Motor Trend-Muscle car comparison of 1983 (windshield, minivan, tires, seats)
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Comparison: 1983 Ford Mustang GT vs 1983 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 vs 1984 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z - Motor Trend
It's hard to believe that at the time, these were considered among the fastest cars around. A 5.0 L V-8 engine rear wheel drive with a 0-60 of a little more than 7 seconds. Today's four cylinders can do the same numbers, both horsepower and accleration, even without a turbo. I almost laughed at the size of the tires on these muscle cars. Even economy cars have the same or bigger size tires.
83 was near the end of the "bad old days" of cars, right at the end of the "carburator-smog" era. Porsche, BMW, and VW were already onto FI, but Detroit was still trying to make ends meet with carbs.
Its funny you brought this up. When I got out of school in 1988 my lust after car was a Golf GTI - considered king of the hot-hatch economy cars and it did 0-60 in 8 seconds & change. The other affordable performance machines of the era, "Hot Hatches" like the Civic SI and Prelude all had similar times.
When I bought my Minivan in 2007, it did 0-60 in 9 flat. Surprised the hell out of me.
Yep, the early 80s was the start of the return to performance. Remember reading magazine articles that use to describe 0-60 in 7 seconds as "quick" or "sporty". Remember when cars had four wheel sizes; 13, 14, and 15. 15 was the wheels on performace cars. Today some performance cars have been seen with over 20 inch wheels and economy cars with 15 inch wheels. What surprised me was how cheap and flimsy the interior looked in these photos. I remember at the time how great those interiors looked back then. By today's standards they look cheap, cheesy (repeatly stitching the car's name across the seats, really?), and flimsy.
Its funny you brought this up. When I got out of school in 1988 my lust after car was a Golf GTI - considered king of the hot-hatch economy cars and it did 0-60 in 8 seconds & change. The other affordable performance machines of the era, "Hot Hatches" like the Civic SI and Prelude all had similar times.
When I bought my Minivan in 2007, it did 0-60 in 9 flat. Surprised the hell out of me.
Yeah, my 2003 Malibu can do it in 8 seconds, has four wheel independent suspension, and anti-sway bar and yet it's considered a boring midsize family sedan. My how times have changed.
Out of curiosity, I looked to see what was going on with AMC at that time. Looks like that was about the time AMC and Renault joined together and inflicted upon us the LeCar and the Alliance. My dad almost talked me into buying an Alliance. Boy did I dodge a bullet there. And yet Renault is back in America via Nissan (Versa).
Great strides were made by the big three in graphics, sticker and decal technology from the mid seventies up through the eighties.
Not much to get excited about.
AMC you say?
Look at this option list for the Spirit GT, it's chock full of hi-po goodies:
Front and rear sway bars and an electric clock no less!
Its funny you brought this up. When I got out of school in 1988 my lust after car was a Golf GTI - considered king of the hot-hatch economy cars and it did 0-60 in 8 seconds & change. The other affordable performance machines of the era, "Hot Hatches" like the Civic SI and Prelude all had similar times.
When I bought my Minivan in 2007, it did 0-60 in 9 flat. Surprised the hell out of me.
You can still find these cars in good nick if you look around, most will need a bit of TLC but FWIW I am very satisfied with my 82 Scirocco...
What minivan does 0-60 in 9 seconds? Odyssy I would guess (I don't really keep up with the minivan market...)
For some reason, the front end and windshield line reminds me of the current Dodge Caliper. A car that tries to be sporty and crossover at the same time.
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