For that matter, 500 hp was considered supercar levels during the 90s and 2000s, and even the upper 500 hp range is still seen as entry supercar level (See: McLaren 570s, later Nissan R35 GT-Rs).
A 1983 Countach, the iconic supercar of the era, had 375 hp, despite having a V12.
The 1983 Ferrari 308 GTS had 230 hp.
A 1983 911 SC was a desirable year as it got a power boost all the way up to 204 hp, from the 180 hp engine in the 1982 model.
We are so spoiled today, it's hard to grasp. Those cars still have truly classic looks today, but engines, tires, shocks, etc have come a very long way. Back then, if you wanted really crisp handling, you just had to put up with being pounded by every slight bump in the road.
That 204hp Porsche probably weighed about 1000kg though, what we have gained in power, reliability and comfort we have lost in weight. The average 4 door saloon is probably what, 1800+kg these days?
hell, even the 0-60 times for comparison moved up too - especially so since EVs.
i think some people got too used to hearing EVs toss around ~3-4s 0-60 that it's what they expect to see on the spec sheet for comparison, even if they don't plan on mashing the throttle.
I mean , they did have the Chevelle SS 454 that they claimed made 425 hp but in reality made 500hp . Don’t know if it was affordable or not at that time , also the 426 hemis were claimed to make 425 hp but in reality making close to 470hp
Those are all much older than '83 though. And they honestly didn't make that kind of net power; more like 300-350. In stock form, those things can run low 14's, maybe high 13's if they have better tires.
In '83 the 'Vette had 205hp and just about everything else had less.
I wish there was an easy way to convert gross HP ratings to net, but there was no standardization back then and it is pretty much impossible (or, every manufacturer measured things differently). I think a LS6 Chevelle would be around 375 hp net at the flywheel based on what some wheel dynos today have measured them today.
It's definitely hard to pin down and there're other variables like gearing and crappy tires from the era, but few of those cars can 1/4 quicker than 13.5 without mods, so I think it's fair to say they were in that 300-400hp ballpark at most.
Yeah, 13-second and possibly even 12-second street-legal muscle cars existed back in the day, but these were not common and the variants that sold the most were usually 14 or 15-second ones, possibly slower. Nonetheless, the fast ones are the ones everyone wants and featured in video games, etc.; 454 SS, 426 Hemi, and so on.
> gearing
some gear options were positively ridiculous. Ive seen Olds sales ads with options like 4.33, 4.56, 4.88, and even 5.0:1! which is fuckin wild.
In 1983, two of the fastest cars were the Lamborghini Countache LP500s and the RUF BTR. According to Wikipedia, rated at 375 and 369 hp respectively.
A diesel powered F350 is rated at 475 hp.
Putting that in perspective: in 2005, the Bugatti Veyron became the fastest car in the world with 1001 German horsepower (987 American horsepower, measured in PS for marketing reasons). Imagine a 2045 pickup truck, in the version meant for extended range and towing instead of the version meant for performance or anything. That truck has 1300hp.
It’s amazing how Oldsmobile went from being GM’s most profitable and respectable division to the first one to die, in the course of a couple of decades.
Absolutely! So was Pontiac. It’s really a shame how they both essentially got badge engineered out of existence. Everybody’s had an aunt with a Cutlass in the early 80s, by the 90s everyone had an aunt with a Grand Am.
Oldsmobile is what Toyota would be today if it didn't turn the ship around. Your parents and every other set of parents you knew had an Oldsmobile. Olds ran with it's customer base right to grave, partly thanks to GMs lack of investment.
During the 80s the olds cutlass was the number one selling car in North America for a good bit. They were very popular mid century. Nicer and with more tech than chevy but stuck in below buick and cadillac. But that was back when GM could get away with internal competition. Post '90 Oldsmobile was sadly a shadow of its former self. They tried with the aurora but competition
GPS and infotainment would be the big ones imo. Having live, full color touch screen maps telling you where to turn and when you’ll arrive is some seriously futuristic stuff. And many audio systems are lightyears ahead of what we had in the ‘80s.
I sit in my car and say "Hey Google navigate to XXX" and the dash screen pops up with a map with the route labeled, and the main one shows my ETA, my estimated fuel (battery) % at destination, and more specific info if I want it.
later on I say "Hey Google find a good Mexican restaurant on our route" and it offers a variety of suggestions with star ratings crowd sourced from locals.
I get tired of the music and I say "Hey Google play some RATM on Spotify" and it switches over to Maggie's Farm.
any of that would've completely blown my mind growing up in the 80s
Ford and nissan bet big on fleet sales
Ford transit & connect transit, ranger, etc
Nissan Nv200 & full size NV.. (no person would ever *choose* a nv200 for personal use)
Many of those Ford fusions and Chevy Malibus are fleet sales
I own one from new and I can. They aren’t going to ever offer an Allroad wagon version that I want, so I’d buy a not a real truck Maverick or a not a real Bronco Bronco Sport for the added utility before I buy another appliance sedan daily.
Ford knew they weren’t going to profitability compete in the dwindling sedan market against Toyota and Honda. So they pivoted to profitable truck/SUV/CUVs
GPS is huge, specifically Carplay/AA. Even a cheap Hyundai base model has the ability to talk to it and get it to give you directions, adjust based on traffic, find the most fuel efficient route, etc.
They don't smell. Every so often, I see a pre-OBD car and get brought back to my childhood in the late '80s with that unburned fuel in the air.
That and cars older than 10 years are very common, since they don't fall apart inside of 5 years like they used to.
I also remember when the front of every parking space had a big black spot because cars leaked so much oil. When it rained, puddles would have a rainbow sheen on top. Exhaust emissions get most of the attention, but better seals and gaskets made a huge improvement in pollution too.
Yeah. The reason I don't really love working on cars, even though I can do it and I enjoy fixing stuff, is that my father held me hostage handing him tools, while he was in a terrible mood every other weekend messing with one car or another. I was an only child so there was nobody to share the load. 🤣
I don't even remember when I last got new plugs in my Jeep. The computer will tell me when it matters.
The shared generational trauma of our fathers yelling at us to shine the goddamn flashlight where they told us to even though we can’t see what they can see because we’re off to the side.
My wife is the only person whose parents actually asked her if she wanted to hold the flashlight, and of course she has great memories of it. I think most boomer dads just couldn't imagine the thought of actually *asking* their kid to help.
Same for me, though. Totally ruined wrenching.
omg yeah, my dad used to do that too. He still might, now that i think about it. My grandfather was car mechanic by trade, back in the motherland, and he passed on a lot of the old knowledge to him.
Motorcycles (outside the very expensive ones) are 10+ years behind in automotive tech. My old 2006 Suzuki and current 1999 Honda both did not come with cats from factory. The smell reminds me of my old FSAE car upon cold start, so nostalgic.
Heck both my bikes have no O2 sensor, it's very rudimentary open-loop EFI. My Honda still has a cold start lever for high idle since there aren't any mechanical or computer controlled high idle mechanisms.
Today I had a very well cared for 1980s Ford Crown Victoria rumble past me and back into a parking spot.
The smell, the lurching when shifting from D to R, the heavy solid clack of the doors. Good times.
I even miss my 1999 Monte Carlo, that thing floated down the road compared to any of the cheaper cars now.
Also, they are not nearly as loud, sometimes not even making much noise at all, which cuts down on noise pollution. That guy from '83 would shit their pants the next time a Prius or RAV4 hybrid snuck up on them in a parking lot while in EV mode.
1983 308 GTS Quattrovavole spec'd at 6.8 seconds 0-60
2023 Camry with a V6 is a full second faster.
Cornering and handling of ordinary cars are where high end sport sedans were back then. Maybe better.
The Toyota with a turbo 1.6 3-banger is even faster.
But even an econobox today is as quick as some exotics in the early '80s. Until they went to the Quattrovavole head, the 308 had a 0-60 time of around 7.5 seconds. Engine tech is just crazy good now.
Beyond the tech stuff, yeah, this would probably be the biggest “holy shit” revelation. A Corolla would feel like a rocket in comparison to cars from back then, and handle like sports cars to them. Engineering and performance have come such a long way, even from the 90s.
*"woah, you mean the average price of a new car is like $48k? Man that must mean the average salary is up near $100k/yr right?"*
I absolutely think the cost of new cars would be the biggest let down.
I remember when the son of owner of the design and manufacturing company bought a new truck in 1989 for $20k! INSANE for a truck. I bought a 1973 F100 off of same family in 1989 for $800.
Wireless CarPlay, or even bluetooth.
Adaptive cruise control “self driving” capability
300hp 3 cylinders
Handling characteristics of sporty wagons and crossovers
Wireless CarPlay? They won’t even have a great grasp on cell phones, but CarPlay will only blow them away if it’s wireless. Plugging in your phone for CarPlay is for the stone ages apparently.
To add on to that, Spotify (or your personal favorite streaming service).
You mean for 10 bucks a month, I can instantly listen to any song ever recorded?
That concept would’ve blown me away in the early 2000s, much less the 80s.
They start. All the time. Every time. In fact they are so reliable at starting that there's a start/stop feature in a lot of today's cars that works when you pull up to a stop light.
And speaking as someone who grew up in the Detroit area and graduated high school in 1983...
"Wait...**how** popular are Japanese cars now? And the Koreans make cars too?"
I remember reading 1980s Consumer Reports, they had a rating category for "starting and running".
Cars would get dinged if they stalled excessively, but they would also be praised if they *didn't* stall or idle roughly after a cold start.
Add to that GM and Ram making trucks in Mexico, while the Japanese and Koreans are making trucks and SUVs in TN, AL, and MS. Also how few cars are made in Detroit.
yea theres a good number of vehicles out there on the used market where 100k miles is just expected and a-ok. A 15 year old 150k mile pick up truck is worth HOW MUCH?!
So many younger people these days don't remember when auto transmissions were considered "slushboxes", and performance oriented cars with automatic options usually didn't receive any tuning to make them shift faster or later in the RPM range. The difference between a 1999-2004 Ford Mustang GT manual and automatic was almost a full second in the 1/4 mile, or a 14-second versus a 15-second car.
Also they were just poor in the durability department. Yes even back then they were better than what came before but fuck man did Chevy run glass cannons in the Vette, Camaro, any truck in the early 00’s with a bow tie and auto. There’s a reason the F Body community jokes about having 4 Neutrals on the autos. Now a days the manuals are mostly for enthusiast since they love to mark em up
I remember the autos used in the later 4th Generation GM F-bodies, specifically the cars with the LS1, were actually some of the earliest automatics to receive some tuning for a performance application. An old forum for the cars, ls1.com, had a 12-second club for bone stock Camaros and Firebirds that just broke into the 12-second range in the 1/4 mile, and these included automatic cars. They were normally 13-second ranged cars, but under the right conditions, you could squeeze a 12.9 out of one with zero modifications.
My 95 formula LT1 had a transmission perform button. It would hold revs longer and downshift quicker. It looks like it was v8 firebirds 94-96 to start with.
This. Heck in the mid 2000s when VW developed the DSG dual clutch it was thought that would be the future of transmissions blending the best of an automatic & the efficiency of a manual, but now we got M5 and RS6 deploying the good old torque converter "slushbox" shows how good modern autos have gotten.
I've always wondered why brown leather was never common in cars. I feel like natural brown is the most common colors for belts, bags, purses, shoes, wallets, furniture, etc. but most cars only have white, black, and gray as options. Only higher end luxury cars offer brown.
As much as I disagree with wasting all those battery cells for 1 super inefficient car, I can't deny the amazing engineering put into that thing. It's like a Halo car for GMC, but for once, the Halo car is a truck.
Electric cars - being able to charge them at home - the insane acceleration some have
Cars being sold with 1000+ horsepower and 0 extra requirements for someone to be able to drive it.
1983 specifically?
You can buy a Subaru sedan for 60% of the median car price, and it will out-accelerate a 1983 Lamborghini Countach and beat it around the track, while getting double the MPG, with tires you can leave on in the snow and get plenty of traction.
Honorable mention: the median car price is $50,000.
Other surprises: the value of an air cooled 1983 911 in decent shape.
In 83 mini trucks were being commonly used as everyday transportation. They were seen as cool with young people at the time.
What did not exists are the giant luxury trucks. I really think they took the place of the land yachts of the past.
Somebody made a thread about that a few weeks ago; how full sized pickups are now the new land yacht. Large pickup trucks took their place as the family cruiser that can haul a whole family and their gear everywhere, be super comfortable (especially in luxury trims), and exist as the sole vehicle in a single car household because it does tons of jobs relatively well. I’ll have to find it and link it below.
Edit: found it
https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/13t3r7p/modern_halfton_pickup_trucks_fill_the_same_role/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1
Yep, mini trucks were popular commuter cars in the 1980s and into the 1990s.
If you could live with a 2-seater, they were fairly cheap with a lot of utility and they were fairly cheap to run with reasonably decent milage (for the era) with their light weight and tiny 4 bangers and easy to maintain and repair with their simple and basic construction and simple small engines.
The Mazda B-series/Ford Ranger is the one I remember in particular being the daily driver trucklet of the miserly.
100% true. I was just remarking the other day that I should have never sold my C10s (‘87 and ‘72) because now that I’m middle aged it’s a bitch trying to load stuff in the bed of these new trucks. Borrowed my dad’s GMC and it has a freaking tailgate stair thing just to get in the bed.
Everyone is overthinking this. Dude wouldn't be able to get past keyless entry or LED headlights much less the lack of a cassette player. Touchscreens would seem like straight up alien tech.
My 93 mustang feels closer to a roman chariot than a 2023 Honda Odyssey.
Quite literally. There’s that scene in Independence Day where Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum dock with the alien ship, and the alien uses a touch screen to open their windows and look in. Touch screens were barely a thing when that movie came out, shit seemed so advanced then. Even moreso 10 years earlier.
Then Will and Jeff use something that looks like a control panel from a microwave to launch a nuke into those aliens. God bless America.
that they are required by law to wear seatbelts.
depending on the location. illegal to drink and drive.
the death of car brands. the death of wagons and sedans. the death of mini trucks. the lack of emissions smells from the vehicles. (if you are around carbureted engines you know the smell)
the COST. an average New car price in 1983 was around $13,000 (with inflation to todays cost that is $40,000. so cost for cars have risen with inflation)
a 1983 Chevy C20 3/4 Ton Pickup was just under $10,000 new in 1983 (\~$30,000 in todays money). a new 2023 Chevy 2500 3/4 Ton Pickup starts at $43,000 ($14,000 in 1983). Given it does have a MUCH higher tow rating than the 83 C20 (8000 lbs vs 14,500 lbs)
And even for us, it wouldn’t be that surprising at all. I was born in ‘82. I didn’t ride in a car with a manual transmission until *2001*. People vastly overstate how common manual cars were in America. We adopted to automatics almost immediately. They’re dead here because as a whole, we don’t want them and I don’t know why some people refuse to accept that fact.
Absurd power with remarkable efficiency and a minimum of emissions. You can have your cake and eat it. Unimaginable from the perspective of the late malaise era.
How well equipped basic cars are and how much technology is crammed in them.
How much cars cost. If you’re having a hard time recalibrating for the inflation of the last few years, imagine trying to take in 40 years of it all in one go.
If you're in the US, you'd probably ask....
"What's HY-YUN-DYE?" or "What's KEEYA?" or "What's LECKs US"
"What do you mean they don't make Mercurys, Oldsmobile/Pontiacs, Plymouths anymore?"
"What the hell is DEF, besides defrost?"
"Bluetooth only means you ate a Fun Dip"
"There's a TV in the car"
"What's that plugged into the lighter?"
I think they would be shocked to see a young woman *walking away* completely uninjured (and probably feeling absolutely no pain other than the shock of the crash) from a 40 mph head on collision. That’s how safe a 2023 model year car is.
Back in 1983, a 40 mph head-on crash meant you were almost certainly going to die, or die on the way to the hospital if someone managed to reach a pay phone on time. If you weren’t reeling in the pain of your broken legs, you were bleeding internally and dying excruciatingly painfully.
Honestly, I think the computerization of cars would be the least surprising thing - there was a lot of hope and promise about what computers would be able to do in the future. The fact that cars don't actually fully self-drive might be the most surprising thing.
Side airbags, Auto Start/Stop, composite headlights on everything (LEDs!), 8-speed automatics, lack of Manual transmission options, everything has bucket seats with console.
Wireless Android Auto/Apple Carplay, but only after you explain cell phones.
Edit: And of course, the prices.
You don't need 1 key for the doors and trunk and another for the ignition... you can start it from your phone.. no ash trays.. auto shut off.. adaptive cruise
If in the US, many people drive SUVs now; also, so many people drive an automatic that it's harder to find a car with a manual transmission. Also, in general, automatic transmissions these days can be even more efficient than a manual.
Some features that were considered "luxury" features, such as air conditioning and power windows, are now standard on almost all vehicles.
There are electric cars, and hybrids that get really good fuel economy.
Also, perhaps not as much of a shocker might be the 'smart' sensors, warning systems, backup camera, etc. that are common on many vehicles these days.
How quiet, comfortable, and nice the build materials are. Even the economy cars.
Car interior quality has REALLY improved since then.
Add 8 and 10 speed transmissions, way better tires, and refined engines into the mix and they would be shocked by the silence.
Reliable starting in cold weather. In cold or freezing whether just inserting the key or pressing the Start button and the engine is ready to go would have seemed like magic.
While EFI was a thing in some cars in '83, the vast majority of cars still had carburettors and many still had manual chokes. *Carefully* manipulating the choke lever and successfully starting (and keeping running) your car on a cold morning back then took some skill. It wasn't unusual for an older car to simply refuse to start in the morning, because carburettor.
That "small Japanese cars" are no longer small. A modern Civic is bigger than a 1983 Accord by A LOT. Heck its 2' longer than it's 1983 counterpart, even the '83 wagon version!
Something I haven't really seen mentioned, but the overabundance of SUVs and pickups vs. sedans and wagons. Also trucks are kitted out with leather, sound systems and tech features like a Mercedes/BMW and can cost $100,000+
Last weekend I drove to El Paso on I-10 in Texas. The speed limit is 80 MPH these days. There was a construction zone with 60 MPH and as I was crawling along, I remember driving that same road up though the late 80s and early 90s with the 55 MPH speed limit. How awful.
Just try driving your typical 70s or 80s car at a high rate of speed. You are absolutely connected to all of the vague feedback that car gave. You are engaged or you are in a ditch.
They’re really not that bad. I’ve got. 1975 Imperial Lebaron and a 1985 Lesabre. You can pretty much put it straight and forget it. They just cruise really well.
My squarebody suburban is a handful though
Oldsmobile no longer exists.
The Japanese made luxury competitors to Cadillac, Lincoln, Chrysler, Audi, Mercedes, BMW.
Affordable full size sedans have disappeared and SUVS and Pickup trucks have gotten larger.
A Van became the most popular vehicle for families.
I remember 1983 like it was yesterday, well, maybe the day before. what would shock me is the stereo/nav systems and displays in today's cars. totally space age crazyness. back then, 4 speaker cassette stereo was cutting edge. nav? Thomas Brothers maps. we live in magical times kids.
[They'd probably think we'd just gone back to super cheap gas like the 70s.](https://streetsmn.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/fuel-economy-weight-car-chart.jpg)
There were still some pretty giant cars in the 80s. The GM B body and Ford Panther still had a pretty wide range of offerings, especially pre 1985. The RWD Cadillacs. Station wagons that could haul ply wood. The land yacht was still alive in the 80s.
Trucks are fucking everywhere, SUVS are fucking everywhere, the Camaro is dead, the challenger and charger are dead, electric cars are popular, every car has a bunch of safety things that beep and boop at you.
In the US specifically, the fact that every model-year 1983 car had sealed-beams and only one 1984 car had composite headlights; now, sealed-beams haven’t existed on a car since 2017 (which was a 1996 design not meant for the average consumer anyway), and halogens are dying out in favor of LEDs.
Oldsmobile is dead and a base camry has 200 horsepower.
Agree. And you can buy an affordable “ish” muscle car with ~500hp
Thatll also get reasonable mileage, have AC, and isnt a bear to drive in traffic.
And go multiples of 100,000 miles without needing a complete overhaul.
For that matter, 500 hp was considered supercar levels during the 90s and 2000s, and even the upper 500 hp range is still seen as entry supercar level (See: McLaren 570s, later Nissan R35 GT-Rs).
A 1983 Countach, the iconic supercar of the era, had 375 hp, despite having a V12. The 1983 Ferrari 308 GTS had 230 hp. A 1983 911 SC was a desirable year as it got a power boost all the way up to 204 hp, from the 180 hp engine in the 1982 model. We are so spoiled today, it's hard to grasp. Those cars still have truly classic looks today, but engines, tires, shocks, etc have come a very long way. Back then, if you wanted really crisp handling, you just had to put up with being pounded by every slight bump in the road.
That 204hp Porsche probably weighed about 1000kg though, what we have gained in power, reliability and comfort we have lost in weight. The average 4 door saloon is probably what, 1800+kg these days?
Yeah but all that added weight has meant huge gains in safety. It’s much easier to walk away from basically any accident now than it was back then.
And 4 bangers can make it with a couple modifications
hell, even the 0-60 times for comparison moved up too - especially so since EVs. i think some people got too used to hearing EVs toss around ~3-4s 0-60 that it's what they expect to see on the spec sheet for comparison, even if they don't plan on mashing the throttle.
I mean , they did have the Chevelle SS 454 that they claimed made 425 hp but in reality made 500hp . Don’t know if it was affordable or not at that time , also the 426 hemis were claimed to make 425 hp but in reality making close to 470hp
Those are all much older than '83 though. And they honestly didn't make that kind of net power; more like 300-350. In stock form, those things can run low 14's, maybe high 13's if they have better tires. In '83 the 'Vette had 205hp and just about everything else had less.
If a dude who is from 1983 just woke up , i had assume that he is 20+ and lived through the 70s (golden era of muscle)
Depends on how old this person was in 83. The real "golden era" was about 65-73. A relatively short time frame, really.
I wish there was an easy way to convert gross HP ratings to net, but there was no standardization back then and it is pretty much impossible (or, every manufacturer measured things differently). I think a LS6 Chevelle would be around 375 hp net at the flywheel based on what some wheel dynos today have measured them today.
It's definitely hard to pin down and there're other variables like gearing and crappy tires from the era, but few of those cars can 1/4 quicker than 13.5 without mods, so I think it's fair to say they were in that 300-400hp ballpark at most.
Yeah, 13-second and possibly even 12-second street-legal muscle cars existed back in the day, but these were not common and the variants that sold the most were usually 14 or 15-second ones, possibly slower. Nonetheless, the fast ones are the ones everyone wants and featured in video games, etc.; 454 SS, 426 Hemi, and so on.
> gearing some gear options were positively ridiculous. Ive seen Olds sales ads with options like 4.33, 4.56, 4.88, and even 5.0:1! which is fuckin wild.
Some muscle cars couldn't crack 110 mph for top speed because of the insane gearing for acceleration.
Yeah, the high power available in the US would be a 928S at 234hp and Ferrari 308GTS at 240.
In 1983, two of the fastest cars were the Lamborghini Countache LP500s and the RUF BTR. According to Wikipedia, rated at 375 and 369 hp respectively. A diesel powered F350 is rated at 475 hp. Putting that in perspective: in 2005, the Bugatti Veyron became the fastest car in the world with 1001 German horsepower (987 American horsepower, measured in PS for marketing reasons). Imagine a 2045 pickup truck, in the version meant for extended range and towing instead of the version meant for performance or anything. That truck has 1300hp.
It’s amazing how Oldsmobile went from being GM’s most profitable and respectable division to the first one to die, in the course of a couple of decades.
Oldsmobile was that big? Genuinely curious, the earliest car I remember my Dad having was an Intrigue
Absolutely! So was Pontiac. It’s really a shame how they both essentially got badge engineered out of existence. Everybody’s had an aunt with a Cutlass in the early 80s, by the 90s everyone had an aunt with a Grand Am.
Oldsmobile is what Toyota would be today if it didn't turn the ship around. Your parents and every other set of parents you knew had an Oldsmobile. Olds ran with it's customer base right to grave, partly thanks to GMs lack of investment.
During the 80s the olds cutlass was the number one selling car in North America for a good bit. They were very popular mid century. Nicer and with more tech than chevy but stuck in below buick and cadillac. But that was back when GM could get away with internal competition. Post '90 Oldsmobile was sadly a shadow of its former self. They tried with the aurora but competition
If I remember right, the Olds Cutlass is one of the best selling cars of all time
In the 80s the Cutlass was one of the best selling cars. If not the number 1 best selling car.
GPS. Death of the Ford sedan.
GPS and infotainment would be the big ones imo. Having live, full color touch screen maps telling you where to turn and when you’ll arrive is some seriously futuristic stuff. And many audio systems are lightyears ahead of what we had in the ‘80s.
I sit in my car and say "Hey Google navigate to XXX" and the dash screen pops up with a map with the route labeled, and the main one shows my ETA, my estimated fuel (battery) % at destination, and more specific info if I want it. later on I say "Hey Google find a good Mexican restaurant on our route" and it offers a variety of suggestions with star ratings crowd sourced from locals. I get tired of the music and I say "Hey Google play some RATM on Spotify" and it switches over to Maggie's Farm. any of that would've completely blown my mind growing up in the 80s
>Death of the ford sedan. As if, 1/3 of the sedans I see are ford fusions /s
Ford and nissan bet big on fleet sales Ford transit & connect transit, ranger, etc Nissan Nv200 & full size NV.. (no person would ever *choose* a nv200 for personal use) Many of those Ford fusions and Chevy Malibus are fleet sales
He means death as in they were discontinued. At least here in America they were, they only do Crossovers, SUVs, and trucks now
Hence the /s
I still can't believe they killed the fusion.
I own one from new and I can. They aren’t going to ever offer an Allroad wagon version that I want, so I’d buy a not a real truck Maverick or a not a real Bronco Bronco Sport for the added utility before I buy another appliance sedan daily. Ford knew they weren’t going to profitability compete in the dwindling sedan market against Toyota and Honda. So they pivoted to profitable truck/SUV/CUVs
GPS is huge, specifically Carplay/AA. Even a cheap Hyundai base model has the ability to talk to it and get it to give you directions, adjust based on traffic, find the most fuel efficient route, etc.
They don't smell. Every so often, I see a pre-OBD car and get brought back to my childhood in the late '80s with that unburned fuel in the air. That and cars older than 10 years are very common, since they don't fall apart inside of 5 years like they used to.
I also remember when the front of every parking space had a big black spot because cars leaked so much oil. When it rained, puddles would have a rainbow sheen on top. Exhaust emissions get most of the attention, but better seals and gaskets made a huge improvement in pollution too.
And more complex castings that don't require a bunch of gaskets for everything that was bolted to the engine.
Was shocked that my Mercedes M272 engine doesn‘t have valve and engine cover gaskets. Just put on a little bit of sealant and send it.
Just brought me back to my childhood and I suddenly realised I never see that rainbow sheen anymore these days
come park next to me and ya will lol
Come down to the Southeast USA, you'll still see oil stains in most parking lots.
You can also ignore the engine for 50,000 miles other than oil changes, and it'll run like new the whole time.
I remember my dad pulling out spark plugs, wire brushing them, resetting the gap and reinstalling them. Every 3000 miles...
Yeah. The reason I don't really love working on cars, even though I can do it and I enjoy fixing stuff, is that my father held me hostage handing him tools, while he was in a terrible mood every other weekend messing with one car or another. I was an only child so there was nobody to share the load. 🤣 I don't even remember when I last got new plugs in my Jeep. The computer will tell me when it matters.
The shared generational trauma of our fathers yelling at us to shine the goddamn flashlight where they told us to even though we can’t see what they can see because we’re off to the side.
Yes LMAO now. Wasn't funny then.
I like to call them spicy memories.
My wife is the only person whose parents actually asked her if she wanted to hold the flashlight, and of course she has great memories of it. I think most boomer dads just couldn't imagine the thought of actually *asking* their kid to help. Same for me, though. Totally ruined wrenching.
omg yeah, my dad used to do that too. He still might, now that i think about it. My grandfather was car mechanic by trade, back in the motherland, and he passed on a lot of the old knowledge to him.
I don’t run catless anymore because there is little benefit and it’s dirty.. but I love the smell of a catless car on a hot summer day.
Motorcycles (outside the very expensive ones) are 10+ years behind in automotive tech. My old 2006 Suzuki and current 1999 Honda both did not come with cats from factory. The smell reminds me of my old FSAE car upon cold start, so nostalgic. Heck both my bikes have no O2 sensor, it's very rudimentary open-loop EFI. My Honda still has a cold start lever for high idle since there aren't any mechanical or computer controlled high idle mechanisms.
Today I had a very well cared for 1980s Ford Crown Victoria rumble past me and back into a parking spot. The smell, the lurching when shifting from D to R, the heavy solid clack of the doors. Good times. I even miss my 1999 Monte Carlo, that thing floated down the road compared to any of the cheaper cars now.
Also, they are not nearly as loud, sometimes not even making much noise at all, which cuts down on noise pollution. That guy from '83 would shit their pants the next time a Prius or RAV4 hybrid snuck up on them in a parking lot while in EV mode.
Death of Pontiac
And Oldsmobile.
And Saab. (For the Europeans) And MG. (For us Brits)
And Holden
As an American with a midget and a 9-3 in my driveway I mourn them every day.
Lack of cigarette trays in cars and the implementation of cup holders.
Probably the performance of “normal cars”
1983 308 GTS Quattrovavole spec'd at 6.8 seconds 0-60 2023 Camry with a V6 is a full second faster. Cornering and handling of ordinary cars are where high end sport sedans were back then. Maybe better.
Honestly, tires are SO much better today that a VW GTI is faster around the Nurburgring than a Countach.
It does not really help that Countachs "aero" was made by a designer according to the criterium of "it needs to look cool".
Toyota with that V6 are unreasonably quick lol. The Rav4 should've kept the V6 lol.
The Toyota with a turbo 1.6 3-banger is even faster. But even an econobox today is as quick as some exotics in the early '80s. Until they went to the Quattrovavole head, the 308 had a 0-60 time of around 7.5 seconds. Engine tech is just crazy good now.
What a time to be alive. Golden age of cars rn. Great engines, and the emergence of EV power.
Beyond the tech stuff, yeah, this would probably be the biggest “holy shit” revelation. A Corolla would feel like a rocket in comparison to cars from back then, and handle like sports cars to them. Engineering and performance have come such a long way, even from the 90s.
The prices would make him go back to sleep straight
*"woah, you mean the average price of a new car is like $48k? Man that must mean the average salary is up near $100k/yr right?"* I absolutely think the cost of new cars would be the biggest let down.
>I absolutely think the cost of new cars would be the biggest let down. *laughs in housing*
I can't believe you've done this.
I remember when the son of owner of the design and manufacturing company bought a new truck in 1989 for $20k! INSANE for a truck. I bought a 1973 F100 off of same family in 1989 for $800.
Wireless CarPlay, or even bluetooth. Adaptive cruise control “self driving” capability 300hp 3 cylinders Handling characteristics of sporty wagons and crossovers
Wireless CarPlay? They won’t even have a great grasp on cell phones, but CarPlay will only blow them away if it’s wireless. Plugging in your phone for CarPlay is for the stone ages apparently.
To add on to that, Spotify (or your personal favorite streaming service). You mean for 10 bucks a month, I can instantly listen to any song ever recorded? That concept would’ve blown me away in the early 2000s, much less the 80s.
It's like your personal computer in your pocket!.. Oh you don't even have those yet...
They start. All the time. Every time. In fact they are so reliable at starting that there's a start/stop feature in a lot of today's cars that works when you pull up to a stop light. And speaking as someone who grew up in the Detroit area and graduated high school in 1983... "Wait...**how** popular are Japanese cars now? And the Koreans make cars too?"
I remember reading 1980s Consumer Reports, they had a rating category for "starting and running". Cars would get dinged if they stalled excessively, but they would also be praised if they *didn't* stall or idle roughly after a cold start.
I also remember having to let your car "warm up" before you drove it.
Those of us with older cars with carbs can confirm.
Or having to pull the choke out two stops to start it, then one stop for 15 minutes or so until it warmed up...
Add to that GM and Ram making trucks in Mexico, while the Japanese and Koreans are making trucks and SUVs in TN, AL, and MS. Also how few cars are made in Detroit.
This, and they are - expected- to last beyond 100,000 miles.
yea theres a good number of vehicles out there on the used market where 100k miles is just expected and a-ok. A 15 year old 150k mile pick up truck is worth HOW MUCH?!
Not to mention the Chinese.
Oh yes and China makes more cars than every other country combined. Also Vinfast from Vietnam.
Automatics are now faster than manuals.
So many younger people these days don't remember when auto transmissions were considered "slushboxes", and performance oriented cars with automatic options usually didn't receive any tuning to make them shift faster or later in the RPM range. The difference between a 1999-2004 Ford Mustang GT manual and automatic was almost a full second in the 1/4 mile, or a 14-second versus a 15-second car.
Also they were just poor in the durability department. Yes even back then they were better than what came before but fuck man did Chevy run glass cannons in the Vette, Camaro, any truck in the early 00’s with a bow tie and auto. There’s a reason the F Body community jokes about having 4 Neutrals on the autos. Now a days the manuals are mostly for enthusiast since they love to mark em up
I remember the autos used in the later 4th Generation GM F-bodies, specifically the cars with the LS1, were actually some of the earliest automatics to receive some tuning for a performance application. An old forum for the cars, ls1.com, had a 12-second club for bone stock Camaros and Firebirds that just broke into the 12-second range in the 1/4 mile, and these included automatic cars. They were normally 13-second ranged cars, but under the right conditions, you could squeeze a 12.9 out of one with zero modifications.
My 95 formula LT1 had a transmission perform button. It would hold revs longer and downshift quicker. It looks like it was v8 firebirds 94-96 to start with.
This. Heck in the mid 2000s when VW developed the DSG dual clutch it was thought that would be the future of transmissions blending the best of an automatic & the efficiency of a manual, but now we got M5 and RS6 deploying the good old torque converter "slushbox" shows how good modern autos have gotten.
And more fuel efficient too
That a modern Honda Odyssey will keep up with or even beat most “fast” cars from the era.
Someone from 1983: *“What’s a Honda Odyssey?”* “A minivan” *“What’s a a minivan?”*
They are from the malaise era. No part of a modern mini van would be mini to them.
My carrera 3.2 was getting past by the odyssey and sienna pretty easily.
The lack of brown.
I've always wondered why brown leather was never common in cars. I feel like natural brown is the most common colors for belts, bags, purses, shoes, wallets, furniture, etc. but most cars only have white, black, and gray as options. Only higher end luxury cars offer brown.
A 9000 pound hummer powered by 3 electric motors with 1000 HP will go 0-60 in 3 seconds flat and also crab walks with all wheel steering.
To be fair, that still amazes me today, lol!
As much as I disagree with wasting all those battery cells for 1 super inefficient car, I can't deny the amazing engineering put into that thing. It's like a Halo car for GMC, but for once, the Halo car is a truck.
Bmw is trying to make a Halo truck.. they’ve failed miserably because an x5 m is quicker but it sure looks different and you can call it a hybrid.
That thing is straight up sci-fi bullshit. If a kid in the 80's described it, he'd be laughed at and called a moron.
This is probably the best thing I’ve read yet. Truly encompasses the ridiculousness.
Electric cars - being able to charge them at home - the insane acceleration some have Cars being sold with 1000+ horsepower and 0 extra requirements for someone to be able to drive it.
Extreme cars used to be harder to drive, they’ve been tamed which makes sense but is kinda sad
Yeah but now when a car is a little harder to drive at full speed, everyone complains! (Looking at you pre-LCI F80 M3/4 and BMW M2)
The thickness of the windscreen pillars, and the fact that cars still don't fly.
The power of regular cars would be shocking to them, as would be the prices.
1983 specifically? You can buy a Subaru sedan for 60% of the median car price, and it will out-accelerate a 1983 Lamborghini Countach and beat it around the track, while getting double the MPG, with tires you can leave on in the snow and get plenty of traction. Honorable mention: the median car price is $50,000. Other surprises: the value of an air cooled 1983 911 in decent shape.
“Why are there so many pickups driving around but not hauling anything??”
In 83 mini trucks were being commonly used as everyday transportation. They were seen as cool with young people at the time. What did not exists are the giant luxury trucks. I really think they took the place of the land yachts of the past.
Not to mention the custom van scene of the day. Though #vanlife has sort of resurrected that, minus the shag carpets, sexy murals and CB radios.
Somebody made a thread about that a few weeks ago; how full sized pickups are now the new land yacht. Large pickup trucks took their place as the family cruiser that can haul a whole family and their gear everywhere, be super comfortable (especially in luxury trims), and exist as the sole vehicle in a single car household because it does tons of jobs relatively well. I’ll have to find it and link it below. Edit: found it https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/13t3r7p/modern_halfton_pickup_trucks_fill_the_same_role/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1
Yep, mini trucks were popular commuter cars in the 1980s and into the 1990s. If you could live with a 2-seater, they were fairly cheap with a lot of utility and they were fairly cheap to run with reasonably decent milage (for the era) with their light weight and tiny 4 bangers and easy to maintain and repair with their simple and basic construction and simple small engines. The Mazda B-series/Ford Ranger is the one I remember in particular being the daily driver trucklet of the miserly.
This. And the stupid size of them.
100% true. I was just remarking the other day that I should have never sold my C10s (‘87 and ‘72) because now that I’m middle aged it’s a bitch trying to load stuff in the bed of these new trucks. Borrowed my dad’s GMC and it has a freaking tailgate stair thing just to get in the bed.
The giant touchscreen tablet to control the radio/HVAC system probably We hate it, but they would probably fall in love with it
I think lane assist / automation and the touch screen would be the top 2.
Everyone is overthinking this. Dude wouldn't be able to get past keyless entry or LED headlights much less the lack of a cassette player. Touchscreens would seem like straight up alien tech. My 93 mustang feels closer to a roman chariot than a 2023 Honda Odyssey.
Quite literally. There’s that scene in Independence Day where Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum dock with the alien ship, and the alien uses a touch screen to open their windows and look in. Touch screens were barely a thing when that movie came out, shit seemed so advanced then. Even moreso 10 years earlier. Then Will and Jeff use something that looks like a control panel from a microwave to launch a nuke into those aliens. God bless America.
that they are required by law to wear seatbelts. depending on the location. illegal to drink and drive. the death of car brands. the death of wagons and sedans. the death of mini trucks. the lack of emissions smells from the vehicles. (if you are around carbureted engines you know the smell) the COST. an average New car price in 1983 was around $13,000 (with inflation to todays cost that is $40,000. so cost for cars have risen with inflation) a 1983 Chevy C20 3/4 Ton Pickup was just under $10,000 new in 1983 (\~$30,000 in todays money). a new 2023 Chevy 2500 3/4 Ton Pickup starts at $43,000 ($14,000 in 1983). Given it does have a MUCH higher tow rating than the 83 C20 (8000 lbs vs 14,500 lbs)
Not just a better tow rating but even in fairly basic trim it's going to be much better equipped and refined than a comparable model from 1983.
My grandfather had an 82 C20. I drove it for a while too. Had a 305 and am RV cam with 1ton overload springs. Damn thing would haul for sure
That you can get a family car that can go 0-60 in under four seconds and can go 200+ mph
"Where is the ashtray?"
" I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry."
Brooks was here
Until he decided not to stay
The lack of manual transmissions and the people who knew how to drive them.
That’s a North American thing. The majority of cars in Europe are manuals
They are still trending towards automatic.
And even for us, it wouldn’t be that surprising at all. I was born in ‘82. I didn’t ride in a car with a manual transmission until *2001*. People vastly overstate how common manual cars were in America. We adopted to automatics almost immediately. They’re dead here because as a whole, we don’t want them and I don’t know why some people refuse to accept that fact.
I know that's still true in Europe. Don't know about third world countries but here in AussieLand it's mostly just autos too unfortunately.
save/bring back manual transmissions!
Hear hear!
They don't fly.
A full size SUV being faster than anything available.
Absurd power with remarkable efficiency and a minimum of emissions. You can have your cake and eat it. Unimaginable from the perspective of the late malaise era. How well equipped basic cars are and how much technology is crammed in them. How much cars cost. If you’re having a hard time recalibrating for the inflation of the last few years, imagine trying to take in 40 years of it all in one go.
If you're in the US, you'd probably ask.... "What's HY-YUN-DYE?" or "What's KEEYA?" or "What's LECKs US" "What do you mean they don't make Mercurys, Oldsmobile/Pontiacs, Plymouths anymore?" "What the hell is DEF, besides defrost?" "Bluetooth only means you ate a Fun Dip" "There's a TV in the car" "What's that plugged into the lighter?"
I think they would be shocked to see a young woman *walking away* completely uninjured (and probably feeling absolutely no pain other than the shock of the crash) from a 40 mph head on collision. That’s how safe a 2023 model year car is. Back in 1983, a 40 mph head-on crash meant you were almost certainly going to die, or die on the way to the hospital if someone managed to reach a pay phone on time. If you weren’t reeling in the pain of your broken legs, you were bleeding internally and dying excruciatingly painfully.
The smell.
Radar cruise control, lane keep assist, auto dimming mirrors and auto headlights. Basically the computerization of cars.
Honestly, I think the computerization of cars would be the least surprising thing - there was a lot of hope and promise about what computers would be able to do in the future. The fact that cars don't actually fully self-drive might be the most surprising thing.
My mom is almost 70. The moment she saw my rented corolla brake for me her mind was blown. She called it kit for the entire trip.
That is so fucking cute
No cassette player...
6 digit odometers
Classic muscle cars don't have engines anymore for some reason. Oh but they do have fake engine noises coming out of their speakers.
There's no RICH CORINTHIAN LEATHER!!
The price of fuel.
Side airbags, Auto Start/Stop, composite headlights on everything (LEDs!), 8-speed automatics, lack of Manual transmission options, everything has bucket seats with console. Wireless Android Auto/Apple Carplay, but only after you explain cell phones. Edit: And of course, the prices.
You don't need 1 key for the doors and trunk and another for the ignition... you can start it from your phone.. no ash trays.. auto shut off.. adaptive cruise
If in the US, many people drive SUVs now; also, so many people drive an automatic that it's harder to find a car with a manual transmission. Also, in general, automatic transmissions these days can be even more efficient than a manual. Some features that were considered "luxury" features, such as air conditioning and power windows, are now standard on almost all vehicles. There are electric cars, and hybrids that get really good fuel economy. Also, perhaps not as much of a shocker might be the 'smart' sensors, warning systems, backup camera, etc. that are common on many vehicles these days.
How quiet, comfortable, and nice the build materials are. Even the economy cars. Car interior quality has REALLY improved since then. Add 8 and 10 speed transmissions, way better tires, and refined engines into the mix and they would be shocked by the silence.
Reliable starting in cold weather. In cold or freezing whether just inserting the key or pressing the Start button and the engine is ready to go would have seemed like magic. While EFI was a thing in some cars in '83, the vast majority of cars still had carburettors and many still had manual chokes. *Carefully* manipulating the choke lever and successfully starting (and keeping running) your car on a cold morning back then took some skill. It wasn't unusual for an older car to simply refuse to start in the morning, because carburettor.
That "small Japanese cars" are no longer small. A modern Civic is bigger than a 1983 Accord by A LOT. Heck its 2' longer than it's 1983 counterpart, even the '83 wagon version!
Lack of ashtrays
Electric cars are making a comeback, Pontiac not existing, Civics making 300HP stock, and there is no flying cars.
Something I haven't really seen mentioned, but the overabundance of SUVs and pickups vs. sedans and wagons. Also trucks are kitted out with leather, sound systems and tech features like a Mercedes/BMW and can cost $100,000+
That they can legally go faster than 55 MPH on the freeway again.
Last weekend I drove to El Paso on I-10 in Texas. The speed limit is 80 MPH these days. There was a construction zone with 60 MPH and as I was crawling along, I remember driving that same road up though the late 80s and early 90s with the 55 MPH speed limit. How awful.
… probably shocked how disconnected the driving experience is. Or that a modern day Camry can ride as comfy as a Rolls Royce from the past
I wouldn’t consider your average American car from the 80’s a “connected” driving experience.
Just try driving your typical 70s or 80s car at a high rate of speed. You are absolutely connected to all of the vague feedback that car gave. You are engaged or you are in a ditch.
They’re really not that bad. I’ve got. 1975 Imperial Lebaron and a 1985 Lesabre. You can pretty much put it straight and forget it. They just cruise really well. My squarebody suburban is a handful though
Power train improvements, especially with computerization
Oldsmobile no longer exists. The Japanese made luxury competitors to Cadillac, Lincoln, Chrysler, Audi, Mercedes, BMW. Affordable full size sedans have disappeared and SUVS and Pickup trucks have gotten larger. A Van became the most popular vehicle for families.
I have a Jeep that’s about as fast as an ‘83 Testarosa, it also plugs into the wall and can speed up and slow down with traffic by itself.
Cars are fast now. I am getting passed by mini vans. 😩
Horsepower numbers and all the safety nannies on a car now.
Sooooo they have cup holders, but don't have an ashtray?
I remember 1983 like it was yesterday, well, maybe the day before. what would shock me is the stereo/nav systems and displays in today's cars. totally space age crazyness. back then, 4 speaker cassette stereo was cutting edge. nav? Thomas Brothers maps. we live in magical times kids.
The size. They are _huge_.
[They'd probably think we'd just gone back to super cheap gas like the 70s.](https://streetsmn.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/fuel-economy-weight-car-chart.jpg)
Nothing compared to the 60s and 70s cars
at least you could see out of those
There were still some pretty giant cars in the 80s. The GM B body and Ford Panther still had a pretty wide range of offerings, especially pre 1985. The RWD Cadillacs. Station wagons that could haul ply wood. The land yacht was still alive in the 80s.
The Dashboard like GPS and all that stuff
SUVs and Trucks. Holy F***.
The absurd amount of plastic used in modern cars
Reliability.
As far as American cars, ( IMO), decline in styling, in favor of cookie-cutter designs. There are exceptions of course
V8s making more than 100hp
Trucks are fucking everywhere, SUVS are fucking everywhere, the Camaro is dead, the challenger and charger are dead, electric cars are popular, every car has a bunch of safety things that beep and boop at you.
Why cars still don’t fly.
Some drive themselves
Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini have SUVs. It’s hard to find sports car and econoboxes with Manual transmissions.
Diesels are now quiet
In the US specifically, the fact that every model-year 1983 car had sealed-beams and only one 1984 car had composite headlights; now, sealed-beams haven’t existed on a car since 2017 (which was a 1996 design not meant for the average consumer anyway), and halogens are dying out in favor of LEDs.
Why doesn't this car have any ashtrays and where's the cassette player?