{"id":360380,"date":"2020-03-03T19:02:50","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T19:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/?page_id=360380"},"modified":"2025-01-05T14:41:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-05T14:41:13","slug":"1980s-cars","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/cars-by-decade\/1980s-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"1980s Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"

1980s Cars<\/span><\/h1>\n

<\/p>\n

1980s Cars \u2013 A Time Of Excess, Big Industry Changes & The Rise Of Japanese Carmakers<\/h2>\n

The eighties took things to the next level in term of automotive design, quality and performance. The U.S market has also changed, with American automobiles being outsold by imports, notably Japanese cars. In the early 1980s Chrysler lost $1.7 billion in a single year; Ford lost $1.5 billion and GM $763 million. It was a reality that the Big Three had to face and the truth was hard to swallow. The Japanese, whose products were being derided by Americans a generation before, had done their homework and were producing cars that outperform American-made ones. It was a slow process that produced reliable, quality cars. In the early 1950s, Japanese automakers visited American plants. They learned what they had from American plants, absorbed the technology and then adapted it to fit their own society. They created massive auto factories where work was broken down into specific operations carried out by teams working together.<\/span><\/p>\n

Automobile Model List (1980 – 1989)<\/h2>\n

The 1980s saw a resurgence of performance and technology in the automotive world, as turbocharging became widespread, computer controls entered the scene, and iconic sports cars like the Ferrari F40 and Porsche 959 emerged. This era also saw the rise of Japanese automakers, who challenged established brands with reliable and fuel-efficient models, forever changing the global automotive landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n

1980s U.S Car Makers<\/h2>\n

In the early 1950s, Japanese automakers visited American plants. They learned what they had from American plants, absorbed the technology and then adapted it to fit their own society. They created massive auto factories where work was broken down into specific operations carried out by teams working together. This was a departure from the way Americans produce their cars.<\/span><\/p>\n

1980s European & Asian Car Makers<\/h2>\n

The 80s car imports were dominated by Japanese made cars. Compared to American cars which were perceived as of lower quality with large engines that were not economical with gasoline, cars that were produced by Toyota, Datsun, and Honda, were well-built and came with engines that were fuel-efficient.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, they came at a lower price. No wonder that one out of every four cars sold in 1980 were imports. With the oil crisis triggered by OPEC\u2019s decision to curtail production in 1979, the price of crude went up. Whereas prior to the oil crisis American loved big cars, now the focus of American buyers went to fuel economy. Several other countries vied for the American market: Korea, France, Sweden, Germany, and last but not least, Yugoslavia with its Yugo, not only the worst 1980s imported cars but of all time.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1980s Cars 1980s Cars \u2013 A Time Of Excess, Big Industry Changes & The Rise Of Japanese Carmakers The eighties took things to the next level in term of automotive design, quality and performance. The U.S market has also changed, with American automobiles being outsold by imports, notably Japanese cars. In the early 1980s Chrysler lost $1.7 billion in a single year; Ford lost $1.5 billion and GM $763 million. It was a reality that the Big Three had to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":360920,"parent":353572,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-360380","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n1980s Cars - The Ultimate Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"1980s cars were forced to adapt to the reality of the gas crisis which meant Americans shifted tastes to smaller, more reliable, high-mileage imports.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/cars-by-decade\/1980s-cars\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"1980s Cars - The Ultimate Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"1980s cars were forced to adapt to the reality of the gas crisis which meant Americans shifted tastes to smaller, more reliable, high-mileage imports.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/cars-by-decade\/1980s-cars\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Supercars.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Supercars.net\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-05T14:41:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/1980s-Cars.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"644\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@supercars_net\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/cars-by-decade\\\/1980s-cars\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/cars-by-decade\\\/1980s-cars\\\/\",\"name\":\"1980s Cars - 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