Tag Archives: 1980’s

1982-1986 Toyota Supra Mark II

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The 1980s were a gold rush of Japanese sports cars making their way to the United States. Manufacturers were importing cars such as the 280ZX and 300ZX from Nissan, the RX-7 from Mazda, the Mitsubishi Starion, the Isuzu Impulse, and the Subaru XT. Perhaps one of the most memorable Japanese cars of the decade was the Toyota Supra.

This two-seater sports coupe is pretty much a direct descendant of the Toyota 2000GT I covered recently. It has an inline-6 cylinder engine, rear wheel drive, and a long, sloping front with a hatchback roof. Toyota produced the second generation (or Mark II) from 1982 through 1986. They were badged as “Celica Supra” at the time, becoming just “Supra” in 1986 with the introduction of the Mark III Supra.

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1986 Plymouth Horizon 2.5L Turbo Swap

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The 1973 OPEC oil crisis had a dramatic effect on the American automobile industry. An embargo with oil-exporting countries of the middle east caused a shortage of crude oil which is refined into gasoline. The shortage in turn caused gasoline prices to skyrocket and rationing to go into effect.

In response to customer demand and new Federal Emissions Standards, the “Big Three” automakers went to work building a new generation of cars that were smaller and more fuel efficient. Chevrolet introduced the Monza and Citation, while Ford debuted the Pinto and the Fiesta. Not to be outdone, Chrysler introduced their new compact, front-wheel drive model in 1978: the Dodge Omni (and its badge-engineered cousin, the Plymouth Horizon).

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1984 Volkswagen Scirocco Mk2

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For decades, car makers have turned to the “wedge shape” whenever they wanted to make a car that looked sporty, cool, or futuristic. There were an abundance of wedge-shaped cars in the 1980s: the DeLorean DMC-12, the DeTomaso Pantera, the Pontiac Fiero, the C4 Corvette, the Lotus Esprit, and of course, everything in Ferrari and Lamborghini’s lineup.

Another automaker to jump on the “wedge shape” bandwagon was Volkswagen, who went all in with the Mk2 Scirocco that was unveiled in 1981.

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1988 Mosler Consulier GTP-LX

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What if I told you that there was a supercar from the 1980s that cost less than the Lamborghini Countach and the Ferrari Testarossa and could outrun them both on a race track? And what if I told you that this car could also yield 30 miles per gallon? You would probably think I was crazy.

Well, such a car does exist and in theory, it sounds fantastic. However, there is just one drawback to the Mosler Consulier GTP…the way it looks.

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1985 Renault 5 Turbo II Rally Car

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In an earlier post about the Lotus Cortina I explained the idea of homologation – whereby manufacturers must build and sell a minimum number of cars to the public in order to qualify as a “production car.” Here we have another example of a factory-built race car that was sold to the public, and this one is even more extreme.

It’s called the Renault 5 Turbo II and like many of the cars I have covered recently, this is another rare specimen from Cars and Coffee. So what’s the deal with this car, and how did it come to be?

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1984 Toyota Celica GT Rally Car

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There is a car show held once a month in Scottsdale where people gather to drink coffee and show off their high-end exotic cars. I skipped right past the rows of Ferraris and Porsches to go check out this 1984 Toyota Celica GT (yes, seriously).

I took one look at the car and could tell right away that something special was going on here. For one thing, it’s a lifted car! Aside from an AMC Eagle or a Subaru rally car, you don’t often see cars with this much ground clearance! I snapped some photos and looked around for the owner who was nowhere to be found.

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