This issue of R&T was rather lean. Maybe everyone at the magazine were breathless after the 40th anniversary issue.
There are, however, nice ads (and more) to be viewed:
All the rage.
Another enticing ad from Mazda.
Back in the day, a friends’ unit was stolen anyway, even without the detachable unit.
I wasn’t impressed by this T-Bird at all when it was introduced, but thirty years down the line it’s actually grown on me.
More racing-oriented ads in this issue- this Acura is one example (and the Corolla FX16 above)
That Montero’s another racing-related ad.
A three-part, very impressive ad.
Read its road test from last week.
RCA VHS 3-head for only $279?! I’m heading off to Wisconsin.
What ever did the “L” stand for?
Now for the lovely classifieds:
I’ve included this following article for sentimental reasons. Looking at it now, seems to me like looking at friends in old graduation photos. Back in the day, I was very much into F1 and all those drivers were heroes to me. Some are not with us anymore:
As ever, more will follow during the week. Bye…
Thanks for posting. I owned a car stereo store in New Jersey in the 1980s, Kartunes Mobile Electronics, and the WDS ad brought back some memories. I sold that Clarion 8825 for $299 installed. On any given Saturday, we would sell three or four to customers who had their fixed-DIN radio installed the prior week.
I love the Range Rover ad – in fact I have a binder full of Ranger Rover ads from that era. Each was staged to show an off-road or ruggedness benefit of the Range Rover, along with a witty caption like that. They were very well done and reminded me of earlier VW Beetle ads.
Good marketing is worth the earth.
I remember when VCRs first hit the market, they were nearly $1,000. I realize the comment inserted between the ads was whimsical, but I remember buying VCRs for Christmas gifts that were at least half the price of that 3 head job.
BTW, is it just me or have car audio prices stayed in pretty much the same range, price-wise, for at least 30 years?
If anything Car Audio prices have dropped. You can pick up a “good” Clarion single din head unit with Bluetooth, USB and AUX port for around $100 now.
It was indeed whimsical- easy to laugh thirty years down the line.
And that 3-head VHS is probably one of the cheaper ones- note the Sherwood S2770 with “Call!” instead of price…
Was amused to notice, reading thru the F1 lineup, that Bernie Ecclestone (then a team owner) was being a problem back then, too.
Most of the F1 drivers are still with us. Senna was killed at Imola in 1994, Alboreto died racing sports cars in 2001.
Phillippe Streiff is in a wheelchair from a testing accident. Nannini had his forearm severed in a helicopter crash but recovered to race in touring cars.
For those who lived in Wisconsin back in those days, WDS was a subsidiary of American TV. The listed location, 2417 W. Badger Rd. was right behind American’s main showroom on the Beltline. The WDS pricing was often 15-20% cheaper than what the same items were selling for on American’s showroom floor. My brother and I tried to buy a car stereo at American TV and we asked them to price match their WDS ad, but they wouldn’t budge. It took them a few moments to even acknowledge that they were under the same ownership.
The “L” stood for luxury. The other end of the spectrum from the M6.
I wasn’t even aware of the L6 at the time; they’re quite rare. My high school art teacher had one in the late 90’s, which was the first I’d heard of the model. I love the E24 6-series anyway, but the L6 interior really is a work of art.
Besides the over-the-top interior (leather headliner anyone?) they also borrow the M6’s front air dam, which is why the ad photo appears to show two of the same car.
Thanks, I didn’t know that about the “L”/
Look close, that Kenwood was a pullout, not a detachable face. You were supposed to pull out the whole deck and carry it with you, leaving nothing to steal. Of course, plenty of people just pulled the deck out and put it under the seat and it got stolen from there.
Right you are, that ad indeed shows a pull-out unit. I think units with detachable panels came only later, in the Nineties.
And yes, they usually got stolen from under the seats- who could walk around with those Hi-Fi weights on person?
The 80’s were such a great time for personal luxury coupes (the Euro-inspired ones, rather than the more broughamified 70’s examples). E24, 780, even the Thunderbird could be placed in that category. I thought the Turbo Coupe with the grille-less nose panel was a stunner in 1987 and I still do.
I’ve also always had a soft spot for the wedge-y Accords of the ’86 to ’89 generation. Owned a ’91, which was an excellent car, but I still think the ones like in the ad were the best-looking Accord generation.
I love this stuff, tho’ it kills me to be reminded of all the car mags I’ve ditched over the years (and LPs, cassettes, matchbox cars, hot wheels, etc, etc.)
These are just fun.
Thanks, yohai!
Interesting Frua prototype of the Maserati Mexico in the classifieds
Wow that MR2 was really that slow? Well it sure ‘felt’ fast 😉