I like the turbine wheels better than the '91+ pony ones

'90 anniversary edition GT

'93 Cobra or Cobra-R

or an '81-'83 Mercury Capri

I'm a bit of a Fox-ophile...

As for funky cars, there really isn't that much from GM, Ford, or Chrysler that I would turn my nose up to when it comes to looks...however, I don't like the Merkurs with those stupid aero headlights. The little econoboxes like the Fiesta, Chevette, and Omni were kinda boring. '80-'82 Thunderbird / Cougars were horrible. I also didn't really like the FWD Continentals from that era.

[cletus8269]

I always saw those involved in accidents...never wanted one based on that reason alone...

had a friend in high school, hers got in a wreck. afterwards you could turn the swtich without the key in it and it would start up... needless to say her insurance company was not thrilled with that side effect.

[daves87rs]

The 1981-1990 Ford Escort. What a piece of trash. At least the ones I rode in and drove. The Cavalier was a luxury car in comparison. I didnt find the Tempo to be so bad other than the fact that I couldnt get in one without banging some part of my body. The Renault Alliance also fits there. A neighbor was blessed with one of these in about 1988. It never wanted to start when it was cold. The 1965 Chevrolet Impala she got rid of for this piece of garbage never failed to start in the cold. I was not much of a fan of the ohhh so popular Dodge Aries-Plymouth Reliant. They just seemed like bigger Escorts if you ask me.

Yeah, and I had an 80s Cavalier....downside of that car was that the rusted like crazy....

Those Escorts were cheap, but they ran forever...

My dad picked up a 82 Wagon with 116k, and the back axle broke at 269k miles...that still amazes me even today.....

[daves87rs]

had a friend in high school, hers got in a wreck. afterwards you could turn the swtich without the key in it and it would start up... needless to say her insurance company was not thrilled with that side effect.

Also happened to a friend's old 95 Neon...

[Robert Hall]

And they were bulletproof reliable too.

Mine wasn't..between 50k and 60k miles, I had to replace the water pump, radiator, heater core, clutch, and fuel pump on my '87 GT...it stranded me on 3 occasions.. but other than those problems, it has been quite reliable (I've had it since new and drive it maybe 200 miles a year now).

[Robert Hall]

The 1981-1990 Ford Escort. What a piece of trash. At least the ones I rode in and drove. The Cavalier was a luxury car in comparison. I didnt find the Tempo to be so bad other than the fact that I couldnt get in one without banging some part of my body. The Renault Alliance also fits there. A neighbor was blessed with one of these in about 1988. It never wanted to start when it was cold. The 1965 Chevrolet Impala she got rid of for this piece of garbage never failed to start in the cold. I was not much of a fan of the ohhh so popular Dodge Aries-Plymouth Reliant. They just seemed like bigger Escorts if you ask me.

I drove my folks' '84 Escort diesel in high school and college..never had any problems... my mom kept it until a few years ago when it had 140k miles, no major problems..

[Drew Dowdell]

Those Escorts were cheap, but they ran forever...

That's because it takes a while to put 50,000 miles on it at a 45 mph top speed.

[Blake Noble]

Let's see, what was another horrible car sold in the U.S. during the 1980s?

The Ford Bronco II was most certainly one of them.

Sure it's a real, rear-wheel drive compact SUV with two-doors. But I had an uncle who had one of these (and a first-generation Ranger, too) and it was a nightmare. I remember riding with him in it and it rode like a manure cart with square wheels. Yeah, I know it wasn't made for comfort, but, at that same time, my grandfather's Blazer was brand new back then, and it rode like a cushy old Cadillac compared to it. And it wasn't exactly made for comfort, either.

[daves87rs]

That's because it takes a while to put 50,000 miles on it at a 45 mph top speed.

[The O.C.]

Yeah, it's hard to think of anything that was worse in the US market... the Renault Alliance and Encore were pretty naff also..

I'd have to say worse than the Yugo GV would be......the Yugo GV Convertible.....

LOL

(Or maybe the Geo Metro convertible?)

[The O.C.]

You know, I almost came close to posting the Chevy Celebrity instead. I don't think you could ask for a more dreadfully boring looking American car. It generates all of the excitement of red hospital Jell-o or retirement home tapioca. When you're giving the Toyota Cressida of the same era a good run for it's money in terms of how boring you are, that's not a good thing at all.

You know what? I loved the A-bodies....!

I liked the Celebrity Eurosport (especially the ultra-cool and ultra-rare VR edition with a 5-speed manual stick)

I also loved the Century T-Types and of course the STE.....

But as the A-body aged, it didn't age very gracefully......late-model A-bodies were pretty tepid for their time.

[Blake Noble]

You know, I'll have to say that the front-drive A-Body Buick Century/Olds Ciera are just as worse as the Celebrity, too. I mean, I can't get past the styling of those three cars, the ultimate trifecta from boring automotive hell. The only thing that could make it worse is if you throw in the crown king of boring blandmobiles in with it, the Camry. I can't get past how every single one of them on the road today look exactly like they did over two decades ago: like a fat, bloated, disposable appliances on wheels. How in God's name they managed to sell the Century and Ciera into the late 1990s without some sort of major overhaul is beyond me.

I can only imagine the pains many designers went through when they designed the first front-drive A-Bodies.

Good thing they replaced the Celebrity with the Lumina when they did, or else Chevrolet would have dropped off most buyer's radars completely.

Out of all of the cars GM has produced over it's century-old run, they are by far some of the worst cars they made. Of course, you have Jack Smith to blame for it. When you have put a man who knows little to nothing about driving and virtually nothing about cars in general in charge as your CEO, what can you expect to be approved but disposable and insignificant blandmobiles?

I'll give credit where credit is due, however. The Celebrity, the Century, and the Ciera were reliable and safe cars during the 80s. They were affordable and they had some interesting "performance" models like The O.C. mentioned.

But, you know, all this talk about bland cars from GM during brings me to another particular car I have little love for: the Chevrolet L-Bodies (Corsica and Beretta).

It's never a good thing when you sell the first examples of a particular car to a rental fleet. And it's especially never a good thing when you decide to up and replace the Camaro with a bland front-drive coupe based on a even more bland front-drive sedan. (Thank god, that never came through.)

The styling on these cars are like ... Mr. Rodgers. Neighborly, not offensive in any sense, and plain. Plain, plain, plain. If it were a food, I think it would taste like ... stale crackers. It's honestly geriatric (although no where near as bad as a Chrysler K-Car).

On a personal level, I've had two different aunts own examples of the Beretta. One aunt had two, the other just stopped the insanity at one. One car lasted until 160,000 miles or so when it was traded off for an Isuzu Rodeo, the other two cars wound up eventually as one, with one car with a bum body donating it's good transmission amd engine to the car with the bum transmission and engine and good body. Then, after that, I think it was sold for next to nothing, the money going towards a low mileage example of a 1993 S-10. I know that the Beretta wasn't exactly the most reliable car GM built, either, as my aunt who managed to live with two of them at the same time was always having problems out of one when the other wasn't good for anything at all.

But, I have to say, in spite of GM's blandmobiles, I love the good old company with all my heart.

Edited February 26, 2008 by YellowJacket894

[Cory Wolfe]

...and of course the STE.....

I Do have a teeny tiny soft spot for those.

[The O.C.]

I Do have a teeny tiny soft spot for those.

Get a rare one.....STE AWD.....! America's "Quattro"......LOL

[vonVeezelsnider]

My dad worked in Commercial Crime and Counterfeit Detection with the RCMP and he had a Red-on-Red 1988 Corsica 2.8L as his Unmarked Detective Cruiser for the longest time before he Had a 1995 T-Bird and then a 1995 Cutlass Supreme SL (he didn't like RWD), but that Corsica was a good car, really reliable, and we almost bought one when it came time for him to retire from the force and for us to buy a second car instead (We bought a Dustbuster instead).

[Cory Wolfe]

Get a rare one.....STE AWD.....! America's "Quattro"......LOL

Of course. There's no other one worth getting.

Edited February 26, 2008 by blackviper8891

[ocnblu]

My mom put 100k trouble-free miles on an '82 LeCar (rusted out exhaust notwithstanding), and 106k trouble-free miles on an '88 Beretta GT 2.8L 5 speed. Yes, the 80's were a dark decade for cars, for the most part, but she still remembers those two as good cars. My '81 GP had some pretty persistent dieseling issues. '83 S-10, clutch pedal fell to the floor once (broken linkage). '86 Camaro 305 5 speed, persistent vapor lock. '86.5 Nissan Hardbody had a very poor paint job. '89 Silverado, small parts kept falling off. So yeah, things were a lot worse then than they are now, I think. Edited February 26, 2008 by ocnblu

[The O.C.]

Couldn't you also get those with a 4.3 liter diesel?

Not in the STE....but it was available in the garden-variety A-bodies.

In fact, from what I remember, it seemed to be a pretty decent diesel. I even remember positive car reviews in the buff mags of the time.

[2005 EquinoxLS]

Let's see, what was another horrible car sold in the U.S. during the 1980s?

The Ford Bronco II was most certainly one of them.

Sure it's a real, rear-wheel drive compact SUV with two-doors. But I had an uncle who had one of these (and a first-generation Ranger, too) and it was a nightmare. I remember riding with him in it and it rode like a manure cart with square wheels. Yeah, I know it wasn't made for comfort, but, at that same time, my grandfather's Blazer was brand new back then, and it rode like a cushy old Cadillac compared to it. And it wasn't exactly made for comfort, either.

Thats another one I will add to my list. Of course according to the Ford people it was better than the Blazer. Why did the Blazer seem so much better? I have ridden in both and I stand by that statement. The Blazer rode much better and more quietly. The body was much more modern and so was the interior.

[04monteintimidator]

alright im going to say it... i will say it once... and then it should never... and i mean ever be brought up in this thread again... you cant even quote this post... trust me on this one you wont want to...

Cimarron

[Enzora]

Let's see, what was another horrible car sold in the U.S. during the 1980s?

The Ford Bronco II was most certainly one of them.

Sure it's a real, rear-wheel drive compact SUV with two-doors. But I had an uncle who had one of these (and a first-generation Ranger, too) and it was a nightmare. I remember riding with him in it and it rode like a manure cart with square wheels. Yeah, I know it wasn't made for comfort, but, at that same time, my grandfather's Blazer was brand new back then, and it rode like a cushy old Cadillac compared to it. And it wasn't exactly made for comfort, either.

Oh God. My brother had a Bronco II as his first car. They were so topheavy that a slight gust of wind would send them rolling.

[Camino LS6]

What a parade of junk!

The 80s produced the most awful cars as well as the most awful music - the decade is best forgotten.

[Robert Hall]

Oh God. My brother had a Bronco II as his first car. They were so topheavy that a slight gust of wind would send them rolling.

I had one ('88) as my first SUV...drove it for 6 years until I got tired of it and traded it on the Grand Cherokee. It was way underpowered in the mountains and very sensitive to crosswinds.. decent in snow, though.. my brother still has one--a '90 with 175k miles.

Edited February 27, 2008 by moltar

[Sixty8panther]

The Fox body Mustang is and always will be a classic & one of the best

bang-per-buck platforms of all time! Say what you will but even most

GM guys will admit that. That being said the styling of the 80s Fox body

was pretty bland & uninspired.

The Bronco II was real $h!pile, & I've destroyed TWO Mercury Topaz

sedans in the demolition derbys, even though one was a semi-rare GS

sport w/ the deluxe interior & a 5-speed trans. I don't feel bad about

weeding them out of the collective FWD car pool.

[Croc]

What a parade of junk!

The 80s produced the most awful cars as well as the most awful music - the decade is best forgotten.

Hey! 80s music can't be all that bad since most of the new stuff clearly references the synths and electronics. Not to mention the past few years have been a rehash of some 80s trends...and frankly, I think the girls look hotter these days than they did in the 90s.