Was 1980 the worst automotive year ever?

[Best_man23]

8. The Malaise Era of Cars was going strong before 1980.

However, 1980 was the zenith year of the Malaise Era.

Cadillac's 8-6-4 engine, the 5.7 Olds Diesel, Buicks and Oldsmobiles that had horrendous transmission issues, and of course, the GM X Body. Techs I worked with who were on the line in 1980 told horror stories of the X-body's fastener studs meant to hold the steering rack and pinion in place backing out of their fittings or simply snapping off at the firewall. As tight as the engines were shoehorned in, replacing these studs was a Class 5 Mo-Fo. During this year, GM also began rolling out their computer control systems in select cars, which had their own issues.

Ford was not much better. The variable venturi carburetor, which, if you see one of these on eBay, buy it if you're into collecting automotive history. The only person who would intentionally mount one of these creations of Satan on an engine is someone who truly dislikes themselves (those Ford variable venturi carburetors were THAT BAD). Of course, the underpowered Mustang and the Pinto that had that rear end collision issue everyone knows about also added to the Malaise Era suffering.

Chrysler had issues with many of their late 1970s cars. I still remember the wiper blades on my parents 1978 Volare, which they had owned for less than a year, stopping in the middle of the windshield during a monster Florida downpour. The mounting financial issues Chrysler was experiencing only made things worse. It took the local Chrysler dealer almost four months to get the part needed to fix my parent's car.

Fortunately, by the mid-1980s things were beginning to improve a bit. Ford launched the Fox body Mustang with a Holley carburetor equipped 302 V-8 and five speed manual. GM had the Gen 3 Camaro and Firebird, along with the C4 Corvette, all available with V-8s and Tuned Port fuel injection. As mentioned in another post, Buick had taken their trusty V-6, married it to a turbocharger in a G-body platform, and went out and blew the doors off many Mustangs, Camaros, and Firebirds. Chrysler had emerged from their financial difficulties and launched the K-car platform along with the minivan, which eventually spelled the death of the station wagon.