Curbside Finds: 1985–1989 Chevrolet Spectrum – And Other Old Japanese Cars Staying In The Realm Of The Living

It was Day Of The Dead this past November 2nd in El Salvador, a day that, besides using to take flowers to our lost relatives, we took with my wife to experience the custom as lived outside San Salvador’s urban streets. And it was in those countryside streets that I came across a model I had forgotten all about, a 1980s Chevrolet Spectrum; the bowtie’s version of the second generation Isuzu I-Mark.

And there it was, in its colorful light-blue hue, next to colorful surroundings on an unusually breezy day –worn but still defying death. A plain econobox 1980s offering, still among the living despite the odds.

Admittedly, I had to check CC’s back folders to remind myself what this familiar shape with bowtie badges was. Sure enough, the model’s background has already been dutifully covered, and its details can be found in THIS older post.

But in short, it’s a badge-engineered version of the Isuzu Gemini, known as the I-Mark in most places. A replacement of GM’s T-body world platform, known as the R-body, that unlike the earlier T-bodies, was built solely by Isuzu to be sold under a variety of guises during its 1985-1990 production run.

Styling for these came via Giugiaro… sort of. As the story goes, GM made enough tweaks that Giorgio disowned the creation for a number of years. Curiously, GM tweaks or not, it does look a great deal like several other Giugiaro designs of the era, from the Seat Toledo, to the Yugo Florida, to the Hyundai Excel. None are anything I would call styling homeruns, but they got the job done.

But well, I’m a commercial artist too, so I understand Giorgio’s touchy-feely thing.

Chevy’s version of the Gemini/I-Mark arrived for 1985 with an OHC 1.5 inline four, with 70HP. Then a turbo version showed up for 1987 with 110HP. Just about everything in the Spectrum is mid eighties Japanese econocar standard: FWD, rack-and-pinion steering, McPherson’s upfront and transverse twist beam with trailing arms at the rear. Nothing exciting, nothing demanding, and if not quite as refined as a Toyota or Honda, dependable and trustworthy enough.

Old Japanese cars are starting to get a wee bit thin on the ground in San Salvador, replaced by a new army of accessible Korean models. But being Day Of The Dead, and out in the countryside, I was pleased to see that many of those old Japanese survivors are finding yet another life in the countryside.

I think we all know what’s in the picture above, the acclaimed Toyota AE86 that sold stateside from 1985-1987. And for once, in beater (and fairly stock) condition.

This is the body style I recall seeing the least back in the 1980s, the Corolla Sport SR5 with its rounded rear, which carried a 1.6L SOHC inline four. If this one were in the city, it would’ve probably already found someone to wear it out via homemade drifting experiments.

Then again, down in the countryside, I doubt anyone will have the cash to properly save it. But for the time being, it’s defying the world of the Dead.

Staying with 1980 Corollas, here’s an AE82 from 1985-1988; the FWD companion of the AE86.  And this body, also the one I remember seeing the least back then.

I prefer these over the notchback bodies, but I have a personal fondness for 5-door configurations and their more practical qualities.

Here’s an old CC favorite, a 1984-1987 Honda Civic Wagovan/Shuttle; a neat, practical econobox from the nineteen eighties. We’ve paid homage to these on more than one occasion (HERE and HERE). Some of these even came in 4WD form, but this looks like the plainer version.

By now, a few readers out there may be saying, “These all look like US models!”. And they’re right.  Part of a wave of used gray imports that came in the late 1980s and 1990s to sell locally after a self-imposed Civil War era embargo came to an end. Unlike cats, I’m not sure how many lives do Japanese cars have, but whichever the number, these survivors are spending a few of those lives here in Central America.

And yet one more US gray import, and another Spectrum nonetheless.  Do all surviving Spectrums reside in western El Salvador?

And this one still carries its dealer’s badge. From Japan, to Atlanta, to Central America, what else awaits this little Spectrum?

Rock climbing, perhaps? From what I read, the Gemini/I-Mark/Spectrum never came in 4WD, but this ones looks like it’s been propped up for countryside duty. Seems like a good idea, considering the dirt roads around these towns.

A good deal of these shots were taken in the town of Apaneca, a coffee planting region about which I’ve already written. Since that earlier post, the town has gotten a few refurbishments, from streetside gardens to new shops and a restored main church. All adding to a quite picturesque feel.

Day of the Dead isn’t as colorful or big a celebration in El Salvador as it is in Mexico or Guatemala. Still, it’s a big and festive day. Before checking out the town’s cemetary, we passed by the market in nearby Nahuizalco for some veggie shopping. The place was abuzz from early, and flower sellers were –understandably– having a big day.

Salvadorians are an awfully conservative society. But all conservative cultures are bound to find their outlets of self-expression; one of those being cemetery decorations in this case. There are few things as creative and colorful as Salvadorian countryside cemetery grounds, from brightly hued crosses to tile-covered tombstones. Add the flowers (fresh and plastic ones) and Day of the Dead visitors, and the grounds of the dead turn into a very stimulating experience.

There was a bit of everything happening around us, from food-selling vendors to painters refreshing the graves’ colors for a few quarters. And naturally, family gatherings. Spirits ran the gamut from somber to lively, to just plain casual. On Day of the Dead, these grounds go from quiet to lively.

Colorful, picturesque surroundings, all devoted to remembering better times past on this special day… Ideas that also somehow seem to apply to a nearby Toyota 1000 (Publica P30) ute found by the curbside, which had clearly seen better days.

Against the P30 sedans and wagons, the pickups had a long run from 1969 to 1988. Saleswise, the P30 did just Ok in its native Japan, but elsewhere, it found devoted owners and some really hold on to them, as this pair shows. That’s another white one, in just as sorry a state as the blue one. It looks like an owner who just can’t let go, as I see no life left in these two.

Being Day of the Dead, perhaps it’s more appropriate to end with this once hardworking Japanese product. It may lack colorful flowers or a brightly hued tombstone, but someone is clearly paying their respects to this one.