(first posted 1/7/2013) Well, probably not the last one, but this really is a rare bird. I’ve shot several Citations in Eugene, but no notchback sedans (“Club Coupe”), and certainly none in X11 trim. So I can’t let this find by mistergreen posted at the Cohort just sit there without being duly cited.
The Club Coupe was the wallflower in the 1980 Citation lineup. Of the 800,000+ Citations sold in its extended 1980 MY (best selling car that year), only a very small percentage were Club Coupes. I don’t have the exact breakout, but it was undoubtedly well below 20%. They were a fairly unusual sight even when new. Hatchbacks were hot, and the Citation’s roomy body and FWD made the most of that. It really didn’t make a lot of sense to buy a notchback coupe, even if it was a couple of hundred bucks cheaper.
One has to wonder why Chevy thought it was going to sell. Undoubtedly, it was a couple of old-fart Sales Execs at the Chevy Division that were freaked out about the idea of across-the-board hatchbacks. “Must have a notchback!” Like the Vega notchback coupe, which sold so well…Not.
It’s trying so hard to look like an updated Chevy II, isn’t it? The more formal X-Body coupes that Buick and Olds sold, especially the Skylark, sold quite well, although the real action was always with the four-doors with these cars (as well as their A-Body successors). Oddly, the Club Coupe was dropped for 1981 and 1982, and then revived for 1983 and 1984, and then dropped again. An on-off sort of affair.
In 1980, the X11 was mostly an appearance package. It did come only with the 110-hp 2.8-liter V6, and a “sports-type suspension”, as well as a full-instrument dash and different steering wheel. But it was more show than go.
But in 1981, the X11 traded its pretender black stripe for the real thing: the new 135-hp HO V6, along with some bigger alloy wheels and other genuine enhancements. The change was significant, and the ’81 and up X11 was a well-regarded performer.
This X11 coupe is a bit odd in that it has regular wheel covers, and not the styled steel wheels shown in the brochure as part of the X11 package. And for that matter, it doesn’t have the little lip spoiler on the trunk either.
But one can barely make out the X11-specific steering wheel, so it looks genuine enough. It also has the column-mounted shifter for the automatic. All in all, a very modest expression of the X11 theme. Granny wanted a bit of sportiness in her new Citation. And now one of her grand kids is driving it (I assume).
What; no Citation Deadly Sin rant? We’ve done that (elsewhere) and we’ll take up the cudgel again here another time; anyway, it’s such a nice sunny day; I’m in too good a mood for that. And one has to celebrate a rare find like this, especially when it’s in such original condition. We salute you, X11! A hale and hearty survivor of the Deadly X-Virus Plague.
Hey at least those years the cars still came with 5 mph bumpers, that has to increase the chances of survival right there!
But you’re right, this might be the last surviving one and certainly the last survivor with the X11 package.
i have one with original four speed fast!!
Have a good hood for 1985 x11 HO
The Club Coupe either wasn’t dropped, or it was dropped and revived. Here’s a 1984.
The X11 got more interesting in 1981, with the HO V6 and the cowl induction.
I actually looked for years to find an X11 Club Coupe, and only ever saw one.
I prefer this body style to the football shaped hatchback.
Quite right. It was dropped for 1981 and 1982, then came back for ’83 and ’84, and then dropped for 1985. Odd…it certainly ever sold well.
I’ve amended the text.
Gosh Paul I think you opened some wounds with this post.
i have one with original four speed in it very fast!!
I got a 1982 notchback that I have parts to make a x-11 clone and the guy I bought it from had a x-11. We also got three 4 doors all 2.5 iron dukes two autos and one manual
i have a club coupe 1980 with the four cylinder four speed in mt 406 691 0342 runs and drives great
Apparently some animal took the time to pee on all of the tires.
LOL you’re right! I’m trying to think of some witty joke to make at the Citation’s expense, but I’m at a loss.
And apparently it was a warm time of year when those photos were taken – the photographer’s reflection shows him in shorts.
Not only that, the Zodiac killer marked the parking space too.
Possibly brake fluid leaking out?
“This X11 coupe is a bit odd in that it has regular wheel covers, and not the styled steel wheels shown in the brochure as part of the X11 package. And for that matter, it doesn’t have the little lip spoiler on the trunk either.”
Those are actual Chevy wheel covers that leaves me to believe that the original owner was a sucker and a cheapskate who wandered into the dealership looking to purchase a six-pot Camaro but was hustled by the sales staff to the slow-seller in the corner. Once convinced that the Citation was the ‘way-to-go!’ said purchaser decided, being the X-11 was primarily an appearance package, to forego the expensive steel wheels and spoiler and had the dealer remove them.
Though in 1980, the Camaro was the slow seller in the corner, the Citation was as hot as could be, leading to the 800K in sales for the first model year, a feat that I dont think has ever been topped.
The first year X11 and the 1981 and up X11’s are almost to 2 different animals, the 1980 X11 is like a sport version of the Citation, it doesn’t have the alloys and other upgrades that came after 1981.
Remember that the 800K figure was inflated somewhat though, because the Citation was actually introduced on April 19, 1979. Either way, it was still selling like hotcakes.
The “styled steel wheels” are just standard 1980-82 X body wheels with center hub caps that expose the lug nuts and trim rings. The regular Citation wheel covers seen here fit right on in place of those.
Weird X body wheel trivia I know just because I had one: in 1980 the wheels, which were exposed if the “styled” wheels were specified but also on base models with dog-dish hubcaps, were body color. In 1981 they were always black, and in 1982 they were a metallic charcoal. In 1983 and onwards they used the new wheels from the J and A bodies.
From the looks of things I’ll bet it was rear ended sometime in the past and the rear spoiler bought the farm…I would also hazard a guess that the spoiler was made out of unobtainium at that point and the standard decklid was forced to go naked into the world.
Cool find….also quite refreshing to not have it verbally abused..at least not yet verbally abused in the story and comments…
When the X car first came out, I really wanted to like them and have them be successful (I was 13 and not so cynical). It had so much promise on paper…
What does the name “X11” mean, anyway?
X-11 is just an option code, as was Z-28, and promoted as ‘sport package’.
X marks the spot. 11 is the number of recalls before it’s paid off.
In 34 years, [yes, the X cars intro was that long ago this spring] maybe the original wheels were sold off, damaged, or stolen, and replaced with cheap ones?
OTOH, dealer could have had them deleted in the factory order, for a ‘budget car’?
Story of dealer cheapening the car to unload most likely is true.
Some forget that before hatchbacks went OUT of style, they were IN style, thus why the club coupe can be forgotten.
There was a convertible version of the Citation available at some point, based on the notchback. That would be the rarest Citation of all! IIRC, the cars were turned into droptops by American Specialty Cars.
Ouch. Those cars must have had all the structural integrity of a cheap, wet paper towel!
The interesting thing here for me is that the public was hungry for hatchbacks in 1980. The bad aftertaste of the Citation had them sated by 1982 or so, when GM released the A-body “X-cars with funny mustaches and wigs” as notchback sedans. Only GM could set an entire body style back more than 30 years in only two years.
The Americans public wasn’t necessarily “hungry for hatchbacks in 1980” as much as it was hungry for small cars with good gas mileage, and most happened to be hatchbacks.
Honda introduced notchback sedan versions of the Accord and Civic in 1979 and mid-1981, respectively. Both were extremely popular, and both debuted before the troubles with the X-car became known to the general public.
The GM front-wheel-drive A-bodies were supposed to replace the rear-wheel-drive intermediates. With those “old school” intermediates, Buick and Oldsmobile had initially offered their two- and four-door sedans as fastbacks that looked like hatchbacks, and buyers shunned them. GM wasn’t about to repeat that mistake with the A-bodies (and that is probably why the Omega and Skylark X-cars were all notchbacks).
Americans have always preferred notchbacks to hatchbacks. Americans associate hatchbacks with economy models, and prefer that even their economy models look upscale, if possible.
The well-known problems with GM’s X-cars have had nothing to do with that preference.
“GM wasn’t about to repeat that mistake with the A-bodies (and that is probably why the Omega and Skylark X-cars were all notchbacks).”
1978 Olds/Buick Aerobacks wernt on sale in fall 1977, the X cars were already locked in by then and intro’d 18 months later in April 1979. Not enough time to change styling.
The A bodies for 1982 had enough lead time to be all formal roofed. In fact, were late in model year. There is no known info on whether there were any hatches planned.
RE: “Americans have always…”
Cant say “always”. What about the fastbacks of the 1930s to early 50s? Or the fastbacks in the 60’s? Pre WW2 cars mostly didnt have trunks, btw.
Body styles come and go, but cant say that one has “always” been popualr.
The fastbacks of the 1930s were popular because there were no other choices. The separate trunk and notchback roofline were two of the reasons that the 1938 Cadillac Sixty Special was a sensation, and quickly became seen as the “premium” choice.
Once customers were given a choice, fastbacks died out quickly. The fastbacks of the postwar years quickly declined in sales (particularly as the sellers market eased), and were gone by 1953. At that point, only notchbacks were available.
The fastbacks of the 1960s weren’t that popular. The Marlin and first-generation Charger were flops, and the Mustang fastback was easily outsold by the coupe. Only the second-generation Barracuda fastback outsold its coupe counterpart (most likely because the coupe still looked like a slightly more stylish Valiant). The first-generation Camaro and Firebird weren’t even available as fastbacks.
My 1981 hatchback was a very useful vehicle,,,,,but….it was smog controlled to an almost complete strangle. That 4 pot engine deserved an early death!!!
I liked this body style at the time, and think that it still looks good today. Maybe that is because two-doors, in general, have virtually disappeared from the subcompact and family-car segments.
It definitely looked better than the Oldsmobile Omega coupe, which was trying to be a miniature Cutlass Supreme.
All the X-cars had a baby A-body look to them, the Phoenix was like a mini-Lemans, Omega a mini-Cutlass, Skylark a mini-Regal and the Citation was like a mini-Malibu.
Not really “mini” Malibu, etc, as much as a 7/8 version. In fact, the FWD X and A cars had same interior room as the “bigger” RWD mid size cars.
I know, I was talking more about the styling themes throught the X-cars.
What is that in the first picture – in front of the right front tire – an extra side marker light?
The car is missing a flexible panel on that side, and most likely the attachment point for that panel is now exposed.
Yes- that plastic/rubber that GM (and others) used to fill the space around the metal bumper did not age well. Within a few years, it became very brittle- popping the paint off. If you were unlucky enough to bump it, the bumper would move in and out on its hydraulic rams, but the brittle plastirubber panel would inevitably fly off. The worst cases of this were on Cadillacs with what my mates called ‘levitating bumpers’- the bumpers and the vertical lamps would float in mid-air after those plastic panels went to meet their maker ever so slightly before the rest of the car.
Other makers fared no better in the early 80s. a thumped K car plastic bumper would always look melted, as the rubber would never reform to its original shape- and often they just got melty looking on their own accord.
I kind of like the notchback – it looks like a slightly shrunken 78 Malibu coupe. Most of the notchbacks I remember seeing were blue or white strippo models.
For such a great name (Citation), it has been affixed to two loser cars – this one and the top-of-the-line Edsel. Has there ever been a successful Citation?
Yes — the Cessna Citation!
I always thought Citation was a terrible name, it makes me think of getting tickets.
Strange name for a car indeed. However I’d think of a citation as being an award, albeit a slightly-stuffy formal British word for one. Citation in the sense of a traffic ticket doesn’t feature in Australian English.
Thanks for putting this together, Paul! I have been procrastinating about contributing my first article for a while. I do keep finding curbside cars for the Cohort, at least. Hopefully 2013 will bring some contributions from me. It’s nice to see the conversation and facts here. Someone on my Flickr page said that this car wasn’t a “real” X-11, but seeing the historical photos you found, it definitely was (and is), even if it’s a shadow of its former self. As for this body style, I actually always liked the formal lines of the Phoenix/Omega/Skylark notchbacks better, but this one is probably the rarest. Better looking to my eye is the Cavalier coupe that followed shortly after. I’m hoping to find an early one of those for the Cohort. Won’t be easy — I think they’re almost as rare as Citations these days!
This is definitely a real X-11. Aside from everything else, who would go through all the trouble of creating a fake one? It’s got everything the X-11 package lists except for the spoiler… and like someone else mentioned, it definitely looks like it’s been repainted at some point – probably due to a collision where the spoiler was lost. Or it just fell off, or some thievous miscreant swiped it to create a sweet ass fake X-11, who knows.
Considering the condition that most 1980 Citations are in, I’d say this one actually isn’t doing too bad. Great find, this is a really sweet car that I’ve never seen in real life.
I didn’t know Citation came in a coupe. My father in law had a 80 Citation hatchback 4 door. It was metallic brown with a tan interior, no air. It was the only brand new car he ever owned. I recall driving it on occasion, and all in all, it was a sprightly little car.
He had the car into the 1990’s, and looked accordingly. He never washed or polished it, and the finish was very dull. One of his other sons in law gave him a Celebrity sedan, (86 or 87?) which looked almost as bad.
Dad (in law) sold the Citation (inspected and running nice) for $ 350 to a college girl, who dolled the car up. She put on white hubcaps, seat covers, and polished it as much as could be done. Dad’s buddies used to see her driving on the four lane to college faster than the old car could handle. Rumor went that one fellow saw the girl blow the engine as she raced to school. All this in a couple weeks of proud ownership.
As Costanza might say, “The Citation was no more.”
I dont think that all first year X11’s have the 2.8 V6, you could have gotten a 4, I may need to consult the ancient scrolls. The 80 X-11 package is much milder than the 1981 and up X11, which became more serious with the tweaked V6, bigger wheels, etc.The X-11 wheels are under the hubcaps, they were the basic X-car steel wheel painted argent with a bright center cap and trim ring, someone seems to have slapped a hubcap on them, those whose to say it wasn’t an option(not available with digital clock after 4/79-California only-see dealer for details)?
There was an 80 X-11 hatch for sale on ebay about a year ago, it was located in WA, so there are a few of them out there.
“someone seems to have slapped a hubcap on them”
Ahh, that’s it! I forgot that the wheels were the same just different covers. makes total sense now.
BTW: The X-11 led to the 6000 STE and Celeb Eurosport.
All of the X-cars actually had an X-11 type of variant.
Skylark had the Sport Coupe and Sport Sedan for 1980. That was replaced by the T-Type (for the coupe only) in 1983.
Omega had an SX option in 1980, then both the SX and an ES option in 81. SX was gone for 82, but the ES was available until the end in 84.
Phoenix offered the SJ trim for the entire model run.
The Olds Omega had some wacky decal packages that I’ve always marveled at… check out the picture below. Actually an “ES2500” – something I’d never even heard of – so it’s got all of the X-11 stuff with the Iron Duke, pretty weird. I got the picture off of some guy’s Cardomain who is restoring one (a V6 ES2800 – apparently one of only 696) that looks like it’s been sitting in a field rotting for 20 years. He’s also got a Plymouth Turismo with a GM 3800S/C and a B-Body LeSabre Sport Coupe (carbed turbo V6), so I don’t doubt this car will be returned to it’s, uh, “former glory” ?
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3341573/1981-oldsmobile-omega/
The Pontiac models I always thought looked great, but they sold horribly, especially the higher trim levels. Probably the worst of all the X-cars…
D’oh…
And the Phoenix SJ with little snowflakes.
The white Omega’s with the big graffics like the one in the picture above was produced on a limited basis to test….drum roll….the use of Plastic for front fender material….I have an article somewhere in the stash of ref. materials stating so…kinda cool.
The Skylark Sport Coupe was kinda cool with tiny little Buick Road Wheels.
I’m actually unfamiliar with that one, I only knew of the Skylark T-Type – which must have come later… all of them were at least “kinda cool” although personally I love these. Does this qualify as a “guilty pleasure” or am I allowed to like these without repercussions? The performance they offered at the time was on par with anything from anywhere in it’s class.
That is very similar to the one my father special ordered…same wheels except he had 205/70/13 “high performance” white wall tires on his.
I bet that’s a tough size to find these days!
Well, probably not on the internet… but I’m sure Sears doesn’t keep them in stock.
I don’t think you can buy that size anymore, at least not in a whitewall..I believe michelin makes the size in some specialty type tire for dirt track cars or something like that.
I’d love to find the correct size in a white wall someday just for kicks.
The Phoenix SJ turned into the Phoenix SE in 1983 when all the other (except X-11) hi-po X-body cars changed designations.
I had a girlfriend in high school whose brother had an 84 Phoenix SE…it even shared wheels with the 83 6000 STE (the STE was supposed to have special wheels which it got late in the model year, delayed due to high porosity in the initial castings in the new process they were using to make those wheels).
The first time I saw the X11 logo on the back of a Citation back in the day I thought the owner had applied it by hand, so amateurish did it look. Then I saw another, and another, and learned that this was straight from the factory.
For the umpteenth time, the Citation was my final nail in GM’s coffin until 2004.
Good grief, I hated those things. Mom’s 1979 AMC Concord was sooooooo much better.
Im so glad the Aussies did the early Commodore back then, an awesome car compared to what you guys got offered, Ive even seen a Citation here someone brought one in, I saw it with 4sale notice attached but grass growing at window height next time past there Ill shoot it for the cohort.
The Club Coupe looked exactly like the hatchback only it wasn’t a hatchback (think “Aeroback Cutlass/Century”). I don’t know if any of these were X-11 equipped but they were quite rare even when new. Today’s CC is a notchback coupe not a Club Coupe.
The notchbacks are super rare nowadays & I’ve never seen an X-11 version before. This CC is a real treat to see! Chevrolet made the X-11 quite special in 1981 in many different ways..enough to probably warrant its own article/entry.
No, the Club Coupe is the car in the article, Citations only came in 5 door, 3 door and Club Coupe with a trunk, see the gold car in the brouchure picture above “Club Coupe shown in yellow with optional wide stripe tires etc…” Thats a Club Coupe. All slanted rear Citations were a hatchback, no trunk on a hatch. The Club Coupe is not a traditional notchback either like the Phoenix, Omega and Skylark Coupes were, it has a different body number designation withing the Fisher Body scrolls.
The bodystyles listed for all X-cars in 1980 were
08-2dr hatch-Citation only
11-2 door coupe-Citation Club Coupe
37-2 door notchback coupe-formal roof-Phoenix. Omega, Skylark
68-4 door hatchback-Citation, Phoenix
69-4 door notchback-Omega, Skylark
In fact the “11” in X-11 was taken from the bodystyle, the Club Coupe, which was the lightest and tightest Citation since it was the only non-hatch model, and it was deemed that this would be best model to modify for performance.
Well, Sheyatt Carmine, I’ve been living a lie then. That sucks! I’ll have to look at my info when I get home later then. I could have sworn one of the books I have lists two separate 2-door bodystyles in 1980 only….AND the two hatchback styles.
I was thinking my imaginary Club Coupe version had a very low production number…like in the hundreds.
“I’ll be back”.
Oops, didn’t see CARMINE’s comment before I hit reply on mine…
The body styles I have listed for 1980 (Citation only) are the following:
H11 – Coupe
X11 – Club Coupe
X08 – Hatchback (2-door)
X88 – Hatchback (4-door)
The X11 model “Club Coupe” disappears forever after 1980, but the H11 (“Coupe”) does come back for 1982-1984. In pictures, the 1982-1984 H11 is identical to the car shown here.
I don’t know what to make of this.
The H11 was an ultra stipper Club Coupe, it didn’t even have a dome light switch for the right hand door, I they came up with this model in case they needed a real strippo Citation to move units.
“The X11 model “Club Coupe” disappears forever after 1980”
I beg to differ.
Not the X11 Club Coupe itself, but the Club Coupe designation was gone.
FWIW, the X11 was always shown most prominently in the brochures (1980 below) with the 2dr hatch, not the Club Coupe. So that does make one wonder if the name came from the body code for the Club Coupe or not.
Ah, OK that explains a lot! I pulled out my own Ancient Scrolls (thanks CARMINE) and was surprised to see both a 1980 Citation Coupe and Club Coupe listed. Like everyone else, I always assumed that this one was the Club Coupe.
So in that case the Club Coupe (“aeroback”) was a 1-year only model in 1980 and the regular Coupe (“notchback”) was around in 1980 and then from ’82-’84. Production data shows about 100k Club Coupes for the extended 1980 model year, but only 42,909 Coupes and only 24,852 X-11 packages between all three two-door models. That makes this even rarer than I had imagined… maybe 5k Coupe X-11’s considering there were almost 400k 2-door hatchbacks and Club Coupes built.
I have seen a few other 1980 notch X-11’s online, but never in real life… and I’m with you on hoping to see an article on the later X-11’s one day. Apparently that package was still available on the Coupe models in ’82-’84 with the High Output V6 – never seen one of those, even online. Whatever faults the early X-cars had, I’ve always really liked the X-11 models and their Buick/Olds/Pontiac equivalents. I’d love to own any one of them, especially a last model year hatch with the fuel-injected V6.
The only personal experience I have with them was riding in one that belonged to a friend’s mother in elementary school. It must have been an ’84 or ’85 because it was a “Citation II”, 4-door hatch V6/auto and I remember it being kind of a piece of crap… but I did think it looked cool and that it was very unique compared to the rest of the automotive landscape in the late 80’s.
There was no aeroback Citation with a trunk, there were the hatches and the Club Coupe, it was gone after 80, and when it returned in 1983, I believe, it was stll the Club Coupe bodystyle(big quarter window/narrowC-pillar)(11) not a a notchback(thick C-pillar) coupe(37). Though the “Club” part was dropped from the name, it was just a Citation coupe.
The Citation Coupe made it all the way to Citation II(The Sequel!) in 1984, the Citation II was “were sorry” version of the Citation with improvments.
Check the reply to Junqueboi above, didn’t see your post when I first replied – my bad. Had to make a pitstop while writing it…
Well, I read there was an aeroback Citatiion with a trunk anyway. Evidently whatever I read was F.O.S. Plus I got my “Club Coupe” mixed up with my “Coupe” to boot. Sorry for the misinfo — I hate it when others do that & here I am doing just that.
Actual production figures for 1980:
Coupes – 42,909
Club Coupes – 100,340
2dr Hatchbacks – 210,258
4dr Hatchbacks – 458,033
Thats alright it does get confusing with the coupe and club coupe designation being used to descripe the same car, the coupe Citation is an interesting kinda developmental missing link, its the closest to the old RWD Nova in spirit.
I didn’t know Chevy offered cars back then in McDonalds Red. I like how it nicely matches the restaurant roof, but would have preferred if the lower color better matched the french fry lights around the building
Oh, I forgot to mention…
What in the hell is going on in that ad third from the top? Is this a haunted Citation? Is it haunted by sexy disco douchebags?
I always liked the notchback better than the hatch, but I’m probably a little biased
. Here’s a pic of my ’84 x11 notchback.
Cool. Would love to see inside shots of it. I prefer the notchbacks better too. This is my $50-saved-from-the-junkyard-auction score before the property owner pushed it outside without covering the busted driver’s window (grrr).
$50, great find! Here’s some interior shots of my notch.
Instrument panel
Wow. Love. 4-speed manual without A/C and it looks to have power windows possibly? And being a CitationII, you have MPFI, a ‘regular’ ETR stereo making this “the ultimate ” X-11 to have IMO. Perfect! 😀
Vertical radio delete plate.
I’m batting 1000 today CARMINE.
Tell you guys what, that vertical radio thing was just bizarre. What were they thinking? These guys never designed a dashboard before?
The idea was to have all the major controls grouped into one location, there was a vertical radio in Corvettes from 1963 to 1967 too. It was the 70’s, strange things were going on.
Back seat
And this is my $250 Craigslist mistake: ’82 2.5 powered automatic that I eventually gave up on after repowering it with a slightly-less-worn-out 2.5.
I cant find an X-car anywhere, and I have have been wanting one for a while. I’d like to find a clean old lady car, 2 door or hatch.
I’d say I’d keep my eye out for you but I don’t think you (or many others here) are anywhere close to NC. I’d sell you mine for scrap price but I doubt you’d want it even if you were my next door neighbor. My 4-door hatchback is literally (not figuratively) a dirty old man car with your basic rent-a-car options. It does have its original U58 stereo though which strangely enough still works on all four channels.
I’ve toyed with a 4.9 Cadillac transplant idea since the car’s essentially worthless but will probably never get around to it.
I’m in FL, I would love to add an X-car to my collection just for the WTF factor of having a surviving one, like the mint Astre my friend has. I’d love to find a clean 2door interesting one, like and X11, Skylark Limited or Sport Coupe, and SJ Phoenix or Sport or Brougham Omega.
I’d love to find a clean dash.
Door
No a/c, radio delete, I installed the power windows, this car was a stripper x11 2.8z code carbureted. Do you have any plans to restore the x11?
I did when I bought the car in Birmingham AL several years ago. Then I lost my job… then moved to NC where I found permanent employment. So it and 54 other vehicles remain down in AL rotting in another person’s field. At this time these are all locked in a sort of custody battle between the property owner and me. I say they’re still mine & he says they are his because well… it’s a story better told elsewhere and I need to be quite careful about what I say.
Anyway, I’ve been told that I can have a few of (my) cars back because the property owner knows they have sentimental value but he’s claiming the rest. If I’m able to keep the Citation, I’ll either fix it myself or give it to someone who will (providing THEY pick it up in AL).
If it doesn’t make the cut, he’d probably sell it back to me for a few hundred bucks but it will probably be too far gone at that point. I never had a chance to fool with it which is a shame. All I remember now is that it’s a 4-speed car with factory sunroof & blue interior.
Are you on any forums?
That sucks, I hope you can get it back, along with some of the others. I’m on chevycitationsforever. Carmine, I see them pop up now and again on CL and on the forum once in a while. I’m in the Pittsburgh area, I know of a couple around here but they need some work.
Looks like another forum to pollute….thx!
I’ll help you go down and get them! Road Trip!!
That’s very cool… probably the quickest and nimblest X-car of the entire run. I bet a good chunk of the people who originally bought the later notchbacks ordered them the same way, with the intention of racing them. They were exceptionally rare (less than 5k in 1984) and I understand that the X-11 had decent representation in SCCA (and similar) events back then. If that’s what you were looking for, this was exactly the car to have.
The later models of these things as well as all the A bodies weren’t bad cars by the standards of the day. The early ones, however, weren’t nearly well enough developed to be released to the public for sale. They also suffered some major safety issues, namely cheaping out the rear brake linings, leading to lock-up. Very few survive in captivity.
I love X-Car talk! Especially Citations! The Club Coupe is sort of an X Car unicorn! I spotted on a rainy day here in Vancouver and this was the best shot that I could get. It wasn’t a fancy X11, but you got to love the fact that its still going as a daily driver.
Nice spotting! X-cars are a rare breed, so it’s good to get photos of them when we can!
To be picky, the return of the Club Coupe was 1982 Chicago Auto Show, in time for the depths of the recession. Was a ‘budget’ model for 1982 and 1/2 along with some other bare bones strippers that season.
I had a ’81 4spd Hatchback. The 14″ Aluminum wheels, the cowl induction hood, the F41 or whatever performance suspension worked really great for the time period. I traded a lethargic ’79 Z28 for this car. What most people donm’t realize is what a jewel this motors was. The ’81 carburated 2.8 litre was rated at 135hp which doesn’t really stir ones emotion……but I dont belive 135hp was accurate. Regardless the car I owned has a progressive 2bbl carb, somewhere in the 4000 to 4500rpm range this thing would open and this car would flat get it. The High Output 2.8 had a bunch of trick stuff done to it…bigger valves, bigger cam, different deck height, and I do belive a forged crank….from the factory. I also owbed a 91 Sentra SE-R with the infinity 2.0 litre motor and I don’t believe the Nissan was any faster….nor more fun to drive. The ’81 X11 just fell apart as I was driving it. I could not keep motor mounts in the thing and was constantly working on little bits and pieces that broke on a daily basis. And what about that vertical radio? Anyway…vintage GM, a really great idea, a 2500lbs car with a true high performance motor that was half assed from day one.
A link provided which tells about this little jewel of a hot rod:
http://www.reocities.com/citation_x11/history.html
Z Engine (RPO LH7)
The Z engine had several differences from its little brother, the X engine:
8.9:1 Compression Pistons (vs 8.5:1)
1.72″ Intake and 1.42″ Exhaust valves (vs 1.60″/1.30″)
.390″in./.410″ex. high lift camshaft (vs .350″/.390″)
Heavy duty oil pump
Dual intake-high volume air cleaner
Y-style exhaust system with 2-1/2″ pipes (dropped in 1982 for the wrap-around system, but the 2-1/2″ in exhaust pipes remained.)
Some block improvements.
W Engine (RPO LB6)
This car probably never had the spoiler. The brochures were printed and laid out in 1979 for the launch of the 1980 model year, but the spoiler was unavailable for whatever reason at the MY80 X-11 launch.
My father had ordered a 1980 X-11 hatch (V-6 4sp No Air Vinyl Bench Seat AM Radio and remote fold-out rear windows) and he was (just slightly) annoyed that the spoiler did not come with the car. It took nearly 7 months for GM to manufacture and deliver the car.
I can’t recall whether anyone mentioned it, but you could order the X-11 package in MY80 with the Iron Duke 4. So equipped, it would have definitely been all show and no go. My grandmother’s 1980 Iron Duke 3sp Auto was dreadfully slow. It was the car I was allowed to bring to college. No hooning in that car for sure!
The 1980 X-11 was sold once the odometer Emissions flag rolled over the odometer read out. That indiciated that you needed to bring the car back to eh dealership and have them replace the catalytic converter. That major cost item and the fact that the Muncie 4sp ate both 1st and 2nd synchros at 25k pretty much doomed that car from being a long-term member of the family stable.
My father ordered a 1981 X-11 which was in the family until 1988 when it was traded for a new Chevy Beretta GT for me. I miss the 1981. The Beretta turned me off of Chevy’s for at least 30 years.
Thank you for sharing Juan,
I hope you have many more good years in your X-11.
Hi!
I think I can help here. I may have something your looking for…
I have to admit, I got excited when I ran into this post “is it the last one left?”. I never imagined people could still be interested in this car so if it’s OK with you guys I’ll share my story with all of you.
When I was a kid, my dad bought this car in 1984. I used to live in Washington DC and I was 4 years old at that time. I still remember all those carpools with my mom behind the steering wheel and my friends at the back seats. She had to wake up soon to drive us so I remember her putting a coat on top of her pajamas so she could run back into bed after dropping us at school. I also remember those great trips we made with my dad driving through the highway and me and my sister looking through the back seat how that speedometer turned all the way around the clock till 5mph again. I just remember things great next to this car.
Some great years passed by until I turned nine. I started changing, but the x-11 stayed the same. Everything was perfect but one day my father got diagnosed brain cancer and after fighting for two or three years he passed away. My whole life suddenly changed. I got ripped off. After this tragedy my mom, my sister and I decided that the best for us was to leave United States and come back to Spain were they grew up and my entire family was living. I’m the only American around. Got to say, we left everything behind but the car stuck with us.
My life changed a lot over the next years, but as always, my Citation stayed the same. I’ve been driving this car to high school, to college, to work and sooner or later I’ll be driving my kids to school. Obviously with their grandmothers help. No pajamas this time!
I’m 33 right now, I have a wonderful life and things have changed a lot but those first years with this car will never change a bit. I really do hope they’re a lot of them somewhere, but if there isn’t, I have to admit, I got the last one left and I promise I’ll try to make it last forever.
P.S. It’s been a pleasure sharing this story and here are some fast picks I took last night for you guys. Hope you enjoyed.
Thanks for the story. But please, no more pictures uploaded, unless you can reduce them first (to maximum 800 pixels). All these giant pictures are going to choke our server! 🙂 Thanks.
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Last one… God I miss those Goodyear Eagle GT tires!
Just found this thread and I bought a new ‘demo’ X-11, 1980 model as the 81s were far off in availability. Loved, drove it in 3 corners of the USA, cinnabar with a stick. Repainted it myself with about 4 coats of enamel and wet sanding it-looked like Rolls finish of the day.
I put 13″ rims on back to make it drop in the rear to adjust the camber as there was no adjustment for it on the FWD-sure added great on-center stability which they lacked. If there was a clean one around today, later model with the neck snapping 160hp, I grab it.
1981 X-11
Just saw this. I love the 2 door notch. I had an 84 Citation II CL notch. Champagne over dark brown, mag wheels, 2.5, auto, air. 80,000 hard miles when I got it, but it was my first “nice” car and I loved it.
I loved it enough that my first new car was a 99 Cavalier 2 door, the closest thing I could find in the Chevrolet book that could directly replace the Citation. I still regretted trading it in on a 21,000 mile seven year old 86 Olds Calais at the time I bought the Cavalier.
The Citation covers all the bases in what I want in a car: roomy, quiet, good ride, economical with fuel, small size.
Of course, among modern cars, ease of service and simplicity are impossible to find. I think that’s been gone since the Saturn S Series died, since so many previously luxury items and sophisticated electronics have filtered down to even the most modest cars.
Thanks for this feature Paul. I still want another Citation of any kind at some point.
Still wondering what makes a Citation coupe a “club coupe”. And have wondered since I first got interested the X Bodies. I bought all the brochures for every year, every old magazine I could find, anything related to the Citation and the other Xs, even the bad stuff that should have warned me of it’s terrible reputation.
And still no clue what makes a coupe a club. Better trim ? Marketing ?
Hi everyone.just came across this site,and I don’t know how long it’s been since anyone posted on it. But I have a 1983 citation XS. It has the Z code motor according to the vin. 2 Dr hatch back., citation wheels. Rear spoiler, auto on floor. I have no doubt this car is in it’s original form. It dos have a cowl induction hood on it,but either the original one was damaged and replaced with a used one, or the flat hood was removed abd this cowl hood replaced it. It has just over 80 k on the clock. It runs , shifts, drives ,and Handel’s very good. What led me to this forum, is, I can not find any info on this car ( XS) other than a passing blip on wickipedia. Oh just in case, today’s date is 4 3 2017. I have a pic I took of it last summer I’ll try to include. Anyway, if anyone can tell me more about the citation XS I would really be great full.
Side view 83 citation XS
My demo X-11 I got in 1980-81 form Luyster Chev in NY. I think it was $6k ‘new’ with 5000 smiles on it. Sold it for maybe 1600ish in ’86 with 80+K miles.
i have an original 1980 citation x11 coupe with four speed front wheel drive in it fast!! pass every thing!!
It’s nice to see this Chevy getting so much love here!! I would love to find a nice 4 door hatchback fully optioned in the cream/cinnamon 2 tone.
The hatchbacks were so much nicer looking. Just something about that droopy rear end on the notchbacks. Peugeot did that droopiness well, GM did not.
First Chevy (shit-box) of the ’80s!!! I was 15 in spring ’79 when these came out and I remember all the hype about them, every car mag was raving about them. People soon found out the truth!
Never understood why the Pontiac Phoenix version was the worst seller as I thought it was the nicest looking of all the Xs with the best interior.
I remember reading advance articles about the X-cars in the UK CAR magazine prior to the release. It seems the European and Japanese makers were concerned that the X-cars would steal a large part of their USA business by offering more “Americanized” small cars. This was GM’s first real effort at pushing the imports out, to be followed by the J-cars in a smaller class. Of course we all know how the story played out, and I’m sure the foreign manufacturers breathed a sigh of relief.
I thought the Buick Skylark version of the X-body came off the best-looking. While it still had the droopy-butt, it seemed to work better and didn’t look nearly as bad. On top of that, for some reason, the Skylark didn’t seem to acquire the same bad reputation of the Citation. Maybe it was the smaller volume (the Citation’s first year was a certified hit, selling in first year Falcon/Mustang numbers), or maybe it was the gentler driving and better maintenance habits of Buick owners.
Regardless, the X-body really did look terrific on paper (which was ironic, considering how the Vega had been the same way). Here was the first domestic, efficient, mainstream FWD car that could be used as a blue-collar family’s primary transportation, and one that would maintain GM’s lead in the automotive world well into the future.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be the usual GM Beta-tester, and a bad one at that. I can’t imagine how many former GM loyalists were driven into the waiting, open arms of the Japanese, thanks entirely to an X-car ownership experience. By 1980, GM had solidly adopted the PT Barnum business model of a sucker born every minute, and it did work for a long time. The only problem was, at some point, you run out of enough suckers to keep even a company as large as GM afloat.
Monogram did a model kit of these in 1/24 scale. I always wondered why they didn’t base their model on the much more popular hatchback. It’s been reissued within the past 10 years under the Revell brand (the two companies having merged in the ’90s) and that’s even more perplexing being it’s now a car that few remember fondly in a body style few remember at all.
Speaking of Citation’s I did see a 5 door Citation (probably a 1981 model) in good shape as it was leaving the Fred Meyer parking lot and I did a double take when I’ve seen that car, for the FWD X-bodies I’ve thought the Omega was the best looking of the bunch.
The Car That Let The Japanese In (sigh).
These weren’t a common sight when they were new, and I always liked them better than the hatchbacks. Too bad they weren’t built to last. GM really should have been ashamed of themselves for putting such garbage on the road before working the bugs out of them.