Yep, They really did. FoMoCo and Mopar made do with less platforms (often as little as 2) GM had at least 4 platforms (often more) on the road each year since the mid 1930s. Something for everyone.
@@jamesslick4790 I worked for Chrysler, we found out you only need four platforms to do anything with. Ford learned that in the '80s and I don't think the old GM ever did. I remember all the Cadillac ElDorano's they had in the back lot of Hamtramck Assembly. Reminded me of Chrysler when we had Dodge Magnums and Plymouth Volares in every empty fenced lot in Detroit in the late '70s. I don't think they ever sold all those Caddy's.
Remember GM had $$$$$$$$$$$$ then! If they couldn’t fix the problem they buy the problem! 😬 Funny the once owned small Isuzu is almost as big as GM! (Asia & Europe!)
Was top for a decade. Not really surprising. Personal luxury cars became a thing after the 58 Thunderbird, and grew in the 60s (Riviera,Eldorado...) After the muscle car was killed off by high gas prices and insurance rate hikes, people still wanted something different than a standard coupe (but,man it still had to be a coupe!) The "personal luxury coupe" was the answer, So they became the "it" car of the 70s and early 80s. Oldsmobile held considerable prestige then, just enough "better" than a Monte Carlo, (even if related) to impress the neighbors for not much more dough.
The cutlass also had an enormous amount of options. They had both two and four door versions as well as a station wagon. They had a sporty version and a diesel. They were also cheap and had a pretty good reputation for reliability. It checked the right boxes for a lot of people.
Oldsmobile was the go-to brand for people who later saw Honda as the go-to brand. It was the sensible brand before the Japanese substantially took over.
I have 88 Trans Am. It’s not luxury car but it is 80’s icon, digital dash, T-tops... :-) I really like that car, have it more than 11 years and it’s a keeper! My piece of automotive history. :-)
Same here. The 80s was gold and the color palette on some cars were extravagant and awesome! I love the light mocha beige and other colors that GM has to offer.
I didn't give a crap about these cars when they were everywhere, but now their looks are starting to grow on me. I also miss the era of compact american coupes that didn't have to be sporty.
What's funny is people say these cars are crappy but yet 33 years later and I still see these cars on the road alot so they obviously weren't junk boxes
You might be seeing newer variants of these same models. GM had a tendency to wring every last dollar out of a platform by continuing to offer it in basically the same form for many model years. Take, for example, the venerable A-body cars: Chevrolet Celebrity, Pontiac 6000, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, and Buick Century. They were all introduced in 1982, and the latter two were produced continuously through 1996 with no major changes to the sheetmetal or interior. (The less popular Celebrity died off after 1990, and the 6000 followed suit a year later.)
[deleted] but still to see so many models from a manufacturer that are 25+ years old and still running strong and often being high mileage daily drivers really says alot
[deleted] good example I have a very ugly 98 Lumina I bought for 800 bucks its been my daily driver for two years I've never had to work on it or replace anything it runs like a top everything mechanical and electrical works. Its got rust and body damage which is why I got it so cheap
1985-86 years, GM was starting to get things together. The new N-bodies were good... the J car got the 2.8 V6. Of course, the Cutlass Supreme was a pretty reliable car.
@@darkpassenger7064 I was born in very early 80's with teenage sister/brothers. I remember rockstars wore tights and used more hairspray than their groupies, essentially yesteryear drag queens. 80's, they were something else man!!
I had one, 1985. Zero to sixty in 10.5 seconds. Then in early 1987, I bought a Buick Grand National... night and day performance difference; from then on GM made huge strides in performance and handling. 1998 was a watershed year for GM. C5 and TA Ram Air WS6. The LS 1 was born.
The General offered a car or truck for every budget, from basic entry level lines to premium sports minded lines. The 1985 Camaro IROC-Z, and the Pontiac Trans Am were solid winners. And the 1985 Corvette with the tune port injected L98 engine was definitely noteworthy too. Great retro *UA-cam* video Motor Week.
I was just about to type something about the car is screeching around the corner. It was because of all those 185 and 195 width tires. My 85 citation came stock with 185/80/13 ! I thought something was wrong with my suspension or tires when it used to Screech until years later and I realized it was just because the tires were so skinny lol. ( the suspension wasn't that great either but it wasn't too bad.)
I liked all these vehicles from the 80s. Grew up with a lot of them. My dad had grand national, uncle had corvette, next door neighbor had a z28, my dad's buddy had a 442. I loved all of them.
Shit me too I wasn't even born yet! I came in 92 lol but thi ng s were weird in the 90s and late 90s and early 2000s every went down hill for some reason...
My grandma had the 1985 Oldsmobile 98 Regency in a beautiful blue color. It was lush, comfortable and a gorgeous car. I remember people stopping and looking. I loved that car. My sister had that exact black Monte Carlo SS, and I had a silver Pontiac Fiero. Wish I had kept that car
I really wish GM would bring back Pontiac but this time actually go after the sporty segment. They need a new G8 as well as a Firebird but we know they would have to bring in 2 SUVs at least in order to keep up with the SUV madness going on.
Pontiac suffered more than any other division from GM's unwillingness to put in the cost-per-unit to make a car feel *nice*. That being said, they could easily be a one-model niche brand in Buick-GMC dealers which already have plenty of SUVs under those names for volume.
If you notice. ford is about to do away with their SUV/CUV and majority of their car market to focus on their trucks and Mustang. GM is asleep at the wheel again....they would be stupid not to being back Pontiac at the least. That Code 130R and Tru 140S from 2012 would be killer! Make the 130R into a turbo sport coupe from Pontiac wnd you'd sell them by the butt load.
Yup, Pontiac was always branded as the "excitement" division of GM. Unfortunately, GM is getting out of the car biz for the most part. All anyone wants is ugly SUV's now.
Ima fan ikr? What's the deal with all these fwd little suvs and crossovers? They are so ugly looking. I'd have to sneak up on one just to drive it! Lol
In 1985, GM had a dizzying array of unique models. GM was truly at its apex of being the General. My family had a Olds Custom Cruiser and then an Olds Eighty-Eight, Cutlass Supreme. My parents never even considered a Honda/Toyota back then.
I disagree. There are some decent vehicles in this line-up, such as the introduction of the Astro/Safari, finally getting fuel injection right for the F-Bodies with the 305 TPI, and further refinements on the S-10/Blazer. What GM should’ve done was simplify the product line by making one brand of each product (instead of 2 or more rebadgings of the same body), and offering all of the option packages they’d normally spread over Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Buick, etc, to the single product. For example: the Oldsmobile Bravada (the S-10 Blazer) had AWD as an option, instead of the traditional vacuum actuated transfer case used in these sub-half ton compact trucks. If they gave that AWD option to the S-10 Blazer, along with a luxury interior option package, more S-10 platform trucks would’ve sold, instead of segregating potential buyers who didn’t want to be labeled as “Oldsmobile drivers”.
Sure, the F- and G-body cars. But when it comes to Firebird and Camaro, I prefer the 1974-1978 model years. That's the sweet spot for me for the beauty of the design.
No, the Fiero was nice in '85 when they came out with the GT with the ground effects, big wing and the V6. The iron duke 4-cylinder fire hazard that was the piece of garbage '84 Fiero was junk.
Haha, what was the point of that thing? One thought, if only we could experience this model, but without a body, any rigidity, or safety equipment. I guess there were a lot of drugs being used at GM back then.
Not very useful for anything other than showing that the suspension moves lol, and wouldn’t have been accurate anyways as there was hardly any weight on it. But ya gotta admit that was probably fun as hell to drive around!
DaftRyosuke I remember when I was 16yrs old in 1992. My uncle had a white trans am ttop he bought new in 86. It was mint!! Garage kept. Had the 5.0ho with a 5spd and posi traction. He offered to sell it to me on payments and my parents wouldn't let me have it! I was so pissed!
@@patrickmike2524 those tpi cars were the shit back in the day. I bought a 89 Formula Firebird ttop 5.7 tpi , very rare a couple of months ago. It had three bad fuel injectors. I put 8 new fuel injectors in and rebuilt the fuel rail and fuel pressure regulator with new diaphragm and o rings. While I had it all apart I cleaned all of the carbon out of the plenum and runners put all new gaskets. Even with 160,000 miles on the car it has me grinning like a possum eating s***. Lol it fells like a 14 . Something sec car. Can't wait to get her at the track to see what she runs in the quarter mile. I can tell you right now, Honda Civics will avoid this car after they get to know her. 😂🤣
midnight savannah I never actually thought about that, but yea, back in the day it does seem like most of the Celebritys and 6000s that looked like they spent 2 decades in the desert after a 3 or 4 years in Michigan were silver.
Yeah GM had issues with peeling paint thru the majority of the '80's...it was due to the primer they used & the prep process. It affected pretty much all of their paint colors to some degree but silver, light blue, & white were the worst affected...& nearly every color ended up getting the little crows feet cracks in them after being exposed to sitting outside in the direct sunshine after a few years (they had that same cracking problem on most of the GM's thru the '70's also).
If you notice, all the cool looking cars were the 70's holdovers. Caprice, Pontiac Safari wagon, Cutlass Supreme, full size trucks, Riveria(my favorite), Regal, Fleetwood. Also those are the ones that usually gave the best service because they came from before the Rodger Smith, downsized FWD shit era, back when GM actually knew how to design a car.
Ummm no, the best three cars were the Corvette, Camaro, and Trans-Am. Even though they were pathetically slow they still looked the best. Given these vehicles were built with performance in mind they have the best parts from GM at the time.
It's great to see the gm line from the year I was born. My parents had a 85 Skylark when I was little. I remember the back seat piping riped and exposed the wire which reaked havak on my leg a few times.
"General Mhotors" "Pahalm Springs" Gotta love John's pronunciation of words. Ah the 80's. When a little bit wider tires was considered a handling upgrade.
The 1985 Grand Am's shortfall was that it didn't come with, or offer an optional tachometer. Something that absolutely would've befit the "Euro" Tech GM was trying to pull off. Well, that's GM.
Loved them! ❤️ Always got much better reception on them vs handhelds (bricks) of the day; complete with the trademark “curly-cue” antenna off your back or side glass. ☎️ Actually wish I could find one that you could still use with today’s technology. 🤔👍
My parents bought a Calais new in 85 with the 2.5. My mom drove it for about 4 years and then my sister drove it for about 2 more years before she sold it. I don't think the oil was ever changed in it. lol. I saw a guy driving it around town for a couple of years after that. Still had the wire wheel hubcaps on it!
My '89 Century had the "upgrade" wire covers on the 14" steel wheels. Eventually I found a set of 16" Lumina Z34 wheels and put Buick centercaps in them with a 205/55 tire. They fit perfectly and I couldn't believe how much more modern and sporty they made that otherwise grandpa-car look.
Would love a G body Olds Cutlass or Monte Carlo SS or Aero coupe...even the downsized Olds 98 Regency Touring or Cadillac Deville were good cars and I would love one....my first car was a 89 Buick Lesabre Custom....got it in 2000 for my high school graduation present....rose good as hell and smooth and fast
That swiveling radio pod GM put in a few of their cars ensured you had an outdated radio for the life of your GM. I think the Camaro Berlinetta had it too.
As a Gen Xer, It’s crazy when you look around and realize you haven’t seen ANY of these cars on the streets in like a decade. Cash for clunkers changed the automotive landscape almost overnight. Every once in a great great while you will see one, but it’s extremely rare.
Awesome. I think 1985 was the greatest year for GM in the 1980s. They had the newest TPI engines and fantastic new front wheel drive C bodies, the new Astro van, and new N bodies, but still had the X bodies (at least the Citation and Skylark), bigger E and B bodies, and square body trucks and the (improved over 1984) Corvette!
I loved my 1983 Oldsmobile Toronado, 1985 Buick Riviera, my 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosport and my 1985 Chevrolet Astro Van. They were all good to me, my Dad and mom are GM people.
Donald Thompson my parents were all gm also. We had tons of new cars from the late 70s all the thru to the early 2000s. Astro and full size conversion vans, cutlass supremes, s10s, s10 blazer, full size scottsdale and Cheyenne trucks, k5 blazer, suburban, buick grand national, my parents would trade every couple years and we had sometimes 3 to 4 cars at one time. In 91 we had a gmc syclone, and we had a 93 gmc typhoon. In 90 my dad bought a new black 454ss. He thought it would be a brute to tow our boat. It was except trying to get up a wet boat ramp! Lol. John force burnouts all the up the boat ramp was the norm! Lol
We had a Cutlass Calais for many years, ran great but claimed by rust. When I was a teenager Mom and I test drove a Somerset. Thermostat was stuck closed, it overheated so bad it had rod knock as we brought it back to the dealer. No idea if it survived to be sold but I feel for whoever bought it.
I love these. Mostly because it reminds me of MPT broadcasting and seeing your show in a sea of static because we lived in the sticks of Harford County 😂 keep up the good work folks
First year for the Isuzu, Suzuki, & Toyota joint ventures, the Astro/Safari, & both the C & N-bodies. 0:59.........the biggest laugh I've had yet this morning!!!!! 1:55.........STILL LOVE the way John pronounced "coupe" back then!!!!!
Different divisions did pretty much offer the same cars but with different trim packages. Whether you liked Chevys or Oldsmobiles, was just a matter of which look you liked best. Otherwise, they were pretty much interchangeable. It was called having wide choices, Batman.
I own the Buick Summer Set in '85. Kept till 1990. Not a bad car. GM made a decent car back in the day. Perhaps better today. The big thing for me in '85 I meant my wife. 2018 , and two kids now all grown up. Fun times. Just living life. Thank you
Three years old at this time, but near four. One year shy of uh oh Challenger, and the Bud Dwyer night/first time my mom let me outside by myself to build a snowman while realizing daylight savings as it was dark at 4:00. The realization of four o'clock and it being dark was a moment I still recall very well. Aside from that I was dreaming of all the available wheels the 80's had to offer from the back seats of my parent's late 70's Dodge Ram Charger. The Green Machine.
Holy crap, GM's product line was SO busy. I understand they were actively working at this time to trim things down, but while GM was carrying on with milquetoast new vehicles and minimally facelifted 70s models, Ford was about to introduce the Taurus, and Chrysler's Lee Iacocca was cleaning their lineup with the K platform, as well as new, more modern product development. But for all the complaining I and others can do, they sold product. They had a customer base that was satisfied, if not at the most basic level, with what they were purchasing - at least for a time. I wonder if Saturn had been able to roll out products by 1986, if GM could have had a more significant impact on market-wide advancements.
At one time GM's Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly employed over 300,000. I worked across town at Chrysler's Jefferson Avenue Assembly(demolished 1990) we had 134,000. Today GM has about 13,000 at that plant.
Please upload AMC + Chrysler full line retro reviews for 85 too! In fact as many retro full line uploads as possible! Love all the retro reviews thank you!
As an early 20's young man back then, I can remember being excited about the new cars coming out. All I can say is I'm glad to be living in this era of autos, and appreciating how far all the car companies have come in technology and especially performance.
This brings back alot of great memories for me, I was 8 and turned 9 in July of that year. I remember all these great cars, my cousin had a 1985 Camaro and Celebrity Eurosport and my Aunt had a 1984 Celebrity Wagon, later on she traded it for a 1987 Celebrity Eurosport Wagon. My teacher in middle school bought a brand new Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, that was a very nice car, it was light blue with a white landau top and matching interior.
I think they're referring to a lot of the larger cars (Caprice, 88, Riviera) and models like the Cutlass Supreme/Regal...all designs popular in the late 70's, all except Caprice downsized/reworked for 86. Was really the end of an era at that point.
Even so the full size Caprice soldiered on until 1990 as did FoMoCo's full sizers (1991). Not even mentioning the diplomat/fifth avenue which sold on until 1989. Even the Cutlass Supreme and Monte Carlo were offered until 1988. I'd fairly say by the late 80's most 70's malaise era cars were gone.
The big B body RWD all died in 86 except for the Caprice and 86 was the last chance for a big full frame RWD 2-door. In 87 B bodies became all 4 door only.
Man, that z24 hatchback, red with silver lower two tone, and rally wheels is a handsome hatchback. I wish we could have gotten a proper "hot hatch" version of this car. I know 85 was too early, but that thing with the supercharged 3800 and a 5 speed would've been a mean little hatch.
Buick Riviera with a touch screen in 1985. So ahead of its time. Now GM is slightly behind the times. And I’m big GM fan /purchaser. Vehicles of every different shape and size. Not like now where they offer crossovers & SUV’s. Great video thank you for posting.
Im all GM. Growing up, my dad had all GM from a crappy Chevette, to a nimble top heavy s-15 GMC Jimmy, to a 91 Vacuum looking Trans-sport. Later a 2000 Silverado and 2000 Montana... Now i own a 2006 HHR as my daily, a fully loaded leather '14 cruze for the wife and a garage kept 2000 Camaro as my weekend ride...
12:43...................I have to confess that I have always had an "It's Complicated" relationship with the Astro/Safari. I LOVED how roomy & comfortable they were, how smoothly they rode, & how quiet they were.........& that 4.3-liter V6 is a TORQUE MONSTER, but fit & finish left A LOT to be desired. I will NEVER forget that it was an Astro which brought me to see Home Alone for the first time, however. I will NEVER forget cruising to Showcase Cinema in Woburn, MA in a blue 1986 Chevy Astro full of kids, BLASTING C&C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)".........ON THE CASSETTE PLAYER (Man, I'm old!!!!!)!!!!!!!
I forgot about the Z24 Cavalier hatchback. I wouldn't mind having one of them now to modify and upgrade. I know the current 4 cylinder FWD hatchback make a bunch more power but the GM V6 from that era sounded so good and a Z24 with some mods should make more power than it's rated 130hp and sound really good. That an a 3rd Gen IROC in that blue they showed would be really nice.
GM: Design a car, sell it 3 times.
Or 8
Re badge engineering GM specialty
borrow from australia
The big three all do.
Badge engineering. One of the ingredients for needing taxpayer bailouts.
So many makes, dozens of models, and often more than one bodystyle. GM really did make (or at least tried to) a car for every market.
Yep, They really did. FoMoCo and Mopar made do with less platforms (often as little as 2) GM had at least 4 platforms (often more) on the road each year since the mid 1930s. Something for everyone.
@@jamesslick4790 I worked for Chrysler, we found out you only need four platforms to do anything with. Ford learned that in the '80s and I don't think the old GM ever did. I remember all the Cadillac ElDorano's they had in the back lot of Hamtramck Assembly. Reminded me of Chrysler when we had Dodge Magnums and Plymouth Volares in every empty fenced lot in Detroit in the late '70s. I don't think they ever sold all those Caddy's.
Remember GM had $$$$$$$$$$$$ then!
If they couldn’t fix the problem they buy the problem! 😬
Funny the once owned small Isuzu is almost as big as GM! (Asia & Europe!)
Sadly many were not competitive
It's mind boggling that the Olds Cutlass was the top selling car in the country.
Was top for a decade. Not really surprising. Personal luxury cars became a thing after the 58 Thunderbird, and grew in the 60s (Riviera,Eldorado...) After the muscle car was killed off by high gas prices and insurance rate hikes, people still wanted something different than a standard coupe (but,man it still had to be a coupe!) The "personal luxury coupe" was the answer, So they became the "it" car of the 70s and early 80s. Oldsmobile held considerable prestige then, just enough "better" than a Monte Carlo, (even if related) to impress the neighbors for not much more dough.
The cutlass also had an enormous amount of options. They had both two and four door versions as well as a station wagon. They had a sporty version and a diesel. They were also cheap and had a pretty good reputation for reliability. It checked the right boxes for a lot of people.
Everyone had an olds back in the days. Even the Asian kids had the olds
Oldsmobile was the go-to brand for people who later saw Honda as the go-to brand. It was the sensible brand before the Japanese substantially took over.
Americans had no taste whatsoever
I love these retro lineup reviews
I like everything about 80's so I like all these cars too!
I have 88 Trans Am. It’s not luxury car but it is 80’s icon, digital dash, T-tops... :-) I really like that car, have it more than 11 years and it’s a keeper! My piece of automotive history. :-)
Same here. The 80s was gold and the color palette on some cars were extravagant and awesome! I love the light mocha beige and other colors that GM has to offer.
I can't stop watching these videos, it's like watching my childhood all over again.
I wish that GM had more love of their cars from the 80's. Being born in the 80's and raised in the 90's, there is a certain affection for these cars.
Hotlog. Yay! I'm not the only one!
I smiled throughout this whole video
Tacks holding the headliner up is what comes to my mind.
I remember most of this lineup in my high school parking lot in the early 2000's.
I didn't give a crap about these cars when they were everywhere, but now their looks are starting to grow on me. I also miss the era of compact american coupes that didn't have to be sporty.
What's funny is people say these cars are crappy but yet 33 years later and I still see these cars on the road alot so they obviously weren't junk boxes
You might be seeing newer variants of these same models. GM had a tendency to wring every last dollar out of a platform by continuing to offer it in basically the same form for many model years. Take, for example, the venerable A-body cars: Chevrolet Celebrity, Pontiac 6000, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, and Buick Century. They were all introduced in 1982, and the latter two were produced continuously through 1996 with no major changes to the sheetmetal or interior. (The less popular Celebrity died off after 1990, and the 6000 followed suit a year later.)
[deleted] but still to see so many models from a manufacturer that are 25+ years old and still running strong and often being high mileage daily drivers really says alot
[deleted] good example I have a very ugly 98 Lumina I bought for 800 bucks its been my daily driver for two years I've never had to work on it or replace anything it runs like a top everything mechanical and electrical works. Its got rust and body damage which is why I got it so cheap
1985-86 years, GM was starting to get things together. The new N-bodies were good... the J car got the 2.8 V6. Of course, the Cutlass Supreme was a pretty reliable car.
There was a saying to the effect that GM cars of this era run forever, very badly, but forever.
That Pontiac Grand am lifted it's rear wheel off of the ground during that turn 😦
Grandpa was having the fun he had 45 years ago.
@@albear972
Grandpa never learned to not drink & drive. 483 students perished that day 🔥 Thanks motor week.
Seeing touchscreen controls on a car from over 30 years ago blew my mind! Talk about being ahead of its time!
Ken Sheppard people think all this stuff new
This video makes the '80s sound amazing. Great jazzy, soulful music, and cars built to look and make you feel royal.
The '80s sucked.
Depends on how old you are. I was a teenager in the 80s. Music was great, cars were real and the girls used way too much makeup and hairspray.
@@darkpassenger7064 I was born in very early 80's with teenage sister/brothers. I remember rockstars wore tights and used more hairspray than their groupies, essentially yesteryear drag queens. 80's, they were something else man!!
I loved the 80s. The music was amazing. We had no idea how good we had it. The beginning of the end was vanilla ice. In 89.
GM was a monster back then so many models
True, a lot of redundancy though..
chad harmon i saw all of these into the 90s and early 2000s
Alex Youngberg me too Alex I'm 43 lol
Too many models. Most of them absolutely awful
They were losing market share like drunks.
That Monty SS was one of the sexiest cars ever built
My Dad has an 86 Monte Carlo SS. First year of the "Euro" Interior pieces.
The Monty SS and Gran National are the exception, not a fan of 80s American cars.
I had one, 1985. Zero to sixty in 10.5 seconds. Then in early 1987, I bought a Buick Grand National... night and day performance difference; from then on GM made huge strides in performance and handling. 1998 was a watershed year for GM. C5 and TA Ram Air WS6. The LS 1 was born.
Every teenager back then would have sold their families for one. It was amazing when it came out !
These motorweek videos are making me nostalgic for ‘87 & ‘86 Celebrities. 😁
It's amazing how many models GM had back in '85. I remember seeing IROC Z's all over the place in the 80's now they're just a memory.
I rock Z!!
Because GM does not care about its products ( vehicles). It invested in financial companies... anything but cars.
That's because GM, like Ford and Chrystler, didnt make cars in the 80s or 90s to last.
I own a 1986. It’s still in great shape too. Only 65k on it.
Tesla’s are now the rage
The General offered a car or truck for every budget, from basic entry level lines to premium sports minded lines. The 1985 Camaro IROC-Z, and the Pontiac Trans Am were solid winners. And the 1985 Corvette with the tune port injected L98 engine was definitely noteworthy too. Great retro *UA-cam* video Motor Week.
Camaro Iroc Z 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988, Camaro Berlinetta 1985, Pontiac Firebird 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988, i want this cars
Trademark sound of 80s cars: SCREEEEEEECH lol..
That was funny
I was just about to type something about the car is screeching around the corner. It was because of all those 185 and 195 width tires. My 85 citation came stock with 185/80/13 ! I thought something was wrong with my suspension or tires when it used to Screech until years later and I realized it was just because the tires were so skinny lol. ( the suspension wasn't that great either but it wasn't too bad.)
You mean 80s tires...
They should have to watch this at GM every day they come to work as it is a classic example of what not to build.
I always watch these retro reviews and i love them. I watch them till i fall asleep. Keep going!
Love from The Netherlands
"Hey guys, remember to leave the hazard lights on when you show the cars."
That speedometer on the Calais looked more like 1965 than 1985!
In '85 I was a senior in high school and remember vividly when the IROC came out. That was THE car to have. Thanks for these retro reviews!
GOOD OL 80'S CLASSICS NEVER GETS OLD...
I liked all these vehicles from the 80s. Grew up with a lot of them. My dad had grand national, uncle had corvette, next door neighbor had a z28, my dad's buddy had a 442. I loved all of them.
I like the Grand Am N Body the best. It still looks good 33 years later.
Most of them were butt-ugly 4-Doors, though.
Damn how I'd like to go back to 1985 again...….
Me too! The year I graduated High School!!!
Shit me too I wasn't even born yet! I came in 92 lol but thi ng s were weird in the 90s and late 90s and early 2000s every went down hill for some reason...
Born that year
Only if I could inhabit the body I had back then with my knowledge of the future
@Take the red pill haha yeah baby....Damn shape shifters
These retro reviews are exciting to watch! Thank you, MotorWeek! 😀🎸🎸🎸💞💞
Me too but not for most of these junk cars!
My grandma had the 1985 Oldsmobile 98 Regency in a beautiful blue color. It was lush, comfortable and a gorgeous car. I remember people stopping and looking. I loved that car. My sister had that exact black Monte Carlo SS, and I had a silver Pontiac Fiero. Wish I had kept that car
Got an '88 Iroc in the driveway. Love the 80's cars. Especially a G Body like the Regals, Montes, Grand Prix and Cutlass.
I really wish GM would bring back Pontiac but this time actually go after the sporty segment. They need a new G8 as well as a Firebird but we know they would have to bring in 2 SUVs at least in order to keep up with the SUV madness going on.
Pontiac suffered more than any other division from GM's unwillingness to put in the cost-per-unit to make a car feel *nice*. That being said, they could easily be a one-model niche brand in Buick-GMC dealers which already have plenty of SUVs under those names for volume.
If you notice. ford is about to do away with their SUV/CUV and majority of their car market to focus on their trucks and Mustang. GM is asleep at the wheel again....they would be stupid not to being back Pontiac at the least. That Code 130R and Tru 140S from 2012 would be killer! Make the 130R into a turbo sport coupe from Pontiac wnd you'd sell them by the butt load.
Yup, Pontiac was always branded as the "excitement" division of GM. Unfortunately, GM is getting out of the car biz for the most part. All anyone wants is ugly SUV's now.
If Pontiac were to come back they would definitely give Dodge a run for their money and make something to compete against the Hellcat and the Demon
Ima fan ikr? What's the deal with all these fwd little suvs and crossovers? They are so ugly looking. I'd have to sneak up on one just to drive it! Lol
In 1985, GM had a dizzying array of unique models. GM was truly at its apex of being the General. My family had a Olds Custom Cruiser and then an Olds Eighty-Eight, Cutlass Supreme. My parents never even considered a Honda/Toyota back then.
Here we see the seedlings that would eventually grow into General Motors' forest of self-destruction.
And you will witness it again when gas prices go back into orbit.
I disagree. There are some decent vehicles in this line-up, such as the introduction of the Astro/Safari, finally getting fuel injection right for the F-Bodies with the 305 TPI, and further refinements on the S-10/Blazer.
What GM should’ve done was simplify the product line by making one brand of each product (instead of 2 or more rebadgings of the same body), and offering all of the option packages they’d normally spread over Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Buick, etc, to the single product.
For example: the Oldsmobile Bravada (the S-10 Blazer) had AWD as an option, instead of the traditional vacuum actuated transfer case used in these sub-half ton compact trucks.
If they gave that AWD option to the S-10 Blazer, along with a luxury interior option package, more S-10 platform trucks would’ve sold, instead of segregating potential buyers who didn’t want to be labeled as “Oldsmobile drivers”.
I loved the Oldsmobile Cutlass supreme
Me too
I had a '87 Grand Am 5 speed 2.5 and it ran forever. I finally sold it to a friend with 263,000 miles.
I had an '84 T-Type Regal and my Dad had a new '85 . They were pretty speedy back in the day.
The 80s was pretty cool.
I did not grow up in other eras, but the 80s warmed my heart.
Maybe that is what nostalgia is all about. ......
The Eldorado and Riviera are beautiful. And so is the Corvette, of course. Fiero was nice in 1984.
Sure, the F- and G-body cars. But when it comes to Firebird and Camaro, I prefer the 1974-1978 model years. That's the sweet spot for me for the beauty of the design.
The Corvette was such a brick. I never did like those cars and that model cemented it for me.
Everything but the Fiero
No, the Fiero was nice in '85 when they came out with the GT with the ground effects, big wing and the V6. The iron duke 4-cylinder fire hazard that was the piece of garbage '84 Fiero was junk.
Homie didn’t wear a seatbelt on that deathcart lol
Haha, what was the point of that thing? One thought, if only we could experience this model, but without a body, any rigidity, or safety equipment. I guess there were a lot of drugs being used at GM back then.
JxBANE rumor has it hes still alive too..
What's the point? He would be better off jumping out than staying in it if he were to crash.
Not very useful for anything other than showing that the suspension moves lol, and wouldn’t have been accurate anyways as there was hardly any weight on it. But ya gotta admit that was probably fun as hell to drive around!
It was the actual "J" derived "N" platform without exterior sheet metal.
I'm still a little nuts for an '85 Trans Am.
DaftRyosuke I remember when I was 16yrs old in 1992. My uncle had a white trans am ttop he bought new in 86. It was mint!! Garage kept. Had the 5.0ho with a 5spd and posi traction. He offered to sell it to me on payments and my parents wouldn't let me have it! I was so pissed!
@@TusuperbisI can imagine how you felt...
My high school ride was a blue with gray 1985 Trans Am. I loved that car! Oh the memories.
Gabriel Gonzalez mine too. 5.0L Tune port. She was damn fun
@@patrickmike2524 those tpi cars were the shit back in the day. I bought a 89 Formula Firebird ttop 5.7 tpi , very rare a couple of months ago. It had three bad fuel injectors. I put 8 new fuel injectors in and rebuilt the fuel rail and fuel pressure regulator with new diaphragm and o rings. While I had it all apart I cleaned all of the carbon out of the plenum and runners put all new gaskets. Even with 160,000 miles on the car it has me grinning like a possum eating s***. Lol it fells like a 14 . Something sec car. Can't wait to get her at the track to see what she runs in the quarter mile. I can tell you right now, Honda Civics will avoid this car after they get to know her. 😂🤣
Being born in 70s & growing up watching American programs & films, makes big of American car fan. Love a good 'Yank Tank'
I really liked the 1985 Buick LeSabre a lot and wished they've kept the old body style around for at least 1989.
1985, the year the paint on my dad's 1983 Pontiac 6000 went bad.
Must have been silver. GM silver paint sucked.
midnight savannah I never actually thought about that, but yea, back in the day it does seem like most of the Celebritys and 6000s that looked like they spent 2 decades in the desert after a 3 or 4 years in Michigan were silver.
Yeah GM had issues with peeling paint thru the majority of the '80's...it was due to the primer they used & the prep process. It affected pretty much all of their paint colors to some degree but silver, light blue, & white were the worst affected...& nearly every color ended up getting the little crows feet cracks in them after being exposed to sitting outside in the direct sunshine after a few years (they had that same cracking problem on most of the GM's thru the '70's also).
If you notice, all the cool looking cars were the 70's holdovers. Caprice, Pontiac Safari wagon, Cutlass Supreme, full size trucks, Riveria(my favorite), Regal, Fleetwood. Also those are the ones that usually gave the best service because they came from before the Rodger Smith, downsized FWD shit era, back when GM actually knew how to design a car.
Ummm no, the best three cars were the Corvette, Camaro, and Trans-Am. Even though they were pathetically slow they still looked the best. Given these vehicles were built with performance in mind they have the best parts from GM at the time.
It's great to see the gm line from the year I was born. My parents had a 85 Skylark when I was little. I remember the back seat piping riped and exposed the wire which reaked havak on my leg a few times.
"General Mhotors" "Pahalm Springs" Gotta love John's pronunciation of words.
Ah the 80's. When a little bit wider tires was considered a handling upgrade.
The 1985 Grand Am's shortfall was that it didn't come with, or offer an optional tachometer. Something that absolutely would've befit the "Euro" Tech GM was trying to pull off.
Well, that's GM.
Ooo, a factory cellular phone, for the busy business man on the go! A brick with a cord to another brick with buttons. The good ol days...
I actually came across that option only a couple of times while servicing these cars. When they were new. God I'm old.
Loved them! ❤️ Always got much better reception on them vs handhelds (bricks) of the day; complete with the trademark “curly-cue” antenna off your back or side glass. ☎️ Actually wish I could find one that you could still use with today’s technology. 🤔👍
True, also as a weapon too!
I was 17 working as lot guy at the dealer. I had to deliver one to a customer. Stuck in traffic I would pretend to talk on the phone to look cool.
My parents bought a Calais new in 85 with the 2.5. My mom drove it for about 4 years and then my sister drove it for about 2 more years before she sold it. I don't think the oil was ever changed in it. lol. I saw a guy driving it around town for a couple of years after that. Still had the wire wheel hubcaps on it!
The Iron Duke was a bulletproof turd. The 3 speed th125 trans flat out sucked.
My '89 Century had the "upgrade" wire covers on the 14" steel wheels. Eventually I found a set of 16" Lumina Z34 wheels and put Buick centercaps in them with a 205/55 tire. They fit perfectly and I couldn't believe how much more modern and sporty they made that otherwise grandpa-car look.
Good ole Mark. Always rambling about history.
I noticed they used the hazard lights to show case models lol . Maybe they were hinting at something .
The memories.... I worked as a lot guy at a large GM dealer in Toronto 86/87/88 I've driven 1000s of these cars. GM was huge in the 80s.
Would love a G body Olds Cutlass or Monte Carlo SS or Aero coupe...even the downsized Olds 98 Regency Touring or Cadillac Deville were good cars and I would love one....my first car was a 89 Buick Lesabre Custom....got it in 2000 for my high school graduation present....rose good as hell and smooth and fast
This same guy has been hosting these shows for like 40 years!! Congrats and Thank you!!!
Hi, I'm John Davis, and this is Motorweek.
That swiveling radio pod GM put in a few of their cars ensured you had an outdated radio for the life of your GM. I think the Camaro Berlinetta had it too.
As a Gen Xer, It’s crazy when you look around and realize you haven’t seen ANY of these cars on the streets in like a decade. Cash for clunkers changed the automotive landscape almost overnight. Every once in a great great while you will see one, but it’s extremely rare.
Another Obama disaster, perfectly serviceable cars.. So much for the poor.
In 85 I was a sophomore in H.S. and watching Motorweek on Saturday mornings with my Dad and my buddies.
Awesome. I think 1985 was the greatest year for GM in the 1980s. They had the newest TPI engines and fantastic new front wheel drive C bodies, the new Astro van, and new N bodies, but still had the X bodies (at least the Citation and Skylark), bigger E and B bodies, and square body trucks and the (improved over 1984) Corvette!
Holy cow! It's hard to believe that GM had this many variations for sale concurrently.
I loved my 1983 Oldsmobile Toronado, 1985 Buick Riviera, my 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosport and my 1985 Chevrolet Astro Van. They were all good to me, my Dad and mom are GM people.
Donald Thompson my parents were all gm also. We had tons of new cars from the late 70s all the thru to the early 2000s. Astro and full size conversion vans, cutlass supremes, s10s, s10 blazer, full size scottsdale and Cheyenne trucks, k5 blazer, suburban, buick grand national, my parents would trade every couple years and we had sometimes 3 to 4 cars at one time. In 91 we had a gmc syclone, and we had a 93 gmc typhoon. In 90 my dad bought a new black 454ss. He thought it would be a brute to tow our boat. It was except trying to get up a wet boat ramp! Lol. John force burnouts all the up the boat ramp was the norm! Lol
That Riviera looks so good
It sure does
Those are some really funky steering wheels.
Amazing the amount of choices there were, those days are long gone.
I was feeling nostalgic until I saw them running on the grass on the inside of the corners and remembered they were that weak.
It was fun to beat them
I WANT TO COLLECT THEM ALL!
These aren't the Pokemon you're looking for.
Why??😂
Those cutlass are still loved by some
Camry and Accord name still going strong.... Nevermind GM.
Can you say Suburban, Corvette, Tahoe, Escalade, etc.
We had a Cutlass Calais for many years, ran great but claimed by rust. When I was a teenager Mom and I test drove a Somerset. Thermostat was stuck closed, it overheated so bad it had rod knock as we brought it back to the dealer. No idea if it survived to be sold but I feel for whoever bought it.
The Cutlass Supreme was the best selling car in America for years. Let that sink in.
The Astro/Safari vans were made in the Baltimore MD plant until 2005. The plant was torn down a few years later.
I love these. Mostly because it reminds me of MPT broadcasting and seeing your show in a sea of static because we lived in the sticks of Harford County 😂 keep up the good work folks
First year for the Isuzu, Suzuki, & Toyota joint ventures, the Astro/Safari, & both the C & N-bodies. 0:59.........the biggest laugh I've had yet this morning!!!!! 1:55.........STILL LOVE the way John pronounced "coupe" back then!!!!!
Wow. Soooo many cars, can’t believe their lineup used to be this diverse.
Was even more diverse in the 60s
Holy overlap and redundancy Batman☺
Different divisions did pretty much offer the same cars but with different trim packages. Whether you liked Chevys or Oldsmobiles, was just a matter of which look you liked best. Otherwise, they were pretty much interchangeable. It was called having wide choices, Batman.
@@efandmk3382 YETH
To quote Dewey Cox: "This is a really dark period, man!"
Gm had flavors for everyone got to love gm products and killing part everything is interchangeable
One word to describe this; NOSTALGIA..... miss the 80’s
I own the Buick Summer Set in '85. Kept till 1990. Not a bad car. GM made a decent car back in the day. Perhaps better today. The big thing for me in '85 I meant my wife. 2018 , and two kids now all grown up. Fun times. Just living life. Thank you
Three years old at this time, but near four. One year shy of uh oh Challenger, and the Bud Dwyer night/first time my mom let me outside by myself to build a snowman while realizing daylight savings as it was dark at 4:00. The realization of four o'clock and it being dark was a moment I still recall very well. Aside from that I was dreaming of all the available wheels the 80's had to offer from the back seats of my parent's late 70's Dodge Ram Charger. The Green Machine.
Holy crap, GM's product line was SO busy. I understand they were actively working at this time to trim things down, but while GM was carrying on with milquetoast new vehicles and minimally facelifted 70s models, Ford was about to introduce the Taurus, and Chrysler's Lee Iacocca was cleaning their lineup with the K platform, as well as new, more modern product development.
But for all the complaining I and others can do, they sold product. They had a customer base that was satisfied, if not at the most basic level, with what they were purchasing - at least for a time. I wonder if Saturn had been able to roll out products by 1986, if GM could have had a more significant impact on market-wide advancements.
It's possible
At one time GM's Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly employed over 300,000. I worked across town at Chrysler's Jefferson Avenue Assembly(demolished 1990) we had 134,000. Today GM has about 13,000 at that plant.
Look at the body roll on these fucking cars!! Holy shit we have come a long way since then!
Please upload AMC + Chrysler full line retro reviews for 85 too!
In fact as many retro full line uploads as possible!
Love all the retro reviews thank you!
That 85 Buick with the touch screen was ahead of the curve.
and expensive if it failed
@@zythr9999 I bet
@@allegrad7132 Exactly sadly many did fail,
As an early 20's young man back then, I can remember being excited about the new cars coming out. All I can say is I'm glad to be living in this era of autos, and appreciating how far all the car companies have come in technology and especially performance.
Couldn't predict that 3.8 SFI would take over everything.
Very true. The 3.8 would drive the 4.3 from cars into trucks only by the end of the decade.
This brings back alot of great memories for me, I was 8 and turned 9 in July of that year. I remember all these great cars, my cousin had a 1985 Camaro and Celebrity Eurosport and my Aunt had a 1984 Celebrity Wagon, later on she traded it for a 1987 Celebrity Eurosport Wagon. My teacher in middle school bought a brand new Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, that was a very nice car, it was light blue with a white landau top and matching interior.
1986: end of the 1970s
I thought it was 1982 that marked the end of the '70s.
Dude most of these cars carried over years after 1986.
I think they're referring to a lot of the larger cars (Caprice, 88, Riviera) and models like the Cutlass Supreme/Regal...all designs popular in the late 70's, all except Caprice downsized/reworked for 86. Was really the end of an era at that point.
Even so the full size Caprice soldiered on until 1990 as did FoMoCo's full sizers (1991). Not even mentioning the diplomat/fifth avenue which sold on until 1989. Even the Cutlass Supreme and Monte Carlo were offered until 1988. I'd fairly say by the late 80's most 70's malaise era cars were gone.
The big B body RWD all died in 86 except for the Caprice and 86 was the last chance for a big full frame RWD 2-door. In 87 B bodies became all 4 door only.
Love these old gm cars from the 80s. Even had a 88 Pontiac sunbird myself about 10 years ago.
I miss cars like this. Fantastic lineup!
Love that background music! Lol
The best selling car in America, the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.
Wow have times changed. My dad had the 85 Cutlass supreme, was a beast. Now GM has been outcompeted except with their trucks and suvs.
I wonder if that cutaway model still exists somewhere
"burnt Sienna..they put the 'tru coat ' ON RIGHT IN THE FACTORY !
Man, that z24 hatchback, red with silver lower two tone, and rally wheels is a handsome hatchback.
I wish we could have gotten a proper "hot hatch" version of this car.
I know 85 was too early, but that thing with the supercharged 3800 and a 5 speed would've been a mean little hatch.
Buick Riviera with a touch screen in 1985. So ahead of its time. Now GM is slightly behind the times. And I’m big GM fan /purchaser. Vehicles of every different shape and size. Not like now where they offer crossovers & SUV’s. Great video thank you for posting.
I loved this era! Things were simplier.....sigh
I find it hilarious that not only did GM allow the stripped down N Body platform to be shown, but also allowed Motorweek to actually *drive* it 😂
The N (for Nothing) Car! _(7/1/2023)_
love retro MW videos mna- brings baack so much memories looking at these cars new - oh man what a joy to listen and waatch
This is like a wish list for me. So many memories. Some I've never seen in the wild.
Im all GM. Growing up, my dad had all GM from a crappy Chevette, to a nimble top heavy s-15 GMC Jimmy, to a 91 Vacuum looking Trans-sport. Later a 2000 Silverado and 2000 Montana... Now i own a 2006 HHR as my daily, a fully loaded leather '14 cruze for the wife and a garage kept 2000 Camaro as my weekend ride...
12:43...................I have to confess that I have always had an "It's Complicated" relationship with the Astro/Safari. I LOVED how roomy & comfortable they were, how smoothly they rode, & how quiet they were.........& that 4.3-liter V6 is a TORQUE MONSTER, but fit & finish left A LOT to be desired. I will NEVER forget that it was an Astro which brought me to see Home Alone for the first time, however. I will NEVER forget cruising to Showcase Cinema in Woburn, MA in a blue 1986 Chevy Astro full of kids, BLASTING C&C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)".........ON THE CASSETTE PLAYER (Man, I'm old!!!!!)!!!!!!!
Yes you are
I forgot about the Z24 Cavalier hatchback. I wouldn't mind having one of them now to modify and upgrade. I know the current 4 cylinder FWD hatchback make a bunch more power but the GM V6 from that era sounded so good and a Z24 with some mods should make more power than it's rated 130hp and sound really good. That an a 3rd Gen IROC in that blue they showed would be really nice.
Love these! Thanks for posting. Crazy how many models GM offered across 5 divisions (plus GMC)