Why Late 80s & Early 90s Cars Were The Best Era!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 พ.ค. 2024
- #acwj
The late 80s and early 90s may be the best era in the US auto market, and I've got two great reasons for it.
Most of the problems from the 70's had been engineered through, and reliability improved.
Plus, the absolute vast amount of choice consumers had.
While the era wasn't perfect (of course), and we live today in a heyday for the ICE vehicle, today's cars are a variety of egg-shaped people movers typically in your choice of black, white, or gray.
How dreary.
Start 00:00
Reason 1 04:18
Reason 2 06:19
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In 2 or 3 administrations we may no longer be Capitalists, may not own cars, may not even drive the cars we "subscribe" to. Gawd help us....
What do you mean here?
Lol
@@TannerMason He meant that in a decade or two, we'll "own nothing and be happy". I don't necessarily think that prediction/plan will go through. We still have a choice.
@@TannerMason The Democrat party is very clearly going more and more to a Socialist style of government where the government has all control over its citizens and the middle-class would die out. If people don’t wake up very soon to this our democracy will die.
In today's ocean of nearly indistinguishable crossovers and pickups, I long for the days of the early to mid '90s when exciting designs from every manufacturer used to come out every model year and sometimes more frequently. Thanks for the reminder and nostalgia!
I have not thought about this, but during that period, I don't remember thinking everything was the same. I was just a 10 year old, but my parents had a minivan, SUV, wagon, GT sports car, roadster, all within a few years. Then you had the move to aero styling around 1992. Small Cadillacs and classic land yachts available at the same time. There was something for everybody.
My dad's '89 Pontiac Bonneville was a beautiful car and just a pleasure to drive. He loved it and I was always thrilled to borrow it from time to time.
You might think I'm nuts but I had three Turbo Dodge's in the 80's that were absolutely reliable. A new 87 Shelby Lancer 5 spd, a new 89 Daytona Shelby 5 spd and a used 87 Shelby Charger 5spd. All three were great reliable and fun cars that I drove trouble free for 60-100 thousand miles. My lancer had a broken power window motor and my Daytona had a leaking t-top seal. That's it.
I’d wager everyone’s pick for best era likely includes their 15-20 years. Finally get your drivers license, maybe even your first car. Those early drives and the cars which made them happen are probably far more memorable than whatever five year periods since.
I agree most people will.
If by ”best” we mean best to drive, it would be now.
Handling even on mundane cars is superior, hybrid tech gives superior mpg, etc
The driving experience is, however, steadily declining. More and more cars on the road, more aggressive drivers, etc.
Unless you live in a rural area, the driving experience is abysmal these days. Mostly a chore just to get somewhere.
It's not just a nostalgia thing for certain people of a certain age. People today want a 240SX, MKIV Supra, RX-7, NSX,etc.. It's not ultimate performance either, C4 Vettes were okay, for some, a top car. No one's paying big bucks for those. With the exception of the ZR-1. Even then they're not commanding NSX/Supra/240 prices. I mean who doesn't want a 300zx with super hicas to only disable the system. As to the "best drive" being now. Nonsense older cars had real suspension, complicated control arm setups that kept the wheels glued to the road at the right angle through turns and bumps, not just struts and a stamped steel control arm. 4 wheel steering, AWD, Twin turbos, active aero, and engaging manual transmissions. Everything today is a damn 4 cylinder with plenty of power, and horrible sounds. Rev hanging when you shift defeating rev matching efforts when you do find a manual car. No, today sucks. Modern wheel and tire combo on an older car can sharpen things up if that's the modern feel you're looking for. Cars today are designed by car haters, for car haters, and unofficial efficiency "experts" at gov. climate mange bureaus. A new era is coming though.
@@pgtmr2713 Exactly.. the gerneration coming up will not know what a true "driver's car" really is based on today's options. The baby boomers had their 60s/early 70s muscle cars, Gen Ex had the afformentioned vehicles Jon discussed and most Millennials (myself included) could enjoy the same as lightly used vehicles as well as the final shebang with early 00s WRX's, Evo's, Z cars etc. The options now are so sadly limitied that we can probably count them on one hand in the sub $40k segement. I only owned manual cars until about 7 years ago, when the only options had widdled down to small cars and high end niche models.
I started driving in the late 90s. My favorite cars are from the 60s to 80s. 90s cars are good. But I wouldn't choose to buy one. Unless my only other options were newer cars
I like the cars made I was 1 through 7 years old.
1955-1970. Hands down. But Jon is right about today's cars....white, silver, grey and black.
Hey Jon, I think the best car era was 1965 to 1972. The reason we buy so many pickup trucks is because they are the closest thing we have to a large rear wheel drive car.
I leased a 1995 Toyota Camry SE V6 Coupe for 3 years, then bought it. Loved that car, in 6 years all I had to replace was a dome light bulb and change the oil and filter. Never failed to start. I sold it to a friend who drove it 6 more year#. It’s the second-best built car I’ve owned, after my 1989 BMW M5. Now we all drive mostly ugly eggs.
Honda and Toyota really brought their "A" game when they wanted to compete in the US market. I've owned two Accords and a Legend from the early 90s and they were the most overbuilt and overengineered cars I've ever driven. They were as close to perfect as you could get. Even today, they feel special.
My “newest” car is an 08. Simple, reliable, good looking to me (lol), and paid off. Couldn’t ask for more
I 100% agree. They are so easy and cheap to maintain yet they have all of the basic features covered. Cruise control, AC, power windows and remote locks. All I really want. The best balance of simple technology vs modern conveniences.
I owned a ’95 Camry and agree it was a very well made and reliable car. Currently have a clean ’05 Lexus ES and I would not trade it for any new vehicle from any brand. My ES has intuitive controls, and all of the comfort features I need along with solid reliability. Some of us want to simply enjoy the drive rather than being distracted with touch screens, annoyed with driver assist technology, being lectured to by navigation systems, and having the engine shut down at every stop sign.
I agree. I'd never get rid of that car, those engines are virtually indestructible.
Double amen on last sentence... engine randomly stopping (in traffic) stress level not acceptable
I'll agree with much of what you said, Jon. But I'd move my personal timeline to the late 90s. I bought a new '98 Ram pickup. It's still my daily driver 26 years later. It's at the sweet spot in automotive history where it's modern enough to be comfortable and reliable, yet old enough to still able to be worked on by the average or better DIY'r.
Jon, your musings about the 1990's cars combining performance, comfort, and attractive styling is spot on. Today's cars do all seem to look alike, and are so dull, even if the technology has advanced. I loved my 1998 Volvo V70AWD sport wagon.
My 94 Buick Park Avenue is a keeper. 3.8 engine is bullet proof and is easy to work on. Perhaps the best overall engine
that GM has made. Easy to work on. Parts cheap any easy to get. Can do most repairs myself. Just an overall good
car..not perfect but have had 30 years and see no end in sight. Yep, they do not make them like they used to. I would
not buy a GM product today sad to say. Seems like Ford and GM make junk today. Just me an 84 year old man driving
my 30 year old Buick Park Avenue. 😊😊😊
That’s great to hear. It’s good to see a Park Avenue or LeSabre on the road.
I’m not interested in Buick’s current lineup. Liked it better when they had full-size sedans and sporty coupes like the GNX.
Im 22 and my 94 regal has been good to me.. hail the 3800
Wow...I never looked at this time period like this but you are right!
Right?
Agree it was a golden era and I miss it.
As much as I hate Chinese imports, the car unions and EPA regulations have made new autos completely unaffordable for the middle class. Buying a new car is now like another mortgage. We need cheap alternatives.
I think you're spot on regarding the late 80s and probably most of the 90s. Also, you correctly point out the homogeneity of what you can find on dealership lots today. My contrarian take is on the engineering of modern cars. Too much is controlled by electronics, which, IMHO, aren't as durable as the mechanical systems that were replaced. Also, entirely too much plastic in places where it shouldn't be (valve covers, anyone?). I wonder if the engineering is driven by a cost consideration, more than anything else. The flip side of safety engineering (which I applaud) is the cost to repair even minor damage, given that everything is designed to absorb kinetic energy by collapsing. Everything seems to be a trade off and what seems to be getting lost is longevity. I tend to keep vehicles for a very long time. Were I to need to replace my 14 year old Honda, I would have concerns about anything recent being durable enough to go an equivalent length of time without major repair or simply falling apart, all of the plastic becoming brittle and just disintegrating. I hope I am wrong. I'd like to think that my next vehicle will last, especially as I no longer have to drive 35,000+ miles a year (not that I miss that).
Good insights Jon. My biggest takeaways from this era was just the overall variety of cars trucks and minivans available. Coupes and station wagons were still common. There were some good affordable cars and small trucks (noteworthy was the new for ‘91 Escort and the Ranger/S10. And benchmark cars like the ‘92 Camry were great.
Today is just a hodgepodge of crossovers that, as you correctly pointed out, all look alike. So regretful that the market has gone so hard in this direction.
And IMO, overall quality across the board has declined to some degree to shave costs…some makes worse than others. Thanks for the nostalgia Jon. I hope your predictions prove to be true.
I'd be drooling over the choices for a car in the late 80s-early 90s, if they were available today. There is literally nothing I truly want to buy today. I'm left with the lesser of several evils. Maybe the Accord if I want to drop 40k on a depreciating asset with the maniacs we have on the road today. It's a lousy business decision to buy a car today-it always was. But especially true today, and I can't be the only one who feels this way.
yeah the late 80s early 90s did have some great cars but some versions of classics were cancelled for poor sales at that time such as the Cadillac Coupe Deville after the 1993 model year
90's Supra and Land Cruisers are regarded by many to be the best there ever was.
Also during that era, you had manufacturers building minivans as the big three still built them. That eventually changed when SUVs took over the market. Also, not only did you have more manufacturer choices, but you had a lot more sedans, coupes, and hatchbacks back then. The big three all had a plethora of sedans, coupes, and hatchbacks to choose from. Today, good luck on finding anything from the American manufacturers that's considered a sedan. Jon, you are spot on with the automobile era you picked. Today, you have cookie-cutter look-alikes from all of the manufacturers which is similar to how popular music is today. In music, it all sounds the same. In automobiles, they all tend to look alike. Great content. Thanks Jon!
As someone who loves the greens, browns of the late 60s and early 70s I never thought I would like a white car with all black interior. Love my 2018 RAV4 so equipped.
The chinese could gain a solid foot in the door for the USA by building a basic pickup priced affordable enough. The Japanese compact pickups did the same thing in the late 70s/early 80s, even though their quality was less than our domestic pickup offerings at that time. The Japanese capitilized on a market domestic brands didnt think about with compact pickups, and left them scrambling to catch up in the segment. Now no one builds a reasonable small pickup, domestic or Japanese. The market is wide open for someone to swoop in and capitalize the market, even if the product is somewhat technology inferior to other brands products in different offereings.
Interesting video, Jon.
That era did provide an extremely wide array of choice coupled with improvements over the 60s/70s tech and quality.
I also agree that the Camry you mentioned was an icon that made Toyota the go-to automobile company for decades now.
The Grumman Chevrolet Long Life Vehicle is a great example of the late 80’s and 90’s vehicles being good vehicles. As horrible as the LLV is to drive, if maintained, are actually great vehicles.
OBD II mandated starting in the mid 90s was the beginning of the end of the car industry
For me the best era is 85-2005.
You’re absolutely right as performance, reliability and quality materials were all present.🫡
I'd say 80s and 90s till 97 newer cars mainly are good for safety though or blue tooth
Happy 7 years! This is one of my favorite channels! 💜
Yay! Thank you!
i was just watching the video of motorweek's 1992 econosport comparison video and thinking about how perfect they are for people like me. i'm not interested in motorsports by any means but i would love to drive something that looks a bit more fancier than the regular econobox and certainly a bit more fun to drive. i'm a gen z and i can't believe the options we used to have back in the day!
That was a period when majority of people are still buying passenger cars and manufacturers are still focusing on improving passenger cars.
In the 70s and 80s all tha cool kids had personal luxury cars that weren’t all that much $$$. Ford Thunderbirds, Mercury Cougar, GM’s Monte Carlo, Pontiac Grand Prix or a wonderful Buick regal. Even a boring and CHEAP Chevrolet Impala convertible was something.
I agree and have thought this myself. The late 80's/early 90's was the perfect balance between style, selection, variety, safety features, reliability, and affordability. Edit: I typed those words before the end of the video where you chose many of the same words!
I totally agree. As an '80s & '90s kid myself, there was TONS of variety regarding brands and vehicle types. Coupes were STILL big back then. Nowadays, coupes are VERY HARD to spot on the road unless if it's a sports car.
I do predict in a few Presidential administrations if we have another major crisis/recession like we did in 2008, many automobile manufacturers, particularly the EV start-ups, will either be scooped up by other companies or fail. I ALSO predict Chrysler (and possibly Dodge) will be phased out by Stellantis--similar to GM phasing out Olds, Pontiac, Hummer, and Saturn.
I agree with your Stellantis prediction. I believe they only really wanted the Jeep and Ram brands, and to them, the rest was "crap we had to take." Just the fact that the only Chrysler offering is a minivan, in an age where no one wants minivans anymore, is proof enough- they'll get to justify killing off Chrysler with the "poor sales" excuse rather than being the bad guy who just killed it because they didn't want it. With Dodge, I'm guessing they'll mostly use it as a test platform for electrics- if the whole electric car thing fails, they get to kill off Dodge, and if it succeeds, they'll roll out electrics in the brands they plan to keep and STILL end up killing Dodge. Spinning Ram off into it's own brand has the advantage that they'll still get to keep a full-size truck when they bury Dodge. In the end, they get what they truly wanted- Jeep and a truck.
I can remember Geo, Eagle and Saturn. My brother-in-law drove a 92 Saturn SL, my cousin owned a Geo Metro. My mom's church friends drove an Eagle. My first car was an 88 Grand Am. My sister's first brand new car was a 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse. So yeah, i remember those days. Choice, there isn't any these days. 😊
My favorites for cars were the 1960's, 70's, 80's 90's 2000's. I preferred Fords, Chevrolet. I did like Dodge/Plymouth too. I owned and drove business cars from Ford, Chevrolet, Plymouth, Dodge, and Buick. My upscale cars I preferred were Oldsmobile and Mercury. Oddly enough I never owned either one. My father owned 2 Oldsmobile Eighty Eights. My father in law owned Mercury Marquis, Oldsmobile Toronado and Ninety Eights. When the US started selling nothing but SUV's that's when I lost interest and today, still have no use for anything new. I drive an 06 Jeep Commander that I bought originally to pull a boat with. I still have it. It's still my driver vehicle. I've babied it, do regular maintenance and I do preventative maintenance. The vehicle has treated me well. I will probably change the engine in it too when needed. It has 166k on it. I'm not paying for these ugly and grossly overpriced vehicles made out there today by GM Ford or what's left of Chrysler. If I do buy another vehicle it'll be a used Toyota sedan probably.
I grew up in the same time period as you and have similar car nostalgia's you have. That's part of the reason I subscribed to this channel. The video about the Citation resonated with me. Car makers have switched to crossovers because that's what customers are buying. No car from the 80's or 90's could compete with the modern CRV or RAV4 for the same price. The competition is just so much stiffer today. Case in point the recent cancellation of the Malibu.
I encourage you to do more reflections like these. I think you missed a big factor about why cars these days all seem like similar eggs. It's the generation of future drivers (or lack of them). For the younger set, cars are transit; they are A to B solutions (among other options like mass transit, e-bikes, or even walking); specific-use applications as in Uber, Lyft (i.e., get them when you. need them), or more broadly, are just like any other basically, bland technology (phone, tablet, etc.). I wouldn't say disposable, per se. For most, due to the high entry and upkeep cost, they aren't worth owning. I know many teens not bothering to learn to drive at all. So, yes, cars lack attitude, but that may reflect the non-attitude of those who no longer see them as special or exciting.
So true, my GF son didnt want to drive, my son is kinda into cars but doesnt like wrenching on them. both in there mid 20s
That idea is brewing in the back of my mind, but it's a big topic and I don't have a handle on how to put it together, what I'd want to say, and where to go with it. As you say, to younger people cars are a 'cost', cars are transportation nothing more, they have Uber as an option (or doordash), they want the technology in the cars, and they're very comfortable with subscription models so expect to see more of that in their cars.
Yes... in short, the younger generation is ruining it for everyone. LOL
Yeah, I started to think of my list and my nostalgia agrees.
This was when the Japanese went crazy with their cars and ford even made the SHO and Buick had the Grand National. Not to mention the E30 and the debut of the M3
Great memories, thanks.
Good lord I forgot to mention the SHO .... and the Maxima... There was so much more I could have included.
I miss the boxier look of cars back in the 90's. The belt-lines are so high on cars now, and it looks really ugly to me.
Very interesting thought vid, 2 things missing especially for Australians is Motorsport n local Motor Show Melbourne n Sydney. Right up to early 90's you could buy closest car to race car like Holden VN SS Group A. Ford n Holden released concept cars that you get some of those features on normal cars. Modern version been Ford Bronco. For farmers i like Dodge RAM offering NH blue or CaseIH red. There were suggestions before 2008 financial crisis that John Deere n Catapillar were going offer big pick up trucks. But today vehicles are safety with complex engine management. I believe Citroën was on right idea with design, green martials been use. Q. Jon what do want in your mid size car? Is coffee machine or lifestyle items?
I prefer to daily my 92 Subaru Legacy! It is very modern for 92.
I have audi 100 2.5 tdi 1990. 5 l for 100 km.
Interesting point of view, although that era was beginning to lose its sense of style to a degree. However, there were some standouts for me, like the Thunderbird and Cougar from 1989-97. I did love the idea that you could have a coupe, convertible, sedan and (yes, as much as I hate them) an SUV. And there was still somewhat of a color palette.
Yeah, i always have this thought at the back of my mind to grab something from back then to get me around because they were simple and reliable. I'll do it if what's available new from manufacturers doesn't get a LOT more interesting in the time before our current cars die.
I would argue that the Era of Choices ran through the '00s which brought a flowering of models that filled in the space between four-door sedans and pickup-based body on frame SUVs, and extended until the extinction of the subcompact market in the mid/late 2010s. What made the 1988-95 era special (despite the fact sedans and SUVs became a little more dominant every year) was that Detroit was catching up to a still-Bubble Era Japan.
When Japan's economy tanked in 1991 to an extent it never fully recovered from, they started cost-cutting in a way that's noticeable when comparing, say, a 1997-up Camry or Civic to a pre-1995 model. Ford began cost-cutting too in a coincidental move coming from having their first real money-man CEO while Daimler went crazy using Chrysler as a guinea pig for cost-cutting in the same era.
Great show Jon ! We certainly had more choices and colors in cars and trucks back in the 70s, 80s and 90s . Today what do we have crossovers and crossovers .
While I agree with your point, I actually like the late 90's early 2000's. But 6 of one half dozen of another.
I get that. I wanted to keep the time period at least somewhat narrow (not '85-2005 or something like that). Also by the late 90s saw several notable declines that ruined it for me. Chrysler's merger and declining quality, I'm not really a fan of the quality of BMW or Mercedes in those years, Saturn was starting to lose it's identity. A whole host of things like that.
Of course, great things like the Infiniti G35 came out and more, but generally the late 90s to early 2000's mark the beginning of the long downturn until the great recession in my mind.
I agree with this time period being the best. The Japanese companies were reaching their zenith. For years they had to prove that they were reliable and had decent build quality. This forced the American companies to follow suit. By this time fuel injection was robust enough to “just work” yet had a low component count that was easy to diagnose and repair. The CAFE and crash standards weren’t at a point where the cars were getting heavier and emissions being more stringent that caused stop gap attempts at mpg like cylinder deactivation, and low tension rings that worked together to cause engines to burn oil. By the 90s paint and prep got to the point where cars weren’t rusting out within a few years. Even here in the rust belt. This is when 100k miles went from a death sentence to just a milestone. Our daily drivers are both 99 Hondas with almost 300k each.
I'm not sure you give the 2003 era enough credit. Toby Keith was selling F150s, the Town Car was just refreshed, and the Marauder and Thunderbird were brand new. I think everything really died around 2009... I thought I saw a glimmer of hope around 2014 and 2016 with the ELR, CT6, CMAX (Poolside response commercial anyone), and the Continental, but it's since gone away.
I remember when they would make cars that had the interior color the same as the exterior. I had a 1991 Dodge Spirit that was red both inside and out. And my dad had a 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix with the same color combination. Now sometimes you might see a red car with red seat materials, but it is not the same.
When the homogenization of cars arose in the early 2000's, I called them "transportation appliances". Still do. The whole culture of rolling sculpture is gone. My era may not have produced extremely reliable and safe cars, but they were a pleasure to see on the road and drive and be seen in.
You said it totally agree
Camry comment was spot on... not EVER going to make that "mistake" again
I agree, competition brings innovation. It is human nature to be nostalgic and always say: "Ahhh, things were so much better back in the day". That's not necessarily true when it comes to cars like you said Jon. They're by far safer, more efficient and more comfortable. My one issue now is that the pendulum has now swung too far and with all these driver assist systems, we're creating a generation of lazy and lousy drivers. Folks have the attitude now of "I don't have to learn how to parallel park or backup because my car does it".
Lets not talk about the ones that think all cars have blind spot monitors and don't ever look in a mirror or put turn signals.
One lady crashed into me and said the little light didn't blink. 🙄 Her car was in a shop and was using a car without blind spot monitoring.
@@blue_lancer_es There you go. I still have an old Ranger and just taught one of my kids how to drive a stick shift. Told him "Be very proud of yourself" This is actually old school driving with no computers, rev-matching or anti-stall tech to help you. Very few people have these skills nowadays.
I got out of performance cars in the early 80s I mostly needed trucks. Sitting ready to go are an 87 Dodge Raider, 88 FJ62 landcruiser, 89 F250 IDI 2wd, 87 F250 2wd 6.9 IDI, and a 79 240D sedan with a 4 banger oil burner 4 speed. I have zero interest in anything with a computer and multiple sensors.
I think that was the era of the last true pickup trucks too, and they were very capable.
The early 90’s Firebrand, Camero, and Grandams, Corvettes were great from 1985 thru 1999. So many choices. It’s hard to get a small GM car that is a coupe, today. Most people don’t buy coups today. I want an inexpensive sporty coupe. I don’t like all of the SUV’s with limited color. When there’s another recession, I will hold off, to get an inexpensive small car. 😊
Camry number one
Exactly my thought! I can buy something new cash right now and find the sub-30k choice to be depressing, they are good but boring...no manual, no color, no fun! I miss the choice of cars we had back then... I really hope the chinese are gonna come in with affordable and funky new cars, otherwise, i'll be droning in a cvt cuv...ughhhhh!
I agree... the more modern cars I've owned were boring. I've owned something around 39 cars, mostly Ford products, in my lifetime, and the best (from a styling and comfort standpoint) were my '78 Country Squire and my '79 Bonneville sedan. My wife's 2011 Lincoln MKZ is nice for her and it looks pretty nice too, but I don't fit comfortably in it (I'm of average height, but a bit "broad of beam") but my 2019 Flex, while it's quite comfortable and safe, is not anything resembling exciting. And it's not really big enough for my wife and I plus a handful of grandchildren, but an Expedition is way beyond my price range and it's too hard for us senior citizens to climb in and out of.
The biggest problem with cars today is EVERY auto manufacturer has latched onto the EXACT same school of thought when it comes to engineering and automotive design. Tolerances of what's allowed to sell as a highway legal vehicle have become so tight and the whole adoption of infotainment in vehicles has made cars easier to be made obsolete. I can just imagine cars becoming written off by insurance as "totaled" in 8 to 10 years time just because the computer in the car is no longer supported, essentially "bricking" the vehicle, sending it to the junk yard/crusher being the only viable option.
There is a great deal of validity in this perspective, although cosmetically I was not a fan of that era, then or now. Current vehicles manage to be boring and annoying at the same time. For engaging driving I personally prefer things from the sixties to eighties, basically pre electronica, on a case by case basis.
The new car to consider today is the Lucid Air. A reliable 4 door sedan with plenty of room.
As an auto mechanic from 87 to 2022 my opinion is much different. Late 80s amd early 90s cars were junky poorly built and unreliable. The amount of vacuum lines used in this era for smog control made repairing the systems a nightmare. The transmissions were very unreliable in most this era of cars as well. The OBD1 systems were also limited for diagnosing the primitive electronic systems. I am glad most those junk years are where they belong, in the wrecking yard!
Most the cars you are metioning were absolute garbage.
💯 agree especially Hondas were good back in those days but nowadays Hondas are disastrous even their lawnmowers are garbage nowadays.
Great video
Thanks!
I feel the late 90s/early 2000s were a bit better, you still had Pontiac and Saturn, Chrysler was doing things like the Prowler and PT Cruiser, then GM with the HHR and Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky and even the SSR and they still had the Chevy Tracker for some fun in the sun. Course I may be a few years younger than you go my rose colored glasses may be skewed to that time.
Sadly think you're right about another recession and China incoming, which may spark some cheaper competition from GM and Ford. They're already starting to show some promise with the Trax and the Maverick, and the Bolt is coming back so hopefully they get a little bit ahead of the game.
I think the peak was late 90s.
The cars EFI was as good as it was before direct injection now days.. but the engine mapping was much more honest to keep the car good in all rotation, without too much electronic interference
If I could go back in time and drive my 89 Integra again. Then my Saturn we put our newborn baby in. Now we would get killed by a self driving F150. It just sucks now. Just huge people in huge suv s too lazy to steer a car.
Damn right the late 80s and 1990s vehicles were the best with just the right amount of technology not like todays garbage too much computerized crap on new vehicles nowadays
While the late 80’s to early 90’s were still very entrenched in the “malaise era” vehicles were definitely on the path to improved reliability and increased power and styling was improving as well. There definitely was a LOT of choice though. You still had very traditional vehicles like the Chevy Blazer, Cadillac Brougham, Jeep Grand Wagoneer, etc. which had dated from the 70s or before and still used carburetors. You could get a station wagon in any size or an SUV or mini-van or full-size van, a compact or full-size pick-up. You could still get interiors in multiple colors. And you could choose between an old school soft sprung suspension or a sporty better handling one. Today everything is just a variation on the same theme and is VERY boring!
I just want a car with late 80 technology and simplicity but with 2024 safety in terms of cage and chassis passive safety structure. Is this too much to ask??
Yes
I think the early 00s is the cutoff. Maybe 2005.
If you’re unfortunate enough to live in the rust belt…driving a car for 30 years isn’t an option no matter how hard you try to keep the rust away.
The worst trend today: More and more iPads glued to the dash.
You may have had a lot to choose from, but they were all painfully slow rattle boxes. Today a 4 cylinder Mustang does the quarter in the low 13s. I said the the 4 cylinder, not the 5.0 L Coyote V8 or the 5.2 L supercharged Predator V8, but a 4 cylinder. Do you know what kind of cars were in the low 13s in the 90s? A Dodge Viper, ZR1 Corvette, 911 Turbo, Ferrari F40, and Lamborghini Diablo are about it.
Everything is not always about speed and horsepower figures 😒
Are you still in high school? 😂
I’d take those cars from the 90s because they had so much soul and were a blast to drive even if they were lacking on the power figures of today.
@@upbeattvraw-hiphop8242 all of those kind of cars today have just as much soul and as fun to drive as back then, if not more so. You are missing the point though. You should not be asking yourself is if you would rather have a 90s Ferrari or new 4 cylinder Mustang. That's not the point. The question you should be asking yourself is if you'd rather have a 4 cylinder Fox Body Mustang or a new 4 cylinder Mustang. Also, speed is very important. Try not to be so boring.
We need to go back to making cars like we did in the late 90s. Stressing small engines is bad for longevity, and EVs are total garbage.
Had you made this video in 1994, you would probably be saying the same thing of cars in the late 50s and early 60s.😂
Yes, that is a very real possibility. We're all products of our generation, but here I did try to filter that out a bit and provide solid reasons for my opinion (choice and options!)
But I could easily see someone in '94 saying "today's cars all look alike and are boxes! The engines are small and underpowered... and driving the wrong wheels! How can anyone look at a new Chevy Celebrity and think it *compares* to the '57 Chevy? OMG! I could unalive myself!"
Also, women were finally able to afford nice cars on their own, so all those pretty little cars with feminine styling came out. Seems like every girl had a sunfire, saturn, grand am etc, and smiles on their faces when they drove them.
I just don’t agree with everything your saying the vehicles you are praising are complete duds but it’s up to the operator (driver) to drive them correctly & maintain them correctly sad to say 90 percent of the population are Inapt in driving & vehicle maintenance it’s just the way it is I wish it was the other way driving would be such a pleasure and 300,000 before any major repairs would be more normal
I will absolutely never buy a Chinese car
My favorite cars are from the 60s to 80s. 90s cars are good. But
I like 60s to 80s cars better.
I would rather drive a Yugo than any modern garbage crossover. Crossovers are horrible!
An enemy of this country should never be allowed to enter a market as important to US manufacturing as the automotive market. Yeah, we’ll probably be flooded with cheap, chinese crap due to sell out politicians, but i will never own one.
what happened? BMW happened. EVERYONE and i mean everyone tried to be them in whatever segment you choose. But it was a fantasy ideal not a reality not unlike Harleys shtick.
I don't necessarily agree with you that the late 80's and early 90's was the best era... but I can't really argue with you either.
It wasn't "perfect", but we had so much choice.
Curious: what era would you pick as the "best"?
@@AllCarswithJon Well since you asked, I would say late 2000's and early 2010's. That was when we achieved peak car. Cars from that time period had almost all of the amenities offered today, but with bigger and more reliable engines. Due to very strict emissions and fuel economy standards, automakers have been forced to make engines that are smaller and more complicated. Cars from 10 to 15 years ago were far more reliable than the fragile cars being built today.
All those underpowered engines and the wonderful plastic body cladding.
You’re right.
This is the most ridiculous title I have ever heard in my life. 1988 was the end of automobiles when the good ones ended and the crappiest cars ever started showing up.
No one can possibly believe these front-wheel-drive unibody pieces of garbage were worthwhile.
This is like listening to a feminist have a Ted Talk about how women are really physically stronger than men, and that everyone has been thinking incorrectly about it all along.
You are literally trying to sell the collapse of the automobile as a good thing. Everything you are saying is profoundly incorrect. A 1988 rear wheel drive Monte Carlo SS is body on frame, has a V-8, is INFINITELY more reliable and better handling, has more power, has a better more reliable engine, and is better in nearly every single way.
The tiny junk cars had fuel injection. That's IT. And Corvettes and Trans Ams had fuel injection anyway, so that's not really an argument.
The cars were absolute junk in the era described. Everyone with any experience with automobiles knows this.
I can only assume that this is some kind of stand-up comedy routine.
I have a 97 Trans Am Hotrod that I love, there is NOTHING made today that I would trade it for!, while my shit is computer controlled and a huge pain in the ass to work on it is far less complicated than today's overpriced and engineered bullshit that all looks the same!
The current problem with automobiles can be tied to two trends. Firstly, online school such as the university of Phoenix have flooded the market with accountants and MBAs. These people do not understand automobiles except for cost. So what you end up with is a market flooded with white or black crossover suvs that, in they're doughyness, all look the same. Similar sorts of styles can be seen in Soviet architecture and the cultural Revolution where uniformity was enforced. The second trend is related to his majesty Jack Welch and others who took corporations that made a product and hollowed them out into nothing but words and paper money. In such schemes, short-term gain is more important long term gain through the production of quality products quality products. Instead car mats all about shareholder value which is measured by the daily ticker.
One kind of car that I like to own is a hatchback with a manual transmission. To my knowledge, only three such automobiles exist on the market. One of them will be going away soon (VW GTI).
I think the issue is more societal than that. The car, for several generations, was viewed as a tool of freedom in the US. It was sought after, and 16yo’s were excited to get their hands on one. This isn’t completely dead today, but is far less common, with so many viewing transportation as a necessary evil as opposed to a freeing experience. So I think we’ve lost some of the car magic, possibly never to return. I’m also a car guy that went to school for accountancy, so there is that.
I can tell you, University of Phoenix graduates generally do not work for the Big 3. You'd better have an accounting degree from a Big 10 school for that. Preferably U of M.