Here’s how the Chevy Beretta became known for more than just stealing a gun maker’s name 

Still have my 1993 Beretta GTZ. Fun fact, the 1990 Indy featured at 6:24 in this video is currently in my garage with 4,004 miles. Couple things. First, the manual transmission was available in all model years of the Beretta. It was, however, never offered with the 3100 V6 or the 1991-1993 V6 powered GTZ. Also, the Quad/V6 manual transmssions weren't supplied by Getrag but rather designed and engineered by them, while manufactured by Muncie. Additionally, the Quad4 output wasn't ever reduced to meet any emission standards, but rather to curb the failures of the head gaskets and cracked heads, prevalent on earlier engines. The 1993-1994 Quad4 HO had much smaller valves and intake/exhaust ports which left more material on the head.

I loved when these cars inevitably got their exhaust, or header leak, made them actually sound kinda angry and intimidating.

Those 2.8 and 3.1 V6 engines used in those cars were some of the best sounding 6 cylinders Ive ever heard to this day. Im not sure what gave them that sound but it was close to a V8 rumble

I got to see the convertible's body flex problem firsthand, as a young apprentice technician working for a large Cadillac dealership in '97. At the time, GM still had GM Technical College campuses (IIRC, they went to pure computer/correspondence courses in '98/'99), so for a few months the dealership sent me to the school in Fairfax, VA on Mondays and Tuesdays of each week. Our instructor had a bunch of stories about everything from GM's early electric car prototype (I think pre-EV1) to classic muscle cars, and the school had a bunch of GM vehicles that were not able to be sold, to include the Beretta convertible and even a brand new Corvette that had its floorpans crushed when it was being delivered to a dealership. The instructor showed us why the convertible was never sold, by slamming the door and showing the lack of rigidity in the body. He also showed us a lot of other cool things, such as setting off an airbag in the parking lot and watching it fly up in the air.

I am a 42 year old guy who is obsessed with normal cars. I was a little kid back in the 1980s but even then I was very opinionated about the cars I both did and did not like. While most little kids used to bring in Goosebumps and Judy Blume to school to read during " free read hour" I was probably the only second and third grader who brought a consumer reports or various Automotive dealership brochure to read. Even though my parents tried to teach me to never talk to strangers I usually didn't unless I like their car and would have 15 and 20 minute long conversations with total strangers in the parking lot of Sears in Publix about the strangers cars. There were very very few American cars that I like back in the late 1980s with the exception of the Ford Taurus and definitely the Chevrolet Corsica / Beretta. I remember all the " heartbeat of America" commercials. I think what first intrigued me was the design of the taillights. I remember watching the commercials and wondering if the tail lights really lit up and looked test cool as they did in the ads? I even remember the first time that I ever saw one in real life. My mom sister and I flew to Cleveland from Miami and were driving through the Avis parking lot. When I spotted it I almost jumped out of the little Jitney thing. When we got to the Rental Desk the agent set a set of GM keys on the counter and I just knew my prayers had been answered. I have been praying that we would get that gray Beretta that I saw in the parking lot. To my horror when I saw the tag on the key it said 88 celebrity. My little 8 year old heart just shattered. I told my mom that I didn't want the boring celebrity and begged my mom to ask the man to give us the Beretta. The agent looked at my mom and said that if she did choose the Beretta it would be about $15 per day cheaper and would be much better on gas. He must have misunderstood her hesitation as a sign of disinterest so we've been told her that he would knock off $20 per day and admitted that they were having difficulty renting it out because it was only a two door. We ended up getting it and I was in love until I realized that it didn't even have a cassette player and both my mom and sister complained that even though the car only had like four thousand miles on it the cheaply-made interior was already squeaky and falling apart. They also noticed that there were trim pieces in the trunk that were seriously misaligned and the cargo net with missing a couple of its tension pegs we're missing causing anyting you put under it to slide to the back of the trunk. The car looked cool and sporty on the outside but I remember the dashboard feeling like it was weird looking and of course it squeaked like crazy. I also noticed that several of the burgundy-colored panels didn't match some of the other burgundy-colored Plastics. I asked my mom if they were supposed to look like that and she told me no that the car must have been made on a Monday or Friday. Although it looked a lot cooler on the outside then the boxy Camry we headed home I just remember how noisy and old the car felt and sounded. Squeaky and old especially for a car that was almost brand-new. I think the later Corsica and Beretta models were much improved over the earlier versions. When I was in high school I had two friends that were twins and whose father worked for one of the giant Chevrolet Geo dealerships down here in Miami. For their 16th birthday they both received brand new Chevy Corsica. The new Malibu which was the replacement for the Corsica I just come out so I'm sure the corsica's had been seriously clearanced. My friend Christian got a really pretty maroon one and his brother Gilbert got a nice navy blue 1. It was weird because although both corsica's were brand new Gilbert's Corsica always seem to have both minor and major mechanical issues while Christians red Corsica never had an issue. I've heard that it was the same thing with the Beretta which of course makes sense since they were mechanically identical but it definitely seeing that poretta's went extinct far quicker than the Corsica ever did. Although not as often as before I still see the Corsica every now and then but I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a Beretta IRL? I didn't realize that the Beretta came in so many different configurations until a few years ago when somebody was posting a bunch of old motor weeks. If I ever had a large amount of disposable income I would definitely love to have a collection of weird Misfit vehicles. On that list of vehicles there would definitely be a burgundy Beretta with burgundy color keyed alloy wheels.

I still remember vividly their 1988 advertisement about the Chevy Corsica. It depicted first a submarine landscape with beautiful sharks cruising in the foreground. Then with a tidal wave a Corsica was washed ashore with all its beauty and glory. Meanwhile a male narrator with a deep and fateful voice announced: "Discover a new species! The 1988 Chevrolet Corsica!" I thought it was a smashing advertising coup, to create buzz among the target audience, young, and young at heart males. I know it resonated in my heart tremendously.

Seeing car videos on perfectly regular late 80s to early 2000s cars is just so addictive for some reason. Why not a pickup truck? The GMT 400 series trucks?

I had a friend in high school that her parents gave her their Red GTU in the early 90’s it was such a cool car.

The Beretta and Corsica did pioneer the use of daytime running lamps in the United States in 1995. I recall seeing them on new rental cars during a trip to San Diego. They were a rental car staple back in the early to mid 90s. I had a couple Corsicas as rental cars and they did the job...got me there and back. They were pretty innovative styling wise in 1987 and one early ad had a man driving one home after picking it up at the rental counter. Unfortunately, I think the fleet car label stuck at that point.

What good timing, I just took my 91 Beretta out of winter hibernation today

I own '95 2.2 L4 Beretta with Z28 like nose/lights :) Over 380 000 KM mileage, European version. I'm it's 3rd owner, first one was older mister from Netherlands who drove this car till 2016. In 2017 second owner bought it from him and he brought it to Poland, I bought it from him in February, this year. I enjoy it, it's not GT, GTU or GTZ, it's simple, base model and I love it :)

I owned a 89 Beretta with the 2.8 V6 and a 94 Beretta with a 3.1 V6... These were my 2 first cars and I miss them both.

I used to drive a 93 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi just after High School into my 20’s I never see any from that generation anymore, and would love to see an episode done on the Bonneville.

Man, I always wanted a Beretta. The name alone sounds cool, even when I found out it was also the name of a handgun. I remember being 8 and being a nosy kid that liked cars, I would peek into my neighbors Z26 a lot. I don’t think he mind as much, but I barely saw it move.

I owned a 1989 Beretta. Just the regular coupe with the 2.8 engine, which was pretty peppy. I loved the sound of that engine and the digital readout on the dash was cool. Definitely the coolest car I’ve ever owned. Thanks for posting.

The Lincoln Mark 8 LSC I wanna see. One of the best Lincolns

I had a 1992 Beretta base model with the 3.1 V-6 and 5 speed manual. I loved that car! It was my commuter car to college. Had plenty of power and got great fuel economy. Had over 180,000 miles when I got rid of it.

what an unexpectedly wholesome settlement between the two companies 👏

Another great video. I love the amount of detail and information you pack into these!

This reminds me of when an old coworker of mine and I went out for lunch on our lunch break back in 2002. I was driving a 2000 Camaro, and he had a 1990 base model Beretta. He made a big left turn across a four-lane road and gunned it, looked over at me and said "Man I'm glad I drive a sports car" My reaction was simple: 😐😐😐

Loved the Beretta and the Video. Thank you for talking about these weird, forgotten about cars when nobody else does

I had a "last year" 1996 Corsica back in the day.. 2.2 auto.. bought it used in 2000.. didn't expect much from it being just a Chevy but it turned out to be one of the best cars I ever owned.. drove that thing til 2013 when it got rear ended while it was parked.. they really were solid and reliable cars for their time.. it never let me down.

I had both a Corsica and Beretta back in the 90s.The Corsica was my school car back in 1989.Not too bad cars.Nice that both GM and Beretta worked things out

Berrata had those one of a kind door handles. Its sad we don't see more around. My friends sister had that early 90s bright yellow Berreta that was nostalgic af 3100 v6

I have recently found your channel and love it!! You are covering my generation of cars! Had a 91 cavalier z24 a 92 mazda 323 hatch a 92 Elantra, the list goes on. But my favorite car was my first. 1984 Pontiac 6000 STE. Absolutely loved it. Wish I still had it. I would love to see a video on it. Thanks for the great information in your videos. Keep it up.

Perfect. My ex-wife and I had a 96. It was ok. I loved the rocking seat feature. Wished it had cruise.

I loved my Beretta GT, it also had a 5 speed getrag that shifted beautifully. It was quick, efficient, handled well, and unlike coupes today had a usable backseat.

Def looking forward to the Celebrity video.

I worked at a Chevy dealership as a car salesman in 1988 87 88 actually we sold Berettas like crazy they were extremely popular if folks didn't want to buy the Camaro they either bought the Beretta or they bought the Chevy cavalier z24 they were nice cars affordable. The Corsica kind of was popular it wasn't really much of a car but at the time the Beretta was pretty cool

The 90 Beretta with the Quad4 and 5 speed manual was a blast to drive and looked awesome 👍👍,I haven't yet seen a video of the stylish yet forgotten 77-78 Plymouth Arrow GT.

Awesome to see you included the Feretta in there! I'm the current owner of that car and if anyone wants to learn more about it they can feel free to check out the video I've made on it.

These cars were beautiful, I can remember back as a 5 year old seeing them run around brand new, they sounded like they had flowmasters built in. They were the most popular cars on hotrod magazine along with the dodge Shelby csx and pontiac grand am gt 😀😎

I love your channel, great content and I could listen to you talk about anything for hours 😉

Wow, funnily enough I spotted a Beretta a few days before this was uploaded! First one I had seen in years.

I bought a 1988 Beretta in June of 89. It was a good car, no major problems ever. It had 230,000 miles when I finally sold it.

Great video, don’t know how I stumbled upon it but I’m not disappointed. I had both a Corsica LTZ and Beretta Base , brings back memories and would love the opportunity to buy another Beretta , although with a V6 5 speed combo. Surprisingly, my Corsica was pretty quick for what it was, and the stability of that car saved my life once when i had to make a split second decision at 60mph to snap the wheel to avoid a semi that crossed the center line coming at me head on.

I still own an '87 Fiero GT. Still looks awesome!

I always called the Corsica the Chevy Coarse it sucks...lol

Your videos are incredible. Just discovered your channel with the Subaru XT video, however my family had a Beretta about 14ish years ago and remember my mom taking me to school in it. Seeing these old videos bring back memories. It used to be red, someone tried to paint it blue so it came out a flat plum purple, it did turn a few confused heads. Oh yeah, none of the gauges worked except for the digital speedometer. That old thing also went through more oil than anything I can relate to which was how it met its demise soon after we sold it. Locked it up solid and to the scrap yard it went.

Very, very well-produced video! Always liked the Beretta! I learned a lot I didn't know from this video!

You need to do a video on the Mitsubishi Eclipse! In 1997 it was THE car to have and then just a few years later all gone, and now mitsubishi is part of nissan. Quite a story

Loved the video. I had a '94 Z26 in teal (of course every car in the 90's was available in that color). Loved that car.

I had a 1989 Beretta GT when I was 24. Early 90's. It was BADASS for its time. Mine had the digital dash and power everything. Fun to drive and very reliable.

My first car was a 1991 Corsica, loved that car to death... literally. It was my grandmother's car, she gave it to me in 2004 when she bought a new car. Lots of great memories, a couple of near death experiences (car was pretty quick), I will forever have a place in my heart for the Chevy Corsica.

If the GTZ were available today with the 3.8 Series 2 motor, I'd buy it gladly.

I would like to see something on the 1985 S-10. I had one with the 2.8 L V-6 that was a long wheel base with factory overload springs and a 4 speed standard trans. It also had a skid plate from the factory but it was 2 wheel drive. It was an ungodly tough truck. Almost put 300,000 miles on it.

great videos partner, enjoy them very much. keep up the great work

Great video! Great to see some of the cars from this era getting some attention. Love the old commercials.

THAT'S MY Z24 @ 6:55! I feel so honored.

I hit and killed a deer with my Beretta one night. I still joke about killing a deer with a car named after a gun.

I owned the corsica , Beretta, cavalier, all them models back in the day! They all had the V6 option motor ! Also had the sunbird too ! All GT formats ! I miss them now. Wish I still had them today . Great cars from the 80's and 90's! Great video! 👍

I actually spotted a Beretta roughly 6 months ago. I took photos of it since I had never seen one before lol. It looked great for its age, so I bet the owner really values it.

In 2004 I bought a 1995 the last year they made this one. It was a base model but actually pretty quick on it's feet for what it was.

Thanks for this video. One correction. The manual transmission was available in 1988 with a V6. My first Beretta was a 1988 GT 5-speed with a v6.

I had a base 93 with a 3.1 auto. 92 beretta GT 3.1 5speed and a 93 z24 cavalier 3.1 5 speed. Loved all of them. 93 has the most miles, 220,000 when I sold it and still very reliable. Loved the sound of those engines

I remember driving my late uncles Z26 and thinking, damn that’s actually kind of fast. More importantly, it looked freaking great in that purple color. RIP to him and the Berreta.

Neat! I had the same color Z24 as 3:04! Brings back memories!

I would love to seea video on the Ford EXP/Mercury LN7. I loved my LN7, and thought it was a perfect car.

Great job on documenting the car. Brought back some memories for me, as I had a 1989 Beretta GTU in Red with the 5 Spd stick. I loved the car, but traded it in on a 92 Camaro. I liked V8 rear wheel drive even more and wanted to go back there.

Great 👍video ! I always liked your videos it brought back memories I remember these back in the day growing up in the 80s, my uncle had a 87 Chevrolet Corsica these were pretty cool and comfortable back in the day. The later models came with the 3.1 V6 as a option.

Can you do one on the Chevy trailblazer? It had to have been the most rebadged car in recent memory, sold as an Isuzu, Saab, Oldsmobile, Buick, and a GMC

My cousin got a purple Beretta in high school. Twenty years and 300K miles later she still was driving it. Her plan was when the engine or transmission went out she would get a new car. She ended up trading it in because it just wouldn't die.

I owned a Beretta, I had some mechanical and electrical issues at first, but could never resolve the paint problems. Thank God the primer was decent and did not rust. The door handles did not react well with Canadian wintertime. Despite some of its quirks, for a young fella that just needed a decent car, it filled its bill well.

I had an 89 Beretta GT, it had a cool digital dash. I loved the car's looks. Although the performance wasn't bad, it was a tad underwhelming. Mine was older when I got it and it had electrical issues. Once the cruise control stuck at about 75 MPH! I sold the car to a college student for a grand who drove it from Detroit to Florida .

I’d love to see a video on the Renault-AMC Alliance

Another one I owed and would to see a video on .. the "Hyundai Scoupe"

My second car as a teenager was an 88 Beretta with the 2.8 V6. Lots of fond memories of that car. Fun to drive. Not a bad looking little car. Got pretty good gas mileage. Well, I went from a huge 77 Buick to the Beretta so I thought it was great MPGs.

Very well put together video. Thanks!

Would like to see the Toyota Cressida please!

Do the Dodge Omni GLH

Thanks for the video. My buddy's brother had a Beretta GTZ in 1996 when I was 14, and I remember being impressed with the Quad 4's output which was pretty good for a US manufacturer when it came out.

Wow I just found this channel and I love it!

Do the 87-91 Calais / Grand Am N-Body. They all literally vanished off the face of the earth!

I had a new 1990 GTZ with the 180hp Olds Quad 4, that was a fun little car = PEACE LOVE n HIPPYNESS!

Your channel is very cool! Its nice to learn about cars back in the day

Was hoping for a Corsica video, so thanks!

At the time, my 1995 Corsica that I owned for 7.5 years (from late 2001 to mid 2009) and 113K miles was the car that left me stranded the least. As flawed as it was, I loved that car. My particular example had maybe 1 or 2 options (AC and power locks); manual mirrors and windows, non-adjustable steering wheel, and an AM/FM radio (not even a tape player). The Corsica is the only car I can remember that I've seen on the road in the past 20 years that has not been modified with over-the-top visual modifications.

Here's one I wanted to own and would to see a video on .. the "Isuzu Impulse"

I remember being a kid and my uncle rented a car and it was one of the pre-production/release Berettas. I was so taken by that car I would stand in my driveway and just stare at it. The taillights really impressed me and looked similar in my mind to the new Fiero GT fastbacks which were incredibly rare to see. The Beretta was almost brand new however it had a number of flaws, I remember the trim on the outside of the B pillar around where the door handle was broken off and missing, and a couple of things inside were broken. It was dark blue on a light blue interior with the tiny little 13" or 14" silver steel wheels.

I bought a Black ‘89 GTU in May of 1989 off the showroom floor and I miss that cheaply built car almost every day! Loved it so much!

Can u pls do the Acura Legend, Acura RL.

I'd love to see an episode on the Pontiac G6 or G8

Owned a chevy corsica and that was a great car. The size was excellent and had good back and front seat area while not being to big. The v-6 was excellent also...Turned out to be very dependable

I bought this car new 1990 GT with 3.1 V6 electronic digital dash and 16” aluminum wheels. My first new car and I loved it until the paint started to peel off of it. I never bought another Chevy until 2014 Malibu and haven’t looked back since. Great video 🙏

My mother owned a Beretta GT back in the day - she loved it. White with red interior. I recall it had a digital guage cluster...rather funky for its time. Had a good motor in it, too...lots of jam. To this day she still sighs about getting rid of it. She often said it was the best car she ever owned.

Thanks for the video. My first car as a teenager was a 1988 2.8 L Corsica with the peeling paint recall :)

I remember being in middle school in Miami, FL. and there was a canal that ran alongside the school. On most days, the canals clarity was very poor but one day it ended up being clear and someone spotted a Beretta sitting at the bottom! Of course, the authorities were notified and the car was fished out of the canal. It seemed to have been there for what looked like YEARS. I don't know how true it was but rumors around the middle school hallways was that there was a body in the trunk of the vehicle. Ever since then, whenever I see a Beretta, I always think back to that day and seeing that car fished out of the canal. ANYWAY, I recently came across your channel and I just binge watched all your videos. Really enjoying the content, great job! As for an idea of a future episode, I vote for the Neon. My father purchased a white base mode (with the grey bumpers) back in '94 and it was completely stripped of literally any sort of add on (not even a cassette deck). However, it was a zippy little thing for the time and handled quite well for what it was. I remember seeing Neon's all over the road for years and then one day POOF they seem to all be completely gone from the streets?!? Weird..

Another awesome video Patrick, ever since I knew it existed, I've always wanted to own a GTZ

This brought me back to my childhood👍🏾Thx

My first car was a 2007 Monte Carlo SS, I haven’t seen a single one since I sold mine. I consider this pretty surprising because I loved that car. Great power.

My father bought my mom an 87 GT. I was in high school at the time, and absolutely loved that car. It was surprisingly quick!

I absolutely loved my ‘96 Beretta. The long doors were kind of a pain at times, but I still miss that car.

Excellent video, nice way to start a Monday ... Nostalgia! Please do Buick T types of the 1980s? thank you.

I had a 1988 Chevrolet Corsica in LT trim with every single option available, I drove that car well past 350,000 miles, I loved the 2.8 liter V6 engine. My friend had a Beretta with the manual transmission, later on I had a 1988 Beretta GTU with the digital dashboard.

My mother bought a Chevy Beretta in 1989 with about 2500 miles on the odometer. It was nice looking and refined for the time. The engine was quiet though not particularly powerful, and it looked very contemporary compared to other GM cars at the time. The problem was the interior was fragile and anything that could break, broke. Map pockets, even the strap holding the driver seat snapped. Other bits just simply fell off. To make it worse the paint just fell off the car and corrosion started taking hold. The eagle GA tires that came with picked up every nut, bolt and screw in the road. When the tires were finally replaced a few years later every one of them had about 20 plugs in them. The car finally met its demise when my sister ran it low on oil and seized up the engine. This was not an uncommon fate in my household as a kid as no one knew how to add or change oil in a car.

Brings back memories. A friend had an 89 in HS back in the mid 90's. I had a 1986 Pontiac 6000 2 door back then. You just don't see these two cars anymore.

I worked in a chevrolet dealership body shop during this Era. The Beretta and the Corsica had a minor (huge) problem with the doors falling off due to poor hinge design. I probably replaced a few hundred sets of door hinges under warranty.

OMG yes I was waiting for this video. I’ve had a 93 Gt with the 3.1 and a 94 z26 with the 3100. Hell I even used to be on bstuff, a forum for beretta owners. Been to a couple meets, good times.

My date would always ask, "where's the door handle?"

Great channel. Thanks for showing the beretta! Was one of my recommendations. Maybe a tempo next?