Depending on your perspective cars of the 1980s might seem like they were new yesterday or built sometime before the beginning of time. Regardless of your perspective, the newest vehicle to come out of the decade is now 23 years old. More »
What vehicle from the 1980s has the highest survival rate? [Question Of The Weekend]
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I see ‘em all over New York state.
Tommy Five
In New York City the taggers even deface the Rims and Red Tristar if the truck is unlucky enough.
87CE 95PV temporary fan of NEW JERSEY GIANTS
For Australia, the Holden VL Commodore. After inspecting carsales.com.au (1980-1990) this vehicle had the most vehicles available (77). Not the most scientific method but this is the car I suspected anyway.
Ranging in price from $725 for a rusty base model to $60,000 for a special edition, most found will be powered by the naturally aspirated Nissan RB30, however some will be found with the optional turbocharged Nissan RB30ET or the Holden 5.0 EFI V8.
[www.carsales.com.au]
suju89
Why would I mention a car that is often a lawn, field, or wood ornament if not already in the junkyard? Once I saw one of these that had fallen off the rims it was propped on because the body literally failed.
I cannot recall the last time I saw one of these moving under its own power and people around here like Scoobies.
87CE 95PV temporary fan of NEW JERSEY GIANTS
Same in the PNW. Portland is the volvo mecca. These two are mine.
Richard Langis
Rate? Why, yes, I am pedantic.
snapoversteer is powered by Solyndra
Can’t think of a better example. These mo’fos were strong!
SergioVO
3rd generation (86-89) Honda Accord. I swear the gold colored ones last longer than the others, specifically gold LXi sedans. They’re everywhere.
coll9947
Came to post the same thing… LOL
Caribbean Reef Snark
I see this all the time. I used to see CRX’s more often but they’ve mostly been crashed….
feather-throttle-not-hair
One word: Rust.
RedShift127
Classic example of a GM car that runs like shit long after other cars don’t run at all.
Ralph Wiley
Wish I could agree with you on the Tercel… But I haven’t seen any of those around here in Vermont in years. Rust must have eaten them all. Are they more common elsewhere?
AlienProbe
There are plenty of these around in the UK. They just don’t seem to die.
vc-10
You’ve got to be a very bad person to let one of those die.
pixla
V20 (86-90) Toyota Camrys. My Dad owned one for almost 20 years, and had the rust not eaten it it would have gone longer. And it’s probably the last generation of Camry that actually looked good.
WarpedHorizon
Really surprised…. nary a mention of the rolling undead:
James Peterson has a plan…..duct tape
I was about to say Ford Escort, but the last one I remember seeing was mine when I drove it to the wreckers six years ago.
tiddo
The Mitsubishi Fuso
ElGuapo29
Crap, you beat me to it. The Celebrity and 6000 should be signs of the 80s, while you’d have to know more to check that it was a pre 1990 Century or Ciera
blackfriday490
what no w124? this list isn’t complete with a w124
Matt White
Aside from the aforementioned full size pickups and Volvo 240s, I’ll say Jeep Cherokees and Toyota Camries. I want to say S-10 Blazers, but I might notice them more since I used to own one. I also think this might be a PA thing, but I see way too many GM A-bodies (Cieras, Centuries, Celebrities) on a regular basis at college.
blackfriday490
I see at least 1 chevy caprice daily
ElGuapo29
Beat me to it, I agree. Great car, and a very nice style, not a day goes by that I don’t see at least a good dozen of these in Los Angeles.
RedFalcoln
There’s actually only one left, it just seems like there are lots because of all the time travelling.
Bangarang
as a function of percentage, it’s hard to argue against the 911….not only because they don’t get driven much but also because they’re durable as fuck
Morgan Titty Sprinkles Freeman
Yep, they seem to be pretty resilient.
/approved as commenter.
DasWauto – Stupid electronics, I like mechanical things
Toyota’s. Tercels (2nd & 3rd), Camrys (1st & 2nd), Corollas (5th & 6th Gen Sedans) and Celicas (5th Gen) would be the top of the list.
cesariojpn
I say the Mercedes R107s. They were pretty rare to begin with, but a huge number of them is still left, proportionally to what was originally sold.
SethyT
Also, a shout out to the venerable GM A-bodies: Chevy Celebrity, Buick Century, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser and the Pontiac 6000. Of course, perceptions might be skewed due to the fact they made several of these models right up through the mid-90s!
[en.wikipedia.org](FWD)
[en.wikipedia.org](FWD)
bygeorge
The BMW E30 seems to be well-represented here in Florida.
Jetstar 88
I see quite a few 80′s Chev and Ford trucks still on the road where I’m from – just as many as I do Toyotas. I’ll give the nod to Toyota cuz they probably only sold one new truck for every 10 Ford/Chevs back in 1980s Redneckville.
canadianlobster
Since Fox Mustangs have already been nominated, I will go with the first generation Saab 900. I swear I see more of these now than I did back in the 80′s. I pass by three on my way to work, about a mile and a half drive through a Midwestern city of 50,000.
[en.wikipedia.org]
bygeorge
Miata, as always… 1989..
lok502
Volvo 240 wagon.
No matter where I go I see them. They are built like tanks. I very rarely see the sedans, but the wagons are everywhere. Well at least in the northeastern US.
[www.flickr.com]
Triborough
And, for me, unfathomable.
KillerRacoon – Group J’s Sébastien Loeb
This is what came to mind, right after Fox Mustangs. Along with the Panthers, Ford is should be well represented in this list!
bygeorge
Not sure what the answer is. I know for sure what it isn’t: Fiat 124. In one of its final versions it was sold with a turbocharger. Car & Driver said the body would finally outlast the engine.
Racecar spelled backwards
Seconded! This was what I was going to say – of course, 80′s era Panthers and F-Series pickups would take honorable mentions as well. Ford is well represented!
bygeorge
Plenty of Golfs from that era are still around. Okay, the Mk2 was still in production until ’92, but it’s not unusual to spot a Mk1 either.
dmcspeedy
Agreed tenfold; there is a 1989 LTD Crown Victoria as well as numerous Grand Marquis of the same era still chugging along!
Come to think of it, there are also numerous Caprices of the 80s around too. Thankfully, not many of them were destroyed by placing huge rims on them and screwing up everything that made the car collectable and classic in the first place.
FCV96
True, true. When I lived in Minnesota I never saw old daily drivers. I once saw a pickup truck with the entire side of the bed rusted away along the bottom seam so the side was only hanging on at the front. It was slapping right and left sailing down the highway.
Now I’m in San Antonio Texas, there are lots of just plain old cars and trucks. Of course, the ones which were built well can get to high total miles (Mercedes and Volvos), but even some cheapos stick around for a long time because they don’t rust. There are plenty of cars so old and baked, the hood or roof have almost no paint left. And no rust.
Racecar spelled backwards
Not for long…Caswell is going thru them pretty quick…LOL
NEON wants moar torksteer
Bet you’ve never seen a rusty one of these. Also the popularity of the Delorean is amazingly resilient.
472CID
Panthers would have to be high on the list.
flyingstitch1
Excellent answer. I’m sure both ways work, and this is certainly worth the top 10.
Rainbow Dash
The Chevy C/K series pickup trucks. You have no idea how many of these I see on a daily basis just being driven around–often still being used as work trucks.
GM likes to say they’re the most dependable, longest-lasting truck on the road. With the number of 20+ year old Chevy trucks I see, I have little reason to doubt that. And I live in the Rust Belt, where getting ANY car to last more than 20 years is an achievement.
rebeldevil
The E30 of course, although I see a stupid amount of old Volvos and Mercs here in Austin as well.
J.T. Lanier
1980s Toyotas are just as rare as the Hondas and usually I see a 60/40 mix of trucks to passenger vehicles.
In the Summer though, the number of pre-1996 vehicles on the roads increases greatly.
None of the vehicles I mention are present in great numbers, less than 15 or 20 total I say and sure there is a 1st gen Taurus here and there or that Nissan Prairie, but those have not survived in high numbers so not worth mentioning here.
87CE 95PV temporary fan of NEW JERSEY GIANTS
This unkillable beast must be in the Top 10. The 2nd-Gen Honda Accord.
SpainIsInYurp
Are we talking about survivors as a percentage, or total numbers? And do they have to actually be driven?
If we’re talking percentage, then I’d say the Porsche 911.
Lothar
A few Hondas and like the Volvos I assume most of the out of state ones are driven by college students.
87CE 95PV temporary fan of NEW JERSEY GIANTS
Then there are the Mercedes Benz W123s and some W124s that are usually a mish mash of parts including some hand made owned by either true Mercedes Benz fans, (bio)Diesel fan, and/or who knows what else.
87CE 95PV temporary fan of NEW JERSEY GIANTS
I choose my son’s first, and still is, car, Peugeot 205 GTI. It has 600,000km on the odo and still runs like new.
Furyofdarkness
The foxbody Mustang is an obvious answer. They are far more common than any other Mustang, and a hell of a lot of other cars, too.
Rainbow Dash
DeLorean. Not particularly hardy cars apart from the stainless steel panels, but no owner in his right mind lets one go to the scrapper. The DeLorean company brings them back to life too.
X-cchannel-M
Ford Aerostar and Taurus :/
They’re everywhere
Optimus-Magnus
Here in Upstate New York my 1995 Plymouth Voyager is one of the oldest vehicles on the road so to ask me to think about 1980s vehicles still on the road is like asking someone from the 1980s when was the last time you used an X-ray Machine to measure your feet inside shoe stores.
People in the Southern Tier either love their domestics or foreigns sometimes both, but it is usually the foreigns that last the longest. Now I am not a Volvo expect, but there are a bunch of pre-1994 Volvo 200 Series still driving around out here and a number of them are from out of state. Some of them are not even from the Northeast or this side of the Mississippi. There are local support groups to keep these going as well, but not sure how well they take to hand crafted or jury rigged parts.
87CE 95PV temporary fan of NEW JERSEY GIANTS
I call Ford F series. On the job or parked at the hunt camp these work-horses are the definition of ubiquity.
Buster Brew
E28′s. The 528e and 535i seem to be the most resilient of the bunch.
Cheh Poh’r
Ford F Series
Ralph Wiley
Mk. 2 Golf. I still see them daily.
petajaniemi.joni
The W124, it’s still a tank.
HJTravels