I know nothing about cars

[tree]

So I'm hoping one of you wonderful people can help me. I'm looking for a model of car that was available in the USA in 1997 that would not be too noticeably out of place in 1980. Alternatively, a car that was available in 1980 that would still be usable in 1997. I'd prefer the former, but I can figure something out for the latter.

Basically, I need a car in which my character can travel back in time and drive around in that isn't going to loudly shout, "This kind of car has not been conceived of yet!"

My gratitude, you has it.

Comments

[senmut]

You'd be hard pressed to find one that won't stand out hugely with that much of a gap. The body lines, the innovations in headlights... and most noticeably, the center rear break light all make it difficult to take a '97 back to '80. Best bet would probably be a hatchback of some variety, with normal halogen bulbs for headlights, the center brake light disabled. It might then pass for a hatchback of that era.

A Mini Cooper would pass itself off as a novelty concept car, but draw a heck of a lot of attention.

Maybe a Honda Civic from '97. Just off a quick look at images and comparing to my memory of the 80s.

[sarken]

I was just coming here to suggest a Honda Civic. :)

[senmut]

+grins+ I was actually thinking Ford Festiva which looked like the Yugo which looked like the Volkswagon Rabbit... But I forgot when they quit making the Festiva.

[krait]

Ditto; my dad drove his '81 Honda Civic till sometime around 2004... then passed it to a friend's son. That thing lasted forever!

[tree]

i thought as much about the appearances. and i know that someone who really knows cars would be able to spot something out of place. unlike me who just sees car. (i would be a terrible eye witness.) thank you for the honda civic suggestion!

[alias_sqbr]

To take a different tack: why not a restored car from, say, the 1950s? It would draw attention, but noone would suspect it was from the future :)

[alexseanchai]

+1

[tree]

hee! coming to you from the past via the future!

[elistaire]

Maybe that Volkswagon minibus? Or a Volkswagon classic bug. People love those. So it isn't odd to see them. In any of those years.

Or an older pickup truck. Those things last!

[melannen]

I'd vote for an old pickup truck too! Most car models would look noticeably dated (although there were plenty of 1980 model cars still on the road in 1997; it wouldn't be hard to acquire one, but it would definitely look like an old car.) Pickup truck just reads as "pickup truck" to most people though, and they tend to be driven around a lot longer, so a 20-year-old one wouldn't stand out at much.

Alternatively, a white panel van.

[tree]

oh, i hadn't thought of a bug. and a pickup truck is a good idea too. thanks!

[libitina]

Pontiac grand prix?

[tree]

i shall investigate. thank you :)

[kate]

Huh, interestingly I read your preference the wrong way, and I was thinking that an 80s car that might have been kept up and loved in a sort of '67 Impala way would be a 1980 Trans Am. I can see someone in 1997 having one and just keeping it well maintained because they loved it. But that's obviously not your first choice and other people up there have probably given you other suggestions. ETA: Or a 1980 Corvette Stingray! That's a classic shape that I think people still like today.

Re: pickup trucks, I was driving my dad's 1973 Ford 1 ton back and forth to school in 1992 so yeah, people tend to keep their trucks a long time and nobody thinks twice about it.

[tree]

i'll keep the trans am in mind, because that might work. instead of using her own car she might borrow one prior to the time travel shenanigans. thanks!

[lizvogel]

Alternatively, a car that was available in 1980 that would still be usable in 1997.

I had a 1979 Ford Fairmont station wagon that I kept driving well into the 2000s; I even took it on cross-country trips. My housemate had a similar vintage Oldsmobile wagon that also stayed on the road past the 20-year mark. They were certainly what anybody would consider old cars by then, but we saw their clones driving around on a fairly regular basis, so they weren't point-and-stare unusual. And this is in the heart of the Rust Belt, where cars have a shorter life expectancy than in, say, Florida.

I know a lot of people think that a 3-5 year old car is "too old", but honestly, a well-maintained, good quality vehicle should definitely still be usable after 17 years.

[algeh]

I'm coming to this late, but here's what I know about changes in cars from 1980-ish to 1997-ish (all USA-based, if your story is in another country a lot of this will vary). My grasp of what was not required in 1980 is pretty much entirely based on what is not present on my two 1984 Toyotas, which should be a decent guide to typical 80s requirements (although the rules may have been even laxer in 1980 for all I know, and my cars will of course have various non-required features just because they were good things to put on a car to get people to buy it).

- Center rear brake lights, as previously mentioned, were required on cars by 1997. They were not in 1980, and I wouldn't expect to see them on a stock 1980 car (neither of my mine have them).

- Rear seat belts were also not required to be shoulder belts in 1980, lap belts only in the back seat was a common setup. Front seats may have been required to have shoulder belts (both of mine do).

- More subtly, cup holders. Neither of my 1984 cars has a cup holder. I don't know if non-Toyotas were any better about this. 1990s Toyotas had them, because my mom's Corolla from that era did.

I suspect that it'd be easier for your character to find a functional 1980 car in 1997 than it would be for them to find a brand new 1997 car that would look "typical" in 1980. I still drive a 1984 car as my main vehicle. I get occasional comments about the Toyota van because it's distinctive looking (it was introduced in 1984 and has no hood - the engine is under the driver's seat and accessed from inside the cabin) but the Camry still blends in pretty well and I see plenty of other mid-80s Camrys on the road.

I know old VW buses were around in both of those eras, and second that suggestion as well if it works for your story. I wouldn't think of them as a terribly reliable car, but my family had a terrible experience with a VW Rabbit we called "Dead Bunny" so I may be biased. I know mostly-broke college students could afford to buy old VW buses than still ran as recently as 1999, because an acquaintance of mine in college had one with a giant chunk cut out of the padding on the back bench and various other aesthetic issues but that ran.

If you want, I could probably dig up the 1980 Consumer Reports Auto Issue and see what cars were well-reviewed that year and what features Consumer Reports considered important. I want to generically suggest a Toyota but I'm not sure what they were like in 1980 specifically.

My stepfather still drives a white Ford truck from the 1970s. I think the "all pickups look the same" people may be onto something, although they were much boxier in the 70s and 80s and became more rounded in the 90s just like everything else. I'd stay away from minivans - IIRC those tended to be an 80s thing and station wagons were still king in the 70s.