What's funny is people say these cars are crappy but yet 33 years later and I still see these cars on the road alot so they obviously weren't junk boxes
You might be seeing newer variants of these same models. GM had a tendency to wring every last dollar out of a platform by continuing to offer it in basically the same form for many model years. Take, for example, the venerable A-body cars: Chevrolet Celebrity, Pontiac 6000, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, and Buick Century. They were all introduced in 1982, and the latter two were produced continuously through 1996 with no major changes to the sheetmetal or interior. (The less popular Celebrity died off after 1990, and the 6000 followed suit a year later.)
[deleted] but still to see so many models from a manufacturer that are 25+ years old and still running strong and often being high mileage daily drivers really says alot
[deleted] good example I have a very ugly 98 Lumina I bought for 800 bucks its been my daily driver for two years I've never had to work on it or replace anything it runs like a top everything mechanical and electrical works. Its got rust and body damage which is why I got it so cheap
1985-86 years, GM was starting to get things together. The new N-bodies were good... the J car got the 2.8 V6. Of course, the Cutlass Supreme was a pretty reliable car.
Yep, They really did. FoMoCo and Mopar made do with less platforms (often as little as 2) GM had at least 4 platforms (often more) on the road each year since the mid 1930s. Something for everyone.
@@jamesslick4790 I worked for Chrysler, we found out you only need four platforms to do anything with. Ford learned that in the '80s and I don't think the old GM ever did. I remember all the Cadillac ElDorano's they had in the back lot of Hamtramck Assembly. Reminded me of Chrysler when we had Dodge Magnums and Plymouth Volares in every empty fenced lot in Detroit in the late '70s. I don't think they ever sold all those Caddy's.
Remember GM had $$$$$$$$$$$$ then! If they couldn’t fix the problem they buy the problem! 😬 Funny the once owned small Isuzu is almost as big as GM! (Asia & Europe!)
I have 88 Trans Am. It’s not luxury car but it is 80’s icon, digital dash, T-tops... :-) I really like that car, have it more than 11 years and it’s a keeper! My piece of automotive history. :-)
Same here. The 80s was gold and the color palette on some cars were extravagant and awesome! I love the light mocha beige and other colors that GM has to offer.
@@darkpassenger7064 I was born in very early 80's with teenage sister/brothers. I remember rockstars wore tights and used more hairspray than their groupies, essentially yesteryear drag queens. 80's, they were something else man!!
I really wish GM would bring back Pontiac but this time actually go after the sporty segment. They need a new G8 as well as a Firebird but we know they would have to bring in 2 SUVs at least in order to keep up with the SUV madness going on.
Pontiac suffered more than any other division from GM's unwillingness to put in the cost-per-unit to make a car feel *nice*. That being said, they could easily be a one-model niche brand in Buick-GMC dealers which already have plenty of SUVs under those names for volume.
If you notice. ford is about to do away with their SUV/CUV and majority of their car market to focus on their trucks and Mustang. GM is asleep at the wheel again....they would be stupid not to being back Pontiac at the least. That Code 130R and Tru 140S from 2012 would be killer! Make the 130R into a turbo sport coupe from Pontiac wnd you'd sell them by the butt load.
Yup, Pontiac was always branded as the "excitement" division of GM. Unfortunately, GM is getting out of the car biz for the most part. All anyone wants is ugly SUV's now.
Ima fan ikr? What's the deal with all these fwd little suvs and crossovers? They are so ugly looking. I'd have to sneak up on one just to drive it! Lol
Was top for a decade. Not really surprising. Personal luxury cars became a thing after the 58 Thunderbird, and grew in the 60s (Riviera,Eldorado...) After the muscle car was killed off by high gas prices and insurance rate hikes, people still wanted something different than a standard coupe (but,man it still had to be a coupe!) The "personal luxury coupe" was the answer, So they became the "it" car of the 70s and early 80s. Oldsmobile held considerable prestige then, just enough "better" than a Monte Carlo, (even if related) to impress the neighbors for not much more dough.
The cutlass also had an enormous amount of options. They had both two and four door versions as well as a station wagon. They had a sporty version and a diesel. They were also cheap and had a pretty good reputation for reliability. It checked the right boxes for a lot of people.
Oldsmobile was the go-to brand for people who later saw Honda as the go-to brand. It was the sensible brand before the Japanese substantially took over.
I had one, 1985. Zero to sixty in 10.5 seconds. Then in early 1987, I bought a Buick Grand National... night and day performance difference; from then on GM made huge strides in performance and handling. 1998 was a watershed year for GM. C5 and TA Ram Air WS6. The LS 1 was born.
The General offered a car or truck for every budget, from basic entry level lines to premium sports minded lines. The 1985 Camaro IROC-Z, and the Pontiac Trans Am were solid winners. And the 1985 Corvette with the tune port injected L98 engine was definitely noteworthy too. Great retro *TH-cam* video Motor Week.
I was just about to type something about the car is screeching around the corner. It was because of all those 185 and 195 width tires. My 85 citation came stock with 185/80/13 ! I thought something was wrong with my suspension or tires when it used to Screech until years later and I realized it was just because the tires were so skinny lol. ( the suspension wasn't that great either but it wasn't too bad.)
I liked all these vehicles from the 80s. Grew up with a lot of them. My dad had grand national, uncle had corvette, next door neighbor had a z28, my dad's buddy had a 442. I loved all of them.
Shit me too I wasn't even born yet! I came in 92 lol but thi ng s were weird in the 90s and late 90s and early 2000s every went down hill for some reason...
My grandma had the 1985 Oldsmobile 98 Regency in a beautiful blue color. It was lush, comfortable and a gorgeous car. I remember people stopping and looking. I loved that car. My sister had that exact black Monte Carlo SS, and I had a silver Pontiac Fiero. Wish I had kept that car
DaftRyosuke I remember when I was 16yrs old in 1992. My uncle had a white trans am ttop he bought new in 86. It was mint!! Garage kept. Had the 5.0ho with a 5spd and posi traction. He offered to sell it to me on payments and my parents wouldn't let me have it! I was so pissed!
@@patrickmike2524 those tpi cars were the shit back in the day. I bought a 89 Formula Firebird ttop 5.7 tpi , very rare a couple of months ago. It had three bad fuel injectors. I put 8 new fuel injectors in and rebuilt the fuel rail and fuel pressure regulator with new diaphragm and o rings. While I had it all apart I cleaned all of the carbon out of the plenum and runners put all new gaskets. Even with 160,000 miles on the car it has me grinning like a possum eating s***. Lol it fells like a 14 . Something sec car. Can't wait to get her at the track to see what she runs in the quarter mile. I can tell you right now, Honda Civics will avoid this car after they get to know her. 😂🤣
Haha, what was the point of that thing? One thought, if only we could experience this model, but without a body, any rigidity, or safety equipment. I guess there were a lot of drugs being used at GM back then.
Not very useful for anything other than showing that the suspension moves lol, and wouldn’t have been accurate anyways as there was hardly any weight on it. But ya gotta admit that was probably fun as hell to drive around!
In 1985, GM had a dizzying array of unique models. GM was truly at its apex of being the General. My family had a Olds Custom Cruiser and then an Olds Eighty-Eight, Cutlass Supreme. My parents never even considered a Honda/Toyota back then.
midnight savannah I never actually thought about that, but yea, back in the day it does seem like most of the Celebritys and 6000s that looked like they spent 2 decades in the desert after a 3 or 4 years in Michigan were silver.
Yeah GM had issues with peeling paint thru the majority of the '80's...it was due to the primer they used & the prep process. It affected pretty much all of their paint colors to some degree but silver, light blue, & white were the worst affected...& nearly every color ended up getting the little crows feet cracks in them after being exposed to sitting outside in the direct sunshine after a few years (they had that same cracking problem on most of the GM's thru the '70's also).
It's great to see the gm line from the year I was born. My parents had a 85 Skylark when I was little. I remember the back seat piping riped and exposed the wire which reaked havak on my leg a few times.
Sure, the F- and G-body cars. But when it comes to Firebird and Camaro, I prefer the 1974-1978 model years. That's the sweet spot for me for the beauty of the design.
No, the Fiero was nice in '85 when they came out with the GT with the ground effects, big wing and the V6. The iron duke 4-cylinder fire hazard that was the piece of garbage '84 Fiero was junk.
I disagree. There are some decent vehicles in this line-up, such as the introduction of the Astro/Safari, finally getting fuel injection right for the F-Bodies with the 305 TPI, and further refinements on the S-10/Blazer. What GM should’ve done was simplify the product line by making one brand of each product (instead of 2 or more rebadgings of the same body), and offering all of the option packages they’d normally spread over Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Buick, etc, to the single product. For example: the Oldsmobile Bravada (the S-10 Blazer) had AWD as an option, instead of the traditional vacuum actuated transfer case used in these sub-half ton compact trucks. If they gave that AWD option to the S-10 Blazer, along with a luxury interior option package, more S-10 platform trucks would’ve sold, instead of segregating potential buyers who didn’t want to be labeled as “Oldsmobile drivers”.
First year for the Isuzu, Suzuki, & Toyota joint ventures, the Astro/Safari, & both the C & N-bodies. 0:59.........the biggest laugh I've had yet this morning!!!!! 1:55.........STILL LOVE the way John pronounced "coupe" back then!!!!!
The 1985 Grand Am's shortfall was that it didn't come with, or offer an optional tachometer. Something that absolutely would've befit the "Euro" Tech GM was trying to pull off. Well, that's GM.
My parents bought a Calais new in 85 with the 2.5. My mom drove it for about 4 years and then my sister drove it for about 2 more years before she sold it. I don't think the oil was ever changed in it. lol. I saw a guy driving it around town for a couple of years after that. Still had the wire wheel hubcaps on it!
My '89 Century had the "upgrade" wire covers on the 14" steel wheels. Eventually I found a set of 16" Lumina Z34 wheels and put Buick centercaps in them with a 205/55 tire. They fit perfectly and I couldn't believe how much more modern and sporty they made that otherwise grandpa-car look.
Would love a G body Olds Cutlass or Monte Carlo SS or Aero coupe...even the downsized Olds 98 Regency Touring or Cadillac Deville were good cars and I would love one....my first car was a 89 Buick Lesabre Custom....got it in 2000 for my high school graduation present....rose good as hell and smooth and fast
I think they're referring to a lot of the larger cars (Caprice, 88, Riviera) and models like the Cutlass Supreme/Regal...all designs popular in the late 70's, all except Caprice downsized/reworked for 86. Was really the end of an era at that point.
Even so the full size Caprice soldiered on until 1990 as did FoMoCo's full sizers (1991). Not even mentioning the diplomat/fifth avenue which sold on until 1989. Even the Cutlass Supreme and Monte Carlo were offered until 1988. I'd fairly say by the late 80's most 70's malaise era cars were gone.
The big B body RWD all died in 86 except for the Caprice and 86 was the last chance for a big full frame RWD 2-door. In 87 B bodies became all 4 door only.
Three years old at this time, but near four. One year shy of uh oh Challenger, and the Bud Dwyer night/first time my mom let me outside by myself to build a snowman while realizing daylight savings as it was dark at 4:00. The realization of four o'clock and it being dark was a moment I still recall very well. Aside from that I was dreaming of all the available wheels the 80's had to offer from the back seats of my parent's late 70's Dodge Ram Charger. The Green Machine.
If you notice, all the cool looking cars were the 70's holdovers. Caprice, Pontiac Safari wagon, Cutlass Supreme, full size trucks, Riveria(my favorite), Regal, Fleetwood. Also those are the ones that usually gave the best service because they came from before the Rodger Smith, downsized FWD shit era, back when GM actually knew how to design a car.
Ummm no, the best three cars were the Corvette, Camaro, and Trans-Am. Even though they were pathetically slow they still looked the best. Given these vehicles were built with performance in mind they have the best parts from GM at the time.
"General Mhotors" "Pahalm Springs" Gotta love John's pronunciation of words. Ah the 80's. When a little bit wider tires was considered a handling upgrade.
12:43...................I have to confess that I have always had an "It's Complicated" relationship with the Astro/Safari. I LOVED how roomy & comfortable they were, how smoothly they rode, & how quiet they were.........& that 4.3-liter V6 is a TORQUE MONSTER, but fit & finish left A LOT to be desired. I will NEVER forget that it was an Astro which brought me to see Home Alone for the first time, however. I will NEVER forget cruising to Showcase Cinema in Woburn, MA in a blue 1986 Chevy Astro full of kids, BLASTING C&C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)".........ON THE CASSETTE PLAYER (Man, I'm old!!!!!)!!!!!!!
Awesome. I think 1985 was the greatest year for GM in the 1980s. They had the newest TPI engines and fantastic new front wheel drive C bodies, the new Astro van, and new N bodies, but still had the X bodies (at least the Citation and Skylark), bigger E and B bodies, and square body trucks and the (improved over 1984) Corvette!
I love these. Mostly because it reminds me of MPT broadcasting and seeing your show in a sea of static because we lived in the sticks of Harford County 😂 keep up the good work folks
Loved them! ❤️ Always got much better reception on them vs handhelds (bricks) of the day; complete with the trademark “curly-cue” antenna off your back or side glass. ☎️ Actually wish I could find one that you could still use with today’s technology. 🤔👍
I loved my 1983 Oldsmobile Toronado, 1985 Buick Riviera, my 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosport and my 1985 Chevrolet Astro Van. They were all good to me, my Dad and mom are GM people.
Donald Thompson my parents were all gm also. We had tons of new cars from the late 70s all the thru to the early 2000s. Astro and full size conversion vans, cutlass supremes, s10s, s10 blazer, full size scottsdale and Cheyenne trucks, k5 blazer, suburban, buick grand national, my parents would trade every couple years and we had sometimes 3 to 4 cars at one time. In 91 we had a gmc syclone, and we had a 93 gmc typhoon. In 90 my dad bought a new black 454ss. He thought it would be a brute to tow our boat. It was except trying to get up a wet boat ramp! Lol. John force burnouts all the up the boat ramp was the norm! Lol
I own the Buick Summer Set in '85. Kept till 1990. Not a bad car. GM made a decent car back in the day. Perhaps better today. The big thing for me in '85 I meant my wife. 2018 , and two kids now all grown up. Fun times. Just living life. Thank you
Different divisions did pretty much offer the same cars but with different trim packages. Whether you liked Chevys or Oldsmobiles, was just a matter of which look you liked best. Otherwise, they were pretty much interchangeable. It was called having wide choices, Batman.
Buick Riviera with a touch screen in 1985. So ahead of its time. Now GM is slightly behind the times. And I’m big GM fan /purchaser. Vehicles of every different shape and size. Not like now where they offer crossovers & SUV’s. Great video thank you for posting.
Please upload AMC + Chrysler full line retro reviews for 85 too! In fact as many retro full line uploads as possible! Love all the retro reviews thank you!
This brings back alot of great memories for me, I was 8 and turned 9 in July of that year. I remember all these great cars, my cousin had a 1985 Camaro and Celebrity Eurosport and my Aunt had a 1984 Celebrity Wagon, later on she traded it for a 1987 Celebrity Eurosport Wagon. My teacher in middle school bought a brand new Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, that was a very nice car, it was light blue with a white landau top and matching interior.
I earned my drivers license in Mom's '87 Grand Am. Those 1980s GM vehicles were the biggest pieces of garbage ever built in the history of automobiles. Electrical gremlins, hard plastic interiors that cracked and fell apart, knobs that would come off in your hand, lettering that rubbed off controls, engines that failed, doors that creaked and moaned, suspension that was worn completely out at 50,000 miles, etc. Just utter garbage. The only reason the Japanese brands got such a foothold in the U.S. was because of this era of GM vehicles.
OFFRD This man has never drove a dodge omni or Ford Festiva. GM always gets the worst of it but the vast majority of US cars from the late '70s to mid '90s where total piles of shit. Even today I would be hesitant to buy a cheap FWD car from Ford of Chevy. Dodge doesn't even make the list. You get what you pay for. Even the old imports where cheap as hell on the inside they where just reliable. Check on eBay for an uncracked 240sx dash to see how much their worth. All the manufacturers used such thin metal as well so the cars rust very quickly. Some cars in the '80s were good but not many.
Actually 80's cars used much thicker steel than today's cars. The common rusting problems were entirely due to poor rustproofing measures. Also, 80's American economy cars had plusher interiors. Typically the doors were fully upholstered and the seats were upholstered in some type of plush velour type fabric, unlike the cheap looking, scratchy fabric they put in cheap cars today. Mechanically though, many of them were unreliable garbage, like most American cars of that decade.
We had a Cutlass Calais for many years, ran great but claimed by rust. When I was a teenager Mom and I test drove a Somerset. Thermostat was stuck closed, it overheated so bad it had rod knock as we brought it back to the dealer. No idea if it survived to be sold but I feel for whoever bought it.
As a Gen Xer, It’s crazy when you look around and realize you haven’t seen ANY of these cars on the streets in like a decade. Cash for clunkers changed the automotive landscape almost overnight. Every once in a great great while you will see one, but it’s extremely rare.
I had the 1985 Buick Electra. It had the normal GM steering problem. I traded it on a 1988 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. Guess what? Same power steering rack problem. That was the last GM car I ever bought.
That swiveling radio pod GM put in a few of their cars ensured you had an outdated radio for the life of your GM. I think the Camaro Berlinetta had it too.
Holy crap, GM's product line was SO busy. I understand they were actively working at this time to trim things down, but while GM was carrying on with milquetoast new vehicles and minimally facelifted 70s models, Ford was about to introduce the Taurus, and Chrysler's Lee Iacocca was cleaning their lineup with the K platform, as well as new, more modern product development. But for all the complaining I and others can do, they sold product. They had a customer base that was satisfied, if not at the most basic level, with what they were purchasing - at least for a time. I wonder if Saturn had been able to roll out products by 1986, if GM could have had a more significant impact on market-wide advancements.
At one time GM's Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly employed over 300,000. I worked across town at Chrysler's Jefferson Avenue Assembly(demolished 1990) we had 134,000. Today GM has about 13,000 at that plant.
As an early 20's young man back then, I can remember being excited about the new cars coming out. All I can say is I'm glad to be living in this era of autos, and appreciating how far all the car companies have come in technology and especially performance.
I forgot about the Z24 Cavalier hatchback. I wouldn't mind having one of them now to modify and upgrade. I know the current 4 cylinder FWD hatchback make a bunch more power but the GM V6 from that era sounded so good and a Z24 with some mods should make more power than it's rated 130hp and sound really good. That an a 3rd Gen IROC in that blue they showed would be really nice.
Skyhawk1987Turbo my dad and I test drove a new sunbird gt convt turbo with a 5spd. 1987 or88? Anyways, when the boost hit it would just smoke the front tires until you let off of it! Haha. My dad loved it but decided not to get it because he knew he would be replacing tires regularly if he did! Lol
That silver 86 Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosport was nice for the time! Was first year for the Fuel Injected V6 even though you could get the Carbureted V6 still. My Dad had a grey on grey 86 Celebrity wasnt a Eurosport just a CL trim back in the 90s when we were little kids it was a nice car and at the same time my Uncle got a grey on grey same color but an 85 Olds Toronado both were nice cars then. My Dad later in 93 got a 90 Ford Aerostar van was cream with tan interior was an rwd XL trim we had that and the Celebrity for most of the 90s. He later got a silver 96 Taurus LX he bought in 98 to replace the Celebrity. That was also a nice car for the time going into the early 00s
GM: Design a car, sell it 3 times.
Or 8
Re badge engineering GM specialty
borrow from australia
The big three all do.
Badge engineering. One of the ingredients for needing taxpayer bailouts.
What's funny is people say these cars are crappy but yet 33 years later and I still see these cars on the road alot so they obviously weren't junk boxes
You might be seeing newer variants of these same models. GM had a tendency to wring every last dollar out of a platform by continuing to offer it in basically the same form for many model years. Take, for example, the venerable A-body cars: Chevrolet Celebrity, Pontiac 6000, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, and Buick Century. They were all introduced in 1982, and the latter two were produced continuously through 1996 with no major changes to the sheetmetal or interior. (The less popular Celebrity died off after 1990, and the 6000 followed suit a year later.)
[deleted] but still to see so many models from a manufacturer that are 25+ years old and still running strong and often being high mileage daily drivers really says alot
[deleted] good example I have a very ugly 98 Lumina I bought for 800 bucks its been my daily driver for two years I've never had to work on it or replace anything it runs like a top everything mechanical and electrical works. Its got rust and body damage which is why I got it so cheap
1985-86 years, GM was starting to get things together. The new N-bodies were good... the J car got the 2.8 V6. Of course, the Cutlass Supreme was a pretty reliable car.
There was a saying to the effect that GM cars of this era run forever, very badly, but forever.
So many makes, dozens of models, and often more than one bodystyle. GM really did make (or at least tried to) a car for every market.
Yep, They really did. FoMoCo and Mopar made do with less platforms (often as little as 2) GM had at least 4 platforms (often more) on the road each year since the mid 1930s. Something for everyone.
@@jamesslick4790 I worked for Chrysler, we found out you only need four platforms to do anything with. Ford learned that in the '80s and I don't think the old GM ever did. I remember all the Cadillac ElDorano's they had in the back lot of Hamtramck Assembly. Reminded me of Chrysler when we had Dodge Magnums and Plymouth Volares in every empty fenced lot in Detroit in the late '70s. I don't think they ever sold all those Caddy's.
Remember GM had $$$$$$$$$$$$ then!
If they couldn’t fix the problem they buy the problem! 😬
Funny the once owned small Isuzu is almost as big as GM! (Asia & Europe!)
Sadly many were not competitive
GM was a monster back then so many models
True, a lot of redundancy though..
chad harmon i saw all of these into the 90s and early 2000s
Alex Youngberg me too Alex I'm 43 lol
Too many models. Most of them absolutely awful
They were losing market share like drunks.
I love these retro lineup reviews
I like everything about 80's so I like all these cars too!
I have 88 Trans Am. It’s not luxury car but it is 80’s icon, digital dash, T-tops... :-) I really like that car, have it more than 11 years and it’s a keeper! My piece of automotive history. :-)
Same here. The 80s was gold and the color palette on some cars were extravagant and awesome! I love the light mocha beige and other colors that GM has to offer.
I can't stop watching these videos, it's like watching my childhood all over again.
This video makes the '80s sound amazing. Great jazzy, soulful music, and cars built to look and make you feel royal.
The '80s sucked.
Depends on how old you are. I was a teenager in the 80s. Music was great, cars were real and the girls used way too much makeup and hairspray.
@@darkpassenger7064 I was born in very early 80's with teenage sister/brothers. I remember rockstars wore tights and used more hairspray than their groupies, essentially yesteryear drag queens. 80's, they were something else man!!
I loved the 80s. The music was amazing. We had no idea how good we had it. The beginning of the end was vanilla ice. In 89.
I really wish GM would bring back Pontiac but this time actually go after the sporty segment. They need a new G8 as well as a Firebird but we know they would have to bring in 2 SUVs at least in order to keep up with the SUV madness going on.
Pontiac suffered more than any other division from GM's unwillingness to put in the cost-per-unit to make a car feel *nice*. That being said, they could easily be a one-model niche brand in Buick-GMC dealers which already have plenty of SUVs under those names for volume.
If you notice. ford is about to do away with their SUV/CUV and majority of their car market to focus on their trucks and Mustang. GM is asleep at the wheel again....they would be stupid not to being back Pontiac at the least. That Code 130R and Tru 140S from 2012 would be killer! Make the 130R into a turbo sport coupe from Pontiac wnd you'd sell them by the butt load.
Yup, Pontiac was always branded as the "excitement" division of GM. Unfortunately, GM is getting out of the car biz for the most part. All anyone wants is ugly SUV's now.
If Pontiac were to come back they would definitely give Dodge a run for their money and make something to compete against the Hellcat and the Demon
Ima fan ikr? What's the deal with all these fwd little suvs and crossovers? They are so ugly looking. I'd have to sneak up on one just to drive it! Lol
It's mind boggling that the Olds Cutlass was the top selling car in the country.
Was top for a decade. Not really surprising. Personal luxury cars became a thing after the 58 Thunderbird, and grew in the 60s (Riviera,Eldorado...) After the muscle car was killed off by high gas prices and insurance rate hikes, people still wanted something different than a standard coupe (but,man it still had to be a coupe!) The "personal luxury coupe" was the answer, So they became the "it" car of the 70s and early 80s. Oldsmobile held considerable prestige then, just enough "better" than a Monte Carlo, (even if related) to impress the neighbors for not much more dough.
The cutlass also had an enormous amount of options. They had both two and four door versions as well as a station wagon. They had a sporty version and a diesel. They were also cheap and had a pretty good reputation for reliability. It checked the right boxes for a lot of people.
Everyone had an olds back in the days. Even the Asian kids had the olds
Oldsmobile was the go-to brand for people who later saw Honda as the go-to brand. It was the sensible brand before the Japanese substantially took over.
Americans had no taste whatsoever
I always watch these retro reviews and i love them. I watch them till i fall asleep. Keep going!
Love from The Netherlands
That Monty SS was one of the sexiest cars ever built
My Dad has an 86 Monte Carlo SS. First year of the "Euro" Interior pieces.
The Monty SS and Gran National are the exception, not a fan of 80s American cars.
I had one, 1985. Zero to sixty in 10.5 seconds. Then in early 1987, I bought a Buick Grand National... night and day performance difference; from then on GM made huge strides in performance and handling. 1998 was a watershed year for GM. C5 and TA Ram Air WS6. The LS 1 was born.
Every teenager back then would have sold their families for one. It was amazing when it came out !
The General offered a car or truck for every budget, from basic entry level lines to premium sports minded lines. The 1985 Camaro IROC-Z, and the Pontiac Trans Am were solid winners. And the 1985 Corvette with the tune port injected L98 engine was definitely noteworthy too. Great retro *TH-cam* video Motor Week.
Camaro Iroc Z 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988, Camaro Berlinetta 1985, Pontiac Firebird 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988, i want this cars
Trademark sound of 80s cars: SCREEEEEEECH lol..
That was funny
I was just about to type something about the car is screeching around the corner. It was because of all those 185 and 195 width tires. My 85 citation came stock with 185/80/13 ! I thought something was wrong with my suspension or tires when it used to Screech until years later and I realized it was just because the tires were so skinny lol. ( the suspension wasn't that great either but it wasn't too bad.)
You mean 80s tires...
Seeing touchscreen controls on a car from over 30 years ago blew my mind! Talk about being ahead of its time!
Ken Sheppard people think all this stuff new
GOOD OL 80'S CLASSICS NEVER GETS OLD...
It's amazing how many models GM had back in '85. I remember seeing IROC Z's all over the place in the 80's now they're just a memory.
I rock Z!!
Because GM does not care about its products ( vehicles). It invested in financial companies... anything but cars.
That's because GM, like Ford and Chrystler, didnt make cars in the 80s or 90s to last.
I own a 1986. It’s still in great shape too. Only 65k on it.
Tesla’s are now the rage
In '85 I was a senior in high school and remember vividly when the IROC came out. That was THE car to have. Thanks for these retro reviews!
That Pontiac Grand am lifted it's rear wheel off of the ground during that turn 😦
Grandpa was having the fun he had 45 years ago.
@@albear972
Grandpa never learned to not drink & drive. 483 students perished that day 🔥 Thanks motor week.
I liked all these vehicles from the 80s. Grew up with a lot of them. My dad had grand national, uncle had corvette, next door neighbor had a z28, my dad's buddy had a 442. I loved all of them.
I like the Grand Am N Body the best. It still looks good 33 years later.
Most of them were butt-ugly 4-Doors, though.
Got an '88 Iroc in the driveway. Love the 80's cars. Especially a G Body like the Regals, Montes, Grand Prix and Cutlass.
These motorweek videos are making me nostalgic for ‘87 & ‘86 Celebrities. 😁
Damn how I'd like to go back to 1985 again...….
Me too! The year I graduated High School!!!
Shit me too I wasn't even born yet! I came in 92 lol but thi ng s were weird in the 90s and late 90s and early 2000s every went down hill for some reason...
Born that year
Only if I could inhabit the body I had back then with my knowledge of the future
@Take the red pill haha yeah baby....Damn shape shifters
My grandma had the 1985 Oldsmobile 98 Regency in a beautiful blue color. It was lush, comfortable and a gorgeous car. I remember people stopping and looking. I loved that car. My sister had that exact black Monte Carlo SS, and I had a silver Pontiac Fiero. Wish I had kept that car
This same guy has been hosting these shows for like 40 years!! Congrats and Thank you!!!
Hi, I'm John Davis, and this is Motorweek.
I'm still a little nuts for an '85 Trans Am.
DaftRyosuke I remember when I was 16yrs old in 1992. My uncle had a white trans am ttop he bought new in 86. It was mint!! Garage kept. Had the 5.0ho with a 5spd and posi traction. He offered to sell it to me on payments and my parents wouldn't let me have it! I was so pissed!
@@TusuperbisI can imagine how you felt...
My high school ride was a blue with gray 1985 Trans Am. I loved that car! Oh the memories.
Gabriel Gonzalez mine too. 5.0L Tune port. She was damn fun
@@patrickmike2524 those tpi cars were the shit back in the day. I bought a 89 Formula Firebird ttop 5.7 tpi , very rare a couple of months ago. It had three bad fuel injectors. I put 8 new fuel injectors in and rebuilt the fuel rail and fuel pressure regulator with new diaphragm and o rings. While I had it all apart I cleaned all of the carbon out of the plenum and runners put all new gaskets. Even with 160,000 miles on the car it has me grinning like a possum eating s***. Lol it fells like a 14 . Something sec car. Can't wait to get her at the track to see what she runs in the quarter mile. I can tell you right now, Honda Civics will avoid this car after they get to know her. 😂🤣
"burnt Sienna..they put the 'tru coat ' ON RIGHT IN THE FACTORY !
They should have to watch this at GM every day they come to work as it is a classic example of what not to build.
"Hey guys, remember to leave the hazard lights on when you show the cars."
That speedometer on the Calais looked more like 1965 than 1985!
Homie didn’t wear a seatbelt on that deathcart lol
Haha, what was the point of that thing? One thought, if only we could experience this model, but without a body, any rigidity, or safety equipment. I guess there were a lot of drugs being used at GM back then.
JxBANE rumor has it hes still alive too..
What's the point? He would be better off jumping out than staying in it if he were to crash.
Not very useful for anything other than showing that the suspension moves lol, and wouldn’t have been accurate anyways as there was hardly any weight on it. But ya gotta admit that was probably fun as hell to drive around!
It was the actual "J" derived "N" platform without exterior sheet metal.
I loved the Oldsmobile Cutlass supreme
Me too
The 80s was pretty cool.
I did not grow up in other eras, but the 80s warmed my heart.
Maybe that is what nostalgia is all about. ......
Being born in 70s & growing up watching American programs & films, makes big of American car fan. Love a good 'Yank Tank'
In 1985, GM had a dizzying array of unique models. GM was truly at its apex of being the General. My family had a Olds Custom Cruiser and then an Olds Eighty-Eight, Cutlass Supreme. My parents never even considered a Honda/Toyota back then.
1985, the year the paint on my dad's 1983 Pontiac 6000 went bad.
Must have been silver. GM silver paint sucked.
midnight savannah I never actually thought about that, but yea, back in the day it does seem like most of the Celebritys and 6000s that looked like they spent 2 decades in the desert after a 3 or 4 years in Michigan were silver.
Yeah GM had issues with peeling paint thru the majority of the '80's...it was due to the primer they used & the prep process. It affected pretty much all of their paint colors to some degree but silver, light blue, & white were the worst affected...& nearly every color ended up getting the little crows feet cracks in them after being exposed to sitting outside in the direct sunshine after a few years (they had that same cracking problem on most of the GM's thru the '70's also).
It's great to see the gm line from the year I was born. My parents had a 85 Skylark when I was little. I remember the back seat piping riped and exposed the wire which reaked havak on my leg a few times.
I had an '84 T-Type Regal and my Dad had a new '85 . They were pretty speedy back in the day.
The Eldorado and Riviera are beautiful. And so is the Corvette, of course. Fiero was nice in 1984.
Sure, the F- and G-body cars. But when it comes to Firebird and Camaro, I prefer the 1974-1978 model years. That's the sweet spot for me for the beauty of the design.
The Corvette was such a brick. I never did like those cars and that model cemented it for me.
Everything but the Fiero
No, the Fiero was nice in '85 when they came out with the GT with the ground effects, big wing and the V6. The iron duke 4-cylinder fire hazard that was the piece of garbage '84 Fiero was junk.
I really liked the 1985 Buick LeSabre a lot and wished they've kept the old body style around for at least 1989.
That Riviera looks so good
It sure does
Here we see the seedlings that would eventually grow into General Motors' forest of self-destruction.
And you will witness it again when gas prices go back into orbit.
I disagree. There are some decent vehicles in this line-up, such as the introduction of the Astro/Safari, finally getting fuel injection right for the F-Bodies with the 305 TPI, and further refinements on the S-10/Blazer.
What GM should’ve done was simplify the product line by making one brand of each product (instead of 2 or more rebadgings of the same body), and offering all of the option packages they’d normally spread over Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Buick, etc, to the single product.
For example: the Oldsmobile Bravada (the S-10 Blazer) had AWD as an option, instead of the traditional vacuum actuated transfer case used in these sub-half ton compact trucks.
If they gave that AWD option to the S-10 Blazer, along with a luxury interior option package, more S-10 platform trucks would’ve sold, instead of segregating potential buyers who didn’t want to be labeled as “Oldsmobile drivers”.
First year for the Isuzu, Suzuki, & Toyota joint ventures, the Astro/Safari, & both the C & N-bodies. 0:59.........the biggest laugh I've had yet this morning!!!!! 1:55.........STILL LOVE the way John pronounced "coupe" back then!!!!!
I had a '87 Grand Am 5 speed 2.5 and it ran forever. I finally sold it to a friend with 263,000 miles.
The 1985 Grand Am's shortfall was that it didn't come with, or offer an optional tachometer. Something that absolutely would've befit the "Euro" Tech GM was trying to pull off.
Well, that's GM.
These retro reviews are exciting to watch! Thank you, MotorWeek! 😀🎸🎸🎸💞💞
Me too but not for most of these junk cars!
The memories.... I worked as a lot guy at a large GM dealer in Toronto 86/87/88 I've driven 1000s of these cars. GM was huge in the 80s.
The Cutlass Supreme was the best selling car in America for years. Let that sink in.
My parents bought a Calais new in 85 with the 2.5. My mom drove it for about 4 years and then my sister drove it for about 2 more years before she sold it. I don't think the oil was ever changed in it. lol. I saw a guy driving it around town for a couple of years after that. Still had the wire wheel hubcaps on it!
The Iron Duke was a bulletproof turd. The 3 speed th125 trans flat out sucked.
My '89 Century had the "upgrade" wire covers on the 14" steel wheels. Eventually I found a set of 16" Lumina Z34 wheels and put Buick centercaps in them with a 205/55 tire. They fit perfectly and I couldn't believe how much more modern and sporty they made that otherwise grandpa-car look.
Good ole Mark. Always rambling about history.
Would love a G body Olds Cutlass or Monte Carlo SS or Aero coupe...even the downsized Olds 98 Regency Touring or Cadillac Deville were good cars and I would love one....my first car was a 89 Buick Lesabre Custom....got it in 2000 for my high school graduation present....rose good as hell and smooth and fast
1986: end of the 1970s
I thought it was 1982 that marked the end of the '70s.
Dude most of these cars carried over years after 1986.
I think they're referring to a lot of the larger cars (Caprice, 88, Riviera) and models like the Cutlass Supreme/Regal...all designs popular in the late 70's, all except Caprice downsized/reworked for 86. Was really the end of an era at that point.
Even so the full size Caprice soldiered on until 1990 as did FoMoCo's full sizers (1991). Not even mentioning the diplomat/fifth avenue which sold on until 1989. Even the Cutlass Supreme and Monte Carlo were offered until 1988. I'd fairly say by the late 80's most 70's malaise era cars were gone.
The big B body RWD all died in 86 except for the Caprice and 86 was the last chance for a big full frame RWD 2-door. In 87 B bodies became all 4 door only.
Three years old at this time, but near four. One year shy of uh oh Challenger, and the Bud Dwyer night/first time my mom let me outside by myself to build a snowman while realizing daylight savings as it was dark at 4:00. The realization of four o'clock and it being dark was a moment I still recall very well. Aside from that I was dreaming of all the available wheels the 80's had to offer from the back seats of my parent's late 70's Dodge Ram Charger. The Green Machine.
If you notice, all the cool looking cars were the 70's holdovers. Caprice, Pontiac Safari wagon, Cutlass Supreme, full size trucks, Riveria(my favorite), Regal, Fleetwood. Also those are the ones that usually gave the best service because they came from before the Rodger Smith, downsized FWD shit era, back when GM actually knew how to design a car.
Ummm no, the best three cars were the Corvette, Camaro, and Trans-Am. Even though they were pathetically slow they still looked the best. Given these vehicles were built with performance in mind they have the best parts from GM at the time.
"General Mhotors" "Pahalm Springs" Gotta love John's pronunciation of words.
Ah the 80's. When a little bit wider tires was considered a handling upgrade.
In 85 I was a sophomore in H.S. and watching Motorweek on Saturday mornings with my Dad and my buddies.
12:43...................I have to confess that I have always had an "It's Complicated" relationship with the Astro/Safari. I LOVED how roomy & comfortable they were, how smoothly they rode, & how quiet they were.........& that 4.3-liter V6 is a TORQUE MONSTER, but fit & finish left A LOT to be desired. I will NEVER forget that it was an Astro which brought me to see Home Alone for the first time, however. I will NEVER forget cruising to Showcase Cinema in Woburn, MA in a blue 1986 Chevy Astro full of kids, BLASTING C&C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)".........ON THE CASSETTE PLAYER (Man, I'm old!!!!!)!!!!!!!
Yes you are
Awesome. I think 1985 was the greatest year for GM in the 1980s. They had the newest TPI engines and fantastic new front wheel drive C bodies, the new Astro van, and new N bodies, but still had the X bodies (at least the Citation and Skylark), bigger E and B bodies, and square body trucks and the (improved over 1984) Corvette!
love retro MW videos mna- brings baack so much memories looking at these cars new - oh man what a joy to listen and waatch
I love these. Mostly because it reminds me of MPT broadcasting and seeing your show in a sea of static because we lived in the sticks of Harford County 😂 keep up the good work folks
Ooo, a factory cellular phone, for the busy business man on the go! A brick with a cord to another brick with buttons. The good ol days...
I actually came across that option only a couple of times while servicing these cars. When they were new. God I'm old.
Loved them! ❤️ Always got much better reception on them vs handhelds (bricks) of the day; complete with the trademark “curly-cue” antenna off your back or side glass. ☎️ Actually wish I could find one that you could still use with today’s technology. 🤔👍
True, also as a weapon too!
I was 17 working as lot guy at the dealer. I had to deliver one to a customer. Stuck in traffic I would pretend to talk on the phone to look cool.
I loved my 1983 Oldsmobile Toronado, 1985 Buick Riviera, my 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosport and my 1985 Chevrolet Astro Van. They were all good to me, my Dad and mom are GM people.
Donald Thompson my parents were all gm also. We had tons of new cars from the late 70s all the thru to the early 2000s. Astro and full size conversion vans, cutlass supremes, s10s, s10 blazer, full size scottsdale and Cheyenne trucks, k5 blazer, suburban, buick grand national, my parents would trade every couple years and we had sometimes 3 to 4 cars at one time. In 91 we had a gmc syclone, and we had a 93 gmc typhoon. In 90 my dad bought a new black 454ss. He thought it would be a brute to tow our boat. It was except trying to get up a wet boat ramp! Lol. John force burnouts all the up the boat ramp was the norm! Lol
I own the Buick Summer Set in '85. Kept till 1990. Not a bad car. GM made a decent car back in the day. Perhaps better today. The big thing for me in '85 I meant my wife. 2018 , and two kids now all grown up. Fun times. Just living life. Thank you
Holy overlap and redundancy Batman☺
Different divisions did pretty much offer the same cars but with different trim packages. Whether you liked Chevys or Oldsmobiles, was just a matter of which look you liked best. Otherwise, they were pretty much interchangeable. It was called having wide choices, Batman.
@@efandmk3382 YETH
Buick Riviera with a touch screen in 1985. So ahead of its time. Now GM is slightly behind the times. And I’m big GM fan /purchaser. Vehicles of every different shape and size. Not like now where they offer crossovers & SUV’s. Great video thank you for posting.
Those are some really funky steering wheels.
Please upload AMC + Chrysler full line retro reviews for 85 too!
In fact as many retro full line uploads as possible!
Love all the retro reviews thank you!
This brings back alot of great memories for me, I was 8 and turned 9 in July of that year. I remember all these great cars, my cousin had a 1985 Camaro and Celebrity Eurosport and my Aunt had a 1984 Celebrity Wagon, later on she traded it for a 1987 Celebrity Eurosport Wagon. My teacher in middle school bought a brand new Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, that was a very nice car, it was light blue with a white landau top and matching interior.
I earned my drivers license in Mom's '87 Grand Am. Those 1980s GM vehicles were the biggest pieces of garbage ever built in the history of automobiles. Electrical gremlins, hard plastic interiors that cracked and fell apart, knobs that would come off in your hand, lettering that rubbed off controls, engines that failed, doors that creaked and moaned, suspension that was worn completely out at 50,000 miles, etc. Just utter garbage. The only reason the Japanese brands got such a foothold in the U.S. was because of this era of GM vehicles.
better than russian cars
OFFRD This man has never drove a dodge omni or Ford Festiva. GM always gets the worst of it but the vast majority of US cars from the late '70s to mid '90s where total piles of shit. Even today I would be hesitant to buy a cheap FWD car from Ford of Chevy. Dodge doesn't even make the list. You get what you pay for. Even the old imports where cheap as hell on the inside they where just reliable. Check on eBay for an uncracked 240sx dash to see how much their worth. All the manufacturers used such thin metal as well so the cars rust very quickly. Some cars in the '80s were good but not many.
Actually 80's cars used much thicker steel than today's cars. The common rusting problems were entirely due to poor rustproofing measures. Also, 80's American economy cars had plusher interiors. Typically the doors were fully upholstered and the seats were upholstered in some type of plush velour type fabric, unlike the cheap looking, scratchy fabric they put in cheap cars today. Mechanically though, many of them were unreliable garbage, like most American cars of that decade.
Reminds me of the Chevrolet Beretta. The first and last GM car I ever drove. Same exact problems.
Agreed had a '88 self destructed at 90,000 miles
Love these old gm cars from the 80s. Even had a 88 Pontiac sunbird myself about 10 years ago.
We had a Cutlass Calais for many years, ran great but claimed by rust. When I was a teenager Mom and I test drove a Somerset. Thermostat was stuck closed, it overheated so bad it had rod knock as we brought it back to the dealer. No idea if it survived to be sold but I feel for whoever bought it.
I WANT TO COLLECT THEM ALL!
These aren't the Pokemon you're looking for.
Why??😂
Now i understand how the japanese gained the market, american made cars of the 80s were dinosaurs
Thank you for posting another great GM video! This was appreciated! I hope to see more GM and Lincoln videos in the future!
Gm had flavors for everyone got to love gm products and killing part everything is interchangeable
As a Gen Xer, It’s crazy when you look around and realize you haven’t seen ANY of these cars on the streets in like a decade. Cash for clunkers changed the automotive landscape almost overnight. Every once in a great great while you will see one, but it’s extremely rare.
Another Obama disaster, perfectly serviceable cars.. So much for the poor.
I had the 1985 Buick Electra. It had the normal GM steering problem. I traded it on a 1988 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. Guess what? Same power steering rack problem. That was the last GM car I ever bought.
That swiveling radio pod GM put in a few of their cars ensured you had an outdated radio for the life of your GM. I think the Camaro Berlinetta had it too.
Love these! Thanks for posting. Crazy how many models GM offered across 5 divisions (plus GMC)
Holy crap, GM's product line was SO busy. I understand they were actively working at this time to trim things down, but while GM was carrying on with milquetoast new vehicles and minimally facelifted 70s models, Ford was about to introduce the Taurus, and Chrysler's Lee Iacocca was cleaning their lineup with the K platform, as well as new, more modern product development.
But for all the complaining I and others can do, they sold product. They had a customer base that was satisfied, if not at the most basic level, with what they were purchasing - at least for a time. I wonder if Saturn had been able to roll out products by 1986, if GM could have had a more significant impact on market-wide advancements.
It's possible
At one time GM's Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly employed over 300,000. I worked across town at Chrysler's Jefferson Avenue Assembly(demolished 1990) we had 134,000. Today GM has about 13,000 at that plant.
This is like a wish list for me. So many memories. Some I've never seen in the wild.
I noticed they used the hazard lights to show case models lol . Maybe they were hinting at something .
As an early 20's young man back then, I can remember being excited about the new cars coming out. All I can say is I'm glad to be living in this era of autos, and appreciating how far all the car companies have come in technology and especially performance.
The glorious, glamorous, fantastic 80's. Probably the greatest decade in all of human history.
Holy cow! It's hard to believe that GM had this many variations for sale concurrently.
I miss cars like this. Fantastic lineup!
Stock ‘85 Corvette 230HP. Stock ‘20 Corvette 490HP. It’s a great time to be alive.
Those cutlass are still loved by some
The Astro/Safari vans were made in the Baltimore MD plant until 2005. The plant was torn down a few years later.
Wow. Soooo many cars, can’t believe their lineup used to be this diverse.
Was even more diverse in the 60s
I forgot about the Z24 Cavalier hatchback. I wouldn't mind having one of them now to modify and upgrade. I know the current 4 cylinder FWD hatchback make a bunch more power but the GM V6 from that era sounded so good and a Z24 with some mods should make more power than it's rated 130hp and sound really good. That an a 3rd Gen IROC in that blue they showed would be really nice.
Loved my sunbird GT and Skyhawks. Never once did I have problem and all were bought used
Skyhawk1987Turbo my dad and I test drove a new sunbird gt convt turbo with a 5spd. 1987 or88? Anyways, when the boost hit it would just smoke the front tires until you let off of it! Haha. My dad loved it but decided not to get it because he knew he would be replacing tires regularly if he did! Lol
One word to describe this; NOSTALGIA..... miss the 80’s
To quote Dewey Cox: "This is a really dark period, man!"
Amazing the amount of choices there were, those days are long gone.
That silver 86 Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosport was nice for the time! Was first year for the Fuel Injected V6 even though you could get the Carbureted V6 still. My Dad had a grey on grey 86 Celebrity wasnt a Eurosport just a CL trim back in the 90s when we were little kids it was a nice car and at the same time my Uncle got a grey on grey same color but an 85 Olds Toronado both were nice cars then. My Dad later in 93 got a 90 Ford Aerostar van was cream with tan interior was an rwd XL trim we had that and the Celebrity for most of the 90s. He later got a silver 96 Taurus LX he bought in 98 to replace the Celebrity. That was also a nice car for the time going into the early 00s
Wow have times changed. My dad had the 85 Cutlass supreme, was a beast. Now GM has been outcompeted except with their trucks and suvs.
The best selling car in America, the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.
Awesome video!! Wow those caddy’s are gorgeous!!
Love that background music! Lol
Surprised that GM made it past the 90s
The Obama admin did bail them out about 2 decades later...
Held US Govt "hostage"
Camry and Accord name still going strong.... Nevermind GM.
Can you say Suburban, Corvette, Tahoe, Escalade, etc.
@those are all trucksMrGreenelight