5 Cars That Flopped In The '80s, But Younger Generations Love

Ever since the introduction of the Benz Motorwagen, often thought of to be the very first car ever invented, the auto industry has grown into the behemoth it is today. Over more than 100 years of evolution, car manufacturers have released many vehicles that sparked our love for them. Some of these were immediately accepted and forever coveted as the "best" of all time, while others were shunned and destined to never reach the spotlight.

The 1980s have several contenders for that latter title. Famous car reviewer Doug DeMuro, in a piece for MotorTrend, suggested that the 80s somehow managed to miss the mark of what it takes to make a good car, instead focusing on excess and trying to curb the crippling effects of the decade's fuel crisis that transformed the industry.

However, some of those cars that were deemed lackluster in the 1980s sometimes manage to go from zero to hero, especially when it comes to younger generations that don't not necessarily agree with the prevailing opinions of industry experts like DeMuro. Here are five cars that flopped hard in the '80s but younger generations love and have turned into collector's gold.

When it comes to 1980s cars which not only missed the mark but practically vaulted straight into irrelevance, the DMC-12 DeLorean might be the poster child. In 1981, the first year of the model, the factory produced 7,500 vehicles but only managed to sell 3,000 of them. Overall, the company had a production goal of 12,000, but after manufacturing ended in 1983, only 9,000-ish DeLoreans were ever produced.

Compared to something like the Porsche 911 or the Corvette from that era, the DMC-12 didn't handle as well, nor did it ooze quality. The DeLorean's MSRP in the 1980s was $25,000, the 911's price back then was around $27,000, and given that more than 60,000 1978 to 1983 911s were produced, the 1980s market made its case clear that the higher-performing Porsche was what drivers wanted. 

However, a few years after production ended, "Back to the Future" dropped. Those of us who grew up watching the movie trilogy started fantasizing about driving the gull-winged coupe. Today, Hagerty says that Gen-Xers account for 41.3% of DeLorean insurance quotes — compared to 32.3% across the rest of the market. Millennials are also in love with the vehicle, as that generation accounts for 26.8% of the DeLoreans quoted. This means over a quarter of all people insuring DeLoreans today are Millennials — people who likely weren't even alive when the car was being produced.

When the Pontiac Fiero came out, it also flopped —  one of the most famous reasons being due to the proclivity of the Fiero to catch fire. However, the entire project was underfunded by GM from the get-go. As per production numbers, the Fiero had it a lot better than the DeLorean, and current estimates place the number of Fieros made at around 400,000. However, as time went on, sales plummeted, and in 1988, the production was halted for good.

However, used Pontiac Fiero prices have been climbing recently, and it seems like the car earned a second chance with younger generations. According to data compiled by Hagerty, 65% of people who requested an insurance quote on a Pontiac Fiero were Gen X or younger. Such numbers outpaced that generation's 61% market share for all enthusiast vehicles.

This means that the overall volume of Fiero insurance quotes grew faster than the collector car market as a whole in 2021 and 2022. All of this indicates that the Fiero was somehow misunderstood in the 1980s, and that younger generations are warming to it. Nowadays, people view it as a fun and quirky 1980s car that was far from perfect but has earned a cult following for its uniqueness, mod potential, and good old 1980s charm.

The Toyota MR2 was a natural rival to the Pontiac Fiero, but the early market never saw either car in the same light that Toyota and Pontiac had hoped. However, the MR2's journey was somewhat different. First of all, in 1984, the MR2 won Japan's Car of the Year award. Toyota also managed to sell a decent number in the first few years of its production run. However, sales dwindled after that; in the mid 2000s, Toyota discontinued the MR2.

Things have since changed. In 2023, Jay from the JayEmm on Cars YouTube channel made a video on why you should buy the MR-2 now, commenting that "if you really really want my advice on a car to buy that I think is almost guaranteed to appreciate, this is it." According to Hagerty, Jay might be right; the share of quotes from Millennials made up almost 50 percent of buyer interest for the 1984 to 1989 MR2, which was more than double for the rest of the market.

Given just how younger people have been appreciating the MR-2, its values have also started going up. If you also consider that Toyota has long-term plans to revive the MR2, and that the prospects look promising, it can only mean good things for the original.

The third-gen "Fox Body" Mustang was in production between 1979 and 1993, making it the longest production cycle of Ford's illustrious Pony Car. That was not necessarily because it was perfect, though. When TopGear covered the Fox Body V8, they called it an "Epic Fail" because, in their eyes, it didn't look like a Mustang, it used a V8 with mere 118 hp, and it was slow and compromised. Ford largely agreed; the 1980s Mustang struggled so much that the automaker almost discontinued it, planning to replace it with the front-wheel drive Ford Probe and it was only saved due to a massive outcry among gearheads. Ford released the Probe alongside the Mustang in 1989, but the latter outsold the former immediately; the automaker buried the newer nameplate in 1992.

The Fox Body got an update with the 5th gen Mustang, which was the last to see its influence until the seventh-gen version of the vehicle borrowed a few of its aesthetic touches. Yet even as resale prices for Fox Body Mustangs were circling the drain for a long while after that, it seems like they're finally getting their due. Although it's certainly an unorthodox metric, a decent way to look at what the younger generation likes is none other than Instagram, where the #foxbodymustang hashtag alone has over 181,000 posts as of this writing.

The Fox Body comeback even got its own name. The "Fox Body Boom" has seen these third-generation Mustangs surging back into the spotlight, driven by restomods, a growing aftermarket scene, and a new wave of enthusiasts willing to buy. It's very difficult to predict which models are going to appreciate and become collectible, but it seems like the Fox Body Mustang is one of those cars.

Out of all of the cars on this list, the resurgence of the Buick Grand National might be the most ironic of all. Back in the 80s, the Buick brand was associated with the kinds of cars you'd see retirees driving to church on Sunday, but something went mad inside the company. It introduced this all-black, Darth Vader-looking muscle car called the Grand National GNX. However, at the time the Buick badge didn't scream the same ethos, and the car was largely misunderstood as it did not align with Buick's traditional buyer base.

The GNX had such out-of-pocket performance for Buick that it even managed to beat the Lamborghini Countach, making zero to 60 mph at a blistering speed of 4.7 seconds. There were only 542 GNX's ever produced, making it not just the rarest Buick but one of the rarest cars from its era, period. Such a limitation was not due to market considerations, either; Buick decided to cap the production number on purpose. At new, the GNX was priced at around $30,000, but its resale value is climbing by the day. As of 2022, paying more than half a million for a GNX is no strange occurrence. That's at least partly because younger generations now have the money to buy the very cars that turned them into gearheads in the first place.

Another reason the GNX has become increasingly popular is Kendrick Lamar's 2024 album, named after the monster Buick in homage. The record was a huge success, and given that Kendrick's own black GNX is on the cover and has a song dedicated to the car, it brought the wonders of Buick's colorful 1980s imagination to a whole new generation.