26 years later and it's still a good looking car, looks way more interesting than any dime-in-a-dozen SUV with shitty black plastic trim, a giant grille and fake plastic exhausts
As a Beretta aficionado, I'd say you did pretty well with the specifics and correct stats. I've got a 93 GTZ (one of 621 built) and it's a labor of love keeping these things going and modifying them. There are NO performance parts available so everything has to be custom engineered. Us die hards have had to get creative using parts from other cars and applications and adapt them for the Beretta. Just got done installing a custom Wilwood setup (front and rear big brake kit) and adjustable Koni struts on a 90 Beretta Indy today. Just gotta be dedicated and not afraid to try different things. It's fun.
My friend in high school had a 1990 Indy edition. I really liked it as I had a base 91 cavalier coupe at the time and was a little jealous. Sadly he wrecked it after having it for about a yr. What a shame that it went out that way.
Damn you have both of my dream Berettas that I wanted in highschool. I had a white 1990 Beretta base model with no options besides the V6 and wished it was an Indy/GTZ/Z26 so bad lol. Would love to find a duplicate of mine today though, would buy it just for the nostalgia.
God i miss the cool colors we had for choices back then. We had red, blue, gold, green in the 70's and 80's in addition to the black gray and tan. Have you built an Audi lately? Its like all they have is black now. With hints of red white or brown. WTF?!
Boring colors are safe but boring. White, black, a couple in between, a red, a blue, maybe a brown, maybe a green. Jeep seems to be the only volume manufacturer willing to make fun colors. I would gladly drive a yellow or green or orange or teal car, maybe even a purple. Fun colors died off in the early 00s. Interior colors are boring too. Black, some kind of tan or brown, sometimes a gray, maybe a blue or a red if it's a luxury or performance car. I say bring back color-matched interiors. Bring back avocado green and harvest gold and whorehouse red and ocean blue interiors.
Leaving stupid town and travelling back to reality: You can get Audis in Tango Red Metalic (red) Bright blue (Turbo Blue) medium Blue (Navarra or Voodoo blue), dark blue (Firmament Blue metallic ), and Nogaro Blue and Dark green (District Green and Sonoma Green), and bright green (Kyalami Green). Almost all models can be ordered with an 'Audi Exclusive' color which has a huge range and Audi Individual customers can order it in, quite literally, any color of their choosing. I have less than zero idea how you arrived at Auds being primarily black. They're primarily silver and gray with black being 6th on the list.
@@bwofficial1776 I blame the dealers. They don’t want anything to sit on the lot for more than a week, so they get safety colors, black, white, and an occasional silver. People don’t order cars anymore (although if they are no longer going to get any deals, we may see a change). Yellow is not my favorite color, nor is it my second or third, but we ended up with a yellow 2003 Dodge Neon simply because it was on the lot. I’ve own my 1994 Ford Mustang since 1998, and it had bright red interior. They stopped having it in 1995. Red on red. Many people don’t even think it’s factory. I probably would’ve gone with black, or even a tan, but it came with red, so I like it anyway.
Your right. But the issue is alot of people out there Absolutely Hate Red Cars. And in recent studies have shown that Black, White & Silver cars have been people's choices in the past decade. Bright Red, Turquoise, Emerald Green, Bright Yellow. Slate Grey etc all of those are long gone.
@@jasperdilincoln2341 if a car isn’t some shade of black white or grey (silver) then it’s typically red, especially if you count the modern metallic reds which tend to be more on the darker side (maroon). Next time you’re in a parking lot, or just out and about, see for yourself what the #4 color choice is now. People don’t “hate” red. They hate extra attention. They believe that red cars are more likely to get pulled over than boron colors. They also believe that other drivers may give them additional negative attention in the form of road rage. Cops tend to leave my red car alone. And while I did noticed and increase of stupidity among other motorists, vs any other color I drove, the older the car got, the less of an issue. I think people see a nice red car, and act out on hate or jealously, even if the car is cheaper than their own.
Man what a rolling time capsule! I love the quirky older cars you have been doing and how this channel is kind of becoming a museum of really obscure quirky cars like the Beretta, Cimarron, and Oasis (none of which had HD videos on them before!) Good on you for appreciating weird stuff as well as new fancy stuff, not too many reviewers who do that!
I'm swapping a 96 Z26 right now with an LS and 6spd going RWD with it. Lots of work, but I think it'll be driving in about a month. I'm stoked. Keeping the sawblades too!
Great review. Brings back memories to 1990 when I had a Beretta GTZ with a 5 speed and made about 180 hp. It was all white including the wheels. Would love if you could find one and do a review.
180 wasn't bad for a 1990. I had an 89 firebird formula with the lt1 350 and it was only rated at 225 HP, so not much more than 180. Now, there were rumors it was actually closer to 280 and they were under rating it to make the Corvette look better. That formula was surprisingly torquey and quick. I had 2 late 90s Mustang Cobras and the Formula was faster than they were.
We've come so far from when this was considered sporty. For a mid-90s Chevy this is very well preserved. If those Beretta shotguns were still around they'd be worth ten times what this car's worth, if not more.
A neighbor had one of these when I was a kid and although I was a hardcore JDM guy (specifically Mitsubishi since my dad was one of the techs in the first hiring wave for Mitsubishi in '82) but something about the looks of these really spoke to me.
I really liked your video. I have to be a stickler and give the one correction I heard though... The Cavalier Z24 originally had a V6. I think they changed that car over to a 4-cylinder in 95 when they completely redesigned the car. From 1986-1989, they had the 2.8, starting in 1990 until 1994 they had the 3.1. Either way, great video!
I bought a 1994 Chevy Beretta Z26 brand new. Mine was in blue green metallic, and it was a great looking car. Unfortunately, Chevy had to replace the entire air conditioning system about a month after I bought it. Plus, it was side swiped in an accident where entire right side and front end were replaced. Unibody cars don't like to be hit. That was $7800 damage. And of course it never was the same. The last straw came after I finished paying for it, the engine control system started acting nuts. It wouldn't start at all. Then would fire right up. Then it dies, wouldn't start, again. It was still under warranty, but had they to bring someone from Detroit to look at my car. It spent five months at the dealership. Couldn't solve the problem. So Chevy bought it back from me. And I bought a Plymouth Breeze which turned out to be surprisingly dependable for a Chrysler product. Needless to say when I saw this Beretta Z26, I had to tell the story about mine. I really wanted to keep that car.
My first car was a used 1990 Chevy Beretta GT. The exterior paint was Black with red lining. It rumbled with duo glass pack mufflers. Like any young teenager, I upgraded the original audio setup with a Kenwood CD player, 4” punch speakers, 1” tweeters, 6x9s Sony speakers and a sealed box of two 10” JBL subwoofers with a Jensen amp. At the time, this was my high quality audio upgrade, lol! The 100k miles under the hood, of course, needed a complete engine rebuild and oil pump swap. The interior was in pristine condition as much as I could. It was first car, my Beretta!
I do love those 90s/late 80s GM stereos, really kicks off nostalgia for me and there’s a reason that I never pulled the stereo out of my Deville except to replace it for another Deville stereo with the same factory functions and look. No desire to replace it with anything aftermarket whatsoever.
I'm the same way with my Pontiac Fiero! I had to replace the original radio with the one that's very similar to it, heck, I'll do it to any vehicle I own! Going to the junkyard is nothing more convenient than paying a small price to have something you love, and it may just work for a long time! Being a car radio collector (mainly GM) makes me appreciate the factory look of a vehicle with a radio that's meant to be.
This brings back memories. I had the 4 door version of this car, the Corsica, in the exact same color blue. Same interior except for the Beretta Z26 exclusive seats. Mine was a LTZ version, as sporty as the 4 door could get. I loved driving that car, very comfortable and handling was pretty good. Unfortunately, I got another car and lent the Corsica to a friend for a few months, he was crossing an intersection and was T- Boned on the passenger side by a drunk driver that ran the red light and the car was destroyed but thankfully my friend wasn't seriously hurt.
Corsica LTZ is/was a rare entity back in the day, let alone now? It was a four door Beretta GT (not GTZ or Z26) … dropped in 1993. Only had the original 3.1 litre with three speed set up. These were cool cars with “big” 15 inch wheel package 😂 for the time. Good luck finding one of these today?
The highest mileage car I ever owned was a 94 z26 with 448000. Intake gaskets, three outside door handles and one used transmission swap were the only non normal maintenance repairs. Engine blew at the end.
This review really hit home! My pawpaw had an '88 model in GT form in Dark Grey with the 2.8 v6. It was a staple of my childhood until the remanufactured motor croaked. I was supposed to inherit it as my first car in high school & fix it up but....pawpaw sold it for scrap while I was at school... Can't find these Berettas anymore and still want one to this day
My mom had one of these cars and it was totalled when someone ran a red light. She loved that car, every time she talks about she says it was favorite car
I own 2 of these so I have say I love them ('94 & '96). I've owned (in the past) a '94 base model bought new and a '91 GTZ with the 180 hp quad4 (Best car ever).
11:03 These Chevy Beretta's were EXTREMELY popular when they came out - Everybody and their momma wanted one of these things when I was a freshman in high school in 87-88.
The color was medium Adriatic blue. I had a 96 Z26 exactly like this one. Except I had grey interior. Mine also liked to eat batteries and alternators. 4 batteries and 3 alternators in 7yrs. I really did love it though. And then bought a trailblazer that I had for 229,000 miles and now I have a traverse with 184,000 miles.
I always loved the styling of the Beretta. I had a '91 GT with a manual and a '94 base model with the manual. My '94 sported the Black rose paint -- great look!
For some reason, The Beretta is a somewhat familiar car here in the Netherlands. Just like the older gen Neon, The Pontiac Transporter and the Chrysler Voyager from the 90's. I've seen several of them over the years, And even today, I can still find them without too much of a struggle if i dig just deep enough (which isn't all that deep) i always kind of liked them as they're not something i see everyday and they don't look like everything else but around here but without looking too out of place and not too flashy compared to what we had around the time the Beretta was relatively new. It's just ordinary yet not too ordinary, Kind of hard to explain, But i dig it.
wow this thing is fucking mint! I love seeing old 80’s and 90’s cars and trucks still on the road in great condition. I daily drive a 1994 f150 4x4 5.0 5 speed reg cab and SWB with only 107k miles! You can’t get 4 things that is my truck today manual transmission full size truck with a v8 its a regular cab and short bed. You don’t see regular cab trucks as much anymore. I listen to 90’s hip hop or rock while I ware my flannel and drive down the road listening to nirvana. It just brings me back to my childhood. cars are the closest thing we have to time machines!
I used to idolize this car as kid, especially the skirt package and the sound of the muffler. By the time I grew up older buy one, found out it was just a two door Corsica
I had a 1995 model and loved it! I didn’t have the Z26 but had the 3.1 engine in it. It was a good engine for the time. Ironically I traded it in later for a new 2002 Cavalier Z24. Thanks for the review!
Nothing beats the GM W body era. My first car was an 89 Buick Regal coupe. Wire wheel covers, white wall tires, and I added chrome rocker trim to make her look newer too. Even though I was driving an old Buick to high school, she was in mint condition, dark blue metallic, and actually was a head turner. It handled more like a plow truck vs. The Baretta, but will always have a place in my heart. Don't ever give up that car, you'll miss it! She is beautiful!
I had a 96 base model beretta. Same 3100 v-6 . Great fuel economy. I put the wheels and ground effects kit from a junkyard GTZ. It looked pretty good. I sold it when I got a Corvette itch.
I can see how the Beretta flopped as a potential Camaro replacement, much like the Ford Probe as a Mustang replacement. Not sure it would do any better today, except today it would be a small inline 3 or 4 cylinder turbo or electric. And would have to have gobs of power and torque to dethrone a well established nameplate like Camaro, even though that segment is dying out.
Dammit if that Beretta doesn't still look awesome...not sure I ever remember seeing one in that blue color, very sharp, was hoping to hear you fire up that 3.1 V6
I had a 94 z26 in black cherry. Good looking car, rough riding with those wheels! Also no turning radius at all, hard to pull into a parking spot! In addition even though it had 4 wheel anti lock brakes, it was a disk drum set up so the rear tires would easily lock up in hard braking. I traded it in for an actual Camaro z28!
I always thought the Beretta was a sweet looking car. A buddy of mine had a Beretta GTZ back in the day. 2.3L 180hp with a 5spd...that thing was QUICK for early 90s. Hell, 180hp out if a naturally aspirated 2.3 inline 4 is impressive even today
The Beretta was a coupe you could buy when you were single. Meet your girlfriend. And not sell it because Junior was on the way. Also you can fit your full si🎉ze friends in back to get them safely home from the club. People were seriously looking at this when they couldn't get their G-Body anymore. But it was a comfortable cruiser that could get you through a snowstorm.
I had one of these. It was an aqua blue color. The problem I had with mine was the manual sunroof would leak and the door handles were breaking constantly. Other than that, I loved it and it performed well. I kept it for 5 years until Ohio winter roads got the best if it. Sadly became too unsafe to drive.
My high school buddy was a spoiled kid, and he had the yellow Indy variant as his first car. I only recently discovered that there's a teal green version as well. He eventually traded it for a Camaro, but I always liked that yellow Beretta.
Awesome video. I grew up in the 90’s and these cars were everywhere. I remember being a kid and seeing Z26’s and Z34’s and wondering why Chevy would give these cars just as many Z’s as the Z28 lol
Just seen one for sale I want to buy it just for the hell of it!!!!! Waiting for the guy to get back to me I wonder how much hes going to say....98k miles I really miss these days!!!!
Me and my older sister shared an 88 Beretta gt as our first car. It was repainted by gm for a recall of defective primer. My sister chose turquoise with some 90's pinstripes. The Beretta was also available with a manual Transmission.
A friend's mom had the GT back when I was in high school. I thought it was a cool car but yeah, I also remember the paint peeling off of it like a cracked egg shell.
I’m not gonna lie. I do like these cars and what’s really cool about the early ones is they had this long vent that went horizontally across the dashboard. Some of them did have cooling system issues but overall they are really neat cars. Thank you for sharing this
I feel like the beretta spirit lived on through the Saturn and Oldsmobile platform and then was lost in history. Big engine fwd was a hard thing to make for gm without an automatic transmission. A manual would have boosted its reputation as bulletproof fun. And an awd turbo variant would have quickly reached gnx or gmc cyclone status.
I'd totally forgot about the Pontiac Tempest that they sold in Canada back in the day. Had to Google it and instantly got flooded with memories because those were EVERYWHERE in southern Ontario back in the day. I remember the weird windmill looking wheels o on some of them. Of course, the salt and snow in the winter ate them all up.
Although I've always had thoughts of the Beretta being built on the N-Body platform and wondered why it wasn't but I also applaud G.M. for allowing something a little different to STILL be built during this area. The N-Body premiered in 1985. I purchased one the same year: A Buick Somerset Regal with a 3.0 liter V-6. The Chevy initially came with the 2.8 liter V-6 from the Pontiac 6000. It's design had offset cylinder banks but I think the horsepower was rated at 130. Although sportier looking than the N-Bodies, it's interior was somewhat spartan in comparison.
Back in 1989 My Mother got a Brand New Mercury Cougar. My Aunt her sister said she was jealous(in a joking way) and a few months after got a Chevy Beretta LS. I liked them both growing up. I liked the Cougar electronic seat belts( although everytime my grandmother rode with us, it was like she had to fight the seat belt😆) but what was cool about my Aunts Beretta, I loved the Door Handles on the Window Panels etc. Yes the Beretta & Cougar were both very reliable cars. But my Aunt finally got rid of her Beretta back in '96 traded it in for a Pre-owned '95 Chrysler Concord. Eventhough she just MB's nowadays she told me the Beretta was a fun car to own back in the day.
It wasn't just the passenger side airbag, it was mainly the side collision requirements that the NHTSA required. GM discontinued the L body because it was too expensive to redesign therefore they dropped it.
GOD I _L O V E_ these cars!! I mean the profile is just sexy with the still very cool B pillar door handles the front end with the upper grille delete, perfect..and the rear with that spoiler and "smoked" one piece wrap around taillights!! I had an 89 GT but the Z & U series were the best
That shifter knob was put in every GM car for decades... from the Celebrity to the Corvette. When GM latches onto a design, they'll fight to the death to not let it go..... like those breakable door handles that were on nearly every GM car for..... decades. You'd like to think "If it ain't broke....." - except they broke all the time, and GM kept making them anyway.
10:26 - The Z24 also had the 3.1L V6 until 1994. The roots of the L platform track to a business directive that GM made in the early 80s where they said they were going to get away from offering essentially the same car across multiple brands. You can see how that turned out... They did one experiment (this L body), then went back to business as usual.
I'm a bit surprised how Chevrolet kept the 80's-90's boxy look to the body in 1996 while a lot of other cars were gone to a more sleek, rounder shape to them all
I've had a number of these cars, all cool and different in their own right. Had a loaded '88 GT with the V6, 5-speed, digital dash and sunroof (must have been rare). Any of those V6s are torquey little bastards. Got a '90 GTZ in white. Gramps let out quite a squeal when I opened the hood exposing the Quad 4. Was at the tech forefront at the time. Was fun to rev the crap out of and still get 30 mpg. Surprised about zero mention of the door handles, which were always a discussion point back in the day.
Although I was selling Chevys at the time, I don't recall ever driving a Z26. We had the GTU and GTZ Berettas. Good info, great video. My demo at the time was a Lumina Z34.... Interesting car if you ever come across one.
Zach .... you didn't pull the rear seats down for my trunk space. They are a split 60/40. That piece at the console with the hidden ashtray was not a cup holder. It's a change holder.
26 years later and it's still a good looking car, looks way more interesting than any dime-in-a-dozen SUV with shitty black plastic trim, a giant grille and fake plastic exhausts
As a Beretta aficionado, I'd say you did pretty well with the specifics and correct stats. I've got a 93 GTZ (one of 621 built) and it's a labor of love keeping these things going and modifying them. There are NO performance parts available so everything has to be custom engineered. Us die hards have had to get creative using parts from other cars and applications and adapt them for the Beretta. Just got done installing a custom Wilwood setup (front and rear big brake kit) and adjustable Koni struts on a 90 Beretta Indy today. Just gotta be dedicated and not afraid to try different things. It's fun.
My friend in high school had a 1990 Indy edition. I really liked it as I had a base 91 cavalier coupe at the time and was a little jealous. Sadly he wrecked it after having it for about a yr. What a shame that it went out that way.
Nice
The performance upgrade is to drop a LSX in it.
Damn you have both of my dream Berettas that I wanted in highschool. I had a white 1990 Beretta base model with no options besides the V6 and wished it was an Indy/GTZ/Z26 so bad lol. Would love to find a duplicate of mine today though, would buy it just for the nostalgia.
Well, I applaud your die-hard nature. Keep up the good work!
God i miss the cool colors we had for choices back then. We had red, blue, gold, green in the 70's and 80's in addition to the black gray and tan. Have you built an Audi lately? Its like all they have is black now. With hints of red white or brown. WTF?!
Boring colors are safe but boring. White, black, a couple in between, a red, a blue, maybe a brown, maybe a green. Jeep seems to be the only volume manufacturer willing to make fun colors. I would gladly drive a yellow or green or orange or teal car, maybe even a purple. Fun colors died off in the early 00s.
Interior colors are boring too. Black, some kind of tan or brown, sometimes a gray, maybe a blue or a red if it's a luxury or performance car. I say bring back color-matched interiors. Bring back avocado green and harvest gold and whorehouse red and ocean blue interiors.
Leaving stupid town and travelling back to reality:
You can get Audis in Tango Red Metalic (red)
Bright blue (Turbo Blue) medium Blue (Navarra or Voodoo blue), dark blue (Firmament Blue metallic
), and Nogaro Blue
and Dark green (District Green and Sonoma Green), and bright green (Kyalami Green).
Almost all models can be ordered with an 'Audi Exclusive' color which has a huge range and Audi Individual customers can order it in, quite literally, any color of their choosing.
I have less than zero idea how you arrived at Auds being primarily black. They're primarily silver and gray with black being 6th on the list.
@@bwofficial1776 I blame the dealers. They don’t want anything to sit on the lot for more than a week, so they get safety colors, black, white, and an occasional silver.
People don’t order cars anymore (although if they are no longer going to get any deals, we may see a change). Yellow is not my favorite color, nor is it my second or third, but we ended up with a yellow 2003 Dodge Neon simply because it was on the lot. I’ve own my 1994 Ford Mustang since 1998, and it had bright red interior. They stopped having it in 1995. Red on red. Many people don’t even think it’s factory. I probably would’ve gone with black, or even a tan, but it came with red, so I like it anyway.
Your right. But the issue is alot of people out there Absolutely Hate Red Cars. And in recent studies have shown that Black, White & Silver cars have been people's choices in the past decade. Bright Red, Turquoise, Emerald Green, Bright Yellow. Slate Grey etc all of those are long gone.
@@jasperdilincoln2341 if a car isn’t some shade of black white or grey (silver) then it’s typically red, especially if you count the modern metallic reds which tend to be more on the darker side (maroon). Next time you’re in a parking lot, or just out and about, see for yourself what the #4 color choice is now.
People don’t “hate” red. They hate extra attention. They believe that red cars are more likely to get pulled over than boron colors. They also believe that other drivers may give them additional negative attention in the form of road rage. Cops tend to leave my red car alone. And while I did noticed and increase of stupidity among other motorists, vs any other color I drove, the older the car got, the less of an issue. I think people see a nice red car, and act out on hate or jealously, even if the car is cheaper than their own.
Man what a rolling time capsule! I love the quirky older cars you have been doing and how this channel is kind of becoming a museum of really obscure quirky cars like the Beretta, Cimarron, and Oasis (none of which had HD videos on them before!)
Good on you for appreciating weird stuff as well as new fancy stuff, not too many reviewers who do that!
I'm swapping a 96 Z26 right now with an LS and 6spd going RWD with it. Lots of work, but I think it'll be driving in about a month. I'm stoked. Keeping the sawblades too!
Is it done?? I’d love to see it…ok I’m on your channel, subbing now…
Yeah right...than you sobered up.
Is it done?
@@JohnSmith-dc1xf It is. Been doing burnouts for over a year now. haha, check it out!
So awesome 👌🏾
I love anything 80s or 90s GM that’s well preserved this beretta is a treat
Great review. Brings back memories to 1990 when I had a Beretta GTZ with a 5 speed and made about 180 hp. It was all white including the wheels. Would love if you could find one and do a review.
180 wasn't bad for a 1990. I had an 89 firebird formula with the lt1 350 and it was only rated at 225 HP, so not much more than 180. Now, there were rumors it was actually closer to 280 and they were under rating it to make the Corvette look better. That formula was surprisingly torquey and quick. I had 2 late 90s Mustang Cobras and the Formula was faster than they were.
I had gtz also the ho quad 4 was alot of fun to drive with the 5 speed
I had a Beretta right after I graduated high school I loved that car lol
Same but it was a pain in the ass to work on and almost everything went wrong getting a used one in 2013. And me being an idiot to add on
Me too a white 1990.
Me too bro me too....
As a kid I thought the door handle hidden next to the window was the coolest thing I had ever seen
We've come so far from when this was considered sporty. For a mid-90s Chevy this is very well preserved. If those Beretta shotguns were still around they'd be worth ten times what this car's worth, if not more.
From an era where sporty FWD coupes were popular. And, it's got an oil pressure and volt gage. John Davis from Motorweek would be impressed!
Paid option, of course!
A neighbor had one of these when I was a kid and although I was a hardcore JDM guy (specifically Mitsubishi since my dad was one of the techs in the first hiring wave for Mitsubishi in '82) but something about the looks of these really spoke to me.
I really liked your video. I have to be a stickler and give the one correction I heard though... The Cavalier Z24 originally had a V6. I think they changed that car over to a 4-cylinder in 95 when they completely redesigned the car. From 1986-1989, they had the 2.8, starting in 1990 until 1994 they had the 3.1. Either way, great video!
I had a 95 Z24 with the only in that year 2.3 Quad 4. In 96 GM went to the 2.4 Quad 4 which turned into the Ecotech.
You are correct. I had buddies who had a 92 and a 94 z24. Both had the 3.1.
I had a 1990 Z24. One year only for the 3.1L v6 and the old 3 speed automatic
I bought a 1994 Chevy Beretta Z26 brand new. Mine was in blue green metallic, and it was a great looking car. Unfortunately, Chevy had to replace the entire air conditioning system about a month after I bought it. Plus, it was side swiped in an accident where entire right side and front end were replaced. Unibody cars don't like to be hit. That was $7800 damage. And of course it never was the same. The last straw came after I finished paying for it, the engine control system started acting nuts. It wouldn't start at all. Then would fire right up. Then it dies, wouldn't start, again. It was still under warranty, but had they to bring someone from Detroit to look at my car. It spent five months at the dealership. Couldn't solve the problem. So Chevy bought it back from me. And I bought a Plymouth Breeze which turned out to be surprisingly dependable for a Chrysler product. Needless to say when I saw this Beretta Z26, I had to tell the story about mine. I really wanted to keep that car.
I graduated high school in 2003, all the kids wanted one of these !
My first car was a used 1990 Chevy Beretta GT. The exterior paint was Black with red lining. It rumbled with duo glass pack mufflers. Like any young teenager, I upgraded the original audio setup with a Kenwood CD player, 4” punch speakers, 1” tweeters, 6x9s Sony speakers and a sealed box of two 10” JBL subwoofers with a Jensen amp. At the time, this was my high quality audio upgrade, lol! The 100k miles under the hood, of course, needed a complete engine rebuild and oil pump swap. The interior was in pristine condition as much as I could. It was first car, my Beretta!
I do love those 90s/late 80s GM stereos, really kicks off nostalgia for me and there’s a reason that I never pulled the stereo out of my Deville except to replace it for another Deville stereo with the same factory functions and look. No desire to replace it with anything aftermarket whatsoever.
I'm the same way with my Pontiac Fiero! I had to replace the original radio with the one that's very similar to it, heck, I'll do it to any vehicle I own! Going to the junkyard is nothing more convenient than paying a small price to have something you love, and it may just work for a long time! Being a car radio collector (mainly GM) makes me appreciate the factory look of a vehicle with a radio that's meant to be.
@@nick_nt7574 exactly
You can buy a line converter with amp and speakers to adapt to the factory stereo
@@nick_nt7574 Really shines on the A.M stations, pure nostalgia.
This brings back memories. I had the 4 door version of this car, the Corsica, in the exact same color blue. Same interior except for the Beretta Z26 exclusive seats. Mine was a LTZ version, as sporty as the 4 door could get. I loved driving that car, very comfortable and handling was pretty good. Unfortunately, I got another car and lent the Corsica to a friend for a few months, he was crossing an intersection and was T- Boned on the passenger side by a drunk driver that ran the red light and the car was destroyed but thankfully my friend wasn't seriously hurt.
Corsica LTZ is/was a rare entity back in the day, let alone now? It was a four door Beretta GT (not GTZ or Z26) … dropped in 1993. Only had the original 3.1 litre with three speed set up. These were cool cars with “big” 15 inch wheel package 😂 for the time. Good luck finding one of these today?
The highest mileage car I ever owned was a 94 z26 with 448000. Intake gaskets, three outside door handles and one used transmission swap were the only non normal maintenance repairs. Engine blew at the end.
448k? I doubt even Chevrolet envisioned the car lasting that long
It’s sad Toyota is one of the last companies making engines like that with their 3urfe.
This review really hit home! My pawpaw had an '88 model in GT form in Dark Grey with the 2.8 v6. It was a staple of my childhood until the remanufactured motor croaked. I was supposed to inherit it as my first car in high school & fix it up but....pawpaw sold it for scrap while I was at school... Can't find these Berettas anymore and still want one to this day
I'm so glad people beyond myself have a soft spot for 90s GM FWD cars!
My mom had one of these cars and it was totalled when someone ran a red light. She loved that car, every time she talks about she says it was favorite car
The Beretta GTU was a sweet ride also! Loved the wheels on those.
This was my first car when I was 16. Mines was a 1994 Z26. I LOVED this car. Fun to drive. Did excellent in the snow.
I own 2 of these so I have say I love them ('94 & '96). I've owned (in the past) a '94 base model bought new and a '91 GTZ with the 180 hp quad4 (Best car ever).
The gtz was alot of fun to drive
11:03 These Chevy Beretta's were EXTREMELY popular when they came out - Everybody and their momma wanted one of these things when I was a freshman in high school in 87-88.
The color was medium Adriatic blue. I had a 96 Z26 exactly like this one. Except I had grey interior. Mine also liked to eat batteries and alternators. 4 batteries and 3 alternators in 7yrs. I really did love it though. And then bought a trailblazer that I had for 229,000 miles and now I have a traverse with 184,000 miles.
I love that you review cars from my high school days and after high school, ur not all about brand new cars, keep up the great work
I remember as a kid in the 90s seeing these and the Grand Prix in person and being amazed at the hidden door handles. Very futuristic for its time.
I always loved the styling of the Beretta. I had a '91 GT with a manual and a '94 base model with the manual. My '94 sported the Black rose paint -- great look!
For some reason, The Beretta is a somewhat familiar car here in the Netherlands. Just like the older gen Neon, The Pontiac Transporter and the Chrysler Voyager from the 90's.
I've seen several of them over the years, And even today, I can still find them without too much of a struggle if i dig just deep enough (which isn't all that deep)
i always kind of liked them as they're not something i see everyday and they don't look like everything else but around here but without looking too out of place and not too flashy compared to what we had around the time the Beretta was relatively new.
It's just ordinary yet not too ordinary, Kind of hard to explain, But i dig it.
As a gearhead who loves weird cars most people do not know about this is awesome, good job man !
I hope you get a chance this year to review a 1994-96 Impala SS. Love that car. 🤩
You’re in luck! He already reviewed a 1994. Look up Shooting Cars Impala SS on youtube.
I grew up in the Midwest in the late 90s-early 00s, so I love seeing these old GM cars. Brings back good memories.
wow this thing is fucking mint! I love seeing old 80’s and 90’s cars and trucks still on the road in great condition. I daily drive a 1994 f150 4x4 5.0 5 speed reg cab and SWB with only 107k miles! You can’t get 4 things that is my truck today manual transmission full size truck with a v8 its a regular cab and short bed. You don’t see regular cab trucks as much anymore. I listen to 90’s hip hop or rock while I ware my flannel and drive down the road listening to nirvana. It just brings me back to my childhood. cars are the closest thing we have to time machines!
Awesome
I used to idolize this car as kid, especially the skirt package and the sound of the muffler. By the time I grew up older buy one, found out it was just a two door Corsica
Those exhaust notes were beautiful. I had a Corsica and put a cherry bomb on it so it could sound like it's big cousin the Beretta
I had this exact car from 98 thru 2004. Loved that car. I beat the crap out of it. Only thing it ever needed was brake pads
I had a 1995 model and loved it! I didn’t have the Z26 but had the 3.1 engine in it. It was a good engine for the time. Ironically I traded it in later for a new 2002 Cavalier Z24. Thanks for the review!
Nothing beats the GM W body era. My first car was an 89 Buick Regal coupe. Wire wheel covers, white wall tires, and I added chrome rocker trim to make her look newer too. Even though I was driving an old Buick to high school, she was in mint condition, dark blue metallic, and actually was a head turner. It handled more like a plow truck vs. The Baretta, but will always have a place in my heart. Don't ever give up that car, you'll miss it! She is beautiful!
Nice looking car. I love the color , the wheels and the shape and the back looks great. With a standard transmission this would have been great. 👍
I had a 96 base model beretta. Same 3100 v-6 . Great fuel economy. I put the wheels and ground effects kit from a junkyard GTZ. It looked pretty good. I sold it when I got a Corvette itch.
I can see how the Beretta flopped as a potential Camaro replacement, much like the Ford Probe as a Mustang replacement. Not sure it would do any better today, except today it would be a small inline 3 or 4 cylinder turbo or electric. And would have to have gobs of power and torque to dethrone a well established nameplate like Camaro, even though that segment is dying out.
Owned one with the fe3 upgrade ,it had a skid plate that covered bumper to bumper as an additional upgrade 😉...damn I sure miss that car...
Dammit if that Beretta doesn't still look awesome...not sure I ever remember seeing one in that blue color, very sharp, was hoping to hear you fire up that 3.1 V6
Man, I loved these cars growing up. They looked good and that motor had a nice snarl.
I had a 94 z26 in black cherry. Good looking car, rough riding with those wheels! Also no turning radius at all, hard to pull into a parking spot! In addition even though it had 4 wheel anti lock brakes, it was a disk drum set up so the rear tires would easily lock up in hard braking. I traded it in for an actual Camaro z28!
I remember when my dad showed up with one of these for my mom. It was purple. Loved it! Most people don't know about the V8 feretta.
Love the Chevy Beretta. My big sister had an 88 GT. I used to love riding in that thing.
Easily the coolest factory wheels ever to be put on a vehicle
I always thought the Beretta was a sweet looking car. A buddy of mine had a Beretta GTZ back in the day. 2.3L 180hp with a 5spd...that thing was QUICK for early 90s. Hell, 180hp out if a naturally aspirated 2.3 inline 4 is impressive even today
The Beretta was a coupe you could buy when you were single. Meet your girlfriend. And not sell it because Junior was on the way. Also you can fit your full si🎉ze friends in back to get them safely home from the club. People were seriously looking at this when they couldn't get their G-Body anymore. But it was a comfortable cruiser that could get you through a snowstorm.
Great looking car, always wanted one. I had a four door Corsica with the 2.8 and loved it !
I wish I still had my Beretta, such a cool car
I had one of these. It was an aqua blue color. The problem I had with mine was the manual sunroof would leak and the door handles were breaking constantly.
Other than that, I loved it and it performed well. I kept it for 5 years until Ohio winter roads got the best if it. Sadly became too unsafe to drive.
My great uncles ‘90 Beretta GT got me into 2dr cars forever.
Edit. Loved the digital dash that came with it.
My high school buddy was a spoiled kid, and he had the yellow Indy variant as his first car. I only recently discovered that there's a teal green version as well. He eventually traded it for a Camaro, but I always liked that yellow Beretta.
The DNR on the radio actually stands for Dynamic Noise Reduction. It's not a Dolby branded product. It's from National Semiconductor.
Awesome video. I grew up in the 90’s and these cars were everywhere. I remember being a kid and seeing Z26’s and Z34’s and wondering why Chevy would give these cars just as many Z’s as the Z28 lol
The Berretta with the automatic was a dog. If you liked driving, you went for the 5sp manual and the 180hp Quad Four.
Just seen one for sale I want to buy it just for the hell of it!!!!! Waiting for the guy to get back to me I wonder how much hes going to say....98k miles I really miss these days!!!!
Did you buy it?
@@80SWoods nah it was sold!!
Made me chuckle around the 35 second mark, since not only do I own a 1996 Z26, but I also own a Cadillac Cimarron as well.
My grandpa had an L-Body Tempest! Long before I was born, and only for a couple years, but he did have one!
Me and my older sister shared an 88 Beretta gt as our first car. It was repainted by gm for a recall of defective primer. My sister chose turquoise with some 90's pinstripes. The Beretta was also available with a manual Transmission.
A friend's mom had the GT back when I was in high school. I thought it was a cool car but yeah, I also remember the paint peeling off of it like a cracked egg shell.
Absolutely my most favorite car!!!!
I always loved the headlight/wiper situation on this and the Corsica.
My best friend in HS had a white 94. Oh man, lots of memories in this car.
I’m not gonna lie. I do like these cars and what’s really cool about the early ones is they had this long vent that went horizontally across the dashboard.
Some of them did have cooling system issues but overall they are really neat cars. Thank you for sharing this
I feel like the beretta spirit lived on through the Saturn and Oldsmobile platform and then was lost in history. Big engine fwd was a hard thing to make for gm without an automatic transmission. A manual would have boosted its reputation as bulletproof fun. And an awd turbo variant would have quickly reached gnx or gmc cyclone status.
Think of a lightweight vr4 3000gt or awd Pontiac Grand Prix gtp package on the grand am.
These cars are just plain handsome. The shape is just something we don't see these days.
I'd totally forgot about the Pontiac Tempest that they sold in Canada back in the day. Had to Google it and instantly got flooded with memories because those were EVERYWHERE in southern Ontario back in the day. I remember the weird windmill looking wheels o on some of them. Of course, the salt and snow in the winter ate them all up.
Loved the stickers! The BlockBuster one was epic!
That Impala SS cameo was epic!
My Beretta was the V6 5 speed. It was fun. It was totaled and saved my life.
Still a good looking car today. I remember these were considered pretty bad ass back in the day.
My brother had scmid level beretta in the early 2000's i absolutely adored that car!! It was so comfy in the back and i lovee the door handles!
Although I've always had thoughts of the Beretta being built on the N-Body platform and wondered why it wasn't but I also applaud G.M. for allowing something a little different to STILL be built during this area. The N-Body premiered in 1985. I purchased one the same year: A Buick Somerset Regal with a 3.0 liter V-6. The Chevy initially came with the 2.8 liter V-6 from the Pontiac 6000. It's design had offset cylinder banks but I think the horsepower was rated at 130.
Although sportier looking than the N-Bodies, it's interior was somewhat spartan in comparison.
Really enjoying this channel. You're doing a great job. Really love the history videos too!
Back in 1989 My Mother got a Brand New Mercury Cougar. My Aunt her sister said she was jealous(in a joking way) and a few months after got a Chevy Beretta LS. I liked them both growing up. I liked the Cougar electronic seat belts( although everytime my grandmother rode with us, it was like she had to fight the seat belt😆) but what was cool about my Aunts Beretta, I loved the Door Handles on the Window Panels etc. Yes the Beretta & Cougar were both very reliable cars. But my Aunt finally got rid of her Beretta back in '96 traded it in for a Pre-owned '95 Chrysler Concord. Eventhough she just MB's nowadays she told me the Beretta was a fun car to own back in the day.
It wasn't just the passenger side airbag, it was mainly the side collision requirements that the NHTSA required. GM discontinued the L body because it was too expensive to redesign therefore they dropped it.
I miss these cars
I had a white & red interior 96 Beretta. That was 2nd car I ever owned. LOVED this car. I seem to recall the stock speakers kicked ass.
Beautiful car, I loved the lumina z34 too
You say they werent that popular!!?? I grew up when they were new. Tryst me they were very popular.
The Beretta Z26 you want to drive was the 5 speed Getrag with the quad 4 engine. That was a beast.
This was my first financed car I purchased when I was 18. It was 3 yrs old 58k miles with a 23% interest rate in 1999.
GOD I _L O V E_ these cars!! I mean the profile is just sexy with the still very cool B pillar door handles the front end with the upper grille delete, perfect..and the rear with that spoiler and "smoked" one piece wrap around taillights!!
I had an 89 GT but the Z & U series were the best
thanks for this comprehensive and thanks for being a sizable guy to give that perspective
Some GM exec fell in love with those Beretta Shotguns and possibly still has them. I know I would have .
My sister rented one back then, and let me drive it. I loved it, it was a FAST little car for what it was.
That shifter knob was put in every GM car for decades... from the Celebrity to the Corvette. When GM latches onto a design, they'll fight to the death to not let it go..... like those breakable door handles that were on nearly every GM car for..... decades. You'd like to think "If it ain't broke....." - except they broke all the time, and GM kept making them anyway.
My neighbor growing up had an early 80s Camaro, and it had that exact knob 😂
It was even in the mid 90s Buick Riviera
10:26 - The Z24 also had the 3.1L V6 until 1994. The roots of the L platform track to a business directive that GM made in the early 80s where they said they were going to get away from offering essentially the same car across multiple brands. You can see how that turned out... They did one experiment (this L body), then went back to business as usual.
I'm a bit surprised how Chevrolet kept the 80's-90's boxy look to the body in 1996 while a lot of other cars were gone to a more sleek, rounder shape to them all
Later Cavalier Z24 came with a V6 ☺️ I also owned a blue and silver 1991
I've had a number of these cars, all cool and different in their own right. Had a loaded '88 GT with the V6, 5-speed, digital dash and sunroof (must have been rare). Any of those V6s are torquey little bastards. Got a '90 GTZ in white. Gramps let out quite a squeal when I opened the hood exposing the Quad 4. Was at the tech forefront at the time. Was fun to rev the crap out of and still get 30 mpg. Surprised about zero mention of the door handles, which were always a discussion point back in the day.
Although I was selling Chevys at the time, I don't recall ever driving a Z26. We had the GTU and GTZ Berettas.
Good info, great video.
My demo at the time was a Lumina Z34.... Interesting car if you ever come across one.
Zach .... you didn't pull the rear seats down for my trunk space. They are a split 60/40.
That piece at the console with the hidden ashtray was not a cup holder. It's a change holder.
The shotguns are probably at some retired executive's hunting cabin
i had one it suprized the crap outta me when i got on it
its a good looking car..it never had the performance it deserved..even w/ the quad 4 engine