Along with its sedan sister, the Cadillac Coupe de Ville was all-new for the 1985 model. Introduced in April 1984, it moved to front wheel drive and lost significant length, width, and weight compared to its immediate predecessor.
The Coupe de Ville’s powertrain was Cadillac’s 125 bhp HT-4100 4.1 liter/249 ci V8 with throttle body fuel injection paired with a four-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy was 17 city/26 highway by the standards of the day (15/24 by today’s measures). Since the engine and transmission remained essentially the same and the Coupe de Ville was smaller and lighter, performance improved but still not very impressive: 0-60 improved to a little under 12 seconds.
Coupe pages from the 1985 Cadillac de Ville brochure
The 1985 Coupe de Ville’s base price was $18,355—about $57,700 in today’s dollars, or about what a loaded 2026 Cadillac CT5 Premium Luxury sedan goes for. Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included Soft Ray tinted glass, power front disc/rear drum brakes, power rack-and-pinion steering, and P205/75R14 white stripe all-seasons steel-belted radial tires on 14-inch wheels. Inside, a front notch bench seat, electrically powered door locks, electronic climate control, and an ETR AM/FM stereo signal seeking radio with scanner and digital display were included.
Options & Period Reception
Options included firemist paint ($235), aluminum alloy wheels ($429), cruise control ($185), Twilight Sentinel ($79), automatic door locks ($162), and the all-conquering Delco-GM/Bose Symphony Sound System ($895).
The challenge—of course—with downsizing the de Ville was that the target market did not appreciate downsizing. Many thought that the previous downsizing—in 1977—had been quite enough. Reviews from the “buff books” were a general “huh?”. Car and Driver wrote “Could it be that Cadillac is trying too hard to turn its efficient new sedan into an old-school luxocruiser?”
The View From 2026
According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, a 1985 Coupe de Ville in #1/Concours condition is $18,100, while a far more typical #3/Good car goes for $8,200. Coupe de Villes of this age come up for sale regularly in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and Bring a Trailer, so folks are saving them.
The 2026 version of Mecum’s huge annual Kissimmee auction finished on January 18th this year. In the middle of 2021, I gave up trying to chronicle every eighties vehicle sold at any particular auction—there’s often an endless sameness to them. So, I now only write about the cars and trucks that are less seen at auction—and those that sold (a white 1984 Mercedes-Benz 500SEC 5.4 AMG Widebody coupe was a no-sale at $325,000). Here are ten that caught my eye, described in a little more detail than I used to when these surveys were more exhaustive.
1987 Dodge Diplomat, linked from Mecum’s website
[Lot E17] 1987 Dodge DiplomatSE sedan. White with a Dark Red vinyl top and Red cloth 60/40 front seats. LA 140 bhp 5.2 liter/318 ci V8 with a two-barrel carburetor, a three-speed automatic, and an indicated 27,000 miles. A low $4,000 hammer price suggests that folks who appreciate late eighties rear-wheel-drive Mopars may not have been in the room.
1982 AMC Eagle, linked from Mecum’s website
[E191] 1984 AMC EagleLimited wagon. Olympic White/Garnet Metallic two-tone with Honey leather front seats. 110 bhp 4.2 liter/258 ci inline six with a two-barrel carburetor, a three-speed automatic, and an indicated 33,000 miles. $10,500 for one of these Eagles that definitely have an enthusiast following.
1984 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, linked from Mecum’s website
[J47] 1984 Oldsmobile Ninety-EightRegencyBrougham sedan. Dark Sable Brown Metallic with a Dark Sable Brown vinyl top and a Sable Brown divided front cloth seat (plenty of brown here). LV2 140 bhp 5.0.liter/307 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, a four-speed automatic, and an indicated 5,800 miles. $11,000 doesn’t seem like a lot of money for this lovingly kept Olds.
1983 Rolls-Royce Corniche, linked from Mecum’s website
[K231] 1983 Rolls-Royce Corniche IDrophead Coupe. Blue with a gray convertible top and blue leather front seats. L410 237 bhp 6.75 liter/411 ci V8 with fuel injection, a three-speed automatic, and an indicated 100,000 miles (this Corniche was enjoyed). $35,000 for a car I should probably write about at some point—I wrote about the concurrent Silver Spirit last year.
1985 Chevrolet Camaro interior, courtesy of Mecum
[M221] 1985 Chevrolet CamaroSport Coupe hatchback. An unmodified third-generation Sport Coupe is now as rare as hen’s teeth, but Mecum had one this year. Black with Red standard cloth bucket seats (no fancy Custom interior here). LB8 135 bhp 2.8 liter/173 ci V6 with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and an indicated 3,700 miles. $6,000 shows the limits of the market for mid-eighties Camaros that are not Z28s or IROC-Zs, even with impressively low miles. I have written about the 1984 Sport Coupe.
1985 Toyota Celica, linked from Mecum’s website
[G269.1] 1985 Toyota CelicaGT-S convertible. White with a black convertible top and gray cloth front bucket seats. 22R-E 113 bhp 2.4 liter/144 ci inline four with fuel injection, a four-speed automatic, and an indicated 151,000 miles. $11,500 for a final year example of the third-generation Celica.
1984 Dodge Daytona, courtesy of Mecum
[T22] 1984 Dodge DaytonaTurbo Z hatchback coupe. Gunmetal Blue Pearl Coat/Black two-tone with gray cloth front bucket seats. Turbo I 142 bhp 2.2 liter/135 ci inline four with fuel injection and a turbocharger, a five-speed manual, and an indicated 5,100 miles. $12,000 for this top-of-the-line first-year Daytona that I have written about.
1980 Chevrolet Corvette, linked from Mecum’s website
[T292] 1980 Chevrolet CorvetteDuntov Turbo convertible. Red with a black convertible top and red leather/gray cloth front bucket seats. 300 bhp (estimated) 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor and a turbocharger, a four-speed automatic, and an indicated 15,000 miles. $35,000 for this rare Corvette—American Custom Industries made 86.
1983 Jeep Wagoneer Limited SUV, photo courtesy of Mecum
[T358] 1983 Jeep WagoneerLimited SUV. Topaz Gold Metallic with woodgrain side panels and nutmeg leather front bucket seats. AMC 175 bhp 5.9 liter/360 ci V8 with a two-barrel carburetor, a three-speed automatic, Selec-Trac four-wheel-drive, and an indicated 35,000 miles. An impressive $80,000 for this Wagonmaster-refurbished Wagoneer.
1980 BMW M1, linked from Mecum’s website
[S174] 1980 BMW M1 coupe. White with BMW Motorsport tri-color stripes and blue leather front bucket seats. M88 273 bhp 3.5 liter/211 ci inline six with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and an indicated 20,000 kilometers. $700,000 for this car, once owned by F1 champion Niki Lauda—which may be why it sold for more than Hagerty #1/Concours money.
Ford’s Thunderbird personal luxury coupe was all new for 1989. The twelfth-generation ‘Bird was code-named MN12 and cost over a billion dollars to develop.
The standard Thunderbird’s powertrain was an Essex 140 bhp 3.8 liter/232 ci V6 with electronic sequential multi-port fuel injection paired with an automatic overdrive transmission. The Super Coupe‘s powertrain was an Essex 210 bhp 3.8 liter/232 ci V6 with a supercharger, an intercooler, and electronic sequential multi-port fuel injection paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. The automatic overdrive transmission was an option for the Super Coupe.
Page from the 1989 Ford Thunderbird brochure
The Thunderbird Standard‘s base price was $14,612. Exterior and mechanical equipment included tinted glass, power rack-and-pinion steering, power front disc/rear drum brakes, and P205/70R15 black sidewall tires on 15-inch stamped steel wheels. Inside, cloth front bucket seats with recliners, a full-length console with floor-mounted shift, air conditioning, and an electronic AM/FM stereo search radio with a digital clock were included.
Moving up to the $16,817 LX added speed-sensitive power steering, Luxury cloth front bucket seats with recliners, a six-way power driver’s seat, Luxury door trim and carpeting, and the power lock group.
The top-of-the-line Super Coupe ($19,823) included fog lamps, dual exhausts, a Traction-Lok rear axle, four-wheel disc brakes with an anti-lock braking system, and Goodyear Eagle P225/60VR16 performance tires on 16-inch cast aluminum wheels. Inside, articulated sport seats with power lumbar and power seat back bolster adjustments, a Sport soft-feel steering wheel, and performance instrumentation were included.
Packages, Options, Production Numbers, & Period Reviews
Each 1989 Thunderbird model offered a Preferred Equipment Package:
151A was for the Standard coupe and cost $1,235. It included bright window moldings, styled road wheel covers, a six-way power driver’s seat, a tilt steering wheel, dual electric remote-control mirrors, a rear window defroster, speed control, the power lock group, the Luxury light/convenience group, and an electronic AM/FM stereo search radio with a cassette tape player
162A was for the LX coupe and cost $735. It included P215/70R15 tires, aluminum wheels, a six-way power front passenger’s seat, front floor mats, a rear window defroster, a keyless entry system, the Luxury light/convenience group, and an electronic Premium cassette radio with Premium sound and a power radio antenna
157A was for the Super Coupe and cost $1,327. It included a six-way power driver’s seat, a tilt steering wheel, a rear window defroster, speed control, the power lock group, and an electronic AM/FM stereo search radio with a cassette tape player
Individual options for all versions of the Thunderbird included clearcoat paint ($163), a power moonroof ($841), an anti-theft system ($183), a Ford JBL Audio System ($488), and a compact disc player ($491).
Ford sold 122,909 Thunderbirds in the 1989 model year, with about 11% being the Super Coupe. 63% of the Super Coupe versions came with a manual transmission. The 1989 Thunderbird Super Coupe won Motor Trend‘s Car of the Year award, and MotorWeek designated it as their best sports coupe. Many buff books mentioned the Thunderbird’s similarity to largeBMWcoupes.
The View From 2025
These Thunderbirds often appear for sale in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring a Trailer. As I write this blog entry in January 2026, there’s a Twilight Blue Clearcoat Metallic 1989 coupe with shadow blue cloth bucket seats and 10,000 miles for sale on Hemmings, asking $30,000.
2025 was a good year for Eighties Cars, with page views up a substantial 91% over 2024. We managed an all-time high of 76 new blog entries in 2025—one every five days on average.
Post counts were divided into 66 featuring a specific car, 4 covering auctions, and 6 miscellaneous posts. Three marques made their first appearance in a specific post in 2025—Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, and Yugo. You cannot say that we don’t discuss a wide range of vehicles on Eighties Cars …
I look at the end-of-year results for the blog’s most-viewed posts every December. For 2025, it once again looked like the key to an individual post’s popularity was often in the rarity of the other coverage available for that particular vehicle. We’ll discuss this year’s top ten most-viewed posts in reverse order.
9) 1989 Chevrolet Celebrity sedan—this 2016 post, which was inspired by a work colleague’s Celebrity, returned to the top ten after a five-year pause. Most Celebrity coverage I have seen is about the sporty Eurosport version, not the far better selling base car.
7) 1980 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ coupe—a relatively recent post from early 2022 shows some staying power. Down three spots in 2025 for Pontiac’s final SJ version of the Grand Prix.
6) 1985 Buick Somerset Regal coupe—this post has been picked up by other websites a few times, including in 2018 by Jalopnik. Hilariously, I’m not sure I would have ever gotten around to writing about the Somerset Regal if I hadn’t seen one on the streets of Philadelphia back in 2014. Down three steps this year, this post is the fourth most popular entry since Eighties Cars debuted over a decade ago.
3) 1989 Cadillac Sedan de Ville—this post on the final de Ville of the decade did well, but not great, for eight years after it was first written. This year, somewhat inexplicably, it is this year’s highest-ranking new entrant.
2) 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme coupe—this post is #1 all-time (over 5,700 views), and repeats at number two for 2025. Popularity when new does not always equal collectability now, and Hagerty has yet to track the values of “civilian” (non-Hurst/Olds, 442) eighties Cutlass Supreme.
1) 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Sport Hatch—up nine slots this year (top five all-time with over 4,100 views). Perhaps the salient example of my rarity theory—any first-generation Sunbird coming up for sale is now a rare sight.
The storied Carrera name returned to Porsche’s 911 for the 1984 model year with big changes in the engine, suspension, and brakes.
The Carrera’s new engine was the 200 bhp 3.2 liter/193 ci flat six with Bosch Motronic fuel injection. With the standard Getrag five-speed manual transmission, 0-60 mph came in about 6.3 seconds, with a claimed top speed of 152 mph in the 2,866-pound curb weight Carrera Targa (the 2025 911 Carrera Targa is about 3,772 pounds). Fuel mileage was 19 city/32 highway by the day’s standards (15/23 by today’s measures) with premium gas. With a 21.1-gallon gas tank, a 911 Carrera’s proud new owner could expect a range of between 365 and 435 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.
Print advertisement for the 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa
The 1984 911 Carrera Targa‘s base price was $33,450—about $107,300 in 2025 dollars and approximately 39% less than a 2025 Porsche 911 Targa 4S goes for. Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included halogen headlights, fog lights, and tinted glass, and power vented disc brakes on all four wheels. The front 185/70VR15 tires sat on 15 x 6 inch alloy wheels, while the rear 215/60VR15 tires were mounted on 15 x 7 inch alloy wheels (Pirelli still makes these tire sizes). Inside, reclining front bucket seats, a leather Sport steering wheel, power windows, and air conditioning (said not to be very capable) were included. A stereo was not included—Porsche evidently assumed that 911 buyers had their own ideas about what should be in that part of the dash—and Crutchfieldstill provides. Stuttgart did deign to provide “4 speaker stereo preparation with automatic power antenna.”
Options & Period Reviews
Exterior and mechanical options for the Targa included a limited slip differential ($590), front and rear spoilers ($1,325), and 16-inch forged alloy wheels (6 inches wide in the front, 7 inches wide in the back—and setting the buyer back $1,580). Inside, options included automatic heating control ($485), automatic cruise control, power door locks, a passenger power seat, an alarm system, and a Blaupunkt Monterey digital cassette radio.
Period reviews were enthusiastic. Car and Driver stated that the 911 Carrera had “rousing performance.”
The View From 2025
It’s little surprise that eighties 911 Carreras have maintained their value quite well. According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, all the money for a 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa in #1/Concours condition is $126,000, with a more normal #3/Good condition car going for $60,000.
Porsche 911 Carrera Targas have (of course) excellent club support from many sources and are often available in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring a Trailer. As I update this blog entry in April 2025, a Moss Green Metallic 1986 Cabriolet with black leather seats is for sale on Hemmings, asking $60,000.
The 1980 Pontiac Firebird Turbo Trans Am coupe my fiancée saw
On a lovely spring morning in early 2025, my fiancée was walking from her house toward the temporary train station in Ardmore, PA. On her way to the station, she saw and (more importantly for this blog post) photographed a 1980 Pontiac Firebird Turbo Trans Am in Cameo White smoothly idling at a stop sign. Underneath the image she texted me, she wrote, “You are escorting me to the train.”
“You picked a winner.”
1980 was a transitional year mechanically for the second-generation Firebird and its Trans Am sub-model, though little else of significance changed. Gone was the 6.6 liter/403 ci V8, with the new top-of-the-line engine being a 4.9 liter/301 cu V8 with a turbocharger. Along with the engine changes, there was an asymmetrical hood design and a special hood decal for the Turbo Trans Am.
Pontiac could not do much about the general lack of space efficiency (the EPA rated the Firebird as a subcompact car), the high curb weight (about 3,700 pounds when the Mustang weighed about 2,800), and the relatively primitive technology.
Engines & Transmissions
The standard Trans Am engine was the Pontiac-built L37 155 bhp 4.9 liter/301 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor. The only choice for Trans Am purchasers in California was the Chevrolet-built LG4 145 bhp 5.0 liter/305 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, but you did get a $180 credit.
The Trans Am’s most powerful engine was the $350 Pontiac-built LU8 210 bhp 4.9 liter/301 ci V8 with a Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor and an AiResearch TBO305 turbocharger. The turbo engine was emissions-certified only with the combination of air conditioning and a 3.08:1 rear axle ratio. All Trans Ams in 1980 came with a three-speed automatic—a one-year pause for the four-speed manual as Pontiac struggled to meet emissions regulations.
Combining a turbocharger, a carburetor, and primitive electronic engine controls was not easy, and reviews of one of the world’s first turbo V8s were mixed. The relatively primitive gas of the day meant that Pontiac had to retard the spark advance substantially to minimize detonation, which kept the turbocharger’s power return relatively low. As Car and Driver stated, “by the time the engine reaches 4000 rpm, the show is essentially over.”
Performance & Standard Equipment
A Turbo Trans Am would accelerate from 0-60 in a little over eight seconds (Car and Driver clocked 8.2), which was good for 1980. Fuel mileage was predictably bad—15 city/21 highway mpg by the day’s standards for the combination of the turbo engine and the automatic. With a 20.8-gallon fuel tank, Trans Am owners could expect to travel about 280 to 305 miles before refueling.
Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included in the $7,179 base price of the Trans Am (about $30,900 in today’s dollars) included a front center air dam, dual rectangular headlamps, a black-accented grille, a shaker hood and air cleaner, front and rear wheel opening air deflectors, a rear deck spoiler, a limited slip differential, power steering, power front disc/rear drum brakes, and 225/70-R15 blackwall tires (a size still readily available) on 15-inch Rally II wheels with trim rings. Inside, front bucket seats, a Formula steering wheel, a machined-trimmed instrument panel trim plate, rally gauges with a quartz clock and a tachometer, and a console were included.
Two Special Editions, Options, & Production Numbers
The black-and-gold Trans Am Special Edition package was $748 additional over a base Trans Am—$1,443 bundled with the removable locking hatch roof (otherwise known as T-tops). It included many exterior paint and trim details, including a gold/matte gold hood bird decal, gold headlight grilles, and gold wheels with gold center cap bird emblems. Inside, a gold dash panel, a gold-spoked steering wheel, gold door emblems, and a gold shifter emblem were included. 6,178 buyers took home a Special Edition—about 12% of Trans Am production.
Print advertisement for the 1980 Pontiac Trans Am Pace Car
There was also a special edition of the Special Edition in completely different colors—the Indianapolis Pace Car Edition. The Indianapolis Pace Car Edition was Cameo White, with Soft Ray tinted glass on all windows, white Turbo cast aluminum wheels, silver T-tops, and oyster interior trim. Mechanical features included the LU8 turbocharged engine, turbo boost gauges, the WS6 special performance package, and four-wheel power disc brakes. Inside, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, Custom air conditioning, and a Delco-GM ETR AM/FM radio with a cassette player were included. All this extra content was a good thing because the Indianapolis Pace Car Edition listed for $11,020.52 (why not just round to the closest dollar?)—about $47,500 in 2025 dollars. After initially promising 5,600 in advertising, Pontiac ended up building 5,700, about 11% of 1980 Trans Am production.
Exterior and mechanical options available for the Trans Am included the WS6 special performance package ($281), tungsten quartz halogen headlamps ($27), white-lettered tires ($68), Turbo cast aluminum wheels, four-wheel power disc brakes ($162), and an automatic power antenna ($50). Inside, an electric rear window defroster ($107), power door locks ($93), Custom air conditioning ($566), a tilt steering wheel ($81), controlled cycle windshield wipers ($41), and a host of radios (seven!) were all available.
Pontiac built a total of 50,896 Trans Ams in the 1980 model year, with 22,176 (44%) having the turbo engine.
The View From 2025
Initially neglected by the collector car market and with many now used up, late second-generation Trans Ams in good or excellent shape are now getting interesting numbers—almost doubling in the past fifteen years. According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, all the money for a 1980 Turbo Trans Am with T-tops in #1/Concours condition is $69,000, while a more normal Turbo Trans Am in #3/Good condition is valued at $24,900. These Trans Ams are often available in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring A Trailer, and they frequently show up at in-person auctions.
Make mine the black-and-gold Special Edition, of course.
Midway through the 1982 model year, the Lamborghini Countach received a larger version of its V12. With that, the model designation changed from LP400 S to 5000S. Just because (why not?), this version was also sometimes called the LP500 S.
The engine requires some more detail. The 4.8 liter/291 ci V12 came with six Weber carburetors and made 325 bhp in North American form. With the standard five-speed manual, the 0-60 time was 5.7 seconds. As might be expected, fuel economy by the day’s standards was not impressive—12 city/18 highway (10/13 by 2025 measures). At least the two 15.4-gallon gas tanks allowed a range of 320 to 370 miles before a 5000S driver had to search for more premium fuel.
1985 Lamborghini Countach 5000S coupe at the Peterson Museum
I saw Countachs of various types at the wonderful Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles in late 2025, and it was a great reminder of how vertically short these cars are—the spec for the 5000S was 42.1 inches. When Lamborghini released the Countach LPI 800-4 homage for the 2022 model year, it was actually 2.7 inches taller.
The 1982 Countach 5000S‘s base price was an eye-watering $99,500—about $342,000 in today’s dollars, or about 14% less than what a 2026 Lamborghini Temerario coupe goes for (Lamborghinis have gotten no cheaper in the last forty years) . Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included rack-and-pinion steering, ventilated disc brakes, and 205/50ZR15 front tires and 345/35ZR15 rear tires (both Pirelli P7s) on 15-inch wheels. Inside, leather bucket seats, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, and air conditioning were included.
Options & Production Numbers
Options included a rear wing ($5,500), a sports exhaust, gold wheels, and a series of stereos (including a $3,000 one from Alpine).
Lamborghini built 321 5000S Countachs from March 1982 through March 1985. At that point, the Countach Quattrovalvole took over.
The View From 2025
The view from 2025 is just fine, thank you—according to Hagerty’s valuation tools, all the money for a 1982 Countach 5000S in #1/Concours condition is an astounding$676,000. A more “normal” #3/Good condition example is valued at $407,000. 5000Ss frequently appear for sale in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on Bring a Trailer, and at in-person auctions.
Make mine Black, please.
The 5000S is the first Lamborghini I have written about in Eighties Cars. Another 1985 exotic I have written about is the Ferrari Testarossa coupe.
1986 was the final model year for the Jeep CJ-7, which had debuted in 1976. Because of this, there were only minor trim and detail changes.
The CJ-7’s standard powertrain was an AMC 86 bhp 2.5 liter/150 ci inline four with electronic fuel injection paired with a four-speed manual transmission and part-time four wheel drive. An AMC 102 bhp 4.2 liter/258 ci inline six with a two-barrel carburetor was a $361 option. Both engines could be had with a five-speed manual ($250), but only the inline six could be paired with a Torque-flite automatic ($495).
Jeep CJs were neither economical nor fast—but most Jeep fanciers would have and do argue that isn’t the point. The spriteliest powertrain combination (inline six/five-speed) came in with fuel economy ratings of 17 city/21 highway by the day’s standards (15/20 by modern measures). With the standard 15.1-gallon gas tank, a CJ-7’s presumably happy owner could expect a range of 240 to 255 miles with a 10% fuel reserve. It’s no wonder many went for the $57 20-gallon extra capacity fuel tank, which promised ranges of over 300 miles.
Front cover of the 1986 Jeep CJ brochure
The 1986 CJ-7’s base price was $7,500—about $22,400 in today’s dollars. Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included a roll bar, a moveable tailgate, a swing away spare tire carrier, a front stabilizer bar, manual front disc brakes, and free-wheeling hubs. Inside, linen-grain vinyl high back bucket seats, a padded instrument panel, a day/night mirror, an electric washer and 2-speed wipers, a cigarette lighter, and a heater and defroster were included.
Packages, Options, & Production Numbers
Jeep offered two packages for the 1986 CJ-7:
The $1,253 Renegade package included special Renegade exterior graphics, rocker panel protection moldings, and 15 x 7 white styled steel wheels. Inside, a denim-look vinyl rear seat, a soft feel 3-spoke Sport steering wheel, and intermittent wipers were included.
The $3,304 Laredo package included a chrome grille panel with pinstripe, a hard top, a Laredo hood decal, and 15 x 7 chrome styled steel wheels. Inside, a leather-wrapped 3-spoke steering wheel, a console, a rear seat, courtesy lights, a tachometer and clock, and intermittent wipers were included. A Laredo with no other options came to $10,804—about $32,300 in 2025 dollars, or about 10% less than a 2026 Jeep Wrangler Sport 2-door goes for.
Individual options included heavy duty engine cooling ($57), power steering ($274), power disc brakes ($125), a rear Trac-lok differential ($255), a conventional spare tire ($94), and a tilt steering wheel ($118). Many CJ-7s exited dealer showrooms with stickers that were about twice the base price.
Jeep produced 25,929 CJ-7s in the 1986 model year. They marked the final version of the original Civilian Jeep from 1945, whose total production measured over 1.5 million units.
The View From 2025
CJ-7s have a devoted fanbase, and their values reflect that. According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, a 1986 CJ-7 Renegade with the inline six in #1/Concours condition is $48,800, while a more typical #3/Good condition example goes for $24,500. CJ-7s frequently show up for sale in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring a Trailer.
Recently, a near-perfect low-mileage 1987 Chevrolet Cavalier RS convertible came up for auction on Bring a Trailer. This event made me painfully aware that I’d written about the Cavalier sedan and coupe, but somehow not the convertible—time to fix that.
“Sporty performance”
The Chevrolet Cavalier first came to market for the 1982 model year, initially available as a notchback coupe, a hatchback coupe, a notchback sedan, and a station wagon. In the middle of 1983, Chevrolet introduced a convertible version, initially available as the top-of-the-line CS. In 1984, the convertible transitioned to the sporty Type 10. The RS replaced the Type 10 in the 1986 model year, and the convertible went with it. From 1983 through 1987, Cavalier convertible conversions were done by ASC.
The RS convertible’s standard powertrain was the 90 bhp LL8 2.0 liter/121 ci inline four with electronic fuel injection and a four-speed manual. Optional power was the 125 bhp LB6 2.8 liter/173 ci V6 with multiport fuel injection ($660). Both a new-for-1987 Getrag-designed five-speed manual transmission ($75) and a three-speed automatic transmission ($490) were available.
Road tests of the first-generation Cavalier convertible are hard to come by, but 0-60 likely came in a little over 9 seconds with the five-speed/V6 combination. Fuel economy ratings for the same combination were 20 city/26 highway by the day’s standards. With a 14-gallon gas tank, a Cavalier convertible’s enthusiastic new owner could expect a range of 265 to 285 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.
Front cover of the 1987 Chevrolet full line brochure
The 1987 Cavalier RS convertible’s base price was $13,466—about $39,700 in 2025 dollars. Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included a power operated convertible top, tinted glass, left hand remote and right hand manual Sport mirrors, the F41 sport suspension, a front stabilizer bar, power steering, power front disc/rear drum brakes, and P195/70R13 all season radial ply blackwall tires (a size no longer readily available) on 13-inch Rally wheels with trim rings. Inside, Custom Cloth front bucket seats with recliners, a console, a Sport steering wheel, power windows, and an AM radio with dual front speakers were included.
Options & Production Numbers
Individual options available with the RS convertible included aluminum wheels ($212), air conditioning ($675), the Comfortilt steering wheel ($125), electronic speed control with resume speed ($175), an intermittent windshield wiper system ($55), and a power door lock system ($145). A series of four optional audio systems, ranging up to an ETR AM/FM stereo radio with seek and scan, a cassette player, a graphic equalizer, and a clock ($449), was available.
Chevrolet sold 5,826 Cavalier convertibles in the 1987 model year, making that the best production total for any year of the first-generation Cavalier convertible.
Ford’s sporty Probe hatchback coupe was all-new for 1989, adding another model line to Dearborn’s expansive list of offerings.
Few eighties cars came to market with as much of a backstory as the Probe. Most enthusiasts at the time knew that Ford’s original intention had been to make the new Mazda-based front-wheel-drive car the next-generation Mustang, replacing the beloved but aging rear-wheel-drive Fox-platform version. Autoweek magazine’s April 13, 1987 issue was the first to publicly reveal these plans in a cover story titled “Exclusive: The ’89 Mustang.” The response from Mustang traditionalists was visceral, and later in 1987, Ford decided to bring the new design to market as a separate model.
The Probe’s engine depended on the version. GL and LX models received a Mazda F2 110 bhp 2.2 liter/133 ci inline four with three valves per cylinder and multi-port electronic fuel injection. The top-of-the-line GT received the same engine, but with a turbocharger and an intercooler, resulting in 145 bhp and the designation of F2T. All Probes came standard with a five-speed manual transmission, but only the GL and the LX offered an electronically-controlled four-speed automatic with overdrive as an option.
Car and Driver recorded a 0-60 time of 6.7 seconds in the 1989 Probe GT—really fast for a car with a supposed 145 bhp (many period reviews believed the rating to be very conservative) and a 2,940-pound curb weight. Fuel economy for the GT was rated at 21 city/27 highway by the day’s standards (19/25 by today’s measures). With a 15.1-gallon gas tank, a Probe GT‘s owner could expect a range of 300 to 325 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.
Rear cover of the 1989 Ford Probe brochure
The GL‘s base price was $10,459—about $28,300 in today’s dollars. Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included concealed/retractable halogen headlamps, power rack-and-pinion steering, power front disc/rear drum brakes, and P185/70SR14 steel-belted black sidewall radial tires (a size still readily available) on 14-inch wheels with standard Deluxe wheel covers. Inside, front bucket seats, 50/50 split fold-down rear seats, Deluxe cloth seat trim, full analog instrumentation with a tachometer, and an electronic AM/FM stereo radio were included.
The LX ($11,443) added complete tinted glass, Luxury wheel covers, all-cloth multi-adjustable front bucket seats, Luxury floor carpeting, a full console with a folding armrest and a storage bin, a rear window defroster, a remote liftgate release, a remote inside fuel filler release, and the Light Group.
Exterior and mechanical changes or additions with the GT ($13,593) included a unique front fascia with fog lamps, a unique rear end treatment with a two-tone spoiler, variable-assist power rack-and-pinion steering, power 4-wheel disc brakes, and P195/60VR15 Goodyear Eagle speed-rated performance steel-belted radial tires on 15-inch aluminum wheels. Inside, the GT included Sport cloth seat trim.
Packages, Individual Options, & Production Numbers
By 1989, Ford was delivering much of its optional equipment in Preferred Equipment Packages.
GL Preferred Equipment Package 250A was the base GL package.
GL Preferred Equipment Package 251A ($334) added complete tinted glass, dual electric remote mirrors, a tilt steering column/instrument cluster, interval windshield wipers and mist function, a rear window defroster, and the Light Group.
LX Preferred Equipment Package 252A was the base LX package.
LX Preferred Equipment Package 253A ($2,214) added a 6-way power driver seat adjustment, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, an illuminated entry system, an electronic instrument cluster, speed control, an electronic air conditioner with push button controls, power windows, power door locks, a rear wiper/washer, a trip computer, and an electronic AM/FM stereo radio with a cassette tape player, premium sound system, and a power antenna.
GT Preferred Equipment Package 260A was the base GT package.
GT Preferred Equipment Package 261A ($2,621) added an anti-lock brake system, a 6-way power driver seat adjustment, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, an illuminated entry system, speed control, and an electronic air conditioner with push button controls, power windows, power door locks, a trip computer, and an electronic AM/FM stereo radio with a cassette tape player, premium sound system, and a power antenna.
Individual options included a flip-up open air roof ($355), an air conditioner with manual controls ($927), power door locks ($155), and three optional stereos.
The 1989 Probe was a smash hit for Ford, with 162,889 made. Combining those numbers with the Mustang’s 206,789 produced definitely validated Ford’s decision to proceed with two separate models.
The View From 2025
I haven’t seen a Probe on the road in years. They’re gone from the Hemmings Motor News classifieds and eBay Motors, but Bring a Trailer has sold three of this generation of Probe in the last six years.
Make mine Deep Titanium Clearcoat Metallic, please.
Eighties Cars 