The reason the cars price got so high with addons is because GM considered the Air Conditioning system dual purpose. If the brakes ever failed, turning on the AC would quickly bring the car to a stop.

When the 0-60 time is slow enough to make a early 80s journalist disappointed you know your car is slow

Stopping from 55mph takes 140 feet which is horrible, but the real tragedy is it destroys all that work and time you had to do to get it there.

I love how he just throws the suit cases in the back like man this shit....

0-60 in 30 seconds but runs the quarter mile in 23.3 seconds at 59 mph. Thats one hell of a 59-60 mph sprint...

I cant stop watching this! 0-60 in 30 seconds lol.....he was like I cant even describe what that feels like

My first car was a brand new 1986 Chevette. It was very reliable, and always delivered 35 miles per gallon. The odometer rolled over twice. There was a factory build sheet we found under the seat. On the build sheet was the VIN number, and it said the car line was Pontiac. My Chevette was supposed to have been the Pontiac 1000. I checked the VIN number recently, and have discovered it is still registered. My old Chevette which was sold many years ago is still on the road.

I just about died in laughter at 3:43 where they were giving each other pep talk to achieve the 1/4 mile and he hit the top of the car hoping that would some how make the car go faster. Do you really need those helmets at this point driving this bucket? Lol

I had a 1984 Pontiac 1000 when I was a teen. It was my first car purchase. Yes, it was the most basic car you could get at the time, but it was reliable and easy to work on. Great first car.

This was the nightmare vehicle Alamo Rent A Car would force on you if you didn’t upgrade to the full size Buick LeSabre and pay the extra insurance premiums.

The pontiac 1000 was the pinnacle of automobile engineering ,the clever use of plastic badging and the sporty "1000" nomenclature really enhanced the luxury experienced at a reasonable price. My 1000 had an ashtray and headlights as standard equipment. Did I mention lugnuts? They were made of metal!

My wife and I had a Chevette, we were poor, but our lil Blue Chevette was such a good little car, no air and a manual shifter. 138 a month in payments, felt like a lot back then.

Hilarious. These were truly dark days for American cars.

At $7,200, that is almost $19,000 in today's money. You can get a very nice, low mileage mid-size for that, or less. The future is not so terrible, folks.

could you picture a cop laughing hysterically and asking how fast you were going

1:46 John: No more frayed carpet edges around the hand brake! LOL

It's like designers said "Hey guys, how can we lose market share to the Japanese?"

0-60 in 30 sec & it was the 2nd best selling small car line in the US! How the Hell could you blame anybody for buying an import!

As a rookie Chevrolet salesman in 1982 I drove a Chevette as my dealer demo. For a guy who loved classic American cars, that was a bitter pill. 😅

I had an 81 Chevette. It felt like a race car compared to the 66 VW I had before that. Plus it had heat.

I remember my mom's best friend got a Chevette to replace her aging Oldsmobile Cutless and boy did she regret it. It had no room and was an automatic too and she had to haul three of us to elementary school and I remember even as a little kid I thought "what a piece of utter JUNK" as she floored it to go up a hill, it downshifted and then decelerated in THAT gear. LMAO! And 25 mpg? My 4000 lb '98 Crown Vic gets that for crying out loud!

It should have been called the "Pontiac Dungheap". If you turned on the HP sapping A/C compressor, it would probably start going backwards...

When I was young/in school I went through these like Kleenex...never paid more than $500 and they were dead reliable, started at -30°c and were pretty good in winter w snow tires. I had three of them where the seat fell through the floor from rust but man they were cheaper to own than a bus pass

Hadn't seen one of these in years, then I got word someone had one of for sale in their yard near where I live. It had been repainted and looked decent from 50 feet away. Since I learned to drive stick and over steer in one and recall numerous beer runs in college in another, I was intrigued. I was shocked that it sold in a day. That afternoon (or the next) I saw the new owner merging onto I-75 with a smile on his face and a temp tag on the back. Never saw it again.

I owed on bran new. Loved it, very simple and great on gas. Never noticed the lack of power but I was very happy to have had it.

A Tercel is a damn luxury/performance car compared to this.

holy crap, no fraying around emergency brakes? this is what they were happy about? LOL

In Canada the Pontiac version of the Chevette was marketed as the "Acadian". My wife had one and it was an excellent city car.

Did the guy really need the helmet?

30 seconds for 0-60 is dangerously slow.

Every once in awhile I come back to this review when I'm having a bad day. Because no day is as bad as the day you'd have to drive this hunk of shit.

I worked valet parking back in like 2005 and this old lady pulled up in a pristine Chevette dark grey with red interior. I got to drive it and it was quite memorable. So slow that it felt like something was wrong with it.lol😅

I can't hate this car. I learned how to drive in a blue one. The heater switch broke off in the HOT position and had only one wheel with a working brake. I would slide up to every red light. Sold it for $200.

I assume these were all just given away on game shows of the era like, "Let's Make a Deal."

When I met my wife she had an '82 Chevette. I think it had the same engine as the Pontiac 1000. When pulling away from a stop it made a lot of noise but did not go anywhere. Also, in the winter the thing was difficult to start. It got totaled the month after her last car payment. She then made the mistake of buying an '85 Buick Skyhawk. Another small car disaster from GM.

I had an 82 Pontiac back in the early 1990's. At the time the Brooks and Dunn song "I'm In a Hurry to Get Things Done" was a big hit, so I stenciled in "0-60 in 30.2 sec" on the hatch, and people thought I was being hyperbolic. As it turns out, I made a good guess on it's potential stats.

In the early 80s I worked in the Pontiac Zone office in Houston. I had never seen a 1000 so one day I ordered one. When it showed up to the office they made me drive it. Didn’t really seem that bad.

My next door neighbor had one. at 17, 18, 19, 20 we drove the piss out of that thing. It never broke.

We bought an '85 Plymouth Horizon new and drove it for 100K plus. The only repair was the voltage regulator for the alternator and a battery. It had the 2.2L big-block four with a 5-speed manual. It was MUCH bigger in every dimension, especially width, over the competition. We were newlyweds and we really got our moneys worth out of that one. Bill Bryson wrote a book about touring the USA in his mom's Chevy Chevette. Hilarious! Must read.

I had a friend in high school that had a 1985 Chevy Chevette 4 door hatch. It was the slowest car I ever drove. Amazing to think these did 0-60 in half a minute. Try finding one of these today, though. This entire generation of disposable era cars is sad because not many survive today.

And THIS is why the Japanese (Toyota, Datsun/ Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, and Mazda) automakers kicked our tails in the 70's, 80's, and 90's!!

I had one, my first car I actually owned. She drove like a shopping cart.

Actually, there had been a Pontiac version of the Chevette since the very beginning in 1976. It was the Pontiac Acadian and was sold in Canada all the way through 1987.

'86 5 speed was my 1st car. Followed my father's recommendation to buy GM. He drove Chevys for 70 years but his last car was a Honda. He couldn't believe how much better his last car was.

0-60 in 30 seconds?!? 25 m.p.g.? For a subcompact car? What a complete piece of junk.

I had one. I paid 4,000. For it. No ac. Stick. It was a tough car. I had it for many years. I put 265,000 miles on it. I felt it was one of the best cars I ever owned.

This truly is my favorite MW review.

I remember being 7 years old and traveling from Houston, Tx to Wilmington Beach, NC in one of these cars.. My dad wanted to rent a Chevy Caprice for our family vacation, but when we got to the rental place, all they had was a handful of Pontiac 1000s.. To add insult to injury, they gave us a brown one.. My dad cussed that car every time we had to go up a hill or mountain.. lol!

I love it at 1:49 where they stuck those two people in the car, told them to look like they are "testing the seats" and then turned the camera on as they started doing those little bounces, as if they are seeing how they feel for the first time!

I remember Michael Douglas drove a Chevette in Falling Down lol

I love watching reviews of old POS cars. They even knew it at the time. As a kid in the 90s, these things felt ancient, but it was only 10 yrs old.

I had an'87 chevette scooter, stick, and it was the most fun thing I have ever had. You just had to keep the 2bbl secondary open, in other words run it everywhere wide open to valve float and it's a blast

My first car in 1996 LOL , she had snow tires which were illegal in my state at the time, I would fish tail like crazy at intersections, poor thing only went 60 miles an hour tops...

Chevettes and 1000s littered the student parking lot at the high school I attended. A safe choice as a hand-me-down car from parents because there was no way anyone was going to get busted for street racing in one of these.

I loved those little cars. They were tough as nails.

I pegged my '83 Chevette at 80mph...I mashed the accelerator while I was going downhill on I-15 south in San Diego one summer night.

This brings back memories of my first car which was a 1983 Pontiac 1000. Damn, that car had NO power! Some would probably argue that the car was the perfect match for me considering I was also considered one of the weakest kids of the school during my middle and high school years! lol

Why did Americans switch to Japanese cars? Here's your answer.

I had a '77 Chevette which I drove on pizza delivery. It was practically indestructible, considering the stop-and-go abuse that sort of work entails. It was very nimble, and it also actually had pretty decent pickup, but then I also had the manual shift. Anyone that opted for the automatic was just a glutton for punishment. The only downside was the brakes tended to wear quickly, but that may have just been a function of my job.

This is what I learned to drive on! I had the white car and it was a stickshift! The reverse was in the upper right and you had to push the lever down to move it to reverse. It did burn oil though...

I just bought one. Love it.

When I was a little kid, my babysitter had a Chevy Chevette. Even at that young I thought it was a scary POS. I hated riding in her car. It made my sister's 1994 Hyundai Excel seem really nice in comparison.

I drove this car 1 time,way back in 82/83. I was so surprised at how FAST it was. Not being my car, I floored it all day, and it seemed to me to fly! It only have so few horsepower...I am shocked. it seemed to be quite,fast,and well put together. But then, I didn't own it, and it was probably crap after the first month of owning:)

I had an '82 Chevette with an Isuzu 1.9L diesel, and, it was EXCELLENT. Reliable as could be, and, 40+ MPG.

We had a Chevette diesel in driver's ed... talk about slow. We had a maneuver to do where we were required to get the car to 35 mph and do a panic stop. With three in the car, we couldn't get the car to 35 in the stretch required in the parking lot.

I had a 1985 chevy chevette as my first car...my dad and I fitted a webber carb...man i felt like it added 100hp back then...lol

Car & Driver reviewed a Chevette with a 2.8 liter V6 transplant and I remember the review that it was a fairly entertaining and good performing car and looked decent with nice aluminum wheels and good tires.

My fist car. Loved it. Terrible breaks. Wouldnt die! Fond memories of my lower expectations.

My wife had one of these when I first met her back in 1991. :)

"We build excitement!" Except for the 1000. We built excrement on that one.

Back when they could give honest reviews. Weird to hear the negative feedback in this day and age. I like it!

As a Ford & Mopar guy here, I still respect GM for making an honest effort to actually be better than some cheap imports on this little Poncho. It was a handsome little car that did exactly what it was designed to do. If you listen to John's review, he actually had nice things to say about it where GM did improve the dated design. ( brakes, interior, finish, dollar value ).

I really enjoyed when the guy in the front and girl in the back were thrashing around in their seats like they were sitting on fire ants and then slam sum luggage in the back ! all that woeful engine\trans combination deserves really with pathetic, unsafe slowness like that!

Back before John discovered tanning booths. Now he's pumpkin orange. 🎃

My dad bought my mom a new Chevette in 1979 for Christmas.He made up for it a year later and bought her her dream home.Haha I grew up there and my mom still lives there after my dad died in 2020.

I bought a brand new 84' 1000 four door with a 4 speed manual for I believe about $7000. That thing would barely do 60mph downhill on the interstate. Passing on a two lane road was scary. Many times I ended up unable to pass and had to abort maneuver.

this is so awesome!

The way he threw the empty luggages 😂😂😂😂

This was my very first new car…being a teenager I loved it’s practically but soon was jealous of those guys who drove trans ams! Today I drive sports cars so hardly anyone can smoke me on the streets! Lessons learned from a kid in the 80’s!

I always like Motorweek as they are essentially advocates of the auto industry in general, I like watching them try to contort themselves in some of these reviews.

I used to have one of these and I have to tell you that they are tough as hell!! Great durability and economy and reliability and the only reasons that they aren't around is because they were awesome at the time and inexpensive to own and therefore were bought, driven, destroyed, or retired and recycled and also because of the recycle a clunker program where you were bribed to sell your car for recycling. In the 70s and 80s cars were a lot different then today, don't forget that kids.

I think it’s great that these “forgotten” cars are still remembered. Like the saying goes, ‘If you don’t remember history, you’re doomed to repeat it’. I’d like to see one on the ‘80’s laughable Pontiac LeMans subcompact! That would be great!

Yes my mother in law had a /84 back in 1990. It did suck on the on ramps, and if it was uphill 😂. It worked well and tough,so much she bought a 1986 couple years later.

I had a 1986 Chevy Spectrum for my second car, in college. That must have been faster than this 1000, was only 75 HP I think, but with 5 speed manual it seemed ok.

UNSAFE FOR HIGHWAY USE.

Hey take it easy on the luggage buddy.

I've been a professional auto tech for the last 30 years. I have seen ONE of these still functional. That was 20 years ago and it was a farm vehicle at an apple orchard in Peru, NY.

We used to own one of these-maybe an older year-but that thing was tough as nails-good little commuter car to zip around in.

3:41 Was all that hype supposed to make the car go faster? Because it didn't work lmfao!!!!

It was sold in Canada as the Pontiac Acadian

I'm from Canada and when I was a kid I used to see this cars all the time now it's very rare that I see them anymore lol 😁.

I had one of the 4dr models in high school an '81 T-1000. I remember it couldn't do 65mph on the highway. But it got me to the beach just fine.

My friend had one with a 350 dropped inside and we would jump railroad tracks all day, boy those were the days!

0-60 mph in 30 seconds!! This most be the most sluggish car in the last 50 years!

My parents bought a diesel 4 door chevette with an automatic transmission. It was incredibly slow but would cruise great. Believe it was rated at 51 horsepower, less than a jet ski.

I had one of these, got me around, and was pretty reliable.

So To Sum up this car, 0-60 in 30 seconds!!! The only part I cared about, that's just EPIC!!! :)

What do you think those people were saying at 5:23 to 5:27? I'm guessing: Driver: I can't wait to get out of this piece of garbage. Woman: Yeah, and I'm freezing out here.

Mom had an '80 Chevette. A supposedly seasoned mechanic, she damn near lost her shit one day when it started overheating. At 11 years old, I thought that was the day the world was going to end. Turned out to be the water pump, but the entire time we had it, we could never get it up beyond 45 mph due to a worn U-joint that would make the car shudder

I had one of these. I actually got OVER 40 mpg highway, so long as I used every trick I could use to preserve mileage. Drafting behind a semi-truck was the preferred trick. Going "extra turtle" where you didnt push the engine to gain speed(ex;downhills helped) was also a bonus. And although I never got a speeding ticket, I actually got a warning once. Amazingly, I was actually speeding in one of these! The T1000 suprisingly seemed more suited for 4x4 use,being able to go over large ruts and bumps, and despite its gutless wonderfulness, it was fun to drive between 20-40 mph range around bends on the road. Once I was in one (not me driving) and at top speed (apx 85mph) the driver lost control and panicked, let go of the steering wheel,(ikr, wtf?) and we spun out. Luckily it didnt flip and we lived to tell the tale. Dad wasnt impressed though when he found out.We still found the keys later. ;p