How Do You Feel about the Eighties?

I came of driving age in the 1980’s so there are certain cars of that era that hold a special place in my heart. Sure, there are better cars made today – but, for reasons of nostalgia, nothing quite does it for me like a car from the 80’s. What’s more, since the materials and build quality were often suspect, a well maintained survivor is a rare beast. I think these two factors will be key drivers of renewed enthusiasm for cars of the 1980’s.

I agree that there where some bad cars, but also some great cars from the 80’s. While I like new cars (some of the best cars I’ve owned have been from the 2000’s era) & I also love the older classic 50’s & 60’s & early 70’s cars, there’s something unique about cars from the 80’s. In fact I own & drive a 1983 VW Rabbit GTI & a 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT. Yeah, the GTI does not have power steering or A/C & has manual windows & is a bit rough, but it’s so much fun to drive & toss around & lets you feel exactly what it’s doing, it’s one of those rare gems that is almost impossible to find in a new car now days. And both cars at the store or gas station get people coming up to ask about them or offer to buy them. So it seems there a few people out there who like cars from the 80’s.

I had the MR-2’s big brother, a 1985 Corolla GTS identical to the one pictured. Given that it’s still pretty popular, (and even though that’s largely because of those silly drifters), I’d say that car easily deserves a place in your list of hot ’80s cars.

even the eighties had plenty of automotive gems.
get one while you can.

I always look at the Japanese sports car scene as having been about a decade, give or take a little, behind Europe. Japan usually followed Europe rather than America. The 80’s for Japan was comparable to the 70’s for Europe. The turbo and EFI came into play for European cars around the mid 70’s and for Japan in the mid 80’s. Right now the 80’s cars are on the verge of blowing up just as the 70’s Euro cars were 10 – 15 years ago. For example, look at the price of an early 70’s 911 today compared to 12 years ago. I recently purchased an 84 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE for well under $5K. I will be surprised if it isn’t worth $15K in another decade or so. The cars then were still analog for the most part as well. Relatively lightweight RWD coupes were still plentiful as well. I chose the RX-7 over the others for a few reasons. For the most part it was lighter and more nimble than the competition, it was more conservative in terms of styling and has aged better than the Tron-mobiles of the 80’s, The rotary is a monster waiting to be awakened, and the first gen RX was a throwback even then. Old school tech makes it a good blend of 60’s and 70’s qualities with 80’s convenience. Simply the best of the time from Japan in my opinion.

I started driving in the 1980’s and while many consider the early part of the decade the nadir of automobiles, the later part of the 1980’s started to show advances in engine tuning. For me, the Conquest TSi, Mk 1 Toyota MR-2,MK 2 GTis, and Dodge Daytone Turbo Z were the goto cars of that era.

Porsche 928. Has to be the most underrated car in existence.

I agree with comments by some that the 80s wren’t perhaps the most exciting decade in terms of car styling, but if you judge cars by what they do then the advances over the 70s were huge. For German cars in particular this was a great decade – there are 2 mk2 Golf GTIs in my past and there’s an E28 Bmw 5 series that I currently use as my daily driver that gives me the pleasure of a quality driving experience without the pain in the wallet.

The 80’s are my favorite times of cars! Barring the classic 60’s-early 70’s muscle cars…light weight, sharp, angular lines, and the beginning of turbo engines! The Buick GNX, Trans-Am Turbo, Mustang SVO, Dodge Omni GLH (and Charger GLH and the Turbo Grand Caravans of course) I love them! The last of the simple cars. When the 80’s are gone there won’t be much soul left, except for some japanese and american 90’s cars.

To me, the 80s is the time when the crazy avant-garde ideas from 1970s Italy became watered-down commercial reality brought to fruition by Japanese companies looking to be futuristic. If you look at the MR2 above, you can see clear resemblance to cars like the Bertone Rainbow concept, for example. The Japanese companies in the 80s were using Italian firms like Italdesign as consultants to help them design new models, so many of the wedge principles seen only on exotic cars of the 70s now became mainstream in the 80s. Think Nissan Pulsar NX or the Subaru XT. I also think the obsession with aero look was interesting in this period. When you look at concept cars like the Pontiac Banshee and the Oldsmobile Aerotech series, there was some very cool/weird stuff being cooked up in Detroit, but none of it really came to market. I recall being transfixed as a boy when the original Dodge Viper concept was before me at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show. I still remember it like yesterday. And let’s not forget the F40 came out in 88! Clearly the best car of the 80s. And last but not least, the original Miata came out in the tail end of the 80’s ushering in a roadster craze in the 90s. I think there are some gems hidden among the junk, but we are too close to it all to appreciate it. Maybe as things age, certain cars will take on a new luster, just as many 70’s cars (like the Dino GT4!) are finally getting their due after years of being put down. Personally, I wouldn’t kick a Dodge Omni GLH-S out of my garage…

1989 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R…9 days until it’s legal to import to the US. I’m a short hop from Vancouver BC so it wouldn’t be too difficult to find one. Now to convince the wife I [i]need [/i] a 3rd car…I think we all know how that’s going to go.

1985 is my goto year.
RX-7 GSL-SE – last year of the first body style and second year with the 13B rotary
Mazda 323 GTX – All wheel drive, turbo charged rally car in econobox guise
Audi 4000 CS Quattro – best looking 4 door sedan ever with Quattro all wheel drive.
Alfa Romeo GTV6 – sweet V6, rear wheel drive, 5 speed stick. I finally bought one is February and it’s as wonderful as I hoped it would be.