Motor Junkie

There are many things the 1980s were synonymous with, and sports cars are certainly one of them. The decade was full of great examples. Every European automaker had all kinds of new exotics coming onto the market. Porsche found a completely new clientele with the slant nose, the most popular German sports car of the decade. Even more new offerings came out in the ’80s, such as the Ferrari Testarossa and the all-new Lamborghini Countach. These cars defined an era centered around opulence and new young money generated on Wall Street.

The 1980s were no doubt the decade of greed, but there’s no denying that many of the sports cars were awesome. During that time, one of the most popular primetime TV shows was the infamous “Miami Vice.” We looked back at 1980s sports cars straight out of that show. These cars made you feel different when you were behind the wheel, and they are still some of the most iconic rides on the road. Take a walk down memory lane and remember that decade of decadence right here.

1984 Lamborghini Jalpa

Driven in season four of Miami Vice, the Jalpa was the quintessential Lamborghini model of the 1980s. Take one look at the styling and you’ll see a mixture of traditional Lambo and Porsche in one package. The Jalpa was a project car by Lambo and was not well regarded in the community (via Classic Italian).

The performance and build quality of the Jalpa were the two major shortcomings of the car. For some reason, the Jalpa just didn’t resonate with consumers the same way that the Countach did. But when you saw the car on Miami Vice, there was a sense of speed and styling that gave it a temporary resurgence.

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The concept of American luxury vehicles has changed significantly over the past several decades. Chrome ashtrays, clumsy radios, and vinyl seats gave way to infotainment screens, massaging seats, and autonomous driving systems. It took ages to get from the elegant sedans of yesterday to today’s luxury SUVs, but is this real progress?

There’s no doubt that today’s luxury vehicles are safer and more efficient, but are they more prestigious and stylish? We don’t think so. Just look at our list of 30 classic American luxury cars and decide for yourself. Would you rather drive one of these classic machines than the nondescript modern luxury car you see every time you drive? We would, so we compiled this list of American luxury cars that will make you sell your Lexus.

Pontiac Grand Ville

In the early 1970s, Pontiac’s management entered the luxury car segment by introducing a new top-of-the-line model called the Grand Ville in 1971. The Grand Ville had a Bonneville platform but with a few trim details that differentiated the two models. Pontiac decided to offer a 400 V8 engine as standard. The 455 came as an optional engine and a offered a high level of equipment (via Hemmings).

For those who wanted something extra, Pontiac offered a leather interior, climate control, heavy-duty suspension, an AM/FM radio, and even adjustable brake and accelerator pedals. The Grand Ville was provided as two and four-door hard top and luxury convertibles. But the market didn’t respond well and sales needed to be higher.

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Kids in the 1980s and ’90s had it a lot better than the kids of today when it came to cars. There were expensive sports cars, such as the Lamborghini Countach, that were the stuff of legends. With shows like ‘Miami Vice’ in prime time slots, these kids saw cars that were unlike anything else on the road. The 1990s followed that tradition with cars like the Toyota Supra, 300ZX, and the Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Towards the end of the decade, we saw cars like the Honda Civic SI, which became a cultural phenomenon and one of the most stolen cars in the country. So we looked back at the cars high school kids dreamed about during these decades. These were the cars that you’d routinely see on posters and in video games. Many of these cars have become common on the road today, but there was a time when many of them were the stuff of dreams.

Toyota MR2

The MR2 was often referred to as the poor man’s Ferrari and rightly so because their designs were similar. The mid-engined design of the car gave it excellent handling and performance compared to the competition. Other cars on the market were faster than the MR2 but the lightweight design and bulletproof reliability made it preferable (via MR2OC).

The MR2 lasted for three generations, with the final generation being the least impressive. First-generation MR2s are hard to come by and expensive. There was a time when high schoolers wanted this car badly because of the interesting styling and the fast performance for its cheap price.

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The sports car segment is an ever-changing part of the automotive industry. Modern sports cars are not only more powerful but are also more feature-packed than ever before. Speed used to be something that only wealthy people could attain. But today, even the most modest sports car has power. All that aside, however, there have also been duds in the sports car market that are quite often overvalued by the people who drive them.

With the recent bubble in the auto industry, prices have been rising more than ever. The price of sports cars has gone up tremendously, especially used models. As more consumers age, they want to enjoy the cars of their childhoods. Thus the prices of cars like the Toyota Supra and the Nissan 300ZX have gone astronomical. So we looked at several sports cars that are outrageously priced but aren’t as cool as you’d think. Enjoy – or rather, don’t – right here.

Ford Mustang II

How do you sell a Pinto-based Mustang? Ford did it under the guise of fuel economy. Unfortunately, the car was the furthest thing from a Mustang there was. The underpinnings of the car were almost exclusively made up of Pinto parts. Consumers weren’t too happy about this and enthusiasts didn’t want to claim the car as a Mustang (via Auto Trends).

The debacle hurt the reputation of Mustang II dramatically. The car was deemed unreliable by consumers and the sales sunk. The Pinto-based Mustang has since become a collector’s item in certain circles. But there were much better sports cars from this era than the Mustang II, even if it did offer a reasonable price tag and V8 performance.

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The muscle cars that drivers have today are a shadow of what they once were. There are ups and downs in the auto industry that depend greatly on current fuel prices and consumer tastes. The new generation of drivers has embraced crossover vehicles. But it was once a badge of honor to drive a sports car. Oftentimes these sports cars were rough, but they were exciting to drive. The current generation of millennials might think of these cars as nothing more than collector’s items, but they were legendary.

Many historic automotive brands from the ’60s and ’70s like Pontiac and Plymouth have come and gone. We looked back at legendary sports cars that millennials will never experience in their prime. There’s a big difference between buying a restored muscle car and experiencing it when it was brand new. So check out these legends of the car world that many current fans will never be able to see in their full glory right here.

Photo Credit: Ford

Ford Mustang II

The Mustang II was an important part of automotive history, but why? Because it was the first “fuel-efficient” Mustang ever released. The fuel embargo of the 1970s hurt the auto industry yet Ford was quick to adapt. Although the Mustang II is often made fun of because it was based on the Ford Pinto, the car had many positive attributes. The lightweight design was innovative at a time when cars were still heavy chunks of metal (via CJ Pony Parts).

The Mustang II changed the game because it had a dramatically smaller size than the previous generation. Enthusiasts often criticize the Mustang II for being a pale comparison to the muscle cars that came before it. But as the collectible car market increases in interest, the Mustang II will be a hidden gem. There was a lot Ford did with the Mustang II as its lightweight design stood out from the crowd.

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For decades, the classic car market concentrated on models from the ’50s and ’60s and even pre-war cars. These are glorious machines, but they are out of place in modern traffic. Most of those models are also very expensive, with no or little aftermarket support in terms of spare parts. However, these days, cars from the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s are getting attention from collectors as investment cars.

People are looking for the cars they wanted in adolescence. Also, intelligent collectors are looking for the next desirable models that will fetch big prices in the future. So we broke down 40 cars you should pay attention to and buy while they are still relatively affordable.

Ford Mustang SVT Cobra

Inspired by the wild SVT Cobra R from the ’90s, the 2003 model was not named R since it wasn’t such limited production. It was also available to the general public rather than just racing drivers and private teams. This SVT Cobra was an essential model for Mustang mythology since it featured two firsts. One was the first factory supercharged engine and the other was an independent rear suspension. SVT took the standard 4.6-liter block and mounted different heads and superchargers to get 390 HP and 390 lb.-ft of torque (via Car and Driver).

The car’s 0 to 60 mph time took only 4.7 seconds, making the SVT Cobra a drag strip terror. Ford offered this model in 2003 and 2004, producing around 20,000 in both coupe and convertible forms. Despite being almost 20 years old, those cars are still desirable and will only increase in value as time goes on.

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Sports cars have long been one of the most popular automotive segments. The focus on muscle cars reached its peak during the ’60s and ’70s era of the auto industry. But some sports cars have not been all that exciting regardless of their intentions. Cars like the Ford Mustang II were absolute failures on the heels of the highly popular models, giving drivers something to rant about.

The second-generation Camaro and Firebird were another group of sports cars that could have been better because of their hype. We looked back at all-time great sports cars that will spark any conversation. Whether these sports cars were truly that great is up for debate. Some of these sports cars were well-known in their time while others were highly criticized.

Pontiac Trans Am Turbo

Every baby boomer remembers the Pontiac Trans Am Turbo because of its appearance in the movie Smokey and the Bandit. Who could forget Sally Fields’ hair flowing in the wind as she and Burt Reynolds zoomed down the highways? The car truly was an iconic-looking vehicle with many unique aspects. From the gold honeycomb wheels to the dazzling black and gold pinstripe, the Trans Am Turbo was unlike any other muscle car on the road (via Driving Line).

The strikingly beautiful paint job is still popular to this day. There has been a completely new generation of enthusiasts who have found solace in the design of the Firebird. It is a shame that the Pontiac brand no longer sees the light of day.

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For the better part of the last century, the United States has been the world’s biggest car market, producing and selling more vehicles than any other country. The car business was the most significant industry here. Not surprisingly, every car manufacturer in the world wanted a piece of the action. During that period, carmakers from Europe, Japan, and Korea, tried selling cars to American buyers. This resulted in some of the strangest vehicles sold on American soil.

There were thousands of mainstream models. But a small number of vehicles didn’t actually follow the conventional design, engineering, or marketing laws. These strange vehicles created exciting moments in the car industry. Some were flops while others were successes. But all were non-mainstream machines offered to the general public. Check out the 50 strangest production cars ever sold in the US below.

Campagna T-Rex

The T-Rex is the brainchild of Daniel Campagna, a Canadian former race car driver. His company has been active in producing three-wheel vehicles and sidecars for motorcycles since the late 1980s. This car has a motorcycle engine from BMW, Suzuki, Kawasaki, or Harley Davidson. This engine sits behind behind the driver and powers the rear wheel (via Campagna Motors).

Currently, the T-Rex has a 160 HP engine from the BMW K1600 motorcycle. The driver and passenger sit in the front and two front wheels do the steering. In contrast to vehicles with a single front wheel, the T-Rex is much more stable. It can also achieve high cornering speeds. The owners describe driving T-Rex as driving an overpowered go-cart with a crazy soundtrack. We can only imagine how it is to drive this ludicrous machine under full throttle.

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Cheap used cars were once a major focal point of the auto industry. That was true until new cars became more affordable. Automotive styling came a long way in the 1990s and even further in the 2000s. Cars and trucks were more aerodynamic and attractive to look at. The boxy, heavy vehicles of previous decades were a thing of the past. But the problem with cars that looked great was often in their reliability.

The build quality of otherwise good-looking cars such as the Oldsmobile Aurora was not good at all. These cars were often recalled. There were many cars from the past few decades that were cheap to buy, but the ownership experience was less than satisfactory. We looked at cheap cars that fooled drivers in the past and why they should be avoided at all costs.

Chrysler Pacifica

The Pacifica was one of the first crossover SUVs. It was released to the public long before the crossover was even a popular segment. The Pacifica was a gamble for Chrysler and seemingly paid off. The car had good sales numbers for the first couple of years until the lackluster reliability crept up on owners (via Hot Cars).

The most notable problem with the Pacifica was transmission failure. Chrysler transmissions from that period weren’t the best. Coupled with the fact that the Pacifica shared engineering with Daimler models, the cost of diagnosis and repairs was high. The Pacifica was an attractive, well-appointed car for the price, but it should be avoided nonetheless.

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It’s unclear who built the first sports car, and when. The need for speed has been around since the dawn of cars. People soon started to recognize performance machines and the passion behind their engineering. During the 1950s and ’60s, the sports car market exploded, eventually giving birth to the greatest sports cars of all time.

Today, after so many sports cars have graced race circuits and streets, we can safely say that those machines created the automotive community. They inspired and excited so many drivers around the world. The sports car scene consists of expensive and affordable machines. Below are the most influential sports cars that will go down as the best in automotive history. These are the true greats, so remember them fondly right here.

Ford GT

The early 2000s supercar boost motivated many manufacturers to offer exotic cars, introduce new models, and revive old legendary names. Ford jumped on the bandwagon with a new retro-styled supercar simply called the GT, It was a clear and obvious successor to the fantastic Le Mans-winning GT40 from the late ’60s (via Auto Evolution).

The heart of the Ford GT is Ford’s fabulous 5.4-liter supercharged V8 with 550 HP. The GT was capable of achieving a 0 to 60 mph time of just 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 205 mph. Although the Ford GT wasn’t constructed or designed with racing in mind, the car proved quite capable on the track in the hands of private teams.

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