@@123andme Listed at10K- 12k?!! Even if 15k for four-wheel drive? US regulations and 25 percent tariff for the "Chicken Tax"! 20-25K! I'm all in but! The Home market of the Big Three Would Cry Foul And SEND the Price To 30K Plus! I'm Hoping They can pull it Off because, my truck is 20 years old and need a Real Simple Replacement!
How's the 3 cyl Mitsubishi Mirage they make now? Same company even. The old one looks better though. My 1995 Escort wagon still has manual windows and locks, as does my '82 W150/225 which also never had AC despite being in the South, NC.
I still love the AMC straight 6 engine. Always will. Toughest gas job I've ever owned. I've always had a vehicle with that engine for the last 25 years
What a trip down memory lane, almost every car on this list was in my high school parking lot in the 90's (89-93) plus the odd 70's auto's & "daddies company car"
I had a '77 VW Rabbit diesel., German built. I bought with 80K miles on it, sold it with 198K. 45 MPG. Good ride, comfy seats.. I'm a diesel mechanic, soooo, maintenance was second nature to me. Ran Delo 30W with 3k oil changes, rebuilt injectors once, never had a problem. No smoke if driven properly and not lugged Stock exhaust was problematic, due to resonances at idle, made a dual exhaust to replace it, got a tad more power. Great car.
Not making the list were the VW offerings. Not American cars, but we drove them here. I had an ‘82 scirocco which had manual steering, brakes and transmission. The driver was the ECM. I paid about $900 for it in 1992. Everyone should drive an early 80’s economy car at some point in their lives. Other interesting things were a water pump than ran off a fan belt, an 8 gallon fuel tank and a gigantic piston type ac compressor. Fuel mileage was so good, I never checked it. Gas was about $1 a gallon as were a pack of Marlboro lights. It was a lot easier being poor back then.
I was around when all these cars were debued. Yep! Cheapest and crappies cars ever. What an era to grow up in (80s). Best decade ever! Keep up the great work.
I was lucky to have come of age then, when the old cars were faster than the new ones so that handy teenagers were the fastest guys on the road including the cops. Never happened before or since.
I really really loved my 1972 Pinto, cast iron 4 cylinder push rod engine and 4 speed, It was the cheap one that had a trunk, previous owner had put a little plastic spoiler on the trunk lid :) and painted the Hood flat black, put slotted Chrome wheels on it, with little 13 inch 60s on the back.. I think I had it in 1977...
My Dad had an AMC Spirit, well before I was born, some great features include: 1) having to put a basketball behind the seat so it would not immediately slide back and fold over 2) not being able to go in reserve and having to push it down the driveway. 3) being t-boned by a Datsun 280ZX which according to him, added value 4) and finally going to the car dealership and the sale almost fell through because the dealer wouldn’t take it. The salesmen said it was worth “negative money.” At a certain point he couldn’t take it on the freeway because if you went over 45, it just stalled
Back in the 80’s my Dad proclaimed that he was gettin a car but it would be less than 4,000 He came home with a Chevette Scooter for 3,999 No glove box door, no door panels, no armrests, let alone a drink holder Most kids on their ten speeds could beat it to 25
@@Toetalwar I lived through these years and you have no idea how bad these cars sucked. I would take a 5 year old Corolla at $19,000 over any of these options everyday. In every single way (mileage, safety, power, handling, comfort, luxury features, reliability, etc...) the Corolla is a better car. Hell, that $19k 2019 Corolla with 60k miles on it is objectively a better car than most of the luxury vehicles rolling off the lot in the early 80s.
I was in the Air Force in 1984 and bought my first new car- 1984 Dodge Colt GTS Turbo- same colors in your video- and these "rice rockets" as we called them were really fun to drive! The car only weighed 1800 lbs, and that 102HP with the turbo was a blast. Thanks for the memories!
The Ford Pinto was a great little car. I had one from New in 1972. I ownedntwo 72 Runabouts until 1990. I almost bought a new 1980 model, but endednup.getting a 1980 Datsun 210 because they were good for about 40 MPG. The Pinto was still a favorite of mine. Dependable, comfortable, and fun to drive. Dealers weren't heavily discounting Pintos to make room for the new Ford Escort. 1980 Pintos sold very well at MSRP all day long.
They had fixed the gas tanks by 1980 and the wagons never had the problem, plus Corollas were just as bad, or Tercels? It was the memo that sunk Ford more than the cars.
You forgot the Dodge/Plymouth Omni/Horizon models... Great video! A friend of mine bought her Chevette in 1986....she loved it! I drove most of these back in the 80's, as I worked part time at Avis Rent-A-Car moving vehicles around and also an airport parking lot, moving customer cars around and driving them to the airport and back. Most of these were NOT good vehicles past the 2-3 year mark. I had a 1981 Dodge Omni 024 2 door hatchback, bought it used in 1985. It didn't run in the rain. LOL
1:06 BRO my dad had one of these in the mid-nineties. He purchased it for like $250 because it has a busted heater core and a faded paint job. It was a DL and it was blue on blue and the interior smelled AWESOME. I still remember following him home with my mom in our 89 Blazer S10 thinking it was the coolest, weirdest little thing I'd ever seen. My mother despised it because it didn't have A/C so my father painted it up real nice and sold it on for a profit which was his whole point in buying little oddities like this. That AMC Spirit was one of many bizarre cars I knew well but only for a brief period of time and for it to be the very first car mentioned on this list took me by surprise. Cheers!
Oh man, all the memories here 😎 I had a couple Rangers, and have driven many of these cars. Yes, some got exceptional fuel mileage, but that was because Federal crash standards were far below today, and there ain't much metal in them so they are light. Couple that with tiny engines, a manual trans, 55MPH speed limits and it wasn't that hard to do. Many had inherent design faults that killed all of them in time, and most didn't have any redeeming qualities which made people want to keep them long-term. There were exceptions though like the 1st gen Ranger which I still see a few of on the road occasionally; IMHO one of the best vehicles ever built. On the Dodge trucks, there were so many because Dodge was trying to create a new market niche of mid-sized trucks, so it needed big and small ones to bookend it and prove the concept was viable. Best holiday wishes to all!
Very cool, in 1987 I bought my GF a 1983 Nissan Sentra it had 11000 miles on it 5 speed w A/C no radio. I paid 1400 for it and she was still driving it last time I talked to her in 2012, great little car! I was buying 80s cars in the mid to late 8o's and early 90s for cheap mostly 4x4 yotas and earlier dodges Id love to slip into a portal go back to the 80s and fill up a couple of buildings.
Exactly as the author doesn't know what he is talking about. For example I bought a new 1986 F00ord Escort Pony for $4800 and it got 39 or more on the freeway & was better than the Tercel, everything from Honda, the Sentra, etc...
I enjoyed this video and look back. My parents for some reason owned two cars of the exact model twice, just a difference in color. First were the Pontiac version of the Chevy Chevette. Omgosh, I hated those POC's!!! Then 2 Ford Fairmonts! Always breaking down! My first vehicle bought with my own funds was the 87 Dodge Colt Sedan built by Mitzubishi. I couldn't kill that car! My next car was a 90 Chevy Cavalier Sport (?) a 2 door, stick. That car broke down SO much, it made me a mechanic. Ppl squabbled over who made the the best quality trucks n cars. Ford, Chevy, Ford, Chevy. Of all the rides I had owned, it was the Dodges with the best quality, except the Grand Caravans. I always had suspension and brake issues with those. But my other Dodges, 3 Dakotas, a Colt, a Mirage, and now a Challenger are or were solid performers. Thx Dodge-Mitzubishi. BRING BACK THOSE SMALL TRUCKS!!!
@@GreenHawkDrive my channel features the Pontiac Turbo Firefly, a Canada only version of these great Japanese Super-Mini's. If you ever do a video on the Suzuki Cultus and all of its variants I would be glad to help with the Canadian side of the story.
Pretty cool Hawk! I just launched my Alliance vid! I used to see Ram50s all over the Navy bases when I was in. Goverment contract vehicles..Guess they had to go with a Domestic brand, even though they were imports.
I bought a new 79 spirit in the fall of 79 after the 80 model was on the lot. 4k out the door. Pretty loaded with ac, power steering and brakes, automatic transmission and am FM radio, intermittent wipers. AMC dealers were easy to work with on price. Excellent car.
I had an '86 Chevette with a 4 speed manual. I put Pirelli P77s and gas charged shocks on it. After that, it was a lot more fun (sort of) on twisty PA back roads. I also had an '84 Mazda GLC (Great Little Car) and it was stripped out as the Chevette. There's something amusing about driving a slow car fast and both of these were kind of amusing at times. And even with carbs, both were totally reliable - never had a problem with either.
Good video! You stirred up alot of memories!! That Red Renault you showed earlier was actually a fun lil car to drive! My friend had one and it had a stick that’s what made it fun. The Monza was TRASH! My friend’s mom gave him her’s when she got a new car. We broke down on our way to New Jersey to go to a party. My aunt had the Pinto and got rid of it ASAP after seeing what could happen if you got hit in the rear!! The Chevette was Ultra Krap!!! My older brother had one and he LOVED that piece of krap!! He would buy stupid stuff from PepBoys to stick somewhere on that junk! It had NO ac and he actually drove from Philly to Virginia Beach him & his girlfriend. She broke up with him upon their return 😆😆😆😆. She complained to me about the entire trip!!!!! Keep up the good work!! Happy Holidays to you & your family.🙏🏼😎👍🏽
Say whatcha' will about a Chevy Chevette. We had one growing up and it got handed down 3 different times. That's what we had back in the day. My friend's uncle bought an 86 Ranger 4x4 extended cab. Great truck
I'm surprised that with the foreign cars you left out the Yugo GV at $3990 and the Hyundai Excel at $4995. Those were later in the decade than many of these cars (both were 1985), so they were that much more of a bargain. As a side note, one of my good friends in high school had a 1982 Plymouth Champ. He butchered the badging and made it into an Amp Lymo because he liked car audio. I still remember him cruising around with his PA system, 6X9s stuck by their magnets to the roof, and 8" subwoofers housed in traffic cones for enclosures. He got me started in the hobby and I took it to another level, even doing it professionally to pay my way through college (along with scholarship). Good times.
The Cruising Wagon was awesome. The '76 model Pinto's were running out and the '77 Cruising wagon was the new sporty wagon. The Ford dealer I went looking for a new car had a 76 Pinto Stallion (sticker price $4200) and a Cruising Wagon heavily optioned ($5800). I drove my first new car home that day, a yellow and black Pinto Stallion. I'd buy another one in a heart beat!
Hey buddy back off about my dream car I don't pick on you because you are in to AMC. Lol sorry I'm late to the party I just got the opportunity to watch. You do amazing job doing it. I get the impression that you were having trouble with the trools. Fn em. You got this and the sky is the limit. You clearly have the passion for it. Finally I just had to mention that I had one of those Robin's egg firefly's. It was a 90 the one all tricked out it was the one with the hood soup. I can get a little chirp in 3rd. Anyway as always ty and looking forward to the next one 👍. Have a great weekend when you get there or maybe it's already started! Keep up the good work and it will pay off especially because you have so much passion. I just love to see the younger generation if the field and interested in looking into the trade. We really more because we are loosing more than we get. All that talk about not having enough mechanics..sorry I need to wrap it up before it gets even more crazy. See you in the next one 👍 🇨🇦 🔧
1985 Ford Escort. Redesigned Pinto with the gas tank moved forward. It took two minutes to hit its top speed of 70mph. One time driving on a rural road an atv passed me with my foot all the way in it. 😂. No AC, no carpet, no power steering, crank windows, 4 speed, no tinted windows, no rear defrost, AM radio was a dealer installed option😂, painted steel wheels with 14" bias ply tires. And to top it off only a driver's side outside mirror 🎉.
I was clocked at 114 in my Escort by a Missouri Highway Patrol Aircraft and was intercepted by 2 separate Troopers in Mustangs, Was flying with the speedometer buried and tach humming just below redline. They were amazed and cut me a huge break thank God or I'd still be sitting in jail.🤣🤣
Great video GreenHawk! Many of these cars did bring back some great memories. My folks bought 2 Chevette's when they first came out in 1976 and I knew they were slow but did not know how really slow they were. I'm guessing the main reason they hung around until 1987 was that most were used as cheap rentals. The small Japanese pickups were so great. Thanks for the memories and happy new year to you!
The AMC Sprint was built in house?! Wow you wouldn't know that was a U.S built car if weren't told, that thing looks like a Japanese car from all angles. Great video as always man, I'll take the AMC concept van please. Have a good Christmas, hope you get a nice new shiny car from Santa 🤘
Two notes: 1) My dad owned a 1982 Chevy Chevette Scooter. Bought new, it cost $5200.00. Cavernous cargo room. And even with a manual it was slow. 2) A college of mine in 1986, bought a used green 1984 Dodge Colt Turbo. It was a blast to drive!
In December of 1980, my dad purchased a 1981, 5 speed, Honda Accord, 4 door sedan. No a/c, no radio, no power windows. It did come standard with power assist steering. With no options, it was $8,500. He wanted to install an am/fm casette radio he purchased from the company he worked for, but it was the beginning of auto manufacturers designing autos so owners could only use their products, and the radio did not fit. He did use a nibbler to open the speaker holes and use the speakers he purchased from his company. He ended up buying the top end cassette radio from Honda for about $100 and he saved the installation fee installing it himself. For a 98 horsepower car, it had a really comfortable ride, was ultra quiet, very well built, low-cost car.
the pinto was found out in the late 80s that it did not explode anymore than any other car from the 70s but Ford handled the controversy terribly and that was the real tragedy.
I learned to drive on my parents' 1982 manual Dodge Colt. My dad was obsessed with fuel economy and not spending money on cars, hence the Colt. After learning how to manage the clutch, I kinda enjoyed it. It had NO power. Merging on to the interstate required patience and planning, but that little car fit anywhere and got better fuel mileage than many modern day motorcycles. I like faster things these days, but I do appreciate that little car.
I bought a 1988 Mercury Tracer for about $8K. My first new car. Loved that car. Totaled it. Bought another. Totaled it. Neither my fault but figured I wouldn’t chance a third Tracer.
The Chevette was purposedly made bad by GM.Our brazilian car ran faster and had much better handling.Great list ,it teaches lessons to us ,like simpler might be just right,row your own gears,few driver aids ,cheaper insurance,cheaper payments so you have money left for groceries.Cheers
My 5th car, and first brand new car I ever bought, was an ‘87 Nissan Sentra 2-door sedan. That was such a bare-bones car. I’ve sometimes joked that it didn’t come new with rear seats or rear brakes 😂 but I wasn’t far off. Anything you could think of that would be an optional item on any car during the 1980s, that car didn’t have it. And everything it did have was low-grade with lots of cheap plastic. The upside, however, is that it was reliable and easy to maintain. Years later (sometime around 2016, I think) I rented a late-model Nissan Sentra for a weekend. It had that familiar cheap feel to it also.
good stuff, I had the84 Ranger, the 83 Le Car, a 84 Dodge Colt (loved the power twin stick) and .... a 1980 Renault R12 (though I think that snuck in from Canada originally) I wish I had them all back - great fun rides in their own right
I drove an automatic gas engine Chevette for work in the 90s. At that same time my mom had one of those slow diesel Mercedes Benz’s. The Mercedes was like a Charger Hellcat in comparison to the Chevette😂
I bought a brand-new 1987 Chevrolet Sprint E/R. It was $5400 buying the E/R version (Extended Range) which cost an additional $200. It was wonderful being able to afford a brand-new car. Yes, it was a cheaply made car, but after driving ghetto sleds it was so nice having everything being brand-new, the seats, the door panels, the carpeting, the seat belts, the glass, etcetera. The worst thing I could say about it is that when the winter temperatures dropped down to about 20F it was difficult to heat the interior, and particularly at nighttime because the solar load from the daytime sun gave a decent greenhouse effect of more warming. The heater itself was good, the problem being when it was that cold outside the heater would outrun what the engine could produce. I even tried stopping on the side of the road and holding my foot on the gas pedal a little with the heater blower shut off. It would take about ten minutes of holding my foot on the pedal for the temp gauge to reach normal. I'd then drive off and as soon as I put the blower on the temp gauge would start to drop and the engine would cool off again. Everything I thought of trying didn't work. I probably could have had heat if I drove around in third gear, but I didn't want to chance risking the engine as it sounded very revved-up. The only thing that worked for sure was staying home if the outdoor temp was below 25F.
Love the Colt/Champ of that generation. My brother in law had an 80 model with the 1.4/4spd. Fun little car. I was smiling the whole video, I miss those little cars and trucks.
Bro this is awesome! Fantastic video, keep up the good work! Idea suggestion if you want, Chevys and Fords sold only in foreign countries and never sold in the US; (i.e the South American, Australian and European markets).
I appreciate that man, really, thank you. I just found out that the Caviler is still be sold in Mexico and it doesn’t look half bad! I like the suggestion🤝
As an auto mechanic in the 80s up to 2010 I can say I loved those cars...lots of them on the road and lots of them came into my shop $$$ they definatly were not the most reliable cars
My family had a 79 Chevette Scooter. The stripped down version of a Chevette if you can imagine what that would be like! The door panels were laminated cardboard! It was a manual. Real fun to play with in the snow as it was rear wheel drive.
Mom bought a brand new 1984 chevy chevette scooter, options were am/fm radio with 2 crappy door speakers, automatic transmission, red exterior which I think most of the scooters were she paid around $5000 and loved it
Here in The Netherlands In 1986 my parents wanted a brand new car. But they only had money for a cheap one. But they wanted new because they had so much problems with secondhand cars. So in 1986 they bought a Lada 1200s. Now that was eco! That was an empty car! No luxury at all! My mom almost couldn’t drive it because the steeding was so heavy! It was so cheap . But it was new
I have a 2023 Ford Ranger XLT. It's absolutely amazing. Reliable, 270 hp, 310 lbs of torque, just awesome (and blue). I only dislike that it doesn't have AWD just 2WD or 4WD which makes sense. Decent gas mileage but would like eco boost. I would give it a solid 9.5 out of 10 and plan to drive that baby into the freakin' ground!
A lot of these cars were way out of date but the early 80's sucked financially. Everyone was broke and the banks were collapsing. A cheap out of date car was sometimes the best option. Happy motoring
That pretty much covers it, between the economy in general and interest rates it was either keep driving used, buy one of these "options" or do what most people did, and buy a foreign car.
Reading the descriptions in the thumbnail; reminds me of my first car: 1980 Toyota Corolla. 1.8 L straight four into a five speed manual rear wheel drive. With me in it it was just about 1 ton- it was like that thing was made to do donuts! Terrific car, kind of miss it now.
I had a 1982 Chevrolet Chevette Rally sedan I inherited from my grandfather in 1993 and miss that little car. While yes it was unimpressive bare bones basic transportation with the 1.6L inline 4 cylinder engine, 3 speed automatic transmission, no power anything or air conditioning and an AM monotone radio with a single speaker in the dashboard the car was great on gas and required almost no major repairs except to replace the timing belt and water pump. Certainly not recommended for highways as it was too slow to get onto the highway from an on ramp and couldn't keep up with traffic it was a great around town commuter car.
My then girlfriend bought a new '84 Rabbit with a 1 bbl. Carter/Weber carb and a 4 speed. I bought it from her when we broke up and swapped in a Euro-spec 1.6 Heron head (look it up) GTi motor and a Weber 32/36 DGEV 2 bbl. It would smoke factory GTi's on the top end☺
@@speedbuggy16v i had a set of Dell' Orto's on it, never ran right. found out after I swapped on the 2 bbl. that one of the air bleed passages wasn't drilled at the factory. Went all fuel injection on the next cars☺
@@bvward Right on, I had them on an A2 golf, and a fiberglass buggy with a 1.8 GTI engine on it. Then as you did went to FI on the buggy later with a 16v, the carbs make all the right sounds, and when they are right make a little more power on the top end. But the drivability with the factory FI was sooooo much better.
@@bvward Nice, I have never messed with one of those, I have played with an XT/6 with the ER27, that was a fun car when it ran. Sadly someone had gone insane with scotch lock connectors under the dash and we could never get the electrical system to play well with the rest of the car.
Kinda surprised the 80' Citation wasn't mentioned . My dad ordered a base model that came in in 2 weeks. Without connections, it took 12 weeks. The dealer was surprised it showed so quickly 🎉
I owned a 1980 Pinto, built in the last week or so of production. It was by far one of the most trouble free cars I ever owned, I had it from 1982, when I bought it as a repo with 22k on it, till 2009 when I sold it with over almost 700k on it, with its original 2.3L motor and 4 spd. trans. In 1983 I was in the market for a new pickup, I looked at the Dodge and Ford options, the Ranger and the F150 were priced nearly identical, and I didn't fit in the Ranger at 6ft 3in tall. Dodge won out in the end, offering more for my money with a 360v8 and a 3/4 ton truck with a four speed NP435 transmission for $7,200. It wasn't meant to be though as it was stolen from the dealer while there for a recall 42 days after I brought it home. The 1984 models were out by that time and I couldn't find another one like it. I settled for a left over van which I had for a few years, a half ton, 318 V8 automatic model that cost me $5,400 from the dealer where my p/u was stolen from. I sold the van after only a few months, and bought a nearly new 1984 F150 Supercab with a 4.9L stick, but it proved to be too light duty having been built as the lightest possible set up possible. I drove it for about a year, buying an 80 Dodge for bit used but sold that too in short order In 1986, after a few issues with the van, I made a deal for a new F150, 300 I6 4 spd. manual 4x2, XL trim for $5,999, about $1,200 off the sticker price, for a cash sale. It was a good truck but had no AC, 18 months later I traded it in for one with a V8 and AC for $1,550 and the old truck. After a slew of problems with the '87, i sold it before it hit the 2 year mark. In 1991 I bought a left over 1989 Ford LTD wagon, which had a new sticker price of $13k, I paid $9,500 cash, it had 300 miles on the clock when i bought it It was my last 80's car. FF to 2004, I happened to find the 1986 F150 I had traded in back in 1987 for sale about a mile from that dealer, with 11k more on it than when I traded it in. It had been bought by an older guy who died and his wife just left the truck sit in the garage where he last parked it till her death 16 years later. I bought it back for $500, after a set of tires, belts, hoses, and battery I kept it around for a few years but sold it in 2015 for more nearly what I paid for it new. I should have kept it but the lack of ac bothered me as bad then as back when it was new. If I had it to do over again i'd have hunted for an '86 F150 with AC back then, chances are I'd still own it but at the time I bought the '86, they were on the verge of becoming 'last year's model' and I really wasn't a fan of the new look in '87. I did look at the AMC Spirit when they were still around but they were pricier than the Ford's here for some reason, mostly because most of them on the lots were fully loaded, where as most Ford were more entry level models. The Renault Alliance was a mess, a good friend of mine bought one new in 1986 and it was probably the worst car I'd ever seen. Transmission problems, brake issues, and electrical issues were seemingly unsolvable and the car eventually burned to the ground in a mall parking lot at less than a year old. I owned a LeCar for a bit in 1987, acquired for next to nothing at an estate sale with 11k on it, I drove it for a summer and sold it, glad to get rid of it as it was a near useless car. I also had several VW Rabbits, most of which were bought the same way, never paying more than a few hundred bucks for one. They were good beaters but the Pinto was ten times the car.
The later Pintos were actually very good cars. Ford knew they had to be if they were to sell any so they upped their quality game on them. And that 2.3 was one of the best engines ever made. Folks today can't conceive how slow the Le Car, Colt, Yugo, Chevette, Rabbit diesel, and some other were. You could start taking a long nap during the first lap of a 20 mile race with these and still wake up in time to see the finish. A mailed 1st class letter could make it to the other coast just as fast as these cars could. Sad your Dodge got stolen, they still made damn good trucks at that point but went downhill afterward. Thanks for sharing the memories!
the 2.3 lima motor was one of fords best engines, if for no other reason than it didn't make enough power stock to hurt itself. 160K on my fox body with one in it and to say I abuse it would be a tragic level of understatement. 87 whole HP when it was new, probably makes 40 now....... Still gets about 28 highway though.
I had the '87 Chevy Sprint(Suzuki Swift prototype). I'm 6'5"... yes, I could drive it comfortably, but I could also reach to manually open & close every window from the driver's seat.😆
I had a friend in college (in US) in 1985 who bought a used 1982 Renault Alliance for around $1000 with manual. He was one of the few who could drive stick
My first two cars get a mention in the brief imports list... Mazda GLC...which I plowed into the rear of a Lincoln Town Car. VW Rabbit...with which I T-boned a Camaro.
In about 1986, my business partner laid his hands on an AMC Eagle 4WD Spirit. I think the proper name was AMC Eagle SX-4. Shorrrt wheelbase but was fun to drive over snowdrifts in the Rocky Mountain winters.
What about the Hyundai Excel? It debuted in 1985 and I bought one in 1987 for $4995. It was a great little car and had a fantastic 10/100,000 warrantee.
My first new car was a '89 5-door 5-speed manual Geo Metro LSi...my father was a GM salesman and told him I wanted one in (dark) silver, which was in the dealer brochure, but I'd never seen. He found one six states away and did a dealer trade. It got 50 MPG on the highway until you pushed the little blue button marked 'A/C' which instantly dropped MPG to about 30...wish I could resurrect it as new and use as a commuter wagon...just don't apply too much pressure to the body panels when hand washing it...
The best car I had was a 250,000 mile,rescued from a junkyard. 88 corolla bare model (with the awesome option upgrade of passenger manual mirror) heck,it only had Two speed wipers, no intermittents. Salvaged title,had to change clutch,replace TORN front seats and sort out electrical and mechanical gremlins. It was the best,most reliable car I’ve ever had. But as most California vehicles, after 6 year ownership, it failed the smog check at some point in which it made more sense getting the $1,500 the retirement program was offering.
In 2nd and 3rd world countries without stringent pollution and safety standards cars are still made which are simple, light, cheap,and efficient but we're not allowed to have them since that's bad for us.
@@AnyoneSeenMikeHunt He's not wrong. So far the only countries I've found where they offer cars under 10k USD are developing ones: (India) Suzuki Alto K10 - 4,695 USD (399,000 rupees) (there are another 10 brands in India offering cars under 10K USD) (China) Lingbao Coco - 5,044 USD (36,800 RMB) (Russia) Lada Granta Sedan - 6,999 USD (699,900 rubles) (Same model since 2011, just a couple of facelifts) (Russia) Lada Niva Legend - 9,810 USD (981,000 rubles) (Same model since 1977, just a couple of facelifts) (Indonesia) Daihatsu Ayla - 8,381 USD (136 Million IDR) (Indonesia) Daihatsu Sigra - 8,566 USD (139 Million IDR) Cheapest car in Europe would be the Dacia Sandero which is around 13,000 USD. I could also mention the Citroen Ami which is a little bit less than 10k USD, but it's just a glorified golf cart with doors which has less than 50 miles range.
Brings back lots if memories. I was born in 60 so these were all over the place. You forgot the Ford Fiesta from the late 70s. Cute car my neighbor bought one. My uncle bought a Chevette for commuting 80s a day to work.
Good Morning, Mr. Hawk.😊I don't like foreign cars but I'm recently attracted to the Renault Alliance. Heard it was a decent entry-level vehicle at the time. Good looking. Made in Kenosha, WI an hour north of Chicago in an AMC plant.👷♀️And the GT versions are actually in demand!😮Plus, they had some Really cool commercials.😎"The One To Watch!!! Renault!".😎
A 1988 Dodge Colt E was vinyl seats, 4 speed manual....5 speed in next trim level. It did have power brakes, carpet. Was it still nice? Yep! Fun shifter and clutch. Smooth quiet engine. I wish we had small strippers like that today.
At the time I liked the Chevette because it was one of the last small rear wheel drive. I had the 1984 in 1986 I bought it used for around 2500 at a car lot dealership. Thinking back, I should have got a Civic front wheel drive that nearly got twice gas millage but at 87 cents a gallon gas savers wasn't sought after like they are now. Also when your a teenager rear wheel drives are way more fun in the snow.
Ford Pinto was by far the best of the sub compacts. I had two of them ('72 and '80), plus a Vega, a Ranger, an S-10 and a Spectrum. The Pinto was a great car.
When these cars were selling new for $4000.00.I was was buying a 69 440 Roadrunner for $700.00 a 440 R/T for $350.00 that needed a trans which I bought for $100.00 for a grand total of $450.00,a 72 340 Dart Swinger for $250.00 and my last real toy a 66 SS 396 for $500.00.I had more fun with used junk from the 60's than I ever could have had with a new car!
The chevy sprint was a suzuki
Yep. I had one. It later became the Geo Metro. Decent little econobox.
Bring back those Mini Pickups! They are more useful than the so called mid- size verions offered today!
With you 💯 on this, I miss all the cool mini trucks.
I’d buy one in a heartbeat!
Wait for the compact toyota truck. That will be a game changer.
@123andme
Is that a new model coming out?
@@123andme Listed at10K- 12k?!!
Even if 15k for four-wheel drive? US regulations and 25 percent tariff for the "Chicken Tax"! 20-25K! I'm all in but! The Home market of the Big Three Would Cry Foul And SEND the Price To 30K Plus!
I'm Hoping They can pull it Off because, my truck is 20 years old and need a Real Simple Replacement!
We need a revival of small affordable cars for the masses.
I had a 1982 Plymouth Horizon.
How's the 3 cyl Mitsubishi Mirage they make now? Same company even. The old one looks better though. My 1995 Escort wagon still has manual windows and locks, as does my '82 W150/225 which also never had AC despite being in the South, NC.
US CAFE standards favor SUVs over small cars. Small cars are in effect banned. Thanks to our government.
I miss AMC. They made some cool looking stuff.
I still love the AMC straight 6 engine. Always will. Toughest gas job I've ever owned. I've always had a vehicle with that engine for the last 25 years
Certainly one of the first to come-out with crossovers....I remember seeing one of them ( Eagle ) on a street I grew-up on.....I loved the style!
@@Ithinkiwill66 I think a lot of their styling was ugly and not competitive.
Liked those 1958-59 Rambler Ambassadors with the funky tailfins as well as the Nash Metros
I had a mean gremlin x that I dropped a 360 in to replace the 232. That thing would pass everything but a gas pump.
What a trip down memory lane, almost every car on this list was in my high school parking lot in the 90's (89-93) plus the odd 70's auto's & "daddies company car"
Rad video! Great job finding all this stuff, its not easy to research all that data and b-roll
Thank you, I appreciate it!
I had a '77 VW Rabbit diesel., German built. I bought with 80K miles on it, sold it with 198K. 45 MPG. Good ride, comfy seats.. I'm a diesel mechanic, soooo, maintenance was second nature to me. Ran Delo 30W with 3k oil changes, rebuilt injectors once, never had a problem. No smoke if driven properly and not lugged Stock exhaust was problematic, due to resonances at idle, made a dual exhaust to replace it, got a tad more power. Great car.
Not making the list were the VW offerings. Not American cars, but we drove them here. I had an ‘82 scirocco which had manual steering, brakes and transmission. The driver was the ECM. I paid about $900 for it in 1992. Everyone should drive an early 80’s economy car at some point in their lives. Other interesting things were a water pump than ran off a fan belt, an 8 gallon fuel tank and a gigantic piston type ac compressor. Fuel mileage was so good, I never checked it. Gas was about $1 a gallon as were a pack of Marlboro lights. It was a lot easier being poor back then.
Great video no doubt.
Stoked for more👌
Now this is the content I'm subbed for
I was around when all these cars were debued. Yep! Cheapest and crappies cars ever. What an era to grow up in (80s). Best decade ever!
Keep up the great work.
I agree 💯, was a kid in the 70's and a teenager in the 80"s, was a great time to be young .
Sorry to say most of these cars were relatively cheap and easy to maintain, unlike today's.
You can change the timing belt on a Chevette and 35 minutes flat
We loved our '71 Pinto, pretending it was a powerful sportscar, until 1984. Then we moved to two other fine vehicles, K car, and Cavalier!
I was lucky to have come of age then, when the old cars were faster than the new ones so that handy teenagers were the fastest guys on the road including the cops. Never happened before or since.
I really really loved my 1972 Pinto, cast iron 4 cylinder push rod engine and 4 speed, It was the cheap one that had a trunk, previous owner had put a little plastic spoiler on the trunk lid :) and painted the Hood flat black, put slotted Chrome wheels on it, with little 13 inch 60s on the back..
I think I had it in 1977...
Actually the Pinto had an overhead cam engine...
@davidhollenshead4892 ,, yes Dave many of them did but not all,,
, including the one I had, which was a very basic cast iron push rod four cylinder.
@@theda850two They were initially offered with a pushrod 1600, that was replaced with the optional 2 liter. Later upped to 2.3 liter.
My Dad had an AMC Spirit, well before I was born, some great features include:
1) having to put a basketball behind the seat so it would not immediately slide back and fold over
2) not being able to go in reserve and having to push it down the driveway.
3) being t-boned by a Datsun 280ZX which according to him, added value
4) and finally going to the car dealership and the sale almost fell through because the dealer wouldn’t take it. The salesmen said it was worth “negative money.”
At a certain point he couldn’t take it on the freeway because if you went over 45, it just stalled
Back in the 80’s my Dad proclaimed that he was gettin a car but it would be less than 4,000
He came home with a Chevette Scooter for 3,999
No glove box door, no door panels, no armrests, let alone a drink holder
Most kids on their ten speeds could beat it to 25
I hate seeing reasonably priced and varied vehicles. Cause i was born to late to get em.
I'd kill for a 19000 truck or car that worked
@@Toetalwar I lived through these years and you have no idea how bad these cars sucked. I would take a 5 year old Corolla at $19,000 over any of these options everyday. In every single way (mileage, safety, power, handling, comfort, luxury features, reliability, etc...) the Corolla is a better car. Hell, that $19k 2019 Corolla with 60k miles on it is objectively a better car than most of the luxury vehicles rolling off the lot in the early 80s.
They need to make a comeback,I’d buy one.
*too
They weren't so affordable back then as you imagine...
The LUV kept on a little while longer on the Isuzu Pup platform
Isuzu Puppy
The last years had the long lasting diesel.
Unfortunately they rusted badly.
Had a 2nd gen Ram50. Thing had a ton of torque. Was a very fun and nice truck and wasn't bad off road either.
Though not as good as an S10 or Ranger...
I was in the Air Force in 1984 and bought my first new car- 1984 Dodge Colt GTS Turbo- same colors in your video- and these "rice rockets" as we called them were really fun to drive! The car only weighed 1800 lbs, and that 102HP with the turbo was a blast. Thanks for the memories!
Test drove one with the Twin Stick manual. A smooth runner for sure
The Ford Pinto was a great little car. I had one from New in 1972. I ownedntwo 72 Runabouts until 1990. I almost bought a new 1980 model, but endednup.getting a 1980 Datsun 210 because they were good for about 40 MPG. The Pinto was still a favorite of mine. Dependable, comfortable, and fun to drive. Dealers weren't heavily discounting Pintos to make room for the new Ford Escort. 1980 Pintos sold very well at MSRP all day long.
They had fixed the gas tanks by 1980 and the wagons never had the problem, plus Corollas were just as bad, or Tercels? It was the memo that sunk Ford more than the cars.
You forgot the Dodge/Plymouth Omni/Horizon models... Great video! A friend of mine bought her Chevette in 1986....she loved it!
I drove most of these back in the 80's, as I worked part time at Avis Rent-A-Car moving vehicles around and also an airport parking lot, moving customer cars around and driving them to the airport and back. Most of these were NOT good vehicles past the 2-3 year mark. I had a 1981 Dodge Omni 024 2 door hatchback, bought it used in 1985. It didn't run in the rain. LOL
They also forgot the Ford Escort...
Great video man. Brings back my memories as a kid.
1:06 BRO my dad had one of these in the mid-nineties. He purchased it for like $250 because it has a busted heater core and a faded paint job. It was a DL and it was blue on blue and the interior smelled AWESOME. I still remember following him home with my mom in our 89 Blazer S10 thinking it was the coolest, weirdest little thing I'd ever seen. My mother despised it because it didn't have A/C so my father painted it up real nice and sold it on for a profit which was his whole point in buying little oddities like this. That AMC Spirit was one of many bizarre cars I knew well but only for a brief period of time and for it to be the very first car mentioned on this list took me by surprise. Cheers!
Oh man, all the memories here 😎 I had a couple Rangers, and have driven many of these cars. Yes, some got exceptional fuel mileage, but that was because Federal crash standards were far below today, and there ain't much metal in them so they are light. Couple that with tiny engines, a manual trans, 55MPH speed limits and it wasn't that hard to do. Many had inherent design faults that killed all of them in time, and most didn't have any redeeming qualities which made people want to keep them long-term. There were exceptions though like the 1st gen Ranger which I still see a few of on the road occasionally; IMHO one of the best vehicles ever built. On the Dodge trucks, there were so many because Dodge was trying to create a new market niche of mid-sized trucks, so it needed big and small ones to bookend it and prove the concept was viable.
Best holiday wishes to all!
I had a 1980 LUV. I loved that pickup.
Not a truck guy, but I drove that truck at work. Based on that, if something similar was offered today, I would buy it.
Very cool, in 1987 I bought my GF a 1983 Nissan Sentra it had 11000 miles on it 5 speed w A/C no radio. I paid 1400 for it and she was still driving it last time I talked to her in 2012, great little car! I was buying 80s cars in the mid to late 8o's and early 90s for cheap mostly 4x4 yotas and earlier dodges Id love to slip into a portal go back to the 80s and fill up a couple of buildings.
I had an 80 Monza with a Buick 3.8 and a 4 speed. It was quite fun to drive.
8
Exactly as the author doesn't know what he is talking about. For example I bought a new 1986 F00ord Escort Pony for $4800 and it got 39 or more on the freeway & was better than the Tercel, everything from Honda, the Sentra, etc...
Man these prices adjusted to inflation always just absolutely SHAKE ME TO THE CORE.
I enjoyed this video and look back. My parents for some reason owned two cars of the exact model twice, just a difference in color. First were the Pontiac version of the Chevy Chevette. Omgosh, I hated those POC's!!! Then 2 Ford Fairmonts! Always breaking down!
My first vehicle bought with my own funds was the 87 Dodge Colt Sedan built by Mitzubishi. I couldn't kill that car! My next car was a 90 Chevy Cavalier Sport (?) a 2 door, stick. That car broke down SO much, it made me a mechanic. Ppl squabbled over who made the the best quality trucks n cars. Ford, Chevy, Ford, Chevy. Of all the rides I had owned, it was the Dodges with the best quality, except the Grand Caravans. I always had suspension and brake issues with those. But my other Dodges, 3 Dakotas, a Colt, a Mirage, and now a Challenger are or were solid performers. Thx Dodge-Mitzubishi.
BRING BACK THOSE SMALL TRUCKS!!!
4:41 Sprint was a Suzuki, not an Isuzu.
Good catch!
@@GreenHawkDrive my channel features the Pontiac Turbo Firefly, a Canada only version of these great Japanese Super-Mini's. If you ever do a video on the Suzuki Cultus and all of its variants I would be glad to help with the Canadian side of the story.
Pretty cool Hawk! I just launched my Alliance vid! I used to see Ram50s all over the Navy bases when I was in. Goverment contract vehicles..Guess they had to go with a Domestic brand, even though they were imports.
Ram 50's and Jeep Comanches were some Cool @$$ trucks.😎But The Road Salt Belt surely killed them all off.😢
Thank you😁 I’m going to check it out later today, excited for it!
@GreenHawkDrive I know you love AMC, so I'm guessing you might!
Nice video. Thanks for sharing.
A little disappointed the Ford Festiva didn't make the list.
Thank you and I was surprised too
I bought a new 79 spirit in the fall of 79 after the 80 model was on the lot. 4k out the door. Pretty loaded with ac, power steering and brakes, automatic transmission and am FM radio, intermittent wipers. AMC dealers were easy to work with on price. Excellent car.
I had an '86 Chevette with a 4 speed manual. I put Pirelli P77s and gas charged shocks on it. After that, it was a lot more fun (sort of) on twisty PA back roads. I also had an '84 Mazda GLC (Great Little Car) and it was stripped out as the Chevette. There's something amusing about driving a slow car fast and both of these were kind of amusing at times. And even with carbs, both were totally reliable - never had a problem with either.
Good video! You stirred up alot of memories!! That Red Renault you showed earlier was actually a fun lil car to drive! My friend had one and it had a stick that’s what made it fun. The Monza was TRASH! My friend’s mom gave him her’s when she got a new car. We broke down on our way to New Jersey to go to a party. My aunt had the Pinto and got rid of it ASAP after seeing what could happen if you got hit in the rear!! The Chevette was Ultra Krap!!! My older brother had one and he LOVED that piece of krap!! He would buy stupid stuff from PepBoys to stick somewhere on that junk! It had NO ac and he actually drove from Philly to Virginia Beach him & his girlfriend. She broke up with him upon their return 😆😆😆😆. She complained to me about the entire trip!!!!! Keep up the good work!! Happy Holidays to you & your family.🙏🏼😎👍🏽
Say whatcha' will about a Chevy Chevette. We had one growing up and it got handed down 3 different times.
That's what we had back in the day. My friend's uncle bought an 86 Ranger 4x4 extended cab. Great truck
I'm surprised that with the foreign cars you left out the Yugo GV at $3990 and the Hyundai Excel at $4995. Those were later in the decade than many of these cars (both were 1985), so they were that much more of a bargain.
As a side note, one of my good friends in high school had a 1982 Plymouth Champ. He butchered the badging and made it into an Amp Lymo because he liked car audio. I still remember him cruising around with his PA system, 6X9s stuck by their magnets to the roof, and 8" subwoofers housed in traffic cones for enclosures. He got me started in the hobby and I took it to another level, even doing it professionally to pay my way through college (along with scholarship). Good times.
and the Ford Fiesta with its twelve-inch wheels and two doors that was a workhorse and carried four very drunk guys. ha ha 😂
I owned an 86 excel. My first new car. Bad but not as bad as the Yugo, lol.
The Chevrolet Sprint was sold as a Holden Barina in Australia. GM relied heavily on Isuzu for both powerplants and designs in the 80s it seems.
Except the Chevrolet Sprint and Holden Barina were Suzuki Swift/Cultus variants. Long live the Pontiac Turbo Firefly
I really want a pinto panel wagon
Me too
Ditto, the little panel wagons look pretty cool 👍
@@kerrypierre9494 They sure did look cool, much like the 1953 RamblerAmerican panel delivery.
The Cruising Wagon was awesome. The '76 model Pinto's were running out and the '77 Cruising wagon was the new sporty wagon. The Ford dealer I went looking for a new car had a 76 Pinto Stallion (sticker price $4200) and a Cruising Wagon heavily optioned ($5800). I drove my first new car home that day, a yellow and black Pinto Stallion. I'd buy another one in a heart beat!
Hey buddy back off about my dream car I don't pick on you because you are in to AMC. Lol sorry I'm late to the party I just got the opportunity to watch. You do amazing job doing it. I get the impression that you were having trouble with the trools. Fn em. You got this and the sky is the limit. You clearly have the passion for it. Finally I just had to mention that I had one of those Robin's egg firefly's. It was a 90 the one all tricked out it was the one with the hood soup. I can get a little chirp in 3rd. Anyway as always ty and looking forward to the next one 👍. Have a great weekend when you get there or maybe it's already started! Keep up the good work and it will pay off especially because you have so much passion. I just love to see the younger generation if the field and interested in looking into the trade. We really more because we are loosing more than we get. All that talk about not having enough mechanics..sorry I need to wrap it up before it gets even more crazy. See you in the next one 👍 🇨🇦 🔧
1985 Ford Escort. Redesigned Pinto with the gas tank moved forward. It took two minutes to hit its top speed of 70mph. One time driving on a rural road an atv passed me with my foot all the way in it. 😂. No AC, no carpet, no power steering, crank windows, 4 speed, no tinted windows, no rear defrost, AM radio was a dealer installed option😂, painted steel wheels with 14" bias ply tires. And to top it off only a driver's side outside mirror 🎉.
I was clocked at 114 in my Escort by a Missouri Highway Patrol Aircraft and was intercepted by 2 separate Troopers in Mustangs, Was flying with the speedometer buried and tach humming just below redline. They were amazed and cut me a huge break thank God or I'd still be sitting in jail.🤣🤣
Great video GreenHawk! Many of these cars did bring back some great memories. My folks bought 2 Chevette's when they first came out in 1976 and I knew they were slow but did not know how really slow they were. I'm guessing the main reason they hung around until 1987 was that most were used as cheap rentals. The small Japanese pickups were so great. Thanks for the memories and happy new year to you!
Thanks for sticking with me and into the New Year. Best wishes 🥂
The AMC Sprint was built in house?! Wow you wouldn't know that was a U.S built car if weren't told, that thing looks like a Japanese car from all angles. Great video as always man, I'll take the AMC concept van please. Have a good Christmas, hope you get a nice new shiny car from Santa 🤘
Merry Christmas to you too man! Should be getting a new car in January very excited 😆
Happy Holidays and thank you for the great videos🎉
Cool vid bro, I owned a few of the cars and trucks on this list, and I have to admit the reason was simply the cheap prices.
Two notes:
1) My dad owned a 1982 Chevy Chevette Scooter. Bought new, it cost $5200.00. Cavernous cargo room. And even with a manual it was slow.
2) A college of mine in 1986, bought a used green 1984 Dodge Colt Turbo. It was a blast to drive!
In December of 1980, my dad purchased a 1981, 5 speed, Honda Accord, 4 door sedan. No a/c, no radio, no power windows. It did come standard with power assist steering. With no options, it was $8,500.
He wanted to install an am/fm casette radio he purchased from the company he worked for, but it was the beginning of auto manufacturers designing autos so owners could only use their products, and the radio did not fit. He did use a nibbler to open the speaker holes and use the speakers he purchased from his company. He ended up buying the top end cassette radio from Honda for about $100 and he saved the installation fee installing it himself.
For a 98 horsepower car, it had a really comfortable ride, was ultra quiet, very well built, low-cost car.
the pinto was found out in the late 80s that it did not explode anymore than any other car from the 70s but Ford handled the controversy terribly and that was the real tragedy.
Great video! I've owned a Monza, Pinto, Dodge D-50 , Ford Ranger and "Honorable Mention to my Ford Festiva!"
Monza I owned was my favorite Matchbox Car ever!:)
I learned to drive on my parents' 1982 manual Dodge Colt. My dad was obsessed with fuel economy and not spending money on cars, hence the Colt. After learning how to manage the clutch, I kinda enjoyed it. It had NO power. Merging on to the interstate required patience and planning, but that little car fit anywhere and got better fuel mileage than many modern day motorcycles. I like faster things these days, but I do appreciate that little car.
I hate that companies no longer make cheap and practical cars like they used to
I bought a 1988 Mercury Tracer for about $8K. My first new car. Loved that car. Totaled it. Bought another. Totaled it. Neither my fault but figured I wouldn’t chance a third Tracer.
The Chevette was purposedly made bad by GM.Our brazilian car ran faster and had much better handling.Great list ,it teaches lessons to us ,like simpler might be just right,row your own gears,few driver aids ,cheaper insurance,cheaper payments so you have money left for groceries.Cheers
Test drove a Colt turbo with my parents when I was around 16. It was a blast! Parents said absolutely not.
My 5th car, and first brand new car I ever bought, was an ‘87 Nissan Sentra 2-door sedan. That was such a bare-bones car. I’ve sometimes joked that it didn’t come new with rear seats or rear brakes 😂 but I wasn’t far off. Anything you could think of that would be an optional item on any car during the 1980s, that car didn’t have it. And everything it did have was low-grade with lots of cheap plastic. The upside, however, is that it was reliable and easy to maintain.
Years later (sometime around 2016, I think) I rented a late-model Nissan Sentra for a weekend. It had that familiar cheap feel to it also.
good stuff, I had the84 Ranger, the 83 Le Car, a 84 Dodge Colt (loved the power twin stick) and .... a 1980 Renault R12 (though I think that snuck in from Canada originally) I wish I had them all back - great fun rides in their own right
Our family not only had an automatic Chevette, we had a DIESEL automatic Chevette. It could not reach 60 on level ground.
I drove an automatic gas engine Chevette for work in the 90s.
At that same time my mom had one of those slow diesel Mercedes Benz’s.
The Mercedes was like a Charger Hellcat in comparison to the Chevette😂
I bought a brand-new 1987 Chevrolet Sprint E/R. It was $5400 buying the E/R version (Extended Range) which cost an additional $200. It was wonderful being able to afford a brand-new car. Yes, it was a cheaply made car, but after driving ghetto sleds it was so nice having everything being brand-new, the seats, the door panels, the carpeting, the seat belts, the glass, etcetera.
The worst thing I could say about it is that when the winter temperatures dropped down to about 20F it was difficult to heat the interior, and particularly at nighttime because the solar load from the daytime sun gave a decent greenhouse effect of more warming. The heater itself was good, the problem being when it was that cold outside the heater would outrun what the engine could produce. I even tried stopping on the side of the road and holding my foot on the gas pedal a little with the heater blower shut off. It would take about ten minutes of holding my foot on the pedal for the temp gauge to reach normal. I'd then drive off and as soon as I put the blower on the temp gauge would start to drop and the engine would cool off again. Everything I thought of trying didn't work. I probably could have had heat if I drove around in third gear, but I didn't want to chance risking the engine as it sounded very revved-up. The only thing that worked for sure was staying home if the outdoor temp was below 25F.
Love the Colt/Champ of that generation. My brother in law had an 80 model with the 1.4/4spd. Fun little car. I was smiling the whole video, I miss those little cars and trucks.
A classmate of mine in the '80's had two of the Alliances. Loved them. Strange fellow.
Great video ! Thanks.
Bro this is awesome! Fantastic video, keep up the good work! Idea suggestion if you want, Chevys and Fords sold only in foreign countries and never sold in the US; (i.e the South American, Australian and European markets).
I appreciate that man, really, thank you. I just found out that the Caviler is still be sold in Mexico and it doesn’t look half bad! I like the suggestion🤝
@GreenHawkDrive I actually did not know that which is another reason why that video could be necessary!
As an auto mechanic in the 80s up to 2010 I can say I loved those cars...lots of them on the road and lots of them came into my shop $$$ they definatly were not the most reliable cars
I enjoyed this. Here in the UK my Son runs a Ranger and it is a big beast.
My family had a 79 Chevette Scooter. The stripped down version of a Chevette if you can imagine what that would be like! The door panels were laminated cardboard! It was a manual. Real fun to play with in the snow as it was rear wheel drive.
Mom bought a brand new 1984 chevy chevette scooter, options were am/fm radio with 2 crappy door speakers, automatic transmission, red exterior which I think most of the scooters were she paid around $5000 and loved it
Here in The Netherlands In 1986 my parents wanted a brand new car. But they only had money for a cheap one. But they wanted new because they had so much problems with secondhand cars. So in 1986 they bought a Lada 1200s. Now that was eco! That was an empty car! No luxury at all! My mom almost couldn’t drive it because the steeding was so heavy! It was so cheap . But it was new
I have a 2023 Ford Ranger XLT. It's absolutely amazing. Reliable, 270 hp, 310 lbs of torque, just awesome (and blue). I only dislike that it doesn't have AWD just 2WD or 4WD which makes sense. Decent gas mileage but would like eco boost. I would give it a solid 9.5 out of 10 and plan to drive that baby into the freakin' ground!
A lot of these cars were way out of date but the early 80's sucked financially. Everyone was broke and the banks were collapsing. A cheap out of date car was sometimes the best option. Happy motoring
That pretty much covers it, between the economy in general and interest rates it was either keep driving used, buy one of these "options" or do what most people did, and buy a foreign car.
Reading the descriptions in the thumbnail; reminds me of my first car: 1980 Toyota Corolla. 1.8 L straight four into a five speed manual rear wheel drive. With me in it it was just about 1 ton- it was like that thing was made to do donuts! Terrific car, kind of miss it now.
I had a 1982 Chevrolet Chevette Rally sedan I inherited from my grandfather in 1993 and miss that little car.
While yes it was unimpressive bare bones basic transportation with the 1.6L inline 4 cylinder engine, 3 speed automatic transmission, no power anything or air conditioning and an AM monotone radio with a single speaker in the dashboard the car was great on gas and required almost no major repairs except to replace the timing belt and water pump.
Certainly not recommended for highways as it was too slow to get onto the highway from an on ramp and couldn't keep up with traffic it was a great around town commuter car.
My then girlfriend bought a new '84 Rabbit with a 1 bbl. Carter/Weber carb and a 4 speed. I bought it from her when we broke up and swapped in a Euro-spec 1.6 Heron head (look it up) GTi motor and a Weber 32/36 DGEV 2 bbl. It would smoke factory GTi's on the top end☺
you should try one with dual 40 DCOE carbs..... 😋
@@speedbuggy16v i had a set of Dell' Orto's on it, never ran right. found out after I swapped on the 2 bbl. that one of the air bleed passages wasn't drilled at the factory. Went all fuel injection on the next cars☺
@@bvward Right on, I had them on an A2 golf, and a fiberglass buggy with a 1.8 GTI engine on it. Then as you did went to FI on the buggy later with a 16v, the carbs make all the right sounds, and when they are right make a little more power on the top end. But the drivability with the factory FI was sooooo much better.
@@speedbuggy16v I have a Subie EG33 flat six ready for a buggy☺
@@bvward Nice, I have never messed with one of those, I have played with an XT/6 with the ER27, that was a fun car when it ran. Sadly someone had gone insane with scotch lock connectors under the dash and we could never get the electrical system to play well with the rest of the car.
Kinda surprised the 80' Citation wasn't mentioned . My dad ordered a base model that came in in 2 weeks. Without connections, it took 12 weeks. The dealer was surprised it showed so quickly 🎉
I owned a 1980 Pinto, built in the last week or so of production. It was by far one of the most trouble free cars I ever owned, I had it from 1982, when I bought it as a repo with 22k on it, till 2009 when I sold it with over almost 700k on it, with its original 2.3L motor and 4 spd. trans.
In 1983 I was in the market for a new pickup, I looked at the Dodge and Ford options, the Ranger and the F150 were priced nearly identical, and I didn't fit in the Ranger at 6ft 3in tall.
Dodge won out in the end, offering more for my money with a 360v8 and a 3/4 ton truck with a four speed NP435 transmission for $7,200. It wasn't meant to be though as it was stolen from the dealer while there for a recall 42 days after I brought it home. The 1984 models were out by that time and I couldn't find another one like it. I settled for a left over van which I had for a few years, a half ton, 318 V8 automatic model that cost me $5,400 from the dealer where my p/u was stolen from. I sold the van after only a few months, and bought a nearly new 1984 F150 Supercab with a 4.9L stick, but it proved to be too light duty having been built as the lightest possible set up possible. I drove it for about a year, buying an 80 Dodge for bit used but sold that too in short order
In 1986, after a few issues with the van, I made a deal for a new F150, 300 I6 4 spd. manual 4x2, XL trim for $5,999, about $1,200 off the sticker price, for a cash sale.
It was a good truck but had no AC, 18 months later I traded it in for one with a V8 and AC for $1,550 and the old truck. After a slew of problems with the '87, i sold it before it hit the 2 year mark.
In 1991 I bought a left over 1989 Ford LTD wagon, which had a new sticker price of $13k, I paid $9,500 cash, it had 300 miles on the clock when i bought it It was my last 80's car.
FF to 2004, I happened to find the 1986 F150 I had traded in back in 1987 for sale about a mile from that dealer, with 11k more on it than when I traded it in. It had been bought by an older guy who died and his wife just left the truck sit in the garage where he last parked it till her death 16 years later. I bought it back for $500, after a set of tires, belts, hoses, and battery I kept it around for a few years but sold it in 2015 for more nearly what I paid for it new. I should have kept it but the lack of ac bothered me as bad then as back when it was new.
If I had it to do over again i'd have hunted for an '86 F150 with AC back then, chances are I'd still own it but at the time I bought the '86, they were on the verge of becoming 'last year's model' and I really wasn't a fan of the new look in '87.
I did look at the AMC Spirit when they were still around but they were pricier than the Ford's here for some reason, mostly because most of them on the lots were fully loaded, where as most Ford were more entry level models.
The Renault Alliance was a mess, a good friend of mine bought one new in 1986 and it was probably the worst car I'd ever seen. Transmission problems, brake issues, and electrical issues were seemingly unsolvable and the car eventually burned to the ground in a mall parking lot at less than a year old.
I owned a LeCar for a bit in 1987, acquired for next to nothing at an estate sale with 11k on it, I drove it for a summer and sold it, glad to get rid of it as it was a near useless car.
I also had several VW Rabbits, most of which were bought the same way, never paying more than a few hundred bucks for one. They were good beaters but the Pinto was ten times the car.
The later Pintos were actually very good cars. Ford knew they had to be if they were to sell any so they upped their quality game on them. And that 2.3 was one of the best engines ever made. Folks today can't conceive how slow the Le Car, Colt, Yugo, Chevette, Rabbit diesel, and some other were. You could start taking a long nap during the first lap of a 20 mile race with these and still wake up in time to see the finish. A mailed 1st class letter could make it to the other coast just as fast as these cars could. Sad your Dodge got stolen, they still made damn good trucks at that point but went downhill afterward. Thanks for sharing the memories!
what model was the "left over van"?
the 2.3 lima motor was one of fords best engines, if for no other reason than it didn't make enough power stock to hurt itself. 160K on my fox body with one in it and to say I abuse it would be a tragic level of understatement. 87 whole HP when it was new, probably makes 40 now....... Still gets about 28 highway though.
My sister owned a Chevette. Don’t remember the year. It was actually a nice car to drive and very useful. 😊
I had the '87 Chevy Sprint(Suzuki Swift prototype). I'm 6'5"... yes, I could drive it comfortably, but I could also reach to manually open & close every window from the driver's seat.😆
I had a friend in college (in US) in 1985 who bought a used 1982 Renault Alliance for around $1000 with manual. He was one of the few who could drive stick
Had a 83 Spirit DL means Deluxe. In Jamaican Beige. Was a great car 4.2 258 was an awesome engine.
My first two cars get a mention in the brief imports list...
Mazda GLC...which I plowed into the rear of a Lincoln Town Car.
VW Rabbit...with which I T-boned a Camaro.
In about 1986, my business partner laid his hands on an AMC Eagle 4WD Spirit. I think the proper name was AMC Eagle SX-4. Shorrrt wheelbase but was fun to drive over snowdrifts in the Rocky Mountain winters.
Even though i wasnt around when these came out, i darn well witnessed (some) them sticking aroung in the late 90s and early 00s..
I had a manual diesel rabbit! I could drive to Florida with $25 worth of fuel, but FL would hear me coming in South Carolina.
What about the Hyundai Excel? It debuted in 1985 and I bought one in 1987 for $4995. It was a great little car and had a fantastic 10/100,000 warrantee.
My mother had a Chevette when she worked as a nurse at the nursing home
My first new car was a '89 5-door 5-speed manual Geo Metro LSi...my father was a GM salesman and told him I wanted one in (dark) silver, which was in the dealer brochure, but I'd never seen. He found one six states away and did a dealer trade. It got 50 MPG on the highway until you pushed the little blue button marked 'A/C' which instantly dropped MPG to about 30...wish I could resurrect it as new and use as a commuter wagon...just don't apply too much pressure to the body panels when hand washing it...
We had a few of these cars back in the 70s, 80s & 90s.
The best car I had was a 250,000 mile,rescued from a junkyard.
88 corolla bare model (with the awesome option upgrade of passenger manual mirror) heck,it only had Two speed wipers, no intermittents.
Salvaged title,had to change clutch,replace TORN front seats and sort out electrical and mechanical gremlins.
It was the best,most reliable car I’ve ever had. But as most California vehicles, after 6 year ownership, it failed the smog check at some point in which it made more sense getting the $1,500 the retirement program was offering.
I had a '81 Plymouth Arrow. Great little truck for milage and to put a bump'n system into!!!
There a many new cars made around the world today under $10K USD. They're just not available in English speaking countries.
In 2nd and 3rd world countries without stringent pollution and safety standards cars are still made which are simple, light, cheap,and efficient but we're not allowed to have them since that's bad for us.
@@P_RO_ Nope. Wrong. Try again but without just making it up this time.
@@AnyoneSeenMikeHunt He's not wrong. So far the only countries I've found where they offer cars under 10k USD are developing ones:
(India) Suzuki Alto K10 - 4,695 USD (399,000 rupees) (there are another 10 brands in India offering cars under 10K USD)
(China) Lingbao Coco - 5,044 USD (36,800 RMB)
(Russia) Lada Granta Sedan - 6,999 USD (699,900 rubles) (Same model since 2011, just a couple of facelifts)
(Russia) Lada Niva Legend - 9,810 USD (981,000 rubles) (Same model since 1977, just a couple of facelifts)
(Indonesia) Daihatsu Ayla - 8,381 USD (136 Million IDR)
(Indonesia) Daihatsu Sigra - 8,566 USD (139 Million IDR)
Cheapest car in Europe would be the Dacia Sandero which is around 13,000 USD.
I could also mention the Citroen Ami which is a little bit less than 10k USD, but it's just a glorified golf cart with doors which has less than 50 miles range.
Brings back lots if memories. I was born in 60 so these were all over the place. You forgot the Ford Fiesta from the late 70s. Cute car my neighbor bought one. My uncle bought a Chevette for commuting 80s a day to work.
Good Morning, Mr. Hawk.😊I don't like foreign cars but I'm recently attracted to the Renault Alliance. Heard it was a decent entry-level vehicle at the time. Good looking. Made in Kenosha, WI an hour north of Chicago in an AMC plant.👷♀️And the GT versions are actually in demand!😮Plus, they had some Really cool commercials.😎"The One To Watch!!! Renault!".😎
A 1988 Dodge Colt E was vinyl seats, 4 speed manual....5 speed in next trim level. It did have power brakes, carpet. Was it still nice? Yep! Fun shifter and clutch. Smooth quiet engine. I wish we had small strippers like that today.
Thanks for all your videos, I’m looking forward to seeing more content in 2025. Happy Christmas, I hope you and yours have a wonderful time 🎄🎉🥂
Thank you so much, Merry Christmas to you and your family and Happy New Year’s!!! 🎊🎄
Growing up, my mom had a 1986 Chevrolet spectrum, and it never broke down it got great gas mileage and had a Mitsubishi engine
Its amazing how much more you can get in a used vehicle today for the inflation adjusted price of a new 80's vehicle.
Your videos are excellent.
Oh thank you man, that means a lot
@@GreenHawkDriveYou're welcome.
I drove a 1986 Buick Skylark coupe FWD 4 cylinder automatic - great in snow
At the time I liked the Chevette because it was one of the last small rear wheel drive. I had the 1984 in 1986 I bought it used for around 2500 at a car lot dealership. Thinking back, I should have got a Civic front wheel drive that nearly got twice gas millage but at 87 cents a gallon gas savers wasn't sought after like they are now. Also when your a teenager rear wheel drives are way more fun in the snow.
Ford Pinto was by far the best of the sub compacts. I had two of them ('72 and '80), plus a Vega, a Ranger, an S-10 and a Spectrum. The Pinto was a great car.
Keep on yapping...you make great videos don't stop
Thank you!
When these cars were selling new for $4000.00.I was was buying a 69 440 Roadrunner for $700.00 a 440 R/T for $350.00 that needed a trans which I bought for $100.00 for a grand total of $450.00,a 72 340 Dart Swinger for $250.00 and my last real toy a 66 SS 396 for $500.00.I had more fun with used junk from the 60's than I ever could have had with a new car!
my first car was a Chevrolet Chevrolet spectrum 2 door love it .