Though through various fuel crises, EPA and NHTSA standards, and the need for lower priced materials, the design of cars has drastically changed since the mid 1980's.
This begs the question of what is going to be considered the classic car of the future? While some cars such as the 2012 Ford Shelby Cobra GT-500 or the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 are the quite obvious answers, there are some cars that are overlooked, disregarded or generally shrugged off.
Here's a brief list of cars within the past 30 years could be considered classics.
AMC Eagle
The AMC Eagle was a mish-mosh of components from the AMC lineup. A mixture of the Spirit, Gremlin, Hornet, and Concorde added with a Four-Wheel-Drive system mated to either a plethora of powertrain options including the iconic 4.2L AMC Inline Six created the Richard Teague inspired Off-Road capable monster.
The answer to the question that nobody asked ended up being one of the best selling vehicles in the entire lifespan of American Motors. Today, clean Eagles can fetch anything north of $10,000 as far as $30,000 for a clean SX/4.
Cadillac Cimaron
Don't laugh. As ridiculous as a Cadillac badged Cavalier sounds, don't laugh. As being the car that nearly killed Cadillac, most employees at GM still cringe at the name Cimarron, even if it's in reference to a town in New Mexico.
In a response to rising CAFE standards came the Cimarron by Cadillac (As it was marketed). A response which took a fully-loaded Cavalier and slapped a Cadillac badge on it and called it done. This was GM's first 4-cylinder Cadillac since 1917 and the last one until the upcoming ATS, and produced an anemic 88 horsepower. This was also the first Cadillac with a manual transmission since 1953.
Why is this car special? It proves that even the best ideas are prone to being fucked up. There are bad cars, and then there are awesomely bad cars. GM produced 132,499 examples of awesomely bad ideas.
Chevrolet Celebrity
The rarity of the Celebrity isn't caused by a lack of production. They made a ton of the damn things. However, the Celebrity (and most GM vehicles in the 80's) serves as a lesson in rust-proofing. It is more likely for you to win the lottery than to find a Celebrity without rust.
For most people who grew up in the 90's, the Celebrity has some sort of memory. Typically of being broke down on the side of the road because it's an 80's GM product, but a memory none-the-less.
Not all Celebrity's are collectors. God no. But there are three specific versions which are potentials for collectability: 1) EuroSport. 2) Eurosport VR. 3) Diesel.
Chevrolet Lumina APV (and variants)
Probably one of the only vehicles to have more in common with an appliance than an actual car.
The first generation Lumina APV/Pontiac TransSport/Oldsmobile Silhouette was the first threat to Chrysler's minivan game as GM designed the van as sleek and sporty. Something which hadn't been done stateside. Sales were modest through nearly the entire run of the vans which featured new technology still found on vans today such as power sliding doors, air adjustable suspension, and built-in child seats.
A definite vehicle for the minivan generation, the appeal now lays with those who owned one, whose parents owned one or who are absolute nerds when it comes to car design.
Chrysler K-Cars
Love it or hate it, this is the car that saved Chrysler Corporation after government intervention (the first time). Even with MotorTrend's nod as Car Of The Year in 1981, images of Edward K. Rooney (asshole) still emerge with the Plymouth Reliant.
The full development of the K-Car was based upon two reasons. To somewhat copy what the Japanese competition was doing with making a common platform for various vehicles and to make a cheap car. Obviously something worked as the Dodge Aries sold around 1 million in its lifespan and the Plymouth Reliant flung over the million car mark at somewhere around 1.2 million.
As a side bit of information, this was the first Chrysler vehicle to be produced in the metric system.
But why an appeal? This one isn't about the looks, it's about the lifestyle. Okay, maybe not even the lifestyle, but more of the historical importance for the Chrysler Corporation.
Dodge Caliber SRT4
Let me start off by saying this: Dear Neon SRT4 guys, it's a Neon SRT4. It's not a Dodge SRT4. If that's the case, then so is this. You sound like a fucking idiot when you argue that it's not a Neon.
Anyways, this two-year only bastard of the SRT group proved to be a surprising creature. With 285 horsepower, a 6-speed Getrag manual gearbox, and a wee bit of tuning, the Caliber SRT4 proved to be surprisingly fun to throw around despite poor sales.
While this is the newest car on the list, the quirkiness and potential rarity of this car due to racerboys not understanding how a car works and blowing it up, the future of this car lays in the SRT community who tends to either be absolutely stupid or insanely awesome when it comes to keeping cars.
Ford Festiva
Potentially the smallest vehicle Ford Motor Company has ever sold, was never really a Ford. The debut of the Festiva was based on a relationship of Korean company Kia in which the Festiva was a rebadged Kia Pride.
The 1.3L inline four economy car proved to be a hit as Ford managed to move around 350,000 cars over a five year timespan.
This proved to be the better of Ford's sub-compact ideas as the successor, the Ford Aspire, managed to fizzle away into the oblivion it came from.
Today, Festivas can still be found running around even in the rust belt. Most of these cars have well over 200,000 miles on them but are still in decent shape due to the availability and cost of parts. Clean examples can be found from $1000.
Ford Tempo
A car which became synonymous with a throw away car, the first generation Tempo is slowly becoming cool again.
The Tempo became second in line between the Thunderbird and the Taurus to bring Ford's new aero design scheme which not only brought a new face to the automotive world, but also brought better aerodynamics to cars bringing better fuel economy. Later in its life, the Tempo would experience a diesel variant, all wheel drive, and the first production sedan to feature a driver's side airbag.
The Tempo brought a new thrill to the compact car market with its design that over 400,000 were sold in the first year alone.
Overall, nearly three-million Tempos were sold. Some were good, some were Tempos. A first generation Tempo can be hard to find, but the ones which are still rolling around are examples of ones which were built on a Wednesday when the UAW wasn't pissed off about something stupid.
Geo Metro
The car that said "Fuck You" to large V8 sedans and trucks proved to be the flagship of GM's small car division which was to battle the imports of the 1980's.
The Geo Metro, which was also sold as the Suzuki Swift in the US, had one thing in mind: Fuel economy. Reaching in some cases up to 60mpg on the highway, the Geo Metro was the go-to vehicle for those who wanted high mileage and didn't mind being burdened with three cylinders of raw power. This 1.0L engine was actually DE-TUNED to 49 horsepower.
Sadly, the Metro wafted off into an oblivion as gas prices dropped and Americans went for bigger and more powerful vehicles (Read: SUV Craze). Though, with fuel prices being high, clean Metros are going for upwards of $3,000.
Isuzu Impulse
Sold only for a short time along with it's sibling the Geo Storm, the Isuzu Impulse was a car which seemed confused by itself. While the car looks stunning from either the front or the back, they don't seem to match each other, as if the front and back were designed by separate design teams.
Available with a 1.6L NA and a 1.6L Turbo (in the RS), the Impulse wasn't the slow pony at the show, but due to advancing emission and crash safety requirements, the Impulse wasn't continued.
Isuzu owners are very passionate about their vehicles and take very well care of their cars. While the Impulse is the rarest of all Isuzu vehicles, a majority of existing Impulses are clean and still are eye-catchers due to their oddness.
Toyota Van
In one of the "Meanwhile, in Japan..." moments, Toyota unveiled the Van.
Over a six year period, this bizarre looking creature from the land of the rising sun strutted across America in rear wheel and all wheel drives with a laundry list of creature comforts ranging from a refridgerator, to dual sunroofs, to captains chairs.
However, the short wheelbase lead to a bumpy ride and the ability to do a stoppie in emergency situations. These issues were resolved in the less than stellar Toyota Previa.
The Toyota Van is a rare glimpse into the past, as many of them have succumbed to rust, daily use, and/or six-year-olds.
Volkswagen Fox (Hehe... Fox)
Oh Murr! The Volkswagen Fox. Also known in Brazil (where it was built) as the Volkswagen Gol. VW's response to... something. Not really sure what. Maybe the furry community.
But the 81hp two door had decent sales, and had a strangely high focus on standard features which normally were options on its competitors. Strangely, an automatic transmission was not available throughout the entirety of the Fox's span in the States.
A majority of the Fox production were held to a coupé and a two door wagon, although the sedan was the only variant to entail the full production for the US.
So, why the Fox? Other than it's a Fox, it's the quirk factor.
There are many others that could be considered as classics, so here's a short list of honourable mentions:
Jeep Comanche
Honda CRX
Subaru XT
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