Curbside Classic Archives
-

American Brands: GM 
American Brands: Ford 
American Brands: Chrysler 
American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others 
Automotive Histories and Misc. 
Asian Brands 
UK Brands 
Australian Brands 
European Brands 
Cars Of A Lifetime & Auto-Biography 
Buses 
Trucks, Pickups and Vans 
Design 
Trains, Planes & Ships 
Motorcycles, Trikes, Bicycles 
Engines, Transmissions and other Tech 
Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment 
RVs, Motorhomes, Trailers, Campers Privacy
1980s Archive
-
Curbside Classic: Peugeot 205 – The Most Significant Car of the 1980s?
Posted on September 26, 2025 | 102 Comments(Updated 9/26/2025) What do you consider to be the most significant car of the 1980s? Plymouth Voyager/Dodge Caravan? Renault Espace? Mercedes-Benz 190E? GM J-car or X-car? Chrysler K-car? The […] -
Car Show Classic: 1983 Blakely Bernardi – Hooray for Beefaroni
Posted on August 20, 2024 | 18 CommentsNowadays, authenticity is a deeply-celebrated concept. People want to have authentic experiences while on vacation; to see authentic culture and not tourist-trap fodder. We want authentic stories told by people […] -
Curbside Classic: Mercedes 190E (W201) – Das Beste oder….Baby!
Posted on December 14, 2023 | 114 Comments(first posted 12/13/2017) If the average age of cars on the road is creeping upward, it’s difficult to notice in Upper Arlington, the wealthy Columbus, Ohio suburb where I unexpectedly […] -
Curbside Classic-ing in the 1980s: My First Published Automotive Article, 34 Years Ago Today
Posted on October 14, 2022 | 44 CommentsImagine a world where there was no Internet–no Google search, no street views; no Amazon, no eBay, no Craigslist, no YouTube; no blogs, no social media, no email, no […] -
Curbside Recycling: 1984 Honda Civic CRX 1.5 – One Of The First CRXs In The U.S. Is One Of The Last To Remain
Posted on November 26, 2021 | 17 CommentsNever buy a first-year car… Wait until the problems are ironed out… New model, new problems… That may be the conventional wisdom when it comes to some cars, but not […] -
Curbside Recycling: 1987 Nissan Van – On The Lam Since 1993, The Long Claw Of The Crusher Reels Another One In
Posted on November 19, 2021 | 17 CommentsThis van (or Van?) wasn’t supposed to be here. Or, rather, it was supposed to be here but back in late 1993, not 28 years later. There’s a reason you […] -
Curbside Recycling: 1986 Ford LTD Brougham – Upgraded To Pony Power!
Posted on November 12, 2021 | 36 CommentsThe 1983-1986 Ford LTD is no longer a common sight in the junkyard, however since my family owned two of them (’83 and ’84) I’ve generally held them in low […] -
Curbside Recycling: 1988 Cadillac Cimarron – Sort Of Like The Baby Ruth In The Bushwood Country Club Swimming Pool
Posted on August 19, 2021 | 72 CommentsI was a little surprised at the vigorous defense that was afforded the 1976 Cadillac Seville last month by a few readers, apparently the post hit a bit more of […] -
Curbside Recycling: 1983 Ford Ranger XL – Everybody Says This Is What They Want But Nobody Stepped Up So Here It Is
Posted on July 14, 2021 | 68 CommentsI’m beginning to feel less like some dude trawling the junkyards and more like Cal Worthington hawking miles and miles of slightly used cars what with all of the barely […] -
Curbside Miniatures: My 1:87 HO Scale Collection – Part I, The Passenger Cars
Posted on May 11, 2021 | 33 CommentsAs kids, model trains are likely something that interested a lot of us, for some that never went away. Growing up in Germany, model trains were (and still are) sort […] -
Curbside Recycling: 1980 Pontiac Phoenix SJ – Pontiac Flips America The Bird
Posted on May 7, 2021 | 49 CommentsIt’s been a Herculean effort, I’ve struggled mightily while toiling far and wide to find a first-year example of the Citation that sold over 800,000 times in the 1980 model […] -
Curbside Recycling: 1984 Mercedes-Benz 300CD Turbo Diesel – What, Me Worry?
Posted on February 19, 2021 | 24 CommentsEven a full 35 years after production stopped of the venerable W123 series, it’s still a pretty common occurrence to spot one of the sedans (denoted as the “W”123) in […] -
Curbside Recycling: 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit C Diesel – Not Hopped Up, But All Hopped Out
Posted on January 19, 2021 | 36 CommentsI have various memories of VW Rabbits, the first one I ever rode in was actually a Golf, probably around 1976 or so when my best friend’s mom replaced her […] -
Curbside Gift Idea: 1981 Chevrolet Citation – For That Special Someone
Posted on December 24, 2020 | 50 CommentsI’ll be honest, I don’t usually cruise Craigslist looking for cars for others. I want them all for myself. But here’s one that I’ll pass on due to the Christmas […] -
Curbside Recycling: 1990 Acura Legend Coupe – A Very Welcome Reminder Of Acura’s Peak Year
Posted on November 26, 2020 | 26 CommentsPerhaps not everyone will agree but 1990 to me will always be one of Acura’s best years, and perhaps the best, full stop. Consider that it was the first year […]
![Curbside Classic: Peugeot 205 – The Most Significant Car of the 1980s? (Updated 9/26/2025) What do you consider to be the most significant car of the 1980s? Plymouth Voyager/Dodge Caravan? Renault Espace? Mercedes-Benz 190E? GM J-car or X-car? Chrysler K-car? The […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DSC04709.11.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Car Show Classic: 1983 Blakely Bernardi – Hooray for Beefaroni Nowadays, authenticity is a deeply-celebrated concept. People want to have authentic experiences while on vacation; to see authentic culture and not tourist-trap fodder. We want authentic stories told by people […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/PXL_20240804_164338551.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Classic: Mercedes 190E (W201) – Das Beste oder….Baby! (first posted 12/13/2017) If the average age of cars on the road is creeping upward, it’s difficult to notice in Upper Arlington, the wealthy Columbus, Ohio suburb where I unexpectedly […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/190crop1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Classic-ing in the 1980s: My First Published Automotive Article, 34 Years Ago Today Imagine a world where there was no Internet–no Google search, no street views; no Amazon, no eBay, no Craigslist, no YouTube; no blogs, no social media, no email, no […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/20220926_162321-1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Recycling: 1984 Honda Civic CRX 1.5 – One Of The First CRXs In The U.S. Is One Of The Last To Remain Never buy a first-year car… Wait until the problems are ironed out… New model, new problems… That may be the conventional wisdom when it comes to some cars, but not […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/IMG_6950.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Recycling: 1987 Nissan Van – On The Lam Since 1993, The Long Claw Of The Crusher Reels Another One In This van (or Van?) wasn’t supposed to be here. Or, rather, it was supposed to be here but back in late 1993, not 28 years later. There’s a reason you […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/IMG_6960.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Recycling: 1986 Ford LTD Brougham – Upgraded To Pony Power! The 1983-1986 Ford LTD is no longer a common sight in the junkyard, however since my family owned two of them (’83 and ’84) I’ve generally held them in low […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/IMG_7025.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Recycling: 1988 Cadillac Cimarron – Sort Of Like The Baby Ruth In The Bushwood Country Club Swimming Pool I was a little surprised at the vigorous defense that was afforded the 1976 Cadillac Seville last month by a few readers, apparently the post hit a bit more of […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/IMG_5375-1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Recycling: 1983 Ford Ranger XL – Everybody Says This Is What They Want But Nobody Stepped Up So Here It Is I’m beginning to feel less like some dude trawling the junkyards and more like Cal Worthington hawking miles and miles of slightly used cars what with all of the barely […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IMG_3869.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Miniatures: My 1:87 HO Scale Collection – Part I, The Passenger Cars As kids, model trains are likely something that interested a lot of us, for some that never went away. Growing up in Germany, model trains were (and still are) sort […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/IMG_2021.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Recycling: 1980 Pontiac Phoenix SJ – Pontiac Flips America The Bird It’s been a Herculean effort, I’ve struggled mightily while toiling far and wide to find a first-year example of the Citation that sold over 800,000 times in the 1980 model […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/IMG_1833.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Recycling: 1984 Mercedes-Benz 300CD Turbo Diesel – What, Me Worry? Even a full 35 years after production stopped of the venerable W123 series, it’s still a pretty common occurrence to spot one of the sedans (denoted as the “W”123) in […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IMG_9808.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Recycling: 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit C Diesel – Not Hopped Up, But All Hopped Out I have various memories of VW Rabbits, the first one I ever rode in was actually a Golf, probably around 1976 or so when my best friend’s mom replaced her […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IMG_8632.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Gift Idea: 1981 Chevrolet Citation – For That Special Someone I’ll be honest, I don’t usually cruise Craigslist looking for cars for others. I want them all for myself. But here’s one that I’ll pass on due to the Christmas […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Citation01.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Recycling: 1990 Acura Legend Coupe – A Very Welcome Reminder Of Acura’s Peak Year Perhaps not everyone will agree but 1990 to me will always be one of Acura’s best years, and perhaps the best, full stop. Consider that it was the first year […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_7538.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)


