1980 quality cars?

[JohnnyO]

I had the misfortune of owning one of those "superior" Japanese cars from the '70's.
A 1973 Datsun PL620 pickup, It came with the worst build quality available at the time , then proceeded to suffer more break downs in the eight months I owned it than all the vehicles I have owned since....COMBINED! they were so embarrassed by that POS that they stopped using the Datsun name soon afterward.
Our American made 1976 Ford Econoline was not only the best van in the world but shamed the best that the Japanese could build, both in fit and finish and in reliability.

My cousin drove Datsun pickups at the time, he was a schoolteacher and did lawn service in the summer. He'd get a new one every two years because they started rusting. But say, a 1980 Honda Accord was vastly better than any American compact car at the time. All three full size American cars my dad bought in the 70's had rust holes within three years.

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[DakotaGuy]

Only one as I recall. Actually they were nice driving cars for the time, very comfortable seats, but overpriced and underpowered. Not a big seller. Most customers wanted DeVilles and Fleetwoods.

Yeah they weren't big sellers to the Cadillac crowd at the time. If you sold Olds you probably sold a ton of Cutlass Cieras because those things were everywhere back in the early mid 80s. The funny thing is the FWD A-bodies were very close cousins to the X-bodies, but GM did have them figured out a lot better.

 

[JohnnyO]

Yeah they weren't big sellers to the Cadillac crowd at the time. If you sold Olds you probably sold a ton of Cutlass Cieras because those things were everywhere back in the early mid 80s. The funny thing is the FWD A-bodies were very close cousins to the X-bodies, but GM did have them figured out a lot better.

Cutlass Cieras sold like hotcakes. Couldn't keep 'em in stock. Always had a lot of sold orders out there.

 

[Floyd]

My cousin drove Datsun pickups at the time, he was a schoolteacher and did lawn service in the summer. He'd get a new one every two years because they started rusting. But say, a 1980 Honda Accord was vastly better than any American compact car at the time. All three full size American cars my dad bought in the 70's had rust holes within three years.

All I can say is that my record with Fords would stand proud against any Pacific rim vehicle built at the time....Not only better ,but less expensive to buy, and WAY less to maintain.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Cutlass Cieras sold like hotcakes. Couldn't keep 'em in stock. Always had a lot of sold orders out there.

Yes and always make me think of the movie Fargo.

 

[9zero1790]

when i was little my dad had one of the oldsmobile boats. delta 88 royal brougham lol. it had the deep red velour inside and was about as comfy as you could be in a car. the wire hubcaps were magnets for anything to get inside and then roll around sounding like you were dragging beer cans. it was fancy for then, sorta like a caddy or buick but branded for a working guy. did not for run for poo. i remember him cussing it and the hood being up a lot. first bass i ever caught was tossed in the trunk of it to bring home..

 

[DakotaGuy]

All I can say is that my record with Fords would stand proud against any Pacific rim vehicle built at the time....Not only better ,but less expensive to buy, and WAY less to maintain.

Denial. It's same reason why Chrysler is no longer owned by a US company, GM had to restart as a new company in 2009 and is about 1/4 the size of 1960's GM and Ford is about 1/2 the size it was in the 1990s. You can keep going on and on about Japanese cars being "junk" however I can promise if not for them current "American" (and that term is used loosely these days) cars would be piles of crap. The Japanese forced the entire industry to improve. Even today although I am a Ford guy, Toyota's are excellent cars.

In 1980, in no way shape or form, were American compacts as good as the Japanese compacts.

 

[Floyd]

Denial. It's same reason why Chrysler is no longer owned by a US company, GM had to restart as a new company in 2009 and is about 1/4 the size of 1960's GM and Ford is about 1/2 the size it was in the 1990s. You can keep going on and on about Japanese cars being "junk" however I can promise if not for them current "American" (and that term is used loosely these days) cars would be piles of crap. The Japanese forced the entire industry to improve. Even today although I am a Ford guy, Toyota's are excellent cars.

In 1980, in no way shape or form, were American compacts as good as the Japanese compacts.

Koolaid drinker...
Of course you have a right to an opinion, however I can promise you, with I am sure as much authority and experience as you have that you are mistaken, Yes I know that there are inferior models from every company over the years, but there has never been a day in history when there was a Japanese car maker whose overall quality was better than Ford.

Sure competition can drive value and quality up, but don't forget the Chinese (and formerly the Japanese)who have used price competition to fuel a race to the bottom in quality in a variety of products.

The Automotive industry has progressed world wide and parallel over the last 50 years or so.
Just as my 1950 Ford was world class , so was my 1976 Ford van, then every Ranger ever made was the best choice in its class.

Now on to today,... The Ranger is still by an obvious margin, the best in class.
I would have kept my 2001 Ranger in 2019 had my best choice been the Frontier or worse yet the Tacoma.
You are right in that worldwide sourcing of components is a fact of life for all manufacturers today, but the build philosophy and quality control is still a company purview.

There have always been great cars from various sources around the world, but no one area or company can take credit for the progress made over the last century plus.

 

[9zero1790]

Your right! I forgot about the GN being limited to 120MPH. That would make the 1989 20th Anniversary edition Trans Am the fastest.

i heard the trans am gta was also limited, gm couldnt have a buick or pontiac making the corvette look bad... even though they did !

 

[9zero1790]

A Quick Look at the Yugo, the Worst Car in History (According to Car and Driver)

https://www.caranddriver.com/featur...history-of-the-yugo-the-worst-car-in-history/

that one wins it. a total shit box even brand new. it is a fact no one driving a yugo ever got laid...

 

[JimG_AZ]

i heard the trans am gta was also limited, gm couldnt have a buick or pontiac making the corvette look bad... even though they did !

Yes, I heard that too. After the '81 model year, GM canceled the Pontiac v8's. Starting in '82, the Buick 3.8L v6 Turbo should have started showing up in the Trans Am and the Firebirds.

 

[JimG_AZ]

That's why I drove Pintos and Econolines at the time...
The best car of the era and certainly the best van in the world(300CID I-6}

I think the biggest issue the carbureted 300ci I-6 had was emissions. Years ago, a co-worker had that motor in a '81 F-150 4x4. As I recall, his only complaint was getting it to pass emissions in Phoenix. LOL, he once told me one of his friends worked at an emissions testing center and would fudge the numbers to get it to pass. As I recall, if the carb was adjusted correctly for the inner 4 cylinders, the outer 2 cylinders were running lean. If you adjusted the outer 2 cylinders correctly, the inner 4 were running rich. I assume Ford fixed this issue when they offered FI.

 

[rydfree]

The first new car I ever purchased was a special order 1980 Pontiac Firebird Turbo Formula. It's still my favorite, if only I still had it.

My wife's stepfather had the same when we first met . After we got married I bought her a '75 trans Am and I had a '79 T/A . She still misses that '75 . I traded the '79 in on a '82 T/A because I wanted a Knight Rider and it was the biggest POS I've ever owned . I went back to Fords after that fiasco ,lol .

 

[Murphie]

I know the thread is titled 1980, but here's my first pickup from 1978. A very basic Chevrolet Custom Deluxe. Other than a much-needed repaint and refresh late in its life, had very little maintenance done on it. Kept it for almost 20 years - truly wish that I'd have been able to keep it.

 

[FordFreak]

possible, but we are all supposed to be driving ev soon so it will not matter how good cars are now... ?

Honest to God, I was looking at selling my '20 Mustang GT and buying a Tesla S Plaid before all this Russia crap because it'd run me about $30.00 per 1000 miles charging it at home, (0.13 per KwH x 250KwH = 1000 miles) there aren't any. I looked for a Mach-E too...there aren't any. Then there's the cost. Wow, they're expensive if you get a nicely loaded one. The Mach-E is by far the most cost effective, and I'd gladly buy one of those for $65k. The Plaid is $155k optioned the way I want it. A buddy of mine has over 100k miles on a S and his range started at 300 miles, and is still 297 miles, so they definitely aren't phone batteries. Tesla is the only one without a ADM because you order it from them. But, another guy I work with had one ordered with a May delivery date that is now August to October.

I'll just keep my Ranger and Mustang for now. I may order a 2023 Mach-E in July though. Those Tesla's are nice though, and holy f*ck they're quick. A Model3 Performance chewed my Mustang to pieces, and it has a longer range. 15 minutes on a supercharger gives it 250 miles, and you can run the A/C and watch Netflix while it's charging.

The cost, and scarcity of the EV's we're supposed to just run out and buy shows how out of touch our "leaders" are with the real world. You won't catch me in Leaf or a Bolt. I'll walk. Sorry for hijacking the thread...I'll release the hostages now

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