QOTD: Happy Birthday! Now Choose a Car
Ages ago in this series, I asked the 20-year question and you, the Best & Brightest, did not disappoint with your answers. Today, your mission is to simply answer the following: what car do you desire from the year of your birth?
For me, that model year is 1980. Let’s see what was shiny and new on the showroom floor back when interest rates were larger than the salesman’s lapels.
Erm… ah… oh dear. Suddenly, I’m reminded of how good we have it in 2017. Model year 1980 vehicles aren’t exactly the pinnacle of design, engineering, or reliability.
The ill-fated Citation/Phoenix/Skylark/Omega X-body quartet had just been introduced to massive fanfare, replacing General Motors’ rear-drive Nova. Ford full-size trucks wore new sheetmetal but were still more agricultural than the New Holland farm tractor that just passed in front of my rural home. And the less said about Chrysler’s aged Aspen/Volaré twins, the better.
On the other hand, the Mustang was but a single year old in model year 1980, enjoying its Fox platform and fresh off pacing the Indy 500. The boffins in Stuttgart just released a new Sonderklasse sedan, too. Mazda was peddling its funny looking little sports car with pop-up headlights but no pistons.
For me, though, the car I’d choose from model-year 1980 is the Saab 900 Turbo. Introduced one model year earlier as a replacement for the 99 on which it was based, the 900 was initially only offered as a three- or five-door hatchback. The jaunty Turbo model made 145 horsepower from its 2.0-liter inline slant four. As the calendar flipped to the Eighties, the Swedes endowed their 900 Turbo with a five-speed manual. It was solid, quirky, and loud – not unlike myself, then.
How about you, B&B? Your choice doesn’t have to be a new product for year, simply on sale to new-car buyers. What car would you take from the model year in which you were born?
Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.
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1991 - NSX.
I'm a bicentennial baby... Let's see what was out there: AMC Gremlin Hornet Matador Pacer Audi 100 5000 Fox Austin MGB Midget BMW 2002 3.0Si 530i Buick Century Electra 225 LeSabre Opel Regal Riviera Skyhawk Skylark Cadillac Calais Deville Eldorado Fleetwood Seville Chevrolet Camaro Caprice Classic Chevette Corvette El Camino Impala Laguna S3 LUV Malibu Monte Carlo Monza Nova Vega Blazer C/K Series Pickup G Series Van Suburban Chrysler Cordoba New Yorker Newport Datsun 280z 710 B110 F10 HL620 Truck Dodge Aspen Colt Coronet Charger Dart Monaco D50 Sweptline/Utiline Pickup Sportsman/Tradesman Van Ramcharger Ford Custom 500 Elite Granada LTD Maverick Mustang II Pinto Ranchero Thunderbird Torino Bronco Courier F Series Pickup Econoline Van GMC Sprint Blazer C/K Series Pickup G Series Van Jimmy Suburban Honda Accord Civic International Harvester Scout II Jaguar XJ-6 XJ-12 XJ-S Jeep CJ-5 CJ-7 Cherokee J Series Pickup Wagoneer Lincoln Continental Mark IV Mazda Cosmo Mizer RX3 RX4 REPU Truck Mercedes-Benz 280/280C/280S 450SL/450SLC/450SE Mercury Bobcat Capri Comet Cougar XR7 Grand Marquis Marquis Monarch Montego Oldsmobile Cutlass Delta 88 Ninety Eight Omega Starfire Toronado Plymouth Champ Fury Gran Fury Valiant Volare Arrow Trail Duster Voyager Van Pontiac Astre Bonneville Catalina Firebird Grand Prix LeMans Sunbird Ventura Porsche 911 912 914 934 Subaru 1400 Toyota Celica Corolla Corona Triumph TR6 TR7 Volkswagen Dasher Rabbit Sirocco Type I (Beetle) Type II (Transporter) Volvo 240 260 Probably not an exhaustive list, but close. SO MUCH CRAP! And also the year before GM downsizing so everything is so bloated and the Riviera is hideous. The Plymouth Trail Duster gets points for being lesser-known, and the REPU for being weird. The 280Z and 2002 would be fun, and I have a soft spot for a Beetle convertible. I'll go full-on underdog though... Make mine a 1976 IH Scout II Traveller, please.