best car of 80's votes

1988 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe with 5 speed transmission. :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

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I used to read about the Ford RS200 and thought it would be THE car to have. Mid engine 4 cyl and boost over 20 PSI would make well over 400 HP. They didn't make many of them, produced to compete in Group B Rally racing. They outlawed the class due to it being stupid fast.
 
I had a 1983 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am for 20 years. It was kind of reliable, with the exception of two issues. The Rochester Quadrajet, even after a proper rebuild, would go full-throttle all by itself, and for no apparent reason. Imagine going 100+ MPH in the Lincoln tunnel. At least it was at an odd hour, without much traffic. G.M. knew about this flaw, and in usual fashion, did nothing. A Holley would not fit the intake, and those days, there was no kit available to retain the connection to the computer.
Second gem of a flaw. The metal was so thin, that the sail panels each developed a stress fracture. Also, both rear dampers broke off their top-mounts. At least that was an easy fix, as a pair of thick stainless 'L'-brackets was the answer. Then I got the 2004 GTO. Another G.M. 'treasure'. First one drowned. I have been on it's replacement since a month after the hurricane.
 
And one more thing...............

I just did some gardening on the side of my house. Planted a blackberry bush, and get this----A rose bush of the variety 'Chrysler Imperial'!!! The hardware store seemed to be out of the New Yorker and Newport varieties.
 
82-85 Mercedes 300SD

A truly huge car w/ a 5-cyl turbo diesel. I had one in the early 2000s and loved it.

In good state of tune it makes noises at idle like a combination of muffled hammer blows on steel and chitty-chitty-bang-bang.

Nothing electrical required to keep engine running, purely mechanical.

27 mpg whether you baby it around town or you flog it mercilessly. 30 of the highway.

Relax. What's the hurry?

Comfortable couch-like ride with handling best described in nautical terms, but very flat and stable in corners.

Proactive maintenance results in a engine that just never quits. My brother in law had 425k on his as of 4 years ago.

Maintenance consists primarily of frequent changes of engine oil and oil filter as well as the air filter.

Nearly every item in the car is designed to be readily repairable. You name it, and it can be fixed.

The bad news:
An overly complex electrical system that eventually drags them down and wears out the owners' patience.

But the engines still run.
 
The GTI of course

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Had a black '84, followed by a grey '84 Scirocco (same car better looking), for something like 1997-2006. Sold it because I was living in PG county and insurance on the Scirocco for a year was more than the car was worth. Quite possibly one of the stupider things I have done, as I'd found a complete leather interior for it, rebuilt the suspension with Koni yellows, and located real BBS wheels and the German headlight/driving light assemblies for it. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
 
Had a black '84, followed by a grey '84 Scirocco (same car better looking), for something like 1997-2006. Sold it because I was living in PG county and insurance on the Scirocco for a year was more than the car was worth. Quite possibly one of the stupider things I have done, as I'd found a complete leather interior for it, rebuilt the suspension with Koni yellows, and located real BBS wheels and the German headlight/driving light assemblies for it. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Yep - here is mine from the Cal Bug Bash
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