LOL my first car was a 87 Jetta GLI 5 speed manual with moon roof. And I'm very thankful that there are WAY better cars to own than a 80s or 90s Jetta or Golf.
I prefer our 89 Jetta over anything we’ve owned, all 3-4 cars 2004 or newer. The simplicity, feel, comfortable seats, handling, responsiveness, quality was very good. Tgevsunroofvwas freat, no electric crap to break. New VWs are just not as good. Even back to back to 1993. They lost the feel, simplicity, charm, and fun.
The great thing about French cars is that they always knew how to make incredibly confortable cars while keeping them very performant where road holding always exceeded any japanese. Luxury should mean a smooth and relaxing ride.
@@kamrankhan-lj1ng One Scottish person told me today that he used to own a Renault Laguna and drove many times each week between Aberdeen and Glasgow and loved it as it is was so pleasant and dependable in any weather as it handled the road better or comparable to the luxurious Germans.
When I was a kid in the 80's, I thought the 505s were some of the coolest looking 4 door cars out there. I also had a thing for the Audi 5000 as well (I owned one of those in the late 90's). Would love the opportunity to own a 505 Turbo (manual trans) but those cars are so rare to find these days.
In Quebec, I met a police officer who loved owning the 505 GT and he told me that he would be able to go faster in curves then any of the police cars they had.
@@questioner1596 Indeed, even with my Mazda, I could not reach the cornering abilities of the 505 and then later 405 that were even as good as BMWs and beating the Celicas.
@@questioner1596 The actual Chevy and Ford police cruisers were actually tuned with reinforced suspensions to handle like sports cars but a standard French saloon cars would outperform them. If you have chance try a 405 or even an Eagle Premier (Renault 25).
Peugeot made VERY good looking cars back in the day, and 505 is definitely one of those! Although those American bumpers again try hard to make it look bad.
I bought a first year GTI with a blown motor in it. Paid $200 for an engine out of a scirocco and drove the wheels off the car. It was lowered so it hugged the road so good it would scare friends how I could drive it. Miss that little beast.
After 45 years of driving and 35+ cars and suvs, my all time favorite car I owned was the 1986 GTI I bought second hand. AC always on the fritz, but what a fun, practical, toss able car this was. Traded it for a 1990 Q45T. Faster but not nearly as fun.
In 1986, my grandma brought a brand new silver w/ black gray tweed cloth Jetta GL Wolfsburg Edition. As a kid, I thought it was ok, but I wanted her to purchase the ‘86 Chevy Z24 w/ the digital speedo. I’m glad she purchased the VW. It was a great car. Once I got my license I would washed her car at least twice a week in the summer so that I could drive to the car wash and hang out. Great times!
I drove a 1984 non turbo 5 sp manual for 26 years. Wish they’d keep making them. Very pleasurable to drive and easy to maintain when you understood them.
ZN: 87-91 505 Turbo 5-Speed sedans were quick indeed(Turbo wagon was never offered with the Beefy Diesel 5 Speed do to problems of no room in the torque-tube/transmission mount for the "live" banjo axle )....0-60 in 7.8 seconds and that was with awful Turbo Lag, a tall 1st gear and a high 3.46 rear cog....if it were geared like the M3 or 190 16 valve,would have easily smoked either...but both the 5-Speed and horrible ZF automatic were geared for 2,000 rpms at 60 mph...and way quieter on any road surface than the competition of that era. I have a 87 Turbo 5-Speed...ride the clutch before launch (to get the Turbo spooled up)....it will smoke the tires a whole lot.
My mom had an 86 Jetta Carat and it was the most unreliable piece of shit ever but my parents and I loved it anyway. There was something special about this generation. The way it drove, it was so stiff and solid but tossable and super fun. Whenever I hear that old VW door chime, i'm transported back to this Jetta. My only regret is not buying it off my parents when they sold it.
+ mistertee Parents had a 87 Wolfsburg GLI 4 door.....total piece of shit.....always breaking down. They also had/have a 85 Peugeot 2.5 Turbo Diesel 5 speed..Jetta was a little quicker off the line and easier to toss around......but the TD was damn quick at highway speeds...go up any grade in 5th gear. Peugeot never broke-down....parents still have that oil burning slug along with the 300 TD...............yep.....Benz rides very crude and has always had hit and miss reliability/durability.
A bad VW is a terrifying experience. My dad still curses VWs to anyone who will listen even 20+ years after owning one. When I bought a Golf, he literally said "don't ask me to borrow money to fix it" while we were at the dealership in front of the sales guy. That is true hate.
Zachary P I miss Peugeot in the USA. Never owned one but loved their sportiness and French-ness...have driven a few in Europe over the years. The newer cars don’t have the same appeal and feel cheaper, perhaps because of their close association with Citroen. The 505 had a charm and a strong presence about it.
My mom had an 87'' Peugeot Liberty wagon!It was sharp looking too! It always got mistaken for a Subaru legacy though.She said it was an awesome handling car!Drastic change from her the previous 76' Ford Thunderbird gas guzzling Be land yacht!Was a real pos though! She always said if somebody hit her an totaled it it would do her a favor to get it off her hands!One day somebody rear ended her and she went under a pickup!It was a total loss! Luckily she and my baby brother got out without a scratch!It was back to a Ford for her a 91'Mercury Sable!
My first car was a ‘91 VW GLI and selling it is my only regret in life 😂. I wouldn’t mind driving that beautiful car forever just with minor modifications and restoration over time.
My father used to owned a 1988 Volkswagen Jetta Carat with the deluxe manual steel sunroof since I was a little kid. I remember he used to install some audio upgrades poorly!
I'm an 80's child, and I like (not love) the styling of these two, esp the Jetta. But 0 to 60 in 11 sec.....a newer Hyundai Accent will do it in around 8.5. How far we've come.
It's interesting to compare these performance variants' performance to a modern (2018+) Corolla. According to Motor Trend, the base 1.8L engine has 138 hp and with a CVT, posts a 10.2 sec 0-60, which is slow now but about the same as these cars. The upgraded 2.0L has 168 hp and a 7.3 sec 0-60 with the 6 speed manual.
B Gerbs - Don't know about Peugeot or Citroen but Renault is already in North America in disguise...as Nissan. Some Nissan's are basically cosmetically altered Renault's. The current Nissan X-Trail is a variation of the current Renault Scenic. The Nissan Versa Note is closely related to the Renault Cleo. They tend to have differing engine and transmission choices but that is commonly the case even when the exact same model is sold on both continents. Given the partnership / cross ownership /management (Nissan is run by a Frenchman who not only revived Renault but saved Nissan from bankruptcy), as well as the fact that Mitsubishi is now controlled by Nissan/Renault, I think that Renault is the least likely of all French brands to return. Renault would possibly cannibalize sales from Nissan and Mitsubishi so they would stay out of this market. Peugeot or Citroen may be another story, as they don't have such close tie ups with automakers in North America as Renault does. It may involve a purchase or merger. Fiat not only rescued Chrysler in the bailout for example...having booming Chrysler sales to lean on saved Fiat later on. A similar strategy might happen with Peugeot.
The Nissan Versa is actually a Renault Clio, so I hope they start selling the Renault Talisman, Megane or even Scenic, these cars can outmatch any korean or japanese. But I would reallt like the Citroen C5.
This is the first car for anybody who made rage comics with *le* in them. They're on the second market now and they deserve better than rage comics 2 (wojack) so i think this is an excellent baguettemobile to pick up bread and cheese from the café in the city.
They were making the fastest diesel car of the planet at that time with the CX. Have you tried a 208 or even 308 ? Drab, surely not ! They have a history of nice and sportive cars. With my BMW 323, I raced a 605 in the tunnels of Geneva to Lyon and could not win over him.
@@archechme And I have driven the Mondeo and they are surely drab. I will have to try a Fiesta but in the past they were very dull compared to a 205 or even 206. I have tried a Citroen C3 in the past and one recently, surely as nice as a Honda Civic, so it depends which power plant but for road holding the C3 were excellent and dynamic. You should try a 508 which is considered more dynamic then an A4 or a Volvo.
Brings back memories from the 1980's when my parents drove a 505 DL. Being an "old school" diesel, it blew perfect smoke rings in the morning. Slow and loud. Considering this being the North America, the Peugeot was looked at as a very strange car. But I loved it. Peugeots are notoriously over engineered. You could tell they sweat every engineering detail, but it wasn't remotely reliable and parts were $$$!!!
+ di foo !! What are you talking about? Parts are extremely cheap/reasonaable on-line. My 1987 Liberte wagon has nearly 600,000 miles on it..only thing that's been replaced on the engine............was a water pump at 389,000miles. With a GM alternator...its costs $29.00+ at a local parts store. GM alternator rebuild-kits are available for $10.00+ on line. The problems that have occurred on the Peugeot.......is the German made ZF 4HP slushbox................that built a horrific reputation on BMWs,Jags,Range Rovers,Lincoln(BMW powered) Turbo Diesels,Volvos,etc. But with a competent transmission repair shop..................they can rid the ZF 4HP of its major flaw. my transmissions clutch-packs were drilled-out to ensure lubrication in Park/Neutral...............more so come smog-check time.
Rick Vacha -- That's because now we have so many more cars to choose from, and VW has chosen to compete with the likes of Honda and Toyota. The result is a much more bland product. These days, look to Hyundai/Kia if you want a little excitement baked into the formula.
I don't think I have ever heard someone in Germany call the Jetta a "Sports Sedan" (apart from the language of course). Here the Jetta is mainly considered an elderly people's workhorse...
John Doe Sorry, but you have no idea. First: we never got the GLI in Germany, we got a GT. Second: yes, the Jetta was considered an old people's car from the start in 1979 and it still is. Wasn't only a Jetta thing, because every VW sedan was considered to be for elderly people and every Ford, Opel sedan too, but the Jetta was just the one they sold the most. Yes, it sold great, but the buyers were 50 years+ people.. Do you know how they called the Jetta (and still call it): backpack golf. Because they thought it looked ugly, like a hatchback Golf with a backpack. They tried to give the Jetta a better reputation by naming the 3rd gen in Europe "Vento", the 4th gen "Bora" and they were still a success.. because old people bought them). They got rid of the backpack looks somehow but it still looked like a Golf. Well, the last Jetta generation for Europe was the 6th. They don't sell the 7th in Europe anymore, because the last generations weren't successful anymore. Older people started buying minivans (like the Golf Plus) and SUVs (like the Tiguan) and younger people mostly buy hatchbacks. That's the Jetta's history in Germany.. Btw: When I told my exchange student from the US that the Jetta is Grandfather's beater in Germany, he was VERY surprised! He said American teens think this is a cool and hip German sports sedan.. Like a 3 series.. But.. hey.. They also put wrong designed German license plates on their front bumper..
For posterity, those in the know liked the Jetta because of it's more rigid body structure. Early Golfs and Rabbits were particularly flexible when run through the turns. The Golf begged to be flogged in the turns, but the Jetta with its solid rear body handled it better.
Maestro_T Yeah, we just had lower expectations. After 180 HP Corvettes. THIS is the golden age of muscle cars. Right now. A base Accord four cylinder family car is 185 hp.
Clearanceman2 There is no doubt that cars are very powerful right now. Too powerful for most purposes, in my opinion. I actually wish there were smaller engine choices for better fuel economy. Will it stay that way? It's been that way for quite a while now. One striking thing in these retro videos is that Motorweek was actually getting very high fuel economy numbers in some cases (i.e., not just the EPA numbers which no one believes), and generally equal to or better than what they get now. Obviously the power discrepancy is huge, so one can only wonder how much better the fuel economy would be with lesser engines. (The market's love of SUV's doesn't help.) I don't personally want a return to 14+ second 0-60 runs, but I also don't need a car that does it in 7 or less on a daily basis....Probably not the most popular opinion on a car fanatic page. lol
Maestro_T Yeah, LOL I'm all for more power. Today's cars do it through turbos and 8 speed transmissions. Or CVTs. They are pretty heavy though with 20 air bags and all the side impact stuff plus electronic everything. So they need that power. The reason older cars go OK mileage was they didn't weigh anything. Trucks used to get horrendous mileage. Now it's just OK but it used to be truly awful. Son's 2002 4.3 liter S10 compact truck is rated 14 city 17 highway. My 2000 legacy is rated 21/28. Legacy is only 400 pounds lighter.
+monk3yboy69 Correct. My French teacher taught the Peugeot children and she made that point to us as we were all gear heads in 5th grade :) Stupid choice of transmission though. My cousin had one of these with a stick and it ROCKED.
I hated VW's La Cucaracha door chime. Our last VW was a 79 Golf but i've got friends that still buy them, even with miserabile reliability. I don't know anyone who owned a 505