For Datalounge Qweens 👸 Who Live In The Past- Check Out The New Cars For 1980

The hostess likes like Betty Buckley ca. 1980.

You reply to yourself a lot, OP. How sad.

R2- My father bought a new car in 1980. A 1980 Chevrolet Caprice Classic 4 door. He was disappointed when he found out it was built in Canada.

R2-FYI the very last car presented at the 1980 car show by our Betty Buckley look a like is an Electric car called the Electric Leopard-how prescient for 1980.

Cars were already ugly by 1980.

R5- I was a kid in 1980. If I were an adult with some money I would not buy any of the Japanese cars- many were reliable but they ALL had cramped spartan interiors and punishing rides. European cars were absolute rubbish- unreliable and uncomfortable except for perhaps a Mercedes but those were ridiculously expensive even in 1980.

Ford, Chrysler, American Motors and Checker Motors - all of their cars were unrefined. The only option was a mid sized or full sized GM car. A nice Oldsmobile Delta 88- Not super reliable but they were very comfortable and would not fold up in an accident like a Datsun or Toyota at that time.

1980 was the height of the Malaise Era in cars. They were all crappy and under powered. You couldn't give me a car from 1980 if you could even find a half way decent one still running

R7- That photo shows a Buick Lesabre from 1977. GM's full size cars from the late 1970's were probably the best cars they ever built.

Everyone talks about the Malaise era and repeats the phrase without knowing what that means. The late 1970's were record sales years for the American auto industry. The second gasoline shortage and huge price increase was the end of the end for the US auto manufacturing. 1980 is when the malaise really began. Americans started buying Japanese cars in droves , US auto factories began laying off their factory workers and closing factories. They never recovered. When GM redesigned it's full size cars for the 1980 model year it made them more aerodynamic and thinned the sheet metal and put in underpowered engines all for better fuel economy. None of this worked . Big car sales plummeted beginning in the summer of 1979 and continued into 1980. The build quality of GM's full size cars plummeted beginning in 1980- problems with the transmissions and underpowered engines and the fit and finish all suffered- the Malaise era had really begun.

My grandfather had a 1977 Dodge Aspen station wagon in orange that reminds me of the car in the OP’s post. I hated that hideous car which was nicknamed the pig.

"Everyone talks about the Malaise era and repeats the phrase without knowing what that means"

That's why I included the definition 🙄

The 1980 Buick LeSabre looked identical to the 1977

Also the 1980 LeSabre had a V6 engine rated at 110HP with 0-60mph rate of 15 seconds. In other words A DOG

Introducing the Chevrolet Chevette with amazing fuel economy at 20mpg...

R11- My parents had a 1975 Hornet Sportabout Wagon. The would conk out when my would be making a left turn onto a busy street and the car only got 15 mpg in mixed driving which was atrocious mileage even in the mid to late 1970's

Sorry my keys stick- The car would conk out when my mother would be making a left turn onto a busy street.

1980 Chevrolet Chevette 70 HP, 0-60 in 15 seconds. Gee, it was as fast as a Buick 🙄

With all the pollution control crap on the cars of 1980 they would just stall while driving and often had to be towed to the dealer who had no idea how to fix them

R14- There were no fast cars in 1980 except for a Corvette or a Porsche 911- and by todays standards those 1980 cars would be considered turtles.

R15- Cars rarely stall today but that's mostly because ALL cars since the 1990's come with fuel injection.

I skipped my way through, but those really were some ugly vehicles. I did have one of the cars - a 1980 AMC Spirit.

R18- American Motors never really sold any good vehicles both those all wheel drive Eagle cars were way ahead of their time because those are the predominate type of vehicles people buy in the USA in the 21st century.

@r16 "There were no fast cars in 1980 except for a Corvette or a Porsche 911"

Many consider the 1980 Corvette to be the worst ever made @ 180HP (Calif) it had a 0-60 time of almost 10 seconds 😂

R2

We had a ‘79 Caprice Classic sedan (burgundy) AND the ‘79 “woody” version of the CC wagon…that was my high school ride! 🤙🏼

For R3, sorry

I would love to have a VW Rabbit convertible. Or even just a Rabbit. I’ve always loved them. Glad the car that came after it, around 23:00 never caught on. Ugly!

A lot of these cars have such long hoods, like the Rivera.

I remember when the Ford Probe, released ca 1988, was the ultimate in futuristic design.

[quote]The late 1970's were record sales years for the American auto industry.

[quote]GM's full size cars from the late 1970's were probably the best cars they ever built.

Sales dropped in 1979 and plunged in 1980 because American cars were pretty crappy by the mid 1970s. By1989 the Honda was the biggest selling car in the US.

The 1970s auto line-up cannot compare to the styling and quality of the 1960s. The 70s win for economy and safety but the 70s set the stage for the Japanese.

@r23 Long hoods and short decks were the style. I had a 1976 Grand Prix identical to this. It had the 455ci V8 and drove like a dream, but the hood was about 6 feet long

Or am I thinking of the '88 Toyota Celica?

American automobile 1970s: crushed velour interiors, "opera windows", padded vinyl roofs, chrome plated plastic trim etc. Just no.

R28- One of the men who designed the interiors of GM's full and mid sized cars in the mid to late 1970's was GAY

so Just YES

The best selling car for the 1976 model year was the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. That is quite surprising that it was not a Chevrolet nor was it a big car but a mid sized Oldsmobile.

@r29, So, that's where all the crushed velour came from 😉

R26- Nice car

@r30, in the 70s everyone had a Cutlass. It was like the Camry or Accord of today

@r32, Thanks, I drove it for 8 years 🙂

There was a Chrysler Cordoba but no mention of "fine Corinthian leather."

What about that electric car with a range of 60 miles!

R35- For you

That catch phrase was for the original 1975 Chrysler Corodoba.

I bought my first new car in 1976-Toyota Corona 4-door sedan. I guess they stopped making them by 1980. My next new car was a 1984 Subaru hatchback. It looked pretty much like the 1980 model in the video. That was my last stick-shift car. (Next car was a 1989 Mazda 626.)

[quote]Sorry my keys stick

That cums from watching a little too much pron.

R38- I think Toyota sold the Corona up until the 1982 model year. The car that replace the Corona was the very popular and familiar Toyota Camry which was introduced in the fall of 1982.

A lot of ugly trash, with a few gems. The Olds Toronado, the Avanti, the Clenet ll, and the Mercedes 280 were all good looking.