Tuesday 29 September 2015

44 of the Most Bodacious Car Ads of the 1980s

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1980s Ads Lead


The malaise that was the 1970s dribbled over into the 1980s, with ads touting Corvettes that made all of 190 horsepower, gussied-up econoboxes parading as Cadillacs, and dubious technology such as the Moleculetor promising improvements in fuel economy of up to 23 percent—yours for just $214 (plus $5 shipping)! And there’s John Z. DeLorean hawking Cutty Sark scotch, with nary a kilo of coke in sight. With apologies to Mr. Dickens, it was the worst of times, it was the worster of times.

A few bright spots managed to punch holes through the darkness. Turbocharged engines began to appear under the hoods of a number of cars, including the Datsun Turbo ZX, the Mazda 323 GTX, the Porsche 944 Turbo, the Volvo Turbo, and even the Subaru XT Turbo.

Nascent technologies also made some of their earliest appearances in these pages, with ads for Apple’s Macintosh desktop computer, Panasonic’s TV with a 1.5-inch screen, and the Maxwell Portable Cellular Phone with one hour of talk time for $695. And if the Maxwell was too pricey, you could order a fake “Cellular Fun Phone” and “enjoy the status of owning a car phone for just the fraction of the regular cost.” Cost: $49.95.

The decade couldn’t end soon enough.

(Note: Click or tap an ad to enlarge.)


Pontiac Grand Prix – April 1980

198004-001


The Sharper Image Xernus – June 1980

198006-001


International Harvester Scout – June 1980

198006-002


Mercedes-Benz – July 1980

198007-001


Energy Efficiencies Inc. Moleculetor – September 1980

198009-001


Jeep CJ – October 1980

198010-002


Panasonic TravelVision – October 1980

198010-003


Chevrolet Corvette – December 1980

198012-001


READ MORE: Our Original 1980 Chevrolet Corvette Road Test


Chevrolet Citation X-11 – August 1981

198108-001


Ronrico Rum Sweepstakes – September 1981

198109-001


Jeep Scrambler – October 1981

198110-001


READ MORE: A History of Jeep Pickups: The Lineage Is Longer than You Think


Renault 18i – November 1981

198111-001


Chevrolet Corvette Collector Edition – January 1982

198201-001


READ MORE: 1982 vs. 1962: Last-of-Their-Kind Corvettes


Jeep CJ – February 1982

198202-001


READ MORE: Our Original 1982 Jeep CJ-7 Limited Test


K40 Radar Detector – February 1982

198202-002


De Lorean Motor Company – February 1982

198202-003


READ MORE: De Lorean DMC-12 vs. Corvette, 280ZX, 308GTS, and Porsche 911


Volvo Turbo – February 1982

198202-004


Volkswagen Scirocco – March 1982

198203-001


Cutty Sark Scotch – April 1982

198204-001


Volvo Turbo Wagon– April 1982

198204-002


Alpine Car Audio Systems – June 1982

198206-001


READ MORE: Our Original 1983 Lamborghini Countach 5000S Road Test


Megaforce – June 1982

198206-002


Ford Motor Company – June 1982

198206-003


Datsun Turbo-ZX 5-speed – September 1982

198209-001


Cadillac Cimarron – October 1982

198210-001


Porsche – October 1982

198210-002


Callaway Turbosystems – March 1983

198303-001


Cadillac Cimarron – March 1983

198303-002


SAAB – April 1983

198304-001


Nissan Truck – April 1983

198304-002


Chrysler Laser XE – October 1983

198310-001


Dodge Omni GLH – October 1984

198410-001


READ MORE: Awesome to the Max: C/D‘s Coolest Cars of the 1980s


Apple Macintosh – December 1984

198412-001


Ford Motor Company – November 1985

198511-001


Chevrolet Corvette – July 1986

198607-001


READ MORE: Our Original 1986 Chevrolet Corvette Road Test


Subaru XT Turbo – July 1986

198607-002


READ MORE: Battle of the Winter Beaters: Subaru XT6 vs. Camaro RS, Renault Fuego Turbo


Pioneer DEX-77 – December 1986

198612-001


General Motors Parts – March 1987

198703-001


Daihatsu Charade – February 1988

198802-001


BMW Motorsport Division M-Cars – April 1988

198804-001


READ MORE: Original Tests of the 1987 BMW M6 | 1987 BMW M5 | 1988 BMW M3


Cellular Fun Phone – April 1988

198804-002


Ford Taurus SHO – April 1989

198904-001


READ MORE: Our Original 1989 Ford Taurus SHO Road Test


Maxwell Portable Cellular Phone – April 1989

198904-002


Isuzu Amigo – June 1989

198906-001



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