1980: The Age of More and Less

The 1980's: The Age of More and Less

Porche 924S

The 1980 saw a time when driveways were packed with cars. In fact, 87% of American households owned one or more vehicles, 51% owned more than one and 95% of domestic cars were for replacement autos. Americans were dependent on their cars. New technologies were appearing like electronic media, the laser, the computer and the robot, which was to change automotive production drastically.

The start of the 80's saw the economy slumping because of the energy crisis but in '84, car sales rebounded and 11.4 million cars were sold in 1996 which was the best year of the 80's. The flow of imports from Japan was threatening to slow the progress. American factories began producing Honda Accords, Toyota Camrys and other popular brands.

1983 Toyota Camry

The workers who were now making Camrys had been laid off by the Big Three in the cutbacks of the early 1980s. By 1989 Japanese models made up a third of all U.S. car sales and all of the Big Three automakers were selling cars produced by Japanese affiliates.

The Greatest Sports Cars of the Decade

Alfa Romero Spider

The Alfa Romero Spider , the Fiat and the 124 Spider wouldn't last the decade as the age of the roadster had come to a halt. 

The Italian sports cars like the DTomaso and Maserati were frozen out of the market by U.S. regulations. The Ferrari was successful this decade with its Testarossa.

Ferrari Testarossa

The Porsche 911 Turbo sailed smoothly through the Eighties and kept improving through the decade with the rear-engine that has become a classic.

Chevrolet produced a 1983 Corvette with a small-block V8 that was completely updated. It replaced the shark with more sophisticated lines. Datsun(Nissan) and Mazda began new design plans that spotlighted comfort and convenience without compromising the sports car feel.

First time models arrived on the scene including the Pontiac Fiero and Toyata MR2. They both had only two seats and were fun and affordable. In 1987 Cadillac came up with the Allante convertible and Buick countered with the two-seater Reatta.

Chrysler came up with the TC by Maserati which suffered in the market place along with the DeLorean DMC-12 the first all stainless-steel which became an icon in the movie Back to the Future, with Michael J. Fox. It symbolizes everything that was wrong with the 1980's.

Of course, every era has its contradictions. And for all the ups and downs, the 1980s not only left us some very capable, rewarding sports cars, it paved the way for even better things. Though the Acura/Honda NSX, Dodge Viper, Mazda Miata, and others would await the Nineties, they were conceived in the tough, winner-take-all environment of the 1980s. Considering how good they would be, maybe greed wasn't so bad, after all.

Resources:

http://www.history.com/topics/automobiles

http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id362.htm