This. i tried to say this earlier in the thread but was flamed and even accused of being 30 years old and living in my parents basement.Originally posted by GT4rally
Wow, you guys have no idea how lucky you are with all the great cars available now!
I was a teenager in the mid '80's and I can tell you that most cars, with a few exceptions (Porsche, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, some Japanese), were absolute garbage! Fox body mustangs were ugly as sin, archaic under the skin and painfully slow compared to a modern minivan! 200hp from a V8 muscle car... seriously! Don't get me started on the drum brakes! My Dad had a 1981 Chev Blazer with a 305 V8 that produced an astounding 105hp! What?
I'll admit that I really liked the lines of the IROC, but it was an absolute pig to drive--talk about cowl shake! Not Acceptable in any decade!
Have you ever sat in a mid-eighties Cadillac? Nothing says we don't give a shit about the customer more than a 1980's car interior (most were leftover designs from the 70's).
I still shake my head when I see a late '80s (even early 90s) Chrysler sedan, or a first gen FWD GM boat with 14" wire wheels and cheap chrome trim--they really needed to pull their collective heads out of their asses... quickly! I remember being quite disgusted with the complete lack of effort from the big car companies at the time.
You can point out that the Germans and the Japanese were making some decent cars back then, but 90% of the cars on Calgary streets were domestic. You would be lucky to see 2 , maybe 3 BMW's on your commute downtown--forget about Porsches, or any other semi-exotic. You really didn't see the huge variety we enjoy now. Although, Volvo an Mercedes were not uncommon.
I lived in Varsity Estates growing up, and in the early 80's there were 2 BMW's in the neighborhood, one Audi and NO Porsches. To this day, I can recall the exact driveways they were parked on... go count how many there are on Varsity Estates streets now! Ad to that, most people really didn't know what a BMW or an Audi was... just some strange German novelty cars!
The 80's weren't quite as bad as the 70's (especially the Detroit trash), since most were converting to fuel injection and electronic ignition, but there were very limited choices available compared to the present day.
Right now is a great time to be a car enthusiast guys... so don't long for something just cause it's old. The 80's was shit for a car guy!I am not a fan of 80s vehicles, or the 80s in general. I did not like the big boxy car designs of the era, and as mentioned above the technology in those cars is so archaic relative to today's vehicles. Not to mention that it was a decade of arrogance, excess, and "family values," and that is clearly reflected in the car designs too.
The 80s have recently become "cool" among kids born in the late 80s or 90s, because they didn't really live it and thus think it's neat and retro - that's why i made my remark about that above.
One design that I like from the 80s though is this (forerunner of modern AWD and crossovers, which is neat IMO):
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