the only real problem with early Escorts was the timing belt, if it jumped one tooth it took the valves out, 50,000 miles was the limit unless you wanted new valves
@@GeeEm1313I do. I had an 86 Z24. Loved it. Have had WS6 Trans am's , WRX Impreza. Have a Daytona Charger, Bronco and Hybrid RAV4 and would easily take a mint 86 Z24 over any of those. Most fun car I ever had. Loved the looks just loved the car.
I concur. I bought a 1986 Yugo right after I got out of high school. Thought I was a bad-ass because I was able to get a brand new car. Importer went bankrupt so all warranties (including the extended warranty I bought with the car) were void. Had to replace the clutch at 32k miles (I did not "ride the clutch"). Wouldn't pass emissions soon after that and I couldn't afford to fix it. The bank allowed me to park it in a garage and drop the insurance. They said "nobody is going to steal a Yugo, so just keep making your payments and we're ok with you garaging it with no insurance". Sold it to a mechanic for a about $400 after the loan was paid off.
Depends on how you want to look at the first Hyundais (ie Hyundai Excel). The first Hyundais were failures in terms of being high quality or desirable cars. BUT, they were CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP. As a result, they sold well and made lots of money. They essentially paved the way for Hyundai to enter the US market. And in this way, the Hyundai Excel was a success.
You do realize that the Cavalier, Cimarron, Firenza and Sunbird are all the same car on GMs J platform, not a good way to stretch your list. Also some of the Sunbird pictures you provide are late 70s models built on a completely different RWD platform.
Not to mention that he shows seventies Escorts that are legendary for quality and reliability in Europe. And that is only the beginning of the mistakes stacking up. Al the cars he mentions are American cars, why am I not surprised.🤣
@@SPEEDTER601ford escorts in America were never known for reliability. Just like your modern range Rovers. Renault aren't known for dependability also. Or even Jaguars. Citroën had major problems in the past also. Isn't Fiat short for fix it again Tony?
@@mrbig7718Range Rovers and Jaguars are not known for reliability over here too, except in the UK. Renaults however are, and the Escorts you know are a totally different American build car. Which explains a lot.
When I met my husband, he had an Omni and I had a Horizon. They were GREAT little cars (at least ours were) - and you could pack tons of stuff in them. HAH! I had an EXP also and it was a great little car although once when I was walking into a store a man came out and commented that it was the ugliest car he'd ever seen. I thought it was cute and I loved it. I wonder who ''rated'' these cars as being the worst because reading comments below many of them were popular and well loved.
We had 2 Horizon’s in our family, they were very reliable, and much better than our GM Buick Skylark which was a fancy Version of the Chevy Citation, it was always breaking down!
George bought John Voight's 1989 LeBaron convertible. Not a Chrysler TC. Plus that wasn't in the episode cited. It was in the Seinfeld episode "The Mom & Pop Store".
I've got 4 second gen V6 Cavaliers. 88 Wagon, 88 Z24 coupe, 92 Z24 convertible, 94 Z24 coupe (project car). They're extremely reliable, fun to drive, good gas mileage, comfortable. I'll keep them the rest of my life.
I don't know what GM was thinking with the Cimarron, by introducing it with a 4 cylinder, and manual transmission. It should have only been equipped with the V6 and automatic. Cadillac buyers wouldn't have wanted a 4 cylinder, and definitely wouldn't have been used to shifting gears manually.
I don't know about other Chevy Citation owners, but I had an 81' and I put 300,000+ miles on it (with average work done on it, i.e. alternator, plugs, and a steering pump, brake pads) and it was still running well when I sold it in 95'.
If it weren't for all the defects, the Chevy Citation could've been a decent compact car. Don't get me wrong, the X-11 package is far from the high-performance machine it tried to pass itself off as, but that doesn't mean that in time, it could've gained some respectable muscle under the hood.
What a bunch of generic info. How about some details about issues. Just keeps saying the same thing over and over. I wish they would bring back the Fiero, that was a cool little car. Overheating issues not withstanding.
The Fiero was fine with the V6. The suspension was not that bad just needed a sway bar in the rear you can add. It did not hurt normal driving. The 4K was the only issue most 1984.
it was ahead of it's time. if it would have been made now, it would be similar to that volkswagon suv that can change it's ride height for different terrain.
@@matthewstorm5188 AMC ceased to exist because they never developed their own drivetrains. they licensed from the big three. which 1 made each vehicle a little different from another, and 2 put them in a bad position to compete. As soon as they got any market share (the 60's muscle car era) they got priced out. They should have heeded the lessons from tucker and put themselves in an untouchable position. Like tesla did. I'm surprised the big three didn't jump sooner with an electric car tbh. They had each built a decent one in the 90's as well as toyota.
I can almost guarantee you that every single one of those cars has their own fans still to this day, and dare I say--a cult following with fan clubs in their honour, with people keeping those cars alive and still driving them on the road! I can name at least two--the AMC Eagle and Pontiac Fiero, but believe it or not--I'm also still seeing Chevy Citations on the road that people have managed to keep alive for decades, and a Dodge Omni, daily driven by a MECHANIC to and from work every day, probably nursing it to keep it alive, like a vet taking home a deformed dog with parvo, because he feels sorry for it!
The Ford Escort models shown here were all European models, which were incredibly successful. This video shows Escorts from the 1960s and 70s as though they were 80s models, and for reasons that will never be known, images of an MGB were included.
Looking back the majority were due to the gas crunch in the 70's and subsequent mileage mandates. I don't disagree with the list; it must have been easy to put together.
This list is too redundant, listing several GM J-body cars separately, when the Cadillac Cimarron was the only one really deserving of being on this list. Far more deserving would be cars like the Renault Alliance/Encore, the Yugo GV, and the first-generation Hyundai Excel.
George bought John Voight's 1989 LeBaron convertible. Not a Chrysler TC. Plus that wasn't in the episode cited. It was in the Seinfeld episode "The Mom & Pop Store".
Did anyone notice in the Ford Escort commercial one of "The 2 Ronnies" (an 80's British comedy show) was driving & smiling? I like your videos dude, despite the negative comments
I had a Citation with the 2.8 V6. It was a winter beater that I bought to drive while storing my RX7. I have to say it was a great car for $75. Always ran and never let me down during two Wisconsin Winters. Drove it all over the state.
The caviler, sunbird, cimeron, and frienze were all basically the same car and horrible, the citation was a death trap. The Omni and the AMC Eagle were okay
Sorry, but it was Jerry's friend George Costanza, not Kramer who bought a car and it wasn't a Chrysler TC. It was a Chrysler LaBaron. Completely different car.
The Video keeps saying the issues, but won't tell what issues they are. Makes this video flat on specifics about the reliability, handling, etc it keeps mentioning.
I do, drove one hours at a time while on Flight Line Guard Duty, on MCAS Yuma. Never had any problems with them, and they got GREAT gas mileage. They were also quick and powerful.
I remember them. Despite all the “design flaws” and “mechanical failures” plaguing all of the vehicles featured, they sure sold enough of those particular platforms - except maybe the Cadillac Cimmeron…
My first car I bought was a 1986 Chevy Cavalier. It was already 10 years old and only had 50K miles on it. It was a rust wagon but that was a very reliable car for me. I bought a 1990 cavalier after that. I liked these cars.
The VW Cabriolet was a good car. The problem with it was the price. It was a cheap Rabbit convertible with no power that costed what a full-size car with more of everything costed.
My family had a Dodge Omni, it was initially my mother's car, which ended up with my sister for a while. The car overheated on me once and the only warning that it was running hot was big red "engine" light, which could mean anything from "check oil", to overheating, or any other malfunction. I pulled it over, let it cool down and got it home. When my sister had it, the overheating problems continued and my father tried to fix them, but I think he missed the obvious culprit: the radiator, which I believe was partially blocked and not providing sufficient cooling. My sister would run the heater to try to keep the engine cool, but ultimately pushed her luck once too often and cracked the block. I drove passed the car sitting on 495 with no signs of my sister. I called home from a payphone to see if the family had any news, and it turned out my sister was at the business next door to, also calling for help, so I got her where she needed to be and made arrangements to get the car towed somewhere to be looked at.
I owned 3 of these cars: Eagle was fun but unreliable, EXP was boring to drive but got me around, Cavalier was one of the most reliable cars I ever owned.
One of my first cars. Was a Plymouth horizon. It was basically a thorough way car. The Timing.belt was inside the engine. When that thing blew in trash the whole engine. It was a tin can after that. You just threw it away. William
I can affirm the Crappiness of the EXP. I had a red one just like the video. Broke the Timing belt around fifty K. Just toasted the entire valve assembly. Then had to fight the Dealership to get the damn thing fixed. Ended up having to threaten to take them to court before they did it.
I actually like the Pontiac Fiero, it's probably not the best of cars but it looks really cool. I feel that GM missed a huge opportunity, if only they would have made it correctly.
My god, what a garbage list. The Citation, the GM J cars, the Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon, the Pontiac Fiero, the Chrysler LeBaron, the AMC Eagle, the Ford Escort and the Ford EXP are all the cars I want back.
Well I'm one that like the eagle, but I'm also a big fan of AMC despite the reputation of AMC they had some very good cars.. Now I also loved the Dodge colt bought one in the 80's turbo charge. I knew of a 12 mile strip of road i could test the car and took up 135mph all the way of that 12 miles and never had any problems with the car..
I had a 1885 Fiero 2M4 & 1986 2M6. The 2M6 model caught fire as the motors on them overheated & both has a poor fiberglass body. Other issue is GM in the 1980's had paint issues causing peeling & cracks as they used poor clear coat on them as my old 1985 Buick Skyhawk, 1986 Camaro IROC-Z & my 1987 Buick Grand National did.
GM certainly had the same problem well into the early nineties because my mom had a 91 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera and it started losing its paint due to bad clear coat...
I miss my '87 Fiero SE V6 5-speed, and my '95 TransSport SE...not so much my ex-wife's '79 4-speed Horizon, which was our car when we got hitched in '85...
That “serious off road buyers” found the AMC Eagle lacking didn’t seem to phase the design or sales of future SUVs and crossovers. One thing I noted was the continued use of some lever mounted in the middle of the car that drivers had to be working with their right arms…
I a horizon and omni and got 300,000 miles on them little maintenance. My son still has his first car a 79 horizon 86,000 miles on it . Its parked rn but still runs great. Being in Florida now it as alot of rust he working on.
The Cavalier/Fierenza/Cimmaron were the same car. Could have shared a spot. The 1st Gen Escort the US never got but ur right about the EXP. So much potential left on a accountant cut sheet.
The Hyundai Excel. The dashboard would fall off. Nuff said. I had a 1985 Nissan 200sx and it started falling apart within 1 year. And also a 1988 Ford Mustang where the hood wouldn’t latch and Ford said it wasn’t an issue.
Ah Ford Escort of the 80’s, drove a 1983 wagon with 5 speed manual. Was one in shop monthly and 5 speed was clunky. Only things that worked with no problems was air conditioner and brakes. Learned what Ford was a synonym for than and it was “Fix Or Repair Daily” and fully loaded understood and dealt with it on a monthly basis and sometimes more.
The AMC Eagle was a pioneer in it's role as a four by four SUV. In Switzerland some people living in mountainous areas loved that car. There were only three options, a rough Jeep style offroader, a Subaru or the Eagle. I have friends who claim that the Eagle was very good in steep terrain and gravel roads. Compared to the terrible not existing capability on snow or ice of the average US car it was really a mountain climber. When Chrysler swallowed American Motors the Eagle was axed. But I bet the Chryser build quality of the Eighties was worse than the one of the AMC Eagle.
I use have a Plymouth Horizon. It didn't have power....well anything but it was damn near unkillable. It had a little Mitsubishi 4 banger. Had over 250xxx miles on it when i sold it, saw the guy i sold it to a couple years later and he still had it with over 325xxx miles on it and was still going.
Don't agree with Horizon. I drove multiple K cars in the 1980s while I was in college. They were not bad cars, they were cheap and they were throwaway cars, but i do not believe they belong on this list.
The ford escort, seriously ? The mk1 alone sold over 2 million on its own never mind the later models, escorts are much desired today as a classic especially the sporty ones
You make a video of failed 80's cars and you don't mention DeLorean? You mention Back to the future... The DeLorean failed so bad the factory closed and the owner went on trial.
Oh yes! I remember. We were reminded on a daily basis on how awful our cars were. By implication, we should just give up and go buy a Japanese or German car. It seemed hopeless, almost as if we were being played...
Clearly the author was not alive back in the 1980's. The Escort shown wasn't even sold in the US market.. and that was the beginning of the errors.
1981 U.S. ford escort was fwd
the only real problem with early Escorts was the timing belt, if it jumped one tooth it took the valves out, 50,000 miles was the limit unless you wanted new valves
Escort sucked no matter what
This was composed by a robot
At one point, they didn't even show a Ford. They showed an MG.
I wonder if anybody ever thought of taking a 1970's British Ford Escort to the US.
I had an 86 Cavalier and it wasn't going to win any races, but it never left me stranded. It was a great running car even with high mileage.
Nobody wants them back tho.
@@GeeEm1313 Speak for yourself. I'm sure many people would like a solid, reliable long lasting car for cheap.
@@GeeEm1313I do. I had an 86 Z24. Loved it. Have had WS6 Trans am's , WRX Impreza. Have a Daytona Charger, Bronco and Hybrid RAV4 and would easily take a mint 86 Z24 over any of those. Most fun car I ever had. Loved the looks just loved the car.
@@bikingDdamn right.
Chev Cavalier for US is not even close to vauxal cavalier and chev monza or opel ascona.
You missed the most glaring examples of 80's failures, those being the Yugo, and the first Hyundais
I concur. I bought a 1986 Yugo right after I got out of high school. Thought I was a bad-ass because I was able to get a brand new car. Importer went bankrupt so all warranties (including the extended warranty I bought with the car) were void. Had to replace the clutch at 32k miles (I did not "ride the clutch"). Wouldn't pass emissions soon after that and I couldn't afford to fix it. The bank allowed me to park it in a garage and drop the insurance. They said "nobody is going to steal a Yugo, so just keep making your payments and we're ok with you garaging it with no insurance". Sold it to a mechanic for a about $400 after the loan was paid off.
Yugos 1,tank of gas ⛽ and it will never run again
Depends on how you want to look at the first Hyundais (ie Hyundai Excel). The first Hyundais were failures in terms of being high quality or desirable cars. BUT, they were CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP. As a result, they sold well and made lots of money. They essentially paved the way for Hyundai to enter the US market. And in this way, the Hyundai Excel was a success.
You are correct.
YOU ARE RACIST! STOP ASIAN HATE!
You keep using the wrong videos of wrong vehicles
seen an MGB in the Ford escort section
Yeah I really noticed that too. Beyond annoying 😅
You do realize that the Cavalier, Cimarron, Firenza and Sunbird are all the same car on GMs J platform, not a good way to stretch your list. Also some of the Sunbird pictures you provide are late 70s models built on a completely different RWD platform.
Any car can be a good car if it maintenance property
Why is he featuring the European Ford Escorts which were never marketed in the USA.
Not to mention that he shows seventies Escorts that are legendary for quality and reliability in Europe. And that is only the beginning of the mistakes stacking up. Al the cars he mentions are American cars, why am I not surprised.🤣
@@SPEEDTER601ford escorts in America were never known for reliability. Just like your modern range Rovers. Renault aren't known for dependability also. Or even Jaguars. Citroën had major problems in the past also. Isn't Fiat short for fix it again Tony?
@@mrbig7718Range Rovers and Jaguars are not known for reliability over here too, except in the UK. Renaults however are, and the Escorts you know are a totally different American build car. Which explains a lot.
Cause he's a robot.
you could not find footage of the shitty American ford escorts? The european ones were not nearly as bad as the American ones
When I met my husband, he had an Omni and I had a Horizon. They were GREAT little cars (at least ours were) - and you could pack tons of stuff in them. HAH! I had an EXP also and it was a great little car although once when I was walking into a store a man came out and commented that it was the ugliest car he'd ever seen. I thought it was cute and I loved it. I wonder who ''rated'' these cars as being the worst because reading comments below many of them were popular and well loved.
Ford restyled the front end to get rid of the frog eye headlights and it looked much better after that.
We had 2 Horizon’s in our family, they were very reliable, and much better than our GM Buick Skylark which was a fancy Version of the Chevy Citation, it was always breaking down!
@@mrjsanchez1 💯 👍
George Constanza is NOT Cosmo Kramer!!! Derp.
Also: in high school George drove a LeCar…er a LeGeorge….
George bought John Voight's 1989 LeBaron convertible. Not a Chrysler TC. Plus that wasn't in the episode cited. It was in the Seinfeld episode "The Mom & Pop Store".
@althunder4269 just remember it was not Jon Voight the actor it was John Voight the dentist... Kramer got a Beatdown from Jon Voight the actor...
I've got 4 second gen V6 Cavaliers. 88 Wagon, 88 Z24 coupe, 92 Z24 convertible, 94 Z24 coupe (project car). They're extremely reliable, fun to drive, good gas mileage, comfortable. I'll keep them the rest of my life.
I agree with you completely. The ass clown who makes these videos doesn't know his dipstick from a hole in his butt !
I don't know what GM was thinking with the Cimarron, by introducing it with a 4 cylinder, and manual transmission. It should have only been equipped with the V6 and automatic. Cadillac buyers wouldn't have wanted a 4 cylinder, and definitely wouldn't have been used to shifting gears manually.
I totally agree,all these cars were super unreliable. That's why they all died prematurely.
AMC Eagle was a cool car and I want it back.
I don't know about other Chevy Citation owners, but I had an 81' and I put 300,000+ miles on it (with average work done on it, i.e. alternator, plugs, and a steering pump, brake pads) and it was still running well when I sold it in 95'.
If it weren't for all the defects, the Chevy Citation could've been a decent compact car. Don't get me wrong, the X-11 package is far from the high-performance machine it tried to pass itself off as, but that doesn't mean that in time, it could've gained some respectable muscle under the hood.
Most people who bought Citations had problems with them. There were exceptions, of course.
Luck of the draw.
They didn't mention a serious problem with the Citation; it's rear wheel brake locking which would cause a loss of control under hard braking.
@@althunder4269 I agree. The Citation and the other X-body cars are the absolute worst GM cars in history.
You say almost exactly the same thing about each car. This stinks of poor research and terrible writing.
What a bunch of generic info. How about some details about issues. Just keeps saying the same thing over and over. I wish they would bring back the Fiero, that was a cool little car. Overheating issues not withstanding.
The Fiero was fine with the V6. The suspension was not that bad just needed a sway bar in the rear you can add. It did not hurt normal driving. The 4K was the only issue most 1984.
Its a pity, the Eagle was a cool car.
Who wouldn't want the Eagle back? It was the first crossover.
Um, nobody wanted it. That’s why AMC ceased to exist and got bought out by Chrysler.
I wouldn't take the video too seriously.
it was ahead of it's time. if it would have been made now, it would be similar to that volkswagon suv that can change it's ride height for different terrain.
@@matthewstorm5188 AMC ceased to exist because they never developed their own drivetrains. they licensed from the big three. which 1 made each vehicle a little different from another, and 2 put them in a bad position to compete. As soon as they got any market share (the 60's muscle car era) they got priced out. They should have heeded the lessons from tucker and put themselves in an untouchable position. Like tesla did. I'm surprised the big three didn't jump sooner with an electric car tbh. They had each built a decent one in the 90's as well as toyota.
You forgot to include Chrysler Town&Country, Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan, Plymouth Voyager to your list!
How about the LaCar?
It was the Le Car. By Renault and yeah that should of made the list too
I can almost guarantee you that every single one of those cars has their own fans still to this day, and dare I say--a cult following with fan clubs in their honour, with people keeping those cars alive and still driving them on the road! I can name at least two--the AMC Eagle and Pontiac Fiero, but believe it or not--I'm also still seeing Chevy Citations on the road that people have managed to keep alive for decades, and a Dodge Omni, daily driven by a MECHANIC to and from work every day, probably nursing it to keep it alive, like a vet taking home a deformed dog with parvo, because he feels sorry for it!
The Ford Escort models shown here were all European models, which were incredibly successful. This video shows Escorts from the 1960s and 70s as though they were 80s models, and for reasons that will never be known, images of an MGB were included.
I rarely go to the effort of blocking a channel because of how terrible their videos are. Congratulations, you've earned that distinction.
The Maserati TC only had the LeBaron engine if you got the auto transmission. If you ordered it with a stick, you also got a Maserati engine.
The more things I watch on this channel The more I realize no one on this channel knows what they're talking about.
i love my chevy citation overall great mpg 25 we had the hatchback 1981 grove it for 17 yrs
Looking back the majority were due to the gas crunch in the 70's and subsequent mileage mandates. I don't disagree with the list; it must have been easy to put together.
THE AMC WAS AHEAD OF ITS TIME. GREAT CAR.
Ya Subaru, en esa época, hacía coches similares.
Subaru, at that time, made similar cars.
I used to drive some of these cars back in the day. I don't remember them being all that bad.
They weren't that bad. You're right.
This list is too redundant, listing several GM J-body cars separately, when the Cadillac Cimarron was the only one really deserving of being on this list. Far more deserving would be cars like the Renault Alliance/Encore, the Yugo GV, and the first-generation Hyundai Excel.
George bought John Voight's 1989 LeBaron convertible. Not a Chrysler TC. Plus that wasn't in the episode cited. It was in the Seinfeld episode "The Mom & Pop Store".
The Ford Escort MK1 was one of the best cars produced in the 70s and is still today with prices high rocketing
Did anyone notice in the Ford Escort commercial one of "The 2 Ronnies" (an 80's British comedy show) was driving & smiling? I like your videos dude, despite the negative comments
Ronnie Corbet. Also some early footage of Jeremy Clarkson.
I had a Chevy Citation a Pontiac Phoenix and a Ford Escort. And yes they sucked badly. My good one was the 1986 Buick Century, loved it.
I thought the Chevrolet Chevette would be on this list. I owned one and loved it.
Had 2 wow not a Corvette
That car is included in the “worst cars of the 1970’s” video.
The chevet I had loved it great in snow better than some cars today
Chevette is the shorter version of Citation....
@@cbman4767 had 2 chevettes
The European ford escorts were notches above the American counterpart, especially their convertibles!
I had a Citation with the 2.8 V6. It was a winter beater that I bought to drive while storing my RX7. I have to say it was a great car for $75. Always ran and never let me down during two Wisconsin Winters. Drove it all over the state.
The caviler, sunbird, cimeron, and frienze were all basically the same car and horrible, the citation was a death trap. The Omni and the AMC Eagle were okay
Sorry, but it was Jerry's friend George Costanza, not Kramer who bought a car and it wasn't a Chrysler TC. It was a Chrysler LaBaron. Completely different car.
Oh yes, the Pontiac Fiero, that was a rolling molotov cocktail.
What is a 'Fire-enza'? 😁😁😁
Fear-EN-za!
Why are you showing footage of the British Ford Escort MK1 which were first made in the late 1960's
My first car was an Escort. Pretty good car really:)
@@ricardofierro7041 DAAAAAMN! Probably for dope money 💰.
@@ricardofierro7041 That's more work than it's worth.
You’re showing the European models they don’t even have those over here come on let’s get it right
The fiero has a cult following and cars in good shape can easily go for thousands of dollars.
The Video keeps saying the issues, but won't tell what issues they are. Makes this video flat on specifics about the reliability, handling, etc it keeps mentioning.
Anybody remember the Dodge Rampage ? The mini Elcamino/Ranchero.😄 .
I do, drove one hours at a time while on Flight Line Guard Duty, on MCAS Yuma. Never had any problems with them, and they got GREAT gas mileage. They were also quick and powerful.
I remember them. Despite all the “design flaws” and “mechanical failures” plaguing all of the vehicles featured, they sure sold enough of those particular platforms - except maybe the Cadillac Cimmeron…
Yes but haven't seen one in probably 25 years.
@sombra6153 Many of these vehicles sold well for no other reason than the fact that they were cheap.
MY 13 worst 1980s cars:
1. Renault Alliance.
2. Chevy Cavalier/Pontiac Sunbird/Cadillac Cimmaron, etc.
3. Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon/TC3/024.
4. Ford Tempo/Mercury Topaz.
5. Hyundai Pony.
6. Chevy Citation
7. Chevy Spectrum.
8. Ford Escort.
9. Ford Aerostar.
10. Volkswagen Fox.
11. Fiat Strada.
12. Lada.
13. Yugo.
I had a 85 horizon. I loved that car. Had it for 10 years with no trouble
My first car I bought was a 1986 Chevy Cavalier. It was already 10 years old and only had 50K miles on it. It was a rust wagon but that was a very reliable car for me. I bought a 1990 cavalier after that. I liked these cars.
Aww... I loved my '78 Pontiac Sunbird hatchback!
The VW Cabriolet was a good car. The problem with it was the price. It was a cheap Rabbit convertible with no power that costed what a full-size car with more of everything costed.
Costed?
C-O-S-T
I had a Pontiac Fiero 6M and a Z34 Chevrolet Cavlier, LOVED both (Standard Shift) cars and powerful for sure.
My family had a Dodge Omni, it was initially my mother's car, which ended up with my sister for a while. The car overheated on me once and the only warning that it was running hot was big red "engine" light, which could mean anything from "check oil", to overheating, or any other malfunction. I pulled it over, let it cool down and got it home. When my sister had it, the overheating problems continued and my father tried to fix them, but I think he missed the obvious culprit: the radiator, which I believe was partially blocked and not providing sufficient cooling. My sister would run the heater to try to keep the engine cool, but ultimately pushed her luck once too often and cracked the block. I drove passed the car sitting on 495 with no signs of my sister. I called home from a payphone to see if the family had any news, and it turned out my sister was at the business next door to, also calling for help, so I got her where she needed to be and made arrangements to get the car towed somewhere to be looked at.
I owned 3 of these cars: Eagle was fun but unreliable, EXP was boring to drive but got me around, Cavalier was one of the most reliable cars I ever owned.
My Grandfather was a loyal Chrysler man. He had a Valiant, Scamp, Coronet, and finally an Omni. Man did he ever curse at that Omni!💩
One of my first cars. Was a Plymouth horizon. It was basically a thorough way car. The Timing.belt was inside the engine. When that thing blew in trash the whole engine. It was a tin can after that. You just threw it away. William
I can affirm the Crappiness of the EXP. I had a red one just like the video. Broke the Timing belt around fifty K. Just toasted the entire valve assembly. Then had to fight the Dealership to get the damn thing fixed. Ended up having to threaten to take them to court before they did it.
I actually like the Pontiac Fiero, it's probably not the best of cars but it looks really cool. I feel that GM missed a huge opportunity, if only they would have made it correctly.
My god, what a garbage list. The Citation, the GM J cars, the Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon, the Pontiac Fiero, the Chrysler LeBaron, the AMC Eagle, the Ford Escort and the Ford EXP are all the cars I want back.
Well I'm one that like the eagle, but I'm also a big fan of AMC despite the reputation of AMC they had some very good cars.. Now I also loved the Dodge colt bought one in the 80's turbo charge. I knew of a 12 mile strip of road i could test the car and took up 135mph all the way of that 12 miles and never had any problems with the car..
I had a 1885 Fiero 2M4 & 1986 2M6. The 2M6 model caught fire as the motors on them overheated & both has a poor fiberglass body. Other issue is GM in the 1980's had paint issues causing peeling & cracks as they used poor clear coat on them as my old 1985 Buick Skyhawk, 1986 Camaro IROC-Z & my 1987 Buick Grand National did.
GM certainly had the same problem well into the early nineties because my mom had a 91 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera and it started losing its paint due to bad clear coat...
Escorts where good 👍
87 escort
My 1987 Cavalier was actually one of my better cars.
I miss my '87 Fiero SE V6 5-speed, and my '95 TransSport SE...not so much my ex-wife's '79 4-speed Horizon, which was our car when we got hitched in '85...
I had a bradley g t
That “serious off road buyers” found the AMC Eagle lacking didn’t seem to phase the design or sales of future SUVs and crossovers. One thing I noted was the continued use of some lever mounted in the middle of the car that drivers had to be working with their right arms…
The Fiero was the cheap man's Ferrari. Rich kids had Nike's and the poor kids had Winners Choice.
Also, once the bugs were fixed, the Omni GLH and GLHS were sleepers.
I'd rather have some of these back over the some of the junk they're over charging for now
I a horizon and omni and got 300,000 miles on them little maintenance. My son still has his first car a 79 horizon 86,000 miles on it . Its parked rn but still runs great. Being in Florida now it as alot of rust he working on.
AMC eagle has a cult following to this day
The Cavalier/Fierenza/Cimmaron were the same car. Could have shared a spot.
The 1st Gen Escort the US never got but ur right about the EXP. So much potential left on a accountant cut sheet.
The Hyundai Excel.
The dashboard would fall off. Nuff said.
I had a 1985 Nissan 200sx and it started falling apart within 1 year. And also a 1988 Ford Mustang where the hood wouldn’t latch and Ford said it wasn’t an issue.
I didnt believe all these cars were so bad. I knew people that had Chevy Cavaliers and Ford Escorts back then and had no major problems.
Ah Ford Escort of the 80’s, drove a 1983 wagon with 5 speed manual. Was one in shop monthly and 5 speed was clunky. Only things that worked with no problems was air conditioner and brakes. Learned what Ford was a synonym for than and it was “Fix Or Repair Daily” and fully loaded understood and dealt with it on a monthly basis and sometimes more.
The LeBaron was a great car. It lasted almost 20 years.
Cimmaron would have probably worked if the V6 was the standard engine from the start.
😢😢😢😢
That was a young Jeremy Clarkson taking a seat behind the wheel of that blue overseas version of the Ford Escort.
mostly American cars, thank you Roger Smith
The AMC Eagle was a pioneer in it's role as a four by four SUV. In Switzerland some people living in mountainous areas loved that car. There were only three options, a rough Jeep style offroader, a Subaru or the Eagle. I have friends who claim that the Eagle was very good in steep terrain and gravel roads. Compared to the terrible not existing capability on snow or ice of the average US car it was really a mountain climber. When Chrysler swallowed American Motors the Eagle was axed. But I bet the Chryser build quality of the Eighties was worse than the one of the AMC Eagle.
I have to say this video is not always right there is a lot of cavaliers and a lot of Ford escorts still on the road today
Wrong, champ. Enough said. Your post is factually untrue.
Why would you post such rubbish?
Shut your diarrhea mouth punk
Why did they show a picture of the early '70's Chevy Monte Carlo when this video is covering '80's cars ?
Because whoever was in charge of this video clearly neglected to do any research whatsoever
I cant imagine anyone purchasing a Cadillac Cimarron, Cavalier was basically the same car and a lot cheaper.
I use have a Plymouth Horizon. It didn't have power....well anything but it was damn near unkillable. It had a little Mitsubishi 4 banger. Had over 250xxx miles on it when i sold it, saw the guy i sold it to a couple years later and he still had it with over 325xxx miles on it and was still going.
Plymouth Horizon never came with a Mitsubishi engine.
@@matthewstorm5188 my mistake it was vw engine
Don't agree with Horizon. I drove multiple K cars in the 1980s while I was in college. They were not bad cars, they were cheap and they were throwaway cars, but i do not believe they belong on this list.
My Aspen was good. My Horizon was good. I had 4 Dodge 600 and they were real good.
I see a lot of Visit Advertiser, where is the substantiality of the promised video?
GM has CONSISTENTLY let their customers do their testing for them. Only pure luck and our tax dollars have kept them alive.
The Horizon was “trash” My dad was in the dealer every month…. And then he bought a Subaru. My parents switched to Japanese cars.
What about the Chrysler K Cars?
They were fantastic😂😂😂
@@johndaly8060 And they saved the company!!
@sludge8506 That doesn’t change the fact that they were garbage. People only bought them because they were cheap.
@@matthewstorm5188 What sold the K-Cars was the 5-year, 50,000 mile warranty. That was an industry first. They were truly awful cars.
@@matthewstorm5188 I never gave an opinion of the car.
The ford escort, seriously ? The mk1 alone sold over 2 million on its own never mind the later models, escorts are much desired today as a classic especially the sporty ones
You make a video of failed 80's cars and you don't mention DeLorean? You mention Back to the future... The DeLorean failed so bad the factory closed and the owner went on trial.
Oh yes! I remember. We were reminded on a daily basis on how awful our cars were. By implication, we should just give up and go buy a Japanese or German car. It seemed hopeless, almost as if we were being played...
16:26 Fire Enza, lmao
AMC Eagle now Subaru Outback Wilderness today😮 with better reliability an build quality
There's over 1 million words in the English language but all are lackluster compared to the best word of all: "lackluster."
Hey, I thought the Omni and Horizon that saved Chrysler Corporation from bankruptcy and going belly up
That was the original K-cars, the Aspen and Volare, and then their minivans that were a huge success.
So that’s why they needed (just like gM)bale out dollars-or have you forgotten
@@bradzimmerman3171 A very much different time, champ.
🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
It was, along with the Aries and Reliant.
@@LordStevieNo. Those were beforehand and were terrible cars. The Aries and Reliant got Chrysler out of the trash can.
It's like spraying potpourri on a turd. It's still a turd, but now it smells funny. I guess that's how incense are made 🤔