The concept of cool is hard to define. It’s a nebulous blend of authenticity, presence, and ability that simply can’t be quantified through objective means. While it’s hard to come to a consensus of what makes something cool, there’s one thing pretty much everyone’s in agreement on these days, and that’s how the coolest GM-built U.S.-market car of the ’80s wasn’t a Corvette. It was the Buick Regal Grand National.
Yeah, a Buick. A midsize family car at that. A midsize family car that was marketed using a jingle-ized version of George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone” and absolutely owned it. It might not have featured a V8 under the hood, it might not have chrome bumpers, but enough time has passed that the turbocharged Grand National is really the last great muscle car—a rear-wheel-drive American midsizer with a whole lot of thrust. I guess there really is a replacement for displacement.
It’s a machine with cultural currency. From muscle car fans to celebrities, everyone loves a Regal Grand National. It’s been in music videos, movies, and television shows as the quintessential antihero car. Four decades on, it’s still an object of desire, yet you can still pick one up for the price of a new Volkswagen GTI.
What Are We Looking At?
Like many icons, the Buick Regal Grand National wasn’t born great, but it became legendary. When the Grand National package debuted in 1982, it came with a carbureted 4.1-liter V6 cranking out all of 125 horsepower as standard equipment. However, hope was on the options list by way of a 175-horsepower turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 from the Regal Sport Coupe package. It then took a year off before coming back—in the fashion of AC/DC—in black. [Ed note: Also bad to the bone in the fashion of George Thorogood– Pete]
While the Grand National was on a gap year, Buick’s boosted V6 was busy taking advantage of the digital age, gaining sequential fuel injection and electronic distributorless ignition to pump out 200 horsepower and 300 lb.-ft. of torque. Solid numbers by mid-1980s standards, although only good for zero-to-60 mph in 7.5 seconds in Car And Driver testing. See, a side effect of turbocharging is that the compressed intake air can get brutally hot, and hot air can contribute to detonation. To avoid detonation in a hot-air turbo setup, manufacturers used to run wildly low compression ratios and incredibly mild timing. You know what can fix that? An intercooler.
The one you really want is the 1986 to 1987 Regal Grand National, because that’s when Buick’s turbocharged midsizer really glowed up. The boosted 3.8-liter V6 gained much-needed intercooling and other airflow tweaks for serious power, 235 horsepower and 330 lb.-ft. of torque for 1986 and 245 horsepower and 355 lb.-ft. of torque for 1987. Those might not be huge figures by today’s standards, but they still propelled this midsize automatic coupe from zero-to-60 mph in 4.9 seconds and through the quarter-mile in the high 13s when Car And Driver tested it for its April 1986 issue. For those keeping track at home, the Grand Natty could dust a comparable Corvette off the mark if you launched it right. America’s sports car, who? The mic-drop came in 1987 with the GNX, an extremely limited-run Regal let off the leash, then given the most underrated 276-horsepower rating this side of Japan. It was so influential, Kendrick Lamar named a number-one album after it.
We’re talking about an instant classic here, a boosted brawler befitting Darth Vader himself. Unsurprisingly, late examples of the Regal Grand National have appreciated over time, although because they aren’t absurdly rare, you can still pick one up for what a new Volkswagen GTI costs. Guess what? The Buick should still get the jump on the dual-clutch Volkswagen.
How Much Are We Talking?
A brand new mid-range Volkswagen GTI with a moonroof will run you $38,845 including freight, and you can absolutely find a driver-condition Regal Grand National for less than that. Check out this 1987 model that sold on Hemmings Auctions for $32,628. Not only did the last owner keep it for a quarter-century, it’s also bone-stock with a squeaky-clean Carfax. What’s more, the underbody looks great for a nearly-40-year-old car, and the interior is mint. This thing would be a hit at local car shows, but it would be far more fun to take down your nearest quarter-mile drag strip.
Speaking of the quarter-mile, there are a whole bunch of modified Grand National examples out there because it just takes so well to modification. Cars like this 1987 model that recently sold on Bring A Trailer for $26,500. This one’s rocking a bigger turbocharger and intercooler, aftermarket cylinder heads, a bigger camshaft, and the fuelling modifications to match. Sure, the selling dealer reports a little bit of rust around the driver’s door drain hole, but the underbody of this Grand National looks as clean as you’d expect for an Oregon car.
Can’t wait for an auction? If you cast a reasonably wide net, it’s not that difficult to find a Grand National for GTI money. This 1987 model is up for sale in Arizona for $34,000, and it looks to be in great shape. Plus, it’s had a few common sore spots addressed, like switching to a vacuum brake booster. Nice.
What Could Go Wrong On A Buick Grand National?
While the Buick Regal Grand National is one of the more reliable ’80s turbo cars you can buy, it’s not without its problems. Right off the rip, the Power Master brake master cylinder is problematic, and the exhaust manifolds were known to crack, even 20 years ago. At the same time, durability in the ’80s isn’t the same thing it is today. The Regal Grand National’s valve springs, timing chain, and turbocharger are wear items on a long enough timeline, but a need to replace those is also an excuse to make one of GM’s fastest ’80s cars even faster. Keep in mind, modern turbo technology has come a long way. Just don’t blow past what the stock 10-bolt rear end can handle.
Otherwise, oil cooler line leaks are fairly common now that these cars are aging, and you’re going to want to check that the TV cable on the transmission is adjusted properly. At the same time, head gaskets are known to fail on occasion, although replacement is generally fairly easy and cheap, requiring new top-end gaskets, head bolts, and fluids. The G-Body is a simple platform, and these cars are generally far less needy than anything similarly quick from the era.
Should You Buy A Buick Grand National For New GTI Money?
If you’re looking for something old-school and spicy, and live in a place where the roads are mostly straight lines, absolutely. To date, there hasn’t been a Buick as menacing as the Grand National, or a V6 muscle car as credible. So, if you want to have the most presence of anyone in your neighborhood, and a genuinely fun and quick ’80s cruiser capable of accommodating the whole family, get yourself a Grand National. It’s an icon for a reason.
Top graphic image: Bring A Trailer
These never interested me. I like being able to get lateral g-force and I have never read they were really capable of it. Seriously? A big GM car going around corners? And I didn’t find them particularly nice to look at. Give me an early 70s Chevelle or Olds 442 and I might be intrigued. Even though they were mostly straight-line cars as well.
And 5.6 seconds 0-60 in a Honda Accord V6 is more than adequate for me. Hmmm. About the same as a GTI.
I guess I wasn’t and am still not the target market for the Grand National.
I think both of these cars merit consideration. Buy the GN if you want something different that won’t depreciate, or buy the GTI if you want comfort, reliability, and anonymity. I’ve had 3 manual GTIs over the years, a 2012 SE, a 2017 APR stage 1 SE, and a 2017 Golf R APR stage 1. All were a blast and never broke or quit on me. I might be a little biased. My dad worked at a NASCAR track for 20+ years, so the GN is so cool and menacing even with some real age on it.
Did they crack after 20 years of use, or do you mean 40 years ago, when the car was new?
I heard parts availability is atrocious for these. They made so little of them.
The V-Max of automobiles.Looks kinda boring until you mash the throttle.
V-Max was my nickname in college
(It was absolutely not)
Well observed.
A friend’s dad had a Grand National and then a GNX from new in the late 80s. I have not forgotten the experience of riding in those cars. Amazing, obnoxious, and fast. They were such a middle finger to everything else on the road at the time, a slab of a Buick that just went. Ridiculous things, like automotive mullets. Worth the money for sure if you want the experience of owning an automotive mullet. If I had the money and the space, I’d go for it for sure.
Automotive mullet. What a great description!
To paraphrase The Stranger “I won’t say a hero, ’cause, what’s a hero? But sometimes, there’s a car. And I’m talkin’ about the Grand National here. Sometimes, there’s a car, well, it’s the car for its time and place. It fits right in there.”
Cant decide. This or a Monte SS?
I prefer the last gen rivera old man racer spec. I understand the fascination with the grand national and gnx but it’s a hero car and they say never meet your heros. As a collectable I see it. They might been stable for a while after they peaked. My great grandfather was obsessed with Buicks and bought traded in one every other year for a new one. My dad got his love of Buicks for a while he rebuilt several. I can remember him having a 67 grand sport and other unique examples over the years. Buick was premium or luxury performance. I’m not sure the 80s cars really fit that other then relativity bulletproof engines and the grand national/ gnx being the fastest for a time. The 90s buicks at least attempted to go back to that.
Wasn’t the Riviera always FWD?
I have always found FWD GM sedans to be like driving a couch around. Comfy, but not really sporty.
Back in the 60s, Rivieras were definitely RWD.
Yeah, looks like they were RWD until 79. So I guess we’re talking apples and mangoes.
I had a neighbor (56 years ago, when I was 12) who traded a Porsche 912 for a Riviera and I thought then, and still now do, that was a poor decision. Maybe it was right for him. It wouldn’t have been for me.
My pop had an 84 Riviera (grey with a navy blue landau roof).
He sure seemed to think that thing was the shit 🙂
Yeah. This was in the late 60s, when Rivieras had the silly Vlad the Impaler rear bumper. Even a four-cylinder 912 was so much cooler. But, I’m sure the Riviera rode more nicely and maybe what that’s he wanted. If so, I’m not sure why he bought the Porsche in the first place. He’s long gone, so I guess I’ll never know.
It’s a 90s gm not exactly fast or good handling by today’s standards but yes like a couch. It really is the most old man racer vehicle I can think of. The Cadillacs a decade later lack the couch. The supercharged ones are about a second slower then a gn stock 0-60 but things can be done to make them faster. A few people have pulled the supercharger for a turbo or the simple pulley change for the supercharger like they do on alot of the supercharged park avenues of that era. I think procharger made a more modern larger supercharger for them too.
I have a 95 SC Riv. Great highway car. Some people have nicknamed theirs the “rocket couch” and it seems appropriate. 80-90mph in one is pretty chill and the thing eats up miles. Definitely not a great handling car, nor particularly quick, but very nice at speed and a great place to spend time.
I’m kind of in line for I think a 97 sc. I knew the original old man that bought it new he drove it into his 90s. Then gave it he gave it to another old man that old guy is probably going to give it to my dad soon. They call it a rocket couch too. It’s blue on blue maybe if I find a green one cheap enough I’ll pick it up.
I fucking knew this one would be red meat for the contrarians. This car is low hanging fruit. There’s no manual available, it’s a muscle car without a V8, it’s turbocharged/turbo BAD, etc. It’s also on the tail end of the stuff Boomers think is cool and agreeing with them on anything is somewhere on the cringe spectrum.
“Ackshually, this thing everyone likes is in fact BAD and I have spectacular taste for feeling that way!”
Anyway, I couldn’t disagree more. These are rad. They’ve always been rad. I don’t care that the interior isn’t anything to write home about or that they can’t take corners. That’s not the point of a Grand National. They exist to look cool, be comfortable, roast tires, and go fast in a straight line.
And they accomplish that mission. The end. If your conclusion is BUT MUH GTI then that’s fine, but understand that absolutely no one gives a shit about your GTI. To like 90% of people it’s an anonymous hatchback. No one cares that you tuned it. No one cares that it’s existed for 50 years. No one cares about the plaid seats. At the end of the day it’s the enthusiast equivalent of a gray CUV.
But the Grand National? That’s gonna draw a crowd and Cars and Coffee. People are going to cheer for you loudly at the drag strip. Random kids are gonna come up to you and ask you if it’s the car from the Kendrick album, older dudes are gonna have stories about what they did with these back in the day, and it won’t look out of place anywhere. The valet won’t hesitate to park it up front next to a Bentley.
And that’s what’s so goddamn cool about them. They’re greater than the sum of their parts and are a purely emotional purchase. I would proudly daily one or keep one as a weekend car.
They just happened to fall in a weird era where most Boomers probably think it’s too plastic-y and needs moar chrome and Millennials don’t know what it is and don’t care because all Buicks are grandma cars.
Millennial here. I and all my friends would know exactly what a GNX is.
Turbo buicks are somehow both the hero car and the villain car.
I don’t care that they handle like shit, that a steering box out of a Grand Cherokee is considered an upgrade for them, or that they didn’t have a manual.
I’ve always wanted one, that won’t change until I finally have one, even for a brief period of time.
Well stated. I feel bad for anyone who sees cars as numbers. I have no desire to own a GN, but they were fun cars and they handled better than they appeared. As a die hard manual guy, why would you want one in this car, anyway? Doesn’t fit the character at all. I’m not saying to autocross one, but it’s not like some bias ply old ox cart, either. I get if someone feels they’re overpriced, but what isn’t? (Though, damn, more ordinary G body values have gone nuts, so by comparison, they’re a better deal than they’ve been in years).
This is “the” numbers car. In the 1980s, this was some mediocre ass heavily mass-produced horrible quality G-body nobody cared about EXCEPT for the numbers, and that is what everyone led with when discussing the car. And now that the numbers get smoked by a depreciated EV or turbo-4, people want to claim that “the” numbers car is not about numbers.
Disagree. They were a lot more comfortable than cars that are supposed to be comfortable today, making them decent cruisers with personality, something lacking in new cars be they ICE or EV and regardless of how fast they are. These feel fast and I couldn’t give a shit about a car that is faster, but still yawn-inducing to drive when not being annoyed by wuss-pandering BS and, as I live around other people, those better performance numbers aren’t even relevant because they can’t be used. Looks are subjective, but the GN is certainly more distinctive than the homogenous 2-boxes of today that have to invent anthropomorphized angry faces to look intimidating where the GN came across it with some paint. Quality was middle of the road for the day, not all that bad. Better than F bodies or Mustangs they’re likely to be compared to and many of the cars from the lesser players from Japan. The other G bodies were not about numbers and I’d rather drive them today than any of the “better quality” cars from Japan and I’m a Japanese car fan over domestic. Cutlass or Camry? Yeah, you can keep the Camry. At about 40 years old, it’s not going to be as reliable as it once was and you’re left with the looks and driving experience. That’s not even getting into any of the Eurotrash cars that could possibly be compared in price at the time.
I’ve been in these and they are super rickety with really outdated ergonomics, like the interior is wide but the legroom sucks because for as long it is it has a shorter wheelbase than an alpha Camaro. Like I said, I do somewhat like the looks of the G-bodies, and it is hard to find a personal luxury coupe these days. But not impossible, and a Hemi Challenger is more comfortable, safer, higher quality, and significantly faster.
I’ve known people with GNs, and they have been sketchy screw ups who consider the car to be their retirement plan, which has somewhat colored my image of the GN, along with it being generally overrated. That image may be why non-GN turbo Regals are out-pricing GNs, if some of the other comments are accurate.
The ergonomics are definitely bad, but that wasn’t uncommon back then (I’d still take that over a modern car that has touchscreen HVAC) and the space efficiency was awful (kind of goes with PLCs, the sheer stupidity of which I find inexplicably charming and I have no defense for it, it’s a completely irrational fondness that is contrary to my usual values in a car) but I had far more room for my legs in them—hell, even in tiny econoboxes of the era—than I do in much larger new cars with their massive center consoles, descending dashboards, and thick doors. It might be more of a me thing (though I’ve seen other people mention it), but my knees aren’t great, so I need to kind of move them around a bit on longer drives to stay comfortable and modern vehicles usually limit that.
Absolutely get the bad association leaving a bad taste and, since you mention it, the only guy I knew with a GN (as opposed to the other G bodies plenty of other people had) was a dick and I still wish I had been around the night he got smoked by a POS late ’80s Malibu sleeper. I’m not trying to argue that they were amazing cars or that they aren’t probably overpriced, but they also weren’t as bad as some more recent counter reactions, which often seem to come more from perception and prejudgement (and maybe particular negative human association) than familiarity. Obviously, that isn’t you, then. I actually prefer the sportier trim Cutlasses and SSs for looks even if they were in today’s econobox performance territory (actually, my ’90 FWD Legacy was faster than my ex’s SS, so it’s not even today’s standards that they’re slow by), but that lack of power also didn’t highlight the deficiencies in the body like the GNs did (or people who drop bigger engines in Gs find out). And as much as I at least like the idea of T-tops, I would never buy one with them as even the lower level Gs felt a bit cooked noodle with them. There’s a company that sells replacement chassis with all kinds of upgrades, including optional IRS, I believe, that’s supposed to be transformative, but the cost is just nuts for anyone but a rich guy with an emotional attachment.
“Sonny, come over here and park this Grand National for me. I’ll be watching you, so you better be careful and drive slow. Park it next to a Bentley, this is the car from the Kendrick Lamar video. I know what I have.”
“I’m just a busser going out for a smoke, TGI Fridays does not have valet. And I’m pretty sure the Kendrick video has an actual GNX.”
Disagree with every fiber of my being. I thought they were cool until I drove one. Literally every single thing sucks about it, except boost.
Maybe that is the point, it’s a shit car with boost. If that’s all that does it for you, ok. Put your money where your mouth is and buy one. I don’t think you will… because despite all that waxing poetic about it, deep down, you know it’s a piece of shit too.
Also, you are the contrarian here imho.
I can’t daily one right now for myriad reasons, but I will get to go weekend car shopping in a few years and will do my best to drive one of these as part of the process. If I hate it you get the last laugh.
I think there is a reason the venn diagram of those who think they are awesome/epic and those who have driven them do not overlap much.
If the Kendrick Lamar album doesn’t work,there’s always the Joyryde music video “Windows” featuring Rick Ross that’ll definitely get your adrenaline flowing!! A Grand National is in that one!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9iT_Dzk5Nv4&pp=ygUPam95cnlkZSB3aW5kb3dz
On some days, but not others, I can appreciate some aspects of this car’s styling, although it is shared for the most part with the other GM G-bodies.
But for something that reeks of corny “I know what I have” boomers, the Grand National is down significantly in power and torque compared to a much better, in every way, EcoBoost Mustang.
I once saw a regular-looking beige-ass Regal, vinyl roof and all, that had been ordered as a turbo and with basically all the performance bits from the GN.
Yeah, you could spec a regular Regal with the turbo and all kinds of packages. There were also the T-Types, which could be ordered to look like a GN with a broader color palette. There was also an ’87 Turbo T (replacing the T-Type, IIRC) that could be ordered to be lighter than the GN. They’re pretty rare and more interesting.
I was going to say, “Actually….” but for once, an automaker did exactly what you just described! No suspension changes or anything!
Granted, you’ll never have the power of a full-on GNX. Still, it’s interesting to read that the Regal Turbos are passing the GN in value due to their lighter weight and rarity. (Only if you are in the know, though.)
I’m glad that the Grand National happened, because we needed something big, bad and fast to believe in. But I don’t want one now.
On the other hand there was a rumor back then that the FBI had special ordered a bunch of plain Jane Buicks with all the go-fast gear. 13 second FBI Q-ship? Sign me up.
The FBI also (supposedly, not really confirmed) ordered some 6.2 (not 4.3 or 5.7) diesel caprice/impala coupes as well.
The 1980s were… interesting.
Maybe this was the origin of the beige Turbo Regal coupe with all the goodies I saw?
I’ve heard that rumor about 5 million times and no one can prove/confirm it.
I almost bought a blue Regal T-Type back in 1987 but ended up with an SVO.
I sort of got my Grand National all these years later in the form of the Ecoboost SHO. Although the SHO can actually turn and brake.
That’s like saying “I sort of got my C5 Corvette in the form of a 2020 Camry.”
Except that it’s a different maker, and FWD, and doesn’t have the look.
Well, except that it’s AWD, is black and has about 450hp through a tune. I got a 3.9 0-60 with a 12.7 quarter mile and it turns and stops, too.
in other words, nothing like a Grand National at all.
Those cowards at corporate need to bring back the grand national. All of the current Buicks are glorified garbage and many of them are rocking 3-cylinder sewing machine plants. This would get people in the showrooms for sure.
Bishop? You around buddy? Wanna take a crack at a 2026 Grand National? I think that the only constraint I’d give you is that there should be a dedicated launch control button front and center in the dash. Not an icon on a screen, but a big freaking’ button. Go wild with the rest. Maybe even bring back a t-top?
I’ve been looking around at new cars, though I wouldn’t expect to buy for another 1-2 years. I actually looked at Buick and felt dirty for doing it. No hybrids = no interest.
Use the Alpha platform and the turbo V6 from the Blackwing. It’s right there.
The 2020 Buick Regal GS was faster than a Grand National, but nobody bought it.
The previous two comments are polar opposites of each other, I sometimes love the internet.
But for $40k I could have one hell of an MR2, maybe two. (even 3)
I will never understand the obsession with these things. They drive like ass, the interior is awful, the build quality is awful, and they aren’t even that quick. I’d much rather have a GTI.
I don’t understand the obsession with VWs. They’re overpriced, poorly engineered, have a long line of problems in multiple areas in almost every single model built, things fall apart with them that don’t on nearly anything else, they’re a PITA to work on purely for the sake of being difficult as nothing else explains it, and they’re underwhelming to drive to be generous. I’d much rather have almost anything else.
I don’t understand the obsession with horses. They crap while they’re walking, can be moody, it’s hard to find a blacksmith when you need one. I’d much rather have a Stanley Steamer.
I never said that I like VWs, I’m just saying that I’d take a GTI over a GN. I don’t particularly WANT either one, but if faced with the choice, I’d take the VW.
That’s fair.
Any muscle car falls flat when judged by today’s standards. What makes muscle cars appealing in the modern era is the style and the heritage.
So do you want a regular, nothing special about it car to commute in? Or do you want to own a car that, in its time, would outrun a Ferrari and is now a collectors item? PS – there’s no wrong answer, just personal preference.
With very few exceptions, all of the nostalgiamobiles fall flat when you judge them by today’s standards. I like plenty of cars that are garbage compared to modern stuff, but the GN just ain’t one of them. I never thought these were cool, even when they were new, and yes, I do remember when they were new.
I don’t understand the negative perception a lot of people here have toward the Grand National. Like everyone fawns all over Euro and JDM 80’s cars but this one always gets dismissed because it could get smoked by a modern Accord or has some plastic on the interior. Like that isn’t true of almost everything else of the era.
For its time, it was one of the best cars that GM sold in the 80s. This is high praise given that I’m one of the resident GM haters here.
I honestly wouldn’t mind having a GNX as a play toy, but wouldn’t want to dare rely upon 80s GM to be a daily driver. Rode in a GNX a few times and it was an absolute hoot.
I think it’s mostly kids whose experience comes from video games so they think numbers matter over feel. The G bodies had flaws, as everything else did, and they were still some of the better cars of the decade. Even as a fan of imported cars, most of the ones fawned over are highly overrated (and slower than a GN, which is also real simple to mod for those who paint by numbers). One suffers from ignorant nostalgia, the other ignorant dismissal, which is funny because in the GN’s day, the snobbism was against the Japanese cars. I’m not saying everyone has to love them, but there are a lot of things I don’t like that I can still admit are good. Not sure why that seems such an uncommon ability. Maybe if it featured in one of those Japanese cartoons, opinions would be different and you’d see plush GNs hanging from ornamental tow hooks.
The GN was also never featured in Top Gear, which means like 90% of Millennial car enthusiasts had never heard of it. IMO 80’s domestics are a huge blind spot in a lot of people’s car enthusiasm, which is a shame because it’s such a fascinating era.
This neurodivergent millennial enthusiast with a passion for weird cars has always known about and loved the Grand National, but you’re still 100% correct
Fully agree and that is by no means a top category of cars that I’m a fan of, but I have quite a lot of experience with them and found them to be a lot better than I expected and anything exceeding even low expectations is not something I experience often. While I might like history, I feel like when I was young, most of us knew about all kinds of stuff that predated us, but for the last few decades, it’s been the opposite. I don’t know if it’s the pace of technology and life that pushes concentration on the present and future; generational navel gazing encouraged by a coddled upbringing and blown up by the narcissism factories of social media and the “need” to sell oneself as a brand; that boomers were our parents and they were always pushing how great everything they did was and our grandparents were the Greatest Generation which we could really look up to; or something else entirely.
Usually these articles show that something desirable and previously expensive is now affordable to us plebeians by comparing it to something that we could afford new.
This is more akin to the desirable superstar of the ’80s who kind of went off the rails in the 1990s/2000s with some questionable decisions during those decades is now back in the 2020s.
Like, I’m happy for your redemption and you definitely had your moment, but you know, Taylor Swift is more this moment in time.
This makes me think a Grand National’s kind of an overpriced car, and 1980s nostalgia looks better on a Sony Trinitron.
Peep this highly modified one in the background https://images-stag.jazelc.com/uploads/theautopian-m2en/cb70e640-0b8d-4c8c-b4db-6336ae776cb2-1536×710.jpeg from yesterday’s article https://www.theautopian.com/full-story-behind-that-melted-corvette-zr1-bumper/
You could Frankenstein a clone out of junkyard parts and eBay, and it would be as fast, if not faster, and cost significantly less. It wouldn’t have the numbers matching kudos, but who cares?
Unless you’re talking about building off of a beater, have you priced good G bodies lately? They’ve gotten ridiculous. Might as well go for the real thing.
I would go for the beater. Or build up a grandma fresh 4 door Oldsmobile, like the 88 I had in high school, with better parts.
See Tony Angelo from Stay Tuned, he built a Typhoon S10 clone with mostly junkyard parts. Cool project
I think the real question is how is it that a GTI is now an almost $40k car? The kids used to want them (and often got them). I’ve owned several, they’re (usually) great until something breaks, but mine weren’t anywhere near that price either. No wonder VW is circling the drain in the U.S., at 40k that’s more than the price of many good “adult” cars.
I think your statement, at the end, is why it’s circling in the US: many American’s don’t see small hatchbacks as “adult” cars.
In the case of Tuaouragegeg vs Atlas, the Atlas will win every time in America because it’s bigger (and can spell the name).
It ain’t that small anymore either. Slap some cladding on it and raise the ride height 2 inches and it’s one of the larger subcompact SUVs.
That’s effectively what the original Tiguan was.
Before the bloat hit it.
I kind of disagree in regard to myself anyway, I don’t have anything against hatchbacks and would enjoy a new GTI (well, if it was a manual anyway) but at $40k the GTI has a lot of “sporty” competition with far better at least perceived reliability and lower cost of maintenance. Not very long ago the Golf R was at $40k and I’d consider that far more adult than a WRX or STI or Civic Type R or even Integra. The general public over here, yeah, hatchbacks are not and have never been the thing.
I actually owned a Touareg (from new), and at the time considered it more of a Cayenne / Q7 2 row at at a discount price (compared to those anyway). Conversely I have always looked at the Atlas as a why bother car, it’s big(ish) but I find the Pilot and Highlander to be far better long term bets. The Atlas comes across as visibly cheap, especially inside, and I find the styling to be terrible (which is of course my subjective opinion) with the whole thing to contain nothing that “makes a VW a VW” from a driving perspective.
Look at the technology list on the new GTI. THAT is what makes it more expensive. Even base model cars have more metal, backup cameras, and other technologies that drive the price up. Keep in mind that the automakers lobby for these changes, so they can increase their profit margin while shrugging their shoulders in bewilderment about how things got this way.
Context: I’m shopping a new car right now, including the GTI, and the auto reviewers ROAST anything that doesn’t have a manual transmission or dual clutch automatic and AWD. That DC trans right there adds a fair bit of coin.
(No, I’m not jaded, you’re jaded!)
This may be one of those “don’t meet your hero” moments. Much like seeing multiple 85 Monte Carlo SSs on the Generous Auction, I’m not sure they can live up to my childhood dreams.
Just try to flash back to your childhood benchmarks.
I wish everyone who thinks these cars are ‘soooo cool’ would get to drive one sometime.
The only reason people worship these things is that everything else America produced at the time was utter shit.
I’d rather have a clean 88 Civic Hatch. DX. Not even Si. It’s a better car in every way.
Yeah. In my mind, I’m 8 year old me dreaming of this awesome machine going down the road. I want to keep living in that reality, not the real one where this would get smoked by a Camry.
Unlikely, but even if so, I will never get these comparisons that people keep throwing up. Plenty of boring modern eunuchmobiles are faster than any number of revered classics that offer an actually interesting experience, so what? Where do people live that they’re apparently frequently drag racing soccer moms on the street and that becomes the most important metric to rank a vehicle?
I don’t even care about metrics. It’s a grandma car that is utter garbage. The only redeeming factor is boost.
That rides and looks better than 95% of today’s overweight, under-tired, anesthetized active “safety” wuss-mobiles packed with tween-appeal electronics garbage that won’t make it the 40 years these have and I’m not even a huge fan. But that’s neither here nor there as my response to the other commenter wasn’t about these cars specifically, if you read it, it’s about the thoughtless cliche of something new being automatically better because it’s faster. It’s like seeing someone praise a fleshlight over a real partner and it belongs on the same list of nonsense phrases as the one where someone only criticizes something because they’re jealous they can’t afford.
I’m not saying new cars are better. I’m saying this car sucks, for a lot of reasons. I would rather have an 88 Honda Civic Hatchback. Even a base model.
No Camry would smoke a Grand National. Hell, the GN is still decently fast by today’s standards. 0-60 in ~5 seconds and a 14 second quarter mile is still nothing to sneeze at. And the car looks cool, unlike a fucking Camry.
Yep. Friend of mine had one. I rode in it a couple of times. Yes, it accelerates quite well. Is it comfortable to ride in, not really. For one thing, the seat belt is poorly placed for tall people, so it was cutting into my neck. This simultaneously killed my desire to get a Monte Carlo SS from the same generation.
Rather have a Gti.
Yeah, these are great cars, I dunno that I’d compare the price to a new GTI, the figures are the same, but not the function. One is a daily driver, the other is mostly a show queen at this point. Dailying it will just break the Buick faster.
Or break the driver.
Sure, if the driver’s other car is a Mustang.