What do regals compare to today?

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

They were the Camrys and Accords of their day. Boring, average cars with an unengaging driving experience and conservative styling. Then, the Taurus came along and changed the rules for bland family sedans. It became the new template everyone tried to copy, and when it came to doing it better, the Japanese did it. Yes, there were both Camrys and Accords back then, but they were more like a Chevy Celebrity/Buick Century than a G car in size. This is why the G car was replaced with the GM10 platform Cutlass/ Lumina/other-boring-sh*t car in the 1988 model year. Front drive was expected because of the Taurass, and RWD died in average cars thereafter. Sadly, white middle class suburban trash (the most evil people on Earth) killed the automobile as we knew it. All that is left is the remains of a mediocre past that we modify today. When these cars are gone, there will be little left to play with as most newer cars and engines are technically complex, FWD and do not lend themselves to easy modification or swaps. The G body is nice because it was common, like the A body before it. This is why the "New" GTO/Holden Monaro/Commodore is not a real replacement. The lack of interchangeable parts with plebeian models.

 

[axisg]

I would have to say that in comparison to todays vehicles the Gbody would compare to current Impala, G6, Ford Fusion, Camry, Corolla buying crowd.

White middle class suburban trash as someone put it. F-U BTW. I struggled long and hard to get where I am at today. May not quite be "middle class" but I have 3 cars in my driveway which are are plated, insured and are not an eyesore to anyone.

THe G-body was great when new and crossed over market segments because you could get an inexpensive stripped down Malibu ( where even the passenger mirror was an option ) right up to the more expensive Cutlass Brougham with all the options you could want. There was even and even a station wagon version of each and the el-camino.

 

[phaZe]

I believe "2000.malibu.ls" was wanting comparisons in terms of price and popularity. Most cars today are smaller, lighter and tend to be totaled when it a wreck, even at city speeds.

 

[Uncletruck]

Being around when they were new, G bodies were your super common, everday nothing special car that just about everybody on the block had in one form or another. I guess the Accord or Camry would be good to compare popularity and sales wise, yet today's Accords and Camry's have significantly higher quality than G bodies did during their day, where G body quality was only rated mediocre at best. As far as the car itself, a new Grand Prix or Impala would be the closest matches but they really are apples to oranges. (RWD, body on frame vs FWD, unibody.)

When they came out, (at least I) felt the G body was many strides better than its big 3 competition, that being the Ford Fairmont and Dodge Aspen. G bodies were the only mid-sized car that was acceptable in my book, and most Americans felt the same way as they were excellent sellers. IMHO car's haven't been any fun since the G body left.

-UT-

 

[hujass]

I can't even remember how many people I knew back in the 80s that drove a G-body. At least 50 people, maybe more. Those cars were everywhere back then.

 

[Geesie]

IIRC, the G body Cutlass was the best selling car in America for a few years.

As far as the market segment goes, it's gone. The Regal, Monte, Cutlass, Riviera, Toronado, Grand Prix, Eldorado, Lincoln Mark series, and Thunderbird all were at various price points in the extraordinarily popular "personal luxury coupe" segment. For some reason, that segment went from being THE type of car to buy to completely gone within 10 years. None of those cars exist any more and the ones who recently departed (Regal, Grand Prix, Monte Carlo) had been 4 door vehicles for several years.

 

[Ribbedroof]

I guess I worded that wrong. I think what I was trying to say was that G bodies were reliable for their time. Of course they are not as reliable as newer cars, but in their time era they were probably not known as being un reliable.

I'm sure many of the people that owned them when they ate camshafts, etc would disagree. My 78 Camaro ate the cam when it was 5 years old with about 60K on the clock. I bought a 79 Malibu that had it's 305 gone through at the dealership to the tune of $2200 in 1981 at 22K. Pretty stout repair bill for a car that the owner spent 8K to buy less than 2 years before. Then there were the diesels.

I love these cars, but the big 3 were quite probably at their lowest point for engineering, quality or caring about quality during the years they were produced. Of course, it wasn't just the A/G bodies, these problems plauged all the GM products of the era.

 

[Blake442]

Not many people remember that the G-body Olds Cutlass was the best selling car in the U.S. for several years until the Toyota Camry claimed the throne.

 

[StreetDogg316]

My mom told me that she remembers that someone had a Regal just like mine, Same year and color, And that they were driving it one day and the car literally broke in half :shock: ..... Ofcourse she told me this AFTER I bought my car. It's all good though, Mine is not going to do that, I will make sure of that.

 

[Geesie]

I've seen far more functional 1980 Buicks than 1980 Toyotas...