9th Sep 2022, 18:42
Add to the list the remainder of the Chrysler lineup and you have a whole bunch of crap. I honestly can’t think of a good car they made since about 1972.
10th Sep 2022, 05:11
The Vega was no longer made by 1986, so that doesn’t make sense how the Vega could be FWD.
10th Sep 2022, 14:30
You mean, the Simca, Sunbeam, (Mitsubishi) Colt, and (Hillman) Cricket?
"Yeah, they were crap. And none were built in the US."
Ah here we go! More of that good old fashioned: "Because they weren't made in America..."
No. I meant pretty much EVERYTHING Chrysler offered then. American made as well...
10th Sep 2022, 18:09
It may not make sense to you when you evidently misread the comment. Wasn't referring the Vega to the 1986 H platform. As pointed out already, there was another H platform in the 70s (which you seem to be unaware of) that was RWD and that would be the one the Vega was built on.
11th Sep 2022, 14:45
Well, that is your opinion.
Would point out that nice (and even not that nice) examples of Mopars from that era are bringing respectable money now in the collector car market. Certainly more than any of those imports mentioned, despite the fact that the imports are much harder to find now...
14th Sep 2022, 20:45
Even the best preserved Yugos I can find which have sold recently are for several thousand dollars maximum. I’m not sure how that qualifies as “collectible”. They have not gained value in 30+ years. A collectible car should.
21st Sep 2022, 16:36
Clearly that went way over some heads. There is absolutely zero collectability when it comes to pretty much any of the malaise-era cars - like a 1986 Duster - save for maybe the Buick Grand National. Because they were not that good.
I feel this and other sites are filled with folks who for whatever reason will look at cars with their blinders on and proclaim anything made in one country is surely better than anything from XXX other countries, and it has nothing to do with actual quality and merit, and instead everything to do with overwrought nationalism.
Ironic because had this attitude become the attitude of the masses, then we would probably still be driving clunkers. It was in reality global competition that forced the big three to get with the program. Prior to that they had the entire market to themselves and so there was no incentive to improve. Thanks to that competition, now you can go buy the Ford/GM/Chrysler product of your choice and it will probably do just as well as any other car from any other manufacturer. A far cry from when I was a kid in the 80's when if your Chevy made it past 100k it was a small miracle...
22nd Sep 2022, 22:26
Too many definitions on the term "collectable" when it comes to cars. But I can tell you this; If you are going to give credit to the Grand National only, then you're way off. Even a regular Regal and its siblings (Grand Prix, Cutlass etc.) have been climbing the ladder of being a collectable to many. If they were not, then there wouldn't be lots of clubs and companies supplying aftermarket performance and even OEM parts for that group of cars. Even the larger rear drive "B" platform GM cars (Delta 88, LeSabre) are getting popular amongst collectors because they are body on frame cars that are simply no longer being made besides trucks.
Everyone has opinions and mine is that today's "big three" are really no better than they were years ago. Today every brand has its ups and downs including imports, and as far as the domestics, GM's "corporate" 3.6 V6 used in many cars has a reputation for bad timing chains and cam phaser failure. A far cry from the former 3800 V6. The same goes for the Ford 5.4 V8, also timing chain and cam phaser problems, and their Ecoboost V6's have a dismal track record for reliability. Chrysler? They are not even an honorable mention, as somebody on this thread already pointed out that they haven't made anything good since the early '70s.
Also you claim that it was a small miracle if a Chevy from the 80's made it past 100k. Unless you are talking about a Citation or Cavalier, you couldn't be more wrong. Vehicles like the Caprice/Impala, Monte Carlo or the full size trucks had no problem exceeding 100k miles and a lot more.
28th Sep 2022, 15:32
I grew up in a household of 80's-era GM products. We had a Chevy Malibu, Olds Delta 88, a Buick Regal, a Buick Electra and a Olds Cutlass Cierra. These were all junk. Like literally junk. The transmission in the Malibu self-destructed one day on the way to school one day. The nail in the coffin was the Regal. That was such a terrible car that the dealership took it back - unheard of back then. I can distantly recall that we were on our way back from the store one day and a chunk of an interior panel covering the B-pillar just fell off in mom's lap. The transmission also ate itself. And so on and on and on.
The big three had a pretty bad period there for awhile when they had to make the transition from mostly body on frame, V8 powered, rear wheel drive cars to unibody, FWD, 4-cylinder cars. To be fair, even though it was a pretty rough engine, the "Iron Duke" wasn't that bad and is still used in the remainder of the mail delivery trucks on the road 30+ years later.
And yes - some 80's cars are getting to be collectible. Probably because so few of them still exist. I mean - anyone recall how many Ford Tauruses used to be on the road? Pull up to a stop light and they were everywhere. Most of them blew their head gaskets ages ago. Same with a lot of cars from back then.
29th Sep 2022, 19:41
Like any other front drive 80s car, the Taurus would never be collectable except maybe the SHO model. The potential 80s collector cars are the type that are mentioned in the comment above yours. It's too bad that you have had troubles with all those GM cars. We have owned many of the same type and they have been near flawless.
8th Sep 2022, 19:50
"whatever crap Chrysler had" ?
You mean, the Simca, Sunbeam, (Mitsubishi) Colt, and (Hillman) Cricket?
Yeah, they were crap. And none were built in the US.