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Posted by ISIS (Member # 1780) on :
 
I saw a corvette drive buy us last night, and my son said...you know the only people you ever see driving a sport car any more are old people. I said that's cause they are the only ones who can afford one.

But, it doesn't seem like you do see sports cars hardly at all any more, I guess they just aren't very practical, and everyone went to an SUV.

There's alot of 80's cars that I remember cruising around in, or my friends use to drive, and you don't see them any more.

Here's some of the cars I remember from the 80's:

Pontiac Sunbird
Pontiac Firebird
Z24's
X28's
Cameros
Trans Ams
Iroc-Z's
Fieros
SS Monte Carlos
Mustang GTs
Honda Preludes

other cars I remember and you don't see any more are:

Pacers
Chevy Cavaliers (my first car)
Dodge Shadow
Mitsubishi Eclipse (that was one of my favorite cars -I am not sure when they came out though-I remember wanting one really bad though in a color called sandalwood-I thought it was pretty sharp.)
Chevy Berettas- I remember my old boyfriend traded his Brand new Bronco II (which they don't make any more)...for a new 1988 Beretta in 1987-when nobody had ever seen a Beretta-it was a brand new car model. It was really sporty looking, but had a whole different look to it, and it was sharp back then-he had a maroon colored one, and I remember when he bought it, he drove it down to where I was going to travel school, and waited for me to get out of school, and he was sitting on the hood of it in the parking lot waiting for me, it was actually pretty darn cool.

My best friend had an Oldsmobile Omega- and we drove it everywhere, I thought she was so cool that she even had a car, that we could have cared less what kind it was.
 
Posted by P.S It's Paul... (Member # 1022) on :
 
Most sports cars you'll see these days are European-made. There are rarely any US made sports cars made these days, because they don't sell at all. And there are a couple of real good reasons for this:

1. The US market has changed, where people want either SUVs, pick-ups, or for town driving, smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. And for a US car manufacturer, the primary marketplace is the US driver.

2. Even if the international market was sufficient to warrant making a sports car, the US manufacturers have a major disadvantage in that on the whole, European cars are better to drive on European roads. And that's simply because they handle better round corners. US made performance cars are generally very good in a straight line, but terrible going round a bend. Because your freeways are straight, and your cities are made in grids, they don't need to be agile, just beefy.

There are a few exceptions, like the Ford GT40, and for nostalgia's sake anything called Mustang. Otherwise, it's Porsche Boxster/911, Ferrari F430, Mercedes CLK, BMW Z4, and some of the Japanese models, like the Honda S2000 and the new Nissan 350Z. As far as sports cars go, at the moment, and really since the demise of the Motor City, the US manufacturers can't match them.
 
Posted by ISIS (Member # 1780) on :
 
The FERRARI was like the King of all 80's cars...

and the Lamborgini was coming in close.


I know in the movie Masquerade Rob Lowe had a Ferrari....and didn't Tom Cruise sell Lamborgini's in Rainman.

Also what happened to the Porsche???
 
Posted by pettyfan (Member # 2260) on :
 
I'd love to have a Corvette or a Mustang, but they're just not practical where I live. You almost have to have an SUV or truck with 4-Wheel drive. My first car was a Cavalier, too. I think they were replaced with the Cobalt. They're cute little cars.
 
Posted by imawalkingcorpse (Member # 1675) on :
 
I still have a completely redone 1985 Camaro (My mom special ordered it in 1984 so it has been in my family since 0 miles). I love the 80's Camaro's myself.
 
Posted by MotleyRulz (Member # 3598) on :
 
Gary Cole drove a Porsche in "Office Space."
 
Posted by Richie (Member # 3527) on :
 
Isis, are you sure that guy on the Baretta wasnt me? oh wait, mine was an '89. I loved that car! Amazing no one has mentioned a Mazda RX-7 yet. I had one as my first car and I swear, I would see one in every dang film I watched back then.
 
Posted by stu1984 (Member # 3248) on :
 
I know my model isn't 80's but the mark 1 MR2 is, and that car rocks.

Anyway, i'm sorry but I like to show off my pride and joy at every opportunity [Big Grin]

 -

Stu
 
Posted by PackardWalsh (Member # 4875) on :
 
Great thread!

The gold Porsche 928 that ends up in the lake (!) from RISKY BUSINESS is a lovely looking 80s car, and quite cheap to buy here now, if you can find one.

Hmm, what else pops up in these films...

The car from FERRIS BUELLAR'S DAY OFF (vintage Ferrari) is an extremely expensive vehicle, but the GTO model that is seen in BEVERLY HILLS COP II (and many other 80s movies) is really the quintessential high performance sports car from this era I think.

Other notable 80s Ferarris on screen would have to include the black Daytona from MIAMI VICE Season 1: the monatge early on of Sonny Crockett cruising along to the tune of Phil Collin's "In The Air Tonight" is a key 80s monatge!

The exclusive Delorean sports car from BACK TO THE FUTURE, with the famous gull-wing doors, is yet another iconic automobile from the decade.

There was also a really souped up looking car in the States called the... Vector Twin Turbo (I remember it from playing the Top Trumps card game!) but I'm not sure if this ever actually appeared in any 80s movie or show, hmmm.

But anyway, here's a few more cool cars used in films/shows from the 1980s, some real, some not so real...

Jazz from TRANSFORMERS

Knightrider

The white car shown in the A-TEAM (Corvette?)

The black car, which I think is a Mustang, that they clean up in BETTER OFF DEAD!

Molly Ringwald's extraordinary pink vehicle that pops up briefly in PRETTY IN PINK

The black Lamborghini Countach used on the show AUTOMAN, mmm, very nice... although I'm afraid I've only ever seen the episode where Laura Branigan appears: this needs a DVD boxset release!

Cindy Mancini's long haired date in the masterpiece 80s teen film, CAN'T BUY ME LOVE; the guy's black Porsche 911 (which she pours milkshake all over LOL, although the true 80s creep deserved it!).

And, finally, how could I forget... the awesome, futuristic (and fictional?) looking 'car' as seen in the superb mid 80s Motion Picture, THE WRAITH!!!
 
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
 
I had a two tone blue/silver Datsun 280zx in the 80's. I loved that car, but it set me back a fortune in paint jobs because it would rust through about every 6 months or so. I was only in high school, so the paint and a brake overhaul alone was a crushing blow for a guy on a part-time budget.

I now own a convertible 350z as a weekend fun car and it is a total blast!
 
Posted by Dorothy (Member # 4879) on :
 
Thats not true my parents are not old and they have a 1972 covette and they are not rich...

My dad has talked about buying a sports car and he spent the money from a car loan he applied for.

And what would you call old? Just questioning....
 


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