Do you ever see 80s or 90s American cars on the road?
- Thread starter krismoriah72
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I’m in the rust belt but still see tons of K cars, Buick Centuries, Original Gen Saturns and old Chevy Cavaliers
Far more of them now then when they were new.
Also tons of the utterly useless PT Cruisers and Dodge Neons, tons of 90’s dodge trucks
What I always found strange was how they kept them on the road, my vehicles usually no matter what I do rust apart sometime after year 20, in the case of my 82 Suburban it didn’t mechanically matter until year 30 but the drivetrain was still fine just tired of brakes, fuel lines and fuel tanks
Newer vehicles the axles/drivetrain fall apart
around year 20 making the repair even worse especially when you consider you can’t buy better HD aftermarket than OEM and instead can only find weaker garbage replacement parts.
Far more of them now then when they were new.
Also tons of the utterly useless PT Cruisers and Dodge Neons, tons of 90’s dodge trucks
What I always found strange was how they kept them on the road, my vehicles usually no matter what I do rust apart sometime after year 20, in the case of my 82 Suburban it didn’t mechanically matter until year 30 but the drivetrain was still fine just tired of brakes, fuel lines and fuel tanks
Newer vehicles the axles/drivetrain fall apart
around year 20 making the repair even worse especially when you consider you can’t buy better HD aftermarket than OEM and instead can only find weaker garbage replacement parts.I see them as beaters in WV but in Fl there are a lot of old guys with beautiful restored ones.
I still see ton's of them around here. Mostly chevy and Ford trucks but some of the older cars as well. Heck, we have five 90's era vehicles at our house that we drive.
I see a few Fox body Mustangs out there
I see tons of OBS Ford powerstrokes, 12V cummins rams, lots on 1st and 2nd gen 4runners/pickups and some other stuff here and there.
Oh and there is a shop 5 minutes down the road that specializes in land cruisers so i see lots of FJ’s and 100 series.
In fact my neighbor had an OBS powerstroke that he towed his mini Excavator with up until like two years ago. Replaced it with a 2013 Cummins.
Oh and there is a shop 5 minutes down the road that specializes in land cruisers so i see lots of FJ’s and 100 series.
In fact my neighbor had an OBS powerstroke that he towed his mini Excavator with up until like two years ago. Replaced it with a 2013 Cummins.
They are pretty much gone here now for commuting, early 2000's is about as old as I see for anything. Lots of 20 year old Civics, some Foci like mine and some of 08-12's rusting out. Cheap commuters here now are 2010+ Kia's and hyundai's cars, and 2010+ little SUV's. I doubt there more than a handful of cars older than mine in the work parking lot of a couple hundred but we have a lot of women in the office.
The 73-79 trucks never really fell out of favor. Many succumbed to rust in the 80s and 90s, but I remember them being popular, desired trucks all through my childhood. It seemed like the 80-86 trucks were less desired in the late 90s/early 00s, but are now worth just as much as comparable 73-79 trucks.
I drive both of my 90s Explorers frequently. Both got driven yesterday. I drove the 97 today and will probably drive the 94 tomorrow.
Interesting all the mentions of older trucks.... I'm not seeing that at all but that would probably change if I were to drive to a more rural area. The only "older" trucks I see any more belong to those guys that drive around on weekends and pick up scrap metal from people's garbage.
There's a handful of old restored trucks, of course, but I'm generally not seeing those except for going to cruise nights, etc.
There's a handful of old restored trucks, of course, but I'm generally not seeing those except for going to cruise nights, etc.
Around here I see lots of 70s and 80s gm and ford trucks, plus full size gm cars and Camaro's, g bodies from the same era. Some fixed up nice and others just daily drivers like mine or complete beaters. I see them in our city of 150,000 and the smaller town I actually live in, plus the rural areas around us. This is also an area where modern vehicles can rust out completely in 10 years.
Oh and I guess we're including 90s vehicles too...can't go around a corner without seeing at least a couple.
Very few 76-89 or so due to they still have to be smogged or not driven. Japanese cars in the early 80’s with carburetors were not so great passing smog. At least my Honda wasn’t. Never see any 80’s Honda’s or Toyota’s, very very few. They also were used well and now are just used up. I do see collector cars, quite a few, anything before 76 no smog required.
For those interested, Calif has three different smog areas. In more rural areas you could have a 76 Cordoba from new and never have to smog it. It can run like c… and you can modify the engine all you want as long as you don’t sell it.
So all the nice 70 80, 90’s cars that can pass smog one more time can go to areas where they never are smogged again unless sold. Going to be a lot more 70, 80’s cars in those areas.
www.bar.ca.gov
For those interested, Calif has three different smog areas. In more rural areas you could have a 76 Cordoba from new and never have to smog it. It can run like c… and you can modify the engine all you want as long as you don’t sell it.
So all the nice 70 80, 90’s cars that can pass smog one more time can go to areas where they never are smogged again unless sold. Going to be a lot more 70, 80’s cars in those areas.
Smog Check Program Area Lookup - Bureau of Automotive Repair
Lookup a Smog Check Program area by zip code.
www.bar.ca.gov
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Luckily here, they only tested 87+ or something like that up until they dropped the program a couple years ago. Last one I had to get tested was my 89 Caprice with 330k miles. The original cat was not very good and they had to mess with the timing to get it to pass.Very few 76-89 or so due to they still have to be smogged or not driven. Japanese cars in the early 80’s with carburetors were not so great passing smog. At least my Honda wasn’t. Never see any 80’s Honda’s or Toyota’s, very very few. They also were used well and now are just used up. I do see collector cars, quite a few, anything before 76 no smog required.
For those interested, Calif has three different smog areas. In more rural areas you could have a 76 Cordoba from new and never have to smog it. It can run like c… and you can modify the engine all you want as long as you don’t sell it.
So all the nice 70 80, 90’s cars that can pass smog one more time can go to areas where they never are smogged again unless sold. Going to be a lot more 70, 80’s cars in those areas.
Smog Check Program Area Lookup - Bureau of Automotive Repair
Lookup a Smog Check Program area by zip code.
Here in the desert Southwest and Southern California, seeing 30 and 40 year old cars on the road are an everyday occurrence. When I lived in the Midwest, most cars that were driven all year round were junk in 4 or 5 years. Undercarriages were rusted solid, to the point most every mechanic back there had 3 or 4 pneumatic chisels in their tool boxes, with a complete array of tips. They were a must for most ANY exhaust or suspension work. Along with cases of penetrating oil.
All but constant rain, snow, and accompanying road salt destroyed cars in very short order. It was a never ending battle to try and keep a vehicle nice back there. Midwestern weather is a lot like a bad marriage. You don't realize just how bad it is until you get out of it and move somewhere better.
Today, with more Stainless Steel and composite components built into the newer vehicles, this has improved somewhat. But it's still a major factor in vehicle longevity. Sun is the only thing you have to worry about here. And if you have a garage, and covered parking at work, (which is quite common), you're home free.
All but constant rain, snow, and accompanying road salt destroyed cars in very short order. It was a never ending battle to try and keep a vehicle nice back there. Midwestern weather is a lot like a bad marriage. You don't realize just how bad it is until you get out of it and move somewhere better.
Today, with more Stainless Steel and composite components built into the newer vehicles, this has improved somewhat. But it's still a major factor in vehicle longevity. Sun is the only thing you have to worry about here. And if you have a garage, and covered parking at work, (which is quite common), you're home free.
Take a drive through Dorchester (pronounced Daw-ches-tah).
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I do see a lot still. Mainly older trucks except Dodge those are somewhat rare to see cause they always rusted around the fender wells and other places. Seen several older Ford trucks today already. Usually will see older Chrysler mini vans and older Ford Escorts around too from time to time.
That. Sounds. Awesome.
I actually saw the same thing last week. It looked like it came out of a time machine. It certainly stands out amongst so many boring-looking cars. And I saw a new-looking Cutlass Supreme, but it was the 1978-ish version with the ugly taillights not the better 80s version.
I see a decent number of 90s daily beaters. 80s not so much. Most of them probably rusted away.
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