With Top Gear off the air, these retro reviews are turning out to be a solid source of motoring entertainment. This stuff is GOLD!

Highlight of this clip was the diesel Caddy belching smoke as it turned.

I've never seen so much body roll and understeer in one place.

I haven't heard so many tires squealing so badly while going so slow since.....well.....the 80s.

Wow, look how young he is. Same great voice.

The darkest days of the American auto. Oh lord the Citation was agony.

Man I love the old G bodies, I'll take that Hurst Olds right now!

I remember seeing Chevy Celebrities everywhere, actually still see a few rolling around.

My only question is how did the executives at GM get crack in Michigan when it had barely been introduced in Los Angeles around the same time .

Wow, it was an entirely different scene in '83! Pontiac and Oldsmobile were still around, and absolutely NOBODY thought they would be discontinued! Those small cars were nothing compared to the ones we have today! There was no Bluetooth, no cell phone plug ins (or cell phones, period!) and no touch screens or back-up cameras! It's also amazing how the compact pickups changed. Today, the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon come in Crew Cab models that hold up to five full-grown men, and they're as large as a full-size '83 Chevy pickup! I remember the Eldorado/Riviera/Toronado trio, and it was hard to believe they were still being made. A Riviera convertible was pace car at the 1983 Indy 500. GM was still pretty much "old GM" even in '83! Now look at GM in 2017! Times really have changed!

I was a proud owner of a 83 s10 blazer with the powerful 2.8l v6. It was such a powerhouse that cruising on flat interstate at 65, it would have to downshift to maintain speed. It was totally gutless. I don't know which set GM back farther, the 2.8L v6 or the 5.7 diesel made from the 350 block. Then there is the Cadillac Cimarron. You too can have the European luxury of an early 80's cavalier. You know that car had Mercedes, BMW and the rest quaking in fear. What a sad time for the US carmakers.

Damn that Coupe Deville was nice!

I have no idea why, but I find a lot of these late 70's/early 80's cars fascinating. It's something about how gimmicky they are, with stuff like the "econo-minder" or the digital gauges, and for some of them I love the looks alone. I guess I'm just weird.

The 4.3 liter came out in1988. It was a great power plant in the s10 truck

@ 15:18 the Coupe DeVille belches out a huge cloud of black exhaust.

Now you know why 80’s movie car chases were so good!

2019 here. Somehow GM got through the eighties and is still in business.

That Riviera convertible is gorgeous. The T-Type is even better. It was fantastic in snow with the front wheel drive.

Tony, is too many options a bad thing? All we have now is 4 doors. Remember when all compact cars had 2 door, 4 door, wagon and hatch options like the Cavalier? The A bodies? Even the land yachts came in 2 door, 4 door and wagon trim. I miss the days of variety and think that option is a good thing. Remember when the camry/Corolla came in a 2 door and a wagon? Now It's only 4 doors. The Civic used to have a wagon, hatch, and a 4 door. Now it's just a 4 door jellybean.

I was working at Oldsmobile when the last 442 Hurst Olds came out.

"Truck/wagon" oh yeah, this was before SUVs were known as SUVs.

High style road holding.... that almost made me pass out from laughing do hard

With those cars, I'm not surprised people turned to Japan for their next vehicle.

"Let's see how their marriage is going" Not. Well.

If GM only knew what they were about to face with those diesel engines. If they only knew what was coming.

Darn you Motorweek and your Retro Reviews! Now I'll be watching KZfaq all night.

Wow these cars really bring back memories. I had a sunbird with the 2.0 OHC engine. It was my first car.

The 6000-STE....there's your car right there.

I've owned a few of those. Just like going down memory lane! Thank you!!

wow those Pontiacs with 4 doors look like a firebird from the front

The S10's, camaro, and firebirds were true gems in the 80's!

I always liked the S-10 line back then. The 4.3 V6 in later years were bulletproof.

"Diesel power" was the biggest oxymoron of the 80s

Fascinating to watch these now, its great they have been preserved and I got to witness the birth of KIT from Knight Rider!!

The 2.8L in the Blazer wouldn't out run a fat man walking. The 4.3L was a life saver later on. I'm not a gm fan, but can't argue against the 4.3L. Great motor with the TBI

I find it funny that MotorWeek had nice words for the Cadillac Cimarron, while consumers pretty much universally took one look at it and said "nope, nothing but an overpriced and rebadged Cavalier".

i remember. my parents. bought. a 91gmc Jimmy. with. a 4.3.v6 i loved. that. little. truck... it had a digital. dash display. and would. light. up the tires. so easy.

it didn't really feel like I was watching a video from the distant past, until he said "write us" at the end. When was the last time you wrote someone a letter?

The big Caddys are really really beautiful.

Love seeing these retro reviews!

Very cool 83 Hurst Olds, pretty rare now. Same for the 83 Monte Carlo SS.

I miss the old cars...much easier to work on and prettier, I LOVE the tornado with the coffin nose hood

I make you glad to know you didn't have to live in the 80s with cars like these on the streets.

the cimmiron: (and a lot of other gm products at the time but by no means the only guilty party) should be hung on a wall at corporate for an example of why badge engineering is WRONG on so many levels.

Thank you for sharing the retro videos. I have enjoyed seeing the Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs and other GM brands. I would like to see more Oldsmobiles( Ninety Eight, Eighty Eight, Toronado) and again thank you for posting the retro videos from not just GM too.

Man, those Cadillacs were absolutely lovely... right up until 14:47 ... What the hell were they thinking with that thing?

Thanks! I loved seeing our 83 cimarron in action.

The lighting roods LOOKED! So bad ass ! I n that Hurst like a pitchfork. One of the coolest ideas ever in my opinion.

I remember that year well. It’s hilarious now that they’re making such a big deal out of front wheel drive!

Love your new car reviews

my grandpa had an 83 Eldorado. that car was awesome!

i love these videos. fascinating.

It is so weird to see car reviews talk about front wheel drive like that. You can sense that it seemed new and special at the time where as now the goal of many car guys are to find cars with rear wheel drive. Fasinating.

In 1983, I bought my first new car, a Honda Civic stick no air. Out the door it was $5850. Took a loan with a 13% interest rate.

This is when GM began taking platform sharing to a really extreme degree. And it didn't turn out too well. And that Hurst/Olds made my tongue hard in 83 and it's hard now...and I'm Ford guy...

Love the Retro Series. Nostalgic and fun!

Watching this video made me think. At this time, GM was already dealing with the Olds Diesel fiasco, and chose to add the Cadillac HT4100 to their list. They must have had their hands full dealing with problems and warranty repairs. Dark days for GM indeed. I would not want to have been a car buyer at that time. Think I would have just given up and bought something older.

We owned an 83 Malibu sedan growing up. Ran well, but the sheet metal was made out of cheapest metal. The front doors and trunked had rust holes in them within 2 years from new. However, I do remember loving the appearance of that Hurst Cutlass Olds. I had a poster of it in my room that I got from a car magazine.

Love the skyhawk t well all of the shy hawks especially when the t got the 3 toned interiors

I had a Citation, a lot of room in that car, seats folded down and the hatch went up, perfect for parking out in the country!

I own 2 cavalier wagons an 85 an 92. An 85, 87 an two 88 celebrity’s Awesome video!

As bad as those cars were, they well handling masterpieces of modern design compared to the boatmobiles from the 70's. As an 80's child, I can still remember seeing old 70's cars bobbing up and down in the lane next to me on the highway, and see-sawing when they pulled out of parking lots.

The 83 lineup stood the test of time: buick century, regals, rivieras were everywhere. The Camaro, Monte Carlo and El Dorado were prized vehicles. Some evolved some went the way of the dodo but those cars marked an era and back in the day they were the most popular cars. they dominated the 80's.

Isn't it funny you hardly see ANY of those FWD GMs anymore, except for the occasional Cavalier wagon. But I still see tons of those old RWD 80s GMs.

I love these MW Retro Reviews -- the good, bad, and ugly. That was a 15 minute encapsulation of the worst cars America has ever produced. What on earth was GM doing, let alone thinking, back then. Every single one of those cars -- with the possible exception of the forthcoming re-designed Corvette -- was a monstrosity in engineering, craftsmanship, and reliability. Every brand under the GM badge was basically selling the same car with a different name. Why do you need 10 versions of a Chevy Celebrity? What kind of ridiculous financial sense did that make? That last clip of one of those land yachts spewing black Diesel exhaust out of the tailpipe when the driver was flooring it around a turn was the perfect ending and summed up the 1980s for GM rather perfectly.

Gotta love that caprice

My Mom had an 1984 Buick Skylark and we loved it. Until someone hit me while I was driving. But the cars quick response to try to get out of the way saved my life and the car hit the rear quarter.

I was only a year old when this video came out, it's like looking inside a time capsule, so cool!! But omg so much overlap in GM's car lineup. Between Pontiac, Chevy, Buick, and Oldsmobile it's like they took the exact same cup that was painted green, and painted it red and said here you go buyer, this is a completely different car you can also buy! I don't know if it was the customer's ignorance or GM's arrogance but it is truly sickening. I'm glad they almost went out of business, tbh most of their cars are still the same old garbage but competition has forced them to get at least a little better but with a prettier package (relatively speaking).

wow omg '83 I was only 11 years old at the time and my family just moved to Markham Ontario Canada which was still called a town at the time, and my dad just bought the blazer

I see a bunch of people commenting on how terrible these cars were and how it was the darkest period. I was there, so I can tell you, the 1983 lineup was a big step up from 1980.

Yes these cars were hideous and under powered but i will give them an A+ in comfort. Those soft plush seats and soft ride. Would lull you to sleep if you were a kid riding in the back seat.

Loved my 84 Buick Skyhawk T-Type! 1.8 Turbo.

Can anyone identify the song that starts at 0:59? I thought it might be a track from Network Music's "Technology Age" album, but it doesn't appear to be.

Love how they called the S10 Blazer a Truck/Stationwagon. I guess the term SUV didn't exist yet 😃

I watched this show back then, still watch it now. God what junk those old 80s cars were!

always loved the show

loved this

One of my girlfriends back in the mid-90's had one of these Oldsmobile Cutlass (gasoline model), it was quite nice actually!

good pick! managed to see buick's t-type range, the citation, the spyshots of the vette, the diesel delta 88

Oh man those Cadillacs was beautiful

Conspicuously absent was the Chevrolet Corvette, delayed until the 1984 model year. The sole surviving 1983 Corvette prototype is in the Corvette museum.

GM has some decent looking cars. The diesel V8 was a major lemon.

That Coupe DeVille is beautiful. I even like the color.

That Cavalier seems to be screaming for mercy!

When the word SUV hadn't been invented yet. They called the S10 a truck\station wagon.

lots of models I'd forgotten about!

I love that 83 hurst olds wish I had one very rare today👍🏻

The J car line took a lot of crap from the public but looking back it was a very full and flexible line. The wagons look especially practical. And using some imagination, if you had that line today you could just crank those wagons up six inches on their suspension and BOOM, a CUV!

My first car was the 83 Cavalier with the 2.0 fuel injected motor. For the era, it had good pickup and was generally pretty smooth. Years later I bought an 83 J2000 that was carbuerated, that thing couldn't get out of its own way! 0-60mph was possible, but highly unlikely.

Man, automobile lineups were a mess in the 80s. Way too many options >_>

Curious if you guys have a Mid-90's Cadillac Eldorado review? That would be interesting to see

I miss my 83 Malibu with 3.8 V6 it was just a plain white 4-door sedan it served me well

The best of beta max 240 aspect ratio.

Cool stuff

Please upload more on the GM diesels!

If I was my age now back in the 80s, I would have given these cars absolutely ZERO consideration. I'd be looking at Japanese cars just like I do today. Although, that Hurst/Olds is badass.

Man that Pontiac 2000 was a good looking car. Throw a LS1, T56, and a 12 bolt in it and that would be one fun car.

all I see is HOT BROWN

That Toronado was gorgeous

so many options, every car company was ACTUALLY different