You mean the Citation with crooked rear bumper didn't take the number one spot? It actually made me feel better knowing that thing was never on straight from day one. We owned an 83 Citation and the rear bumper swayed and pitched with the vehicle. Almost like an automatically deployed rear spoiler. Every time you got out, it was leaning a different way.
Martin Espinoza The x-11 lol Remember the one that was 2 front halves welded back to back and could be driven at either end? That was a bucket of chuckles there.
Wow, it was an entirely different scene in '83! Pontiac and Oldsmobile were still around, and absolutely NOBODY thought they would be discontinued! Those small cars were nothing compared to the ones we have today! There was no Bluetooth, no cell phone plug ins (or cell phones, period!) and no touch screens or back-up cameras! It's also amazing how the compact pickups changed. Today, the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon come in Crew Cab models that hold up to five full-grown men, and they're as large as a full-size '83 Chevy pickup! I remember the Eldorado/Riviera/Toronado trio, and it was hard to believe they were still being made. A Riviera convertible was pace car at the 1983 Indy 500. GM was still pretty much "old GM" even in '83! Now look at GM in 2017! Times really have changed!
I have no idea why, but I find a lot of these late 70's/early 80's cars fascinating. It's something about how gimmicky they are, with stuff like the "econo-minder" or the digital gauges, and for some of them I love the looks alone. I guess I'm just weird.
I was a proud owner of a 83 s10 blazer with the powerful 2.8l v6. It was such a powerhouse that cruising on flat interstate at 65, it would have to downshift to maintain speed. It was totally gutless. I don't know which set GM back farther, the 2.8L v6 or the 5.7 diesel made from the 350 block. Then there is the Cadillac Cimarron. You too can have the European luxury of an early 80's cavalier. You know that car had Mercedes, BMW and the rest quaking in fear. What a sad time for the US carmakers.
The Cavalier, Skyhawk, 2000/Sunbird and the Cimarron were all re-badgings on the same J body. My mom bought a Sunbird brand new in '84 and it was fun to drive. Wish I could find one now and restore it.
Tony, is too many options a bad thing? All we have now is 4 doors. Remember when all compact cars had 2 door, 4 door, wagon and hatch options like the Cavalier? The A bodies? Even the land yachts came in 2 door, 4 door and wagon trim. I miss the days of variety and think that option is a good thing. Remember when the camry/Corolla came in a 2 door and a wagon? Now It's only 4 doors. The Civic used to have a wagon, hatch, and a 4 door. Now it's just a 4 door jellybean.
I remember my dad had 2 Olds 98 COUPES. Them was some big heavy doors! How 'bout Coupe DeVille? Remember when cars had engine options? In the '70s I was exposed to so many configs of the same '60s cars. You could get a Nova with an I6 or V8s from 283 to 396 (COPO 427, like Yenko) In 1982, when I bought my first NEW car, I had such a long list of options to customize my Z/28. Mine had manual windows & locks, but power mirrors and 4-wheel disks. You might think 1983 cars were crap, but the F-bodies were a big improvement over the '82s, which were the first year of 4rd gen.
GM was a mess in the 80s. WAY too many car lines and variants all chasing the same customers. Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, and Olds all with the same platforms with multiple body styles. 2 door sedans, 4 door sedans, 2 door hatchbacks, 4 door wagons.. Did we really need 16+ J body variants? And that’s just one platform! There were still another 9 or 10 to go.
Chris C. Plenty of 86-89 Camry's and Corolla's exist. My 89 crx exists. And my friends 88 Civic, 85 AE86. Another friend of mine has a 79 Datsun, 86 280Z and two 88 300ZX's. One 87 MR2 and an 89 MR2. Additionally, one other friend, for no reason at all, owns 5 Mazda RX-7's from 87 - 90. Also my 1990 Acura Legend exists.
blaknoizee sorry dude but i drive a hundred miles a day around the phoenix metro area and i notice cars. I never see those cars but i see tons of ford and gm cars and trucks from 80s and 90s. We have a huge amount of people from mexico here and all they drive are old cars but never see any Japanese. I think its interesting how many friends you have with cars of that vintage. What are you part of a 80s Japanese car club? Japanese car lovers i found tend to stretch the truth.
Chris C. Are you part of an 80's GM club? Why is that question relevant? You metro does not have a high concentration of those types of cars. Go somewhere else. I'm on Ohio and happen to own an old Japanese car. There are plenty if u look. There are plenty of every manufacture really, except euro it seems. Probably due to expense of ownership. It is like you took offense to me just stating what is around my area. Head south to "southern fresh" and you will again find a high concentration of Japanese cars in the southern strip of our country. Or in Washington State and NO California. Arizona may just not have it. So u won't see it.
Chris C. Also, on craigslist you can clearly find many older cars available for sale in that era. Nearly rust free. Rust kills our cars here so it is even rarer to find these older machines. Japanese cars at that time were built to prove to America that they were reliable and reputable. Which is why the market share changed in Japans favor. The motors were quality built, the chassis were built well. My crx and legend still have their original engine and transmissions. My CRX even has its factory front rotors with 171k on them and wheel bearings. Same for my Legend.
Scott K True, but remember that Japan was also producing some junk at this time also. (And didn't have competing vehicles for each class) It wasn't until the late 80's that the US caught up though, and in alot of ways, it was just too late since Japan had by then introduced cars like the Legend and Cressida.
it didn't really feel like I was watching a video from the distant past, until he said "write us" at the end. When was the last time you wrote someone a letter?
Bradford Hart I received a letter just 6 months ago. I myself wrote several letters also, while i was locked up for breaking my fuckin nosy neighbors jaw!
+Push Back For the trucks with the 350 diesel V8, a late-1980s 4.3 V6 was likely an upgrade, LOL. And the 6.2 diesel V8 has roughly the same amount of torque as the late-1980s 4.3 gasoline V6! The N/A diesels suck...
I owned an 1983 Suburban with the 6.2 diesel. It's truly incredible how slow it was. 130 horsepower trying to move a 7000 pound truck will straight axles and leaf springs at all four corners. It was so bad that it couldn't maintain overdrive on the highway on a windy day. It would literally have to shift down into 3rd gear to maintain highway speed. It was certainly reliable though; I had 550K on mine before I rebuilt it.
Ward413 growing up a buddy's dad had an 86 Ford diesel. Idk I was young, but it was extended cab bla bla ... slow as all heck, but put a 30' airstream behind it and it didn't get much slower , it was odd.
The 2.8L in the Blazer wouldn't out run a fat man walking. The 4.3L was a life saver later on. I'm not a gm fan, but can't argue against the 4.3L. Great motor with the TBI
It is so weird to see car reviews talk about front wheel drive like that. You can sense that it seemed new and special at the time where as now the goal of many car guys are to find cars with rear wheel drive. Fasinating.
Thank you for sharing the retro videos. I have enjoyed seeing the Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs and other GM brands. I would like to see more Oldsmobiles( Ninety Eight, Eighty Eight, Toronado) and again thank you for posting the retro videos from not just GM too.
i remember. my parents. bought. a 91gmc Jimmy. with. a 4.3.v6 i loved. that. little. truck... it had a digital. dash display. and would. light. up the tires. so easy.
I find it funny that MotorWeek had nice words for the Cadillac Cimarron, while consumers pretty much universally took one look at it and said "nope, nothing but an overpriced and rebadged Cavalier".
My dad had a 82 Toronado diesel when I was in high school. When he would let me borrow it that car would cruise all weekend on 10 bucks of fuel in 1986. It was a nice car too.
The 83 lineup stood the test of time: buick century, regals, rivieras were everywhere. The Camaro, Monte Carlo and El Dorado were prized vehicles. Some evolved some went the way of the dodo but those cars marked an era and back in the day they were the most popular cars. they dominated the 80's.
Watching this video made me think. At this time, GM was already dealing with the Olds Diesel fiasco, and chose to add the Cadillac HT4100 to their list. They must have had their hands full dealing with problems and warranty repairs. Dark days for GM indeed. I would not want to have been a car buyer at that time. Think I would have just given up and bought something older.
This is when GM began taking platform sharing to a really extreme degree. And it didn't turn out too well. And that Hurst/Olds made my tongue hard in 83 and it's hard now...and I'm Ford guy...
We owned an 83 Malibu sedan growing up. Ran well, but the sheet metal was made out of cheapest metal. The front doors and trunked had rust holes in them within 2 years from new. However, I do remember loving the appearance of that Hurst Cutlass Olds. I had a poster of it in my room that I got from a car magazine.
Torque Effect I see many of them. In barns, behind farm houses without any paint left, I see plenty with trees under the hoods instead of engines. Man they make wonderful flower planters
Conspicuously absent was the Chevrolet Corvette, delayed until the 1984 model year. The sole surviving 1983 Corvette prototype is in the Corvette museum.
the cimmiron: (and a lot of other gm products at the time but by no means the only guilty party) should be hung on a wall at corporate for an example of why badge engineering is WRONG on so many levels.
As bad as those cars were, they well handling masterpieces of modern design compared to the boatmobiles from the 70's. As an 80's child, I can still remember seeing old 70's cars bobbing up and down in the lane next to me on the highway, and see-sawing when they pulled out of parking lots.
ClayPF My 1992 Cadillac sedan deville drives like that a complete floater boat. And I love it! I hate driving new cars. They ride like they have cement bags for suspension. They stay completely flat when stopping accelerateing or turning. I don't mind body lean or pitching. I find it helps you feel how hard you're taking a turn or how hard your applying the brakes or accelerator. I learned to take long and gentle stops to lessen the nose dive. In a panic stop once, the front plate bracket scraped the ground. If I bought a newer car I would have to install softer springs. My car has factory air bag suspension.
I was only a year old when this video came out, it's like looking inside a time capsule, so cool!! But omg so much overlap in GM's car lineup. Between Pontiac, Chevy, Buick, and Oldsmobile it's like they took the exact same cup that was painted green, and painted it red and said here you go buyer, this is a completely different car you can also buy! I don't know if it was the customer's ignorance or GM's arrogance but it is truly sickening. I'm glad they almost went out of business, tbh most of their cars are still the same old garbage but competition has forced them to get at least a little better but with a prettier package (relatively speaking).
My Mom had an 1984 Buick Skylark and we loved it. Until someone hit me while I was driving. But the cars quick response to try to get out of the way saved my life and the car hit the rear quarter.
I see a bunch of people commenting on how terrible these cars were and how it was the darkest period. I was there, so I can tell you, the 1983 lineup was a big step up from 1980.
wow omg '83 I was only 11 years old at the time and my family just moved to Markham Ontario Canada which was still called a town at the time, and my dad just bought the blazer
How in the hell do you shift that Oldsmobile with the three levers? I was looking most forward to that part and we only got a few fleeting seconds on it.
dstarks80 That feature alone is reason for it to be shown in detail by a car show. In all my years of driving, I've never come across a production car that had anything close to that.
The Cutlass was one of the top selling cars in Iowa in the 80's until GM murdered the G-body in 88. In fact the G-bodies were good selling cars for GM right to the end when Roger "Fucknut" Smith and Co. said GM wasn't interested in RWD anymore.
I love these MW Retro Reviews -- the good, bad, and ugly. That was a 15 minute encapsulation of the worst cars America has ever produced. What on earth was GM doing, let alone thinking, back then. Every single one of those cars -- with the possible exception of the forthcoming re-designed Corvette -- was a monstrosity in engineering, craftsmanship, and reliability. Every brand under the GM badge was basically selling the same car with a different name. Why do you need 10 versions of a Chevy Celebrity? What kind of ridiculous financial sense did that make? That last clip of one of those land yachts spewing black Diesel exhaust out of the tailpipe when the driver was flooring it around a turn was the perfect ending and summed up the 1980s for GM rather perfectly.
My first car was the 83 Cavalier with the 2.0 fuel injected motor. For the era, it had good pickup and was generally pretty smooth. Years later I bought an 83 J2000 that was carbuerated, that thing couldn't get out of its own way! 0-60mph was possible, but highly unlikely.
Lol yes it appears to have caught on and dominated the market. These folks never saw it coming, especially since the minivan craze began the very next year with the Caravans
The J car line took a lot of crap from the public but looking back it was a very full and flexible line. The wagons look especially practical. And using some imagination, if you had that line today you could just crank those wagons up six inches on their suspension and BOOM, a CUV!
namely the Sunbird and Skyhawk were more negatively viewed because GM's service interval was incorrect for the Turbocharged engines. I change my sunbird's oil every 5,000 miles and haven't had any detonation or reliability issues. That and Pontiacs typically had a reputation to have electronics failures when stored for more than 2-ish weeks, which was caused by poor quality dielectric grease
Yes these cars were hideous and under powered but i will give them an A+ in comfort. Those soft plush seats and soft ride. Would lull you to sleep if you were a kid riding in the back seat.
