What was the best road car of the early eighties?

I assumed "road car" = "vehicle for clicking off miles".

The Grand National is pretty hard to argue with

a friend of mine has a '81 928, i gotta say if i didn't know it was early 80's i would've thought it was MUCH newer. very nice car to drive/ride in. The front seats, anyway.

In reply to NickD:

That's late-80's and the car had advanced a lot by then. Early '80's Turbo Regals were using draw-through carb setups with an offset Quadrajet. I've never driven one and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything either.

Honestly, out of the early-80's G-body cars, I figure a Hurst Olds Cutlass is about the closest we got to a 6-series fighter, because they had instant torque and a bit nicer interiors than the rest of their platform mates. And the Hurst cars had the cool shifter.

In reply to pres589:

84 was the start of sequential fuel injection. I would argue that 84 is early 80's and therefore your reasoning is invalid.

In reply to Nick (Not-Stig) Comstock:

k

Wallie wrote: In reply to Streetwiseguy: Very close: With a 350 and cop car suspension it will probably run with many of the cars on this page and be comfortable and reliable while doing it.

Almost. The best of the 80s for eating up the miles is this of course:

By far the most comfortable car I've ever been in. It would eat interstate miles like nothing else.

Toyman01 wrote:

Wallie wrote: In reply to Streetwiseguy: Very close: With a 350 and cop car suspension it will probably run with many of the cars on this page and be comfortable and reliable while doing it.

Almost. The best of the 80s for eating up the miles is this of course: By far the most comfortable car I've ever been in. It would eat interstate miles like nothing else.

When I think of the term "Road Car" I can't help but think of a GT car. It should have a little something special over a regular car. Not quite race car territory but something above the level of a regular car.

Those two don't really meet those conditions for me. There are lots of cars in this thread that do, but those don't.

In reply to Nick (Not-Stig) Comstock:

I think of road car just that. A car to take long road trips in comfort.

I own a mid 80s German GT car, the 635csi mentioned earlier in this thread. They aren't that impressive. The Town Car drives just as well, has a more modern climate control system, better electronics, better ride, better upholstery, better just about everything except handling in the twisties. I'd much rather have my mid 80s Town Car again for a road trip.

In reply to Toyman01:

Everybody comes at it from a different viewpoint. That's what makes this question impossible to answer. But going on your definition and having spent a lot of time sliding from one side to the other of an extremely armor all'd rear seat of one in the early 80's. I'll have to go with

In reply to Nick (Not-Stig) Comstock:

You are correct. And that Caddy would do nicely.

My personal choice would be this. 1983 so I still call that an early 80's car

Or if I had more cocaine money to burn:

I'd say whatever one is the least rusty at this point

Although I posted a lot of Group II/IV/B cars, they were all the street version. Many have posted XJS's including myself and it certainly the perfect long distance GT. My parents had one and took several continental trips in it (Don't forget I'm an ex pat Brit so I mean leaving England and heading across Europe) It's the perfect long distance mile eater. Theirs was the AJ6 with 5 speed manual and nothing ever went wrong with it so don't try and claim Lucas Lord of darkness on me.

NickD wrote: The Grand National is pretty hard to argue with

I love GNs, but this isn't the one. This pic is of an 85, which were ok, but not fast. You want to look for the high mounted brake light, which appeared in 1986--- that's when they got the intercooler, and got truly quick. Back in the mid 80's you learned to look for that light before picking a fight. The difference was pretty huge--- 15.5 1/4 mile vs. 14.0 1/4 mile.

They are all pretty cool though

I'd say it would be hard to make a case against the front engine Porsches.

Porsche 959 was 1986. Testarosa was 1984. F40 was 1987. Heck, even the MR2 was 1985. All the good cars were in the late 80's.

The 512BB faded fast once the Testarossa and F-40 hit the scene, but it was no slouch. It bridged the 70s to 80s nicely. It would be my pick for performance.

For passenger cars, the W126 Mercedes platform was probably the best car in terms of innovation and safety.

I love the cars from the 80's. We've got three 928's.

1989 928 S4

1988 928 S4

1984 Porsche 928 wide body built by DP Motorsports

Nick (LUCAS) Comstock wrote: In reply to Toyman01: Everybody comes at it from a different viewpoint. That's what makes this question impossible to answer. But going on your definition and having spent a lot of time sliding from one side to the other of an extremely armor all'd rear seat of one in the early 80's. I'll have to go with

I had one of these. Nice car except for the high tech???? 4.1 liter engine and probaby 5200 lbs for it to push. It was sad 0 to 60 was like 22 seconds, if you where going down hill.

Would I buy another ? Yep.

Because sometimes the best option is to get to a better decade for cars

lrrs wrote:

Nick (LUCAS) Comstock wrote: In reply to Toyman01: Everybody comes at it from a different viewpoint. That's what makes this question impossible to answer. But going on your definition and having spent a lot of time sliding from one side to the other of an extremely armor all'd rear seat of one in the early 80's. I'll have to go with

I had one of these. Nice car except for the high tech???? 4.1 liter engine and probaby 5200 lbs for it to push. It was sad 0 to 60 was like 22 seconds, if you where going down hill. Would I buy another ? Yep.

I had a Fleetwood brougham version of that car. Loved that thing.

My dad drove a Celica in the early 80's and thought highly of it.

Of course, he traded it in for a Cimarron, so I don't know how much I should trust his opinion.

The 928 would certainly be on the short list.