1980 in motoring

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[edit] United Kingdom

British Leyland introduced the Austin Metro, a compact three-door hatchback which will be sold alongside the Mini and be powered by the 1.0 and 1.3 petrol engines that are familiar in other BL products. The Metro took five years and cost hundreds of millions of pounds (mostly taxpayers money) to develop, and left BL without enough money for any more immediate all-new cars. So the nine-year-old Morris Marina, one of the most maligned British cars of the 1970s, has been restyled to become the Morris Ital. An all-new large family car is not expected until 1984.

Ford's Escort has finally moved into front-wheel drive hatchback format after 13 years as a rear-wheel drive saloon. As before, there is also an estate version available. The engine line-up is similar to that of old rear-wheel drive MK2, but there is now a 1.6 diesel available. It has been elected European Car of the Year.

At the beginning of 1980, Vauxhall began sales of its all-new Astra front-wheel drive hatchback and saloon, which was launched in the UK before the end of 1979 as the German-built Opel Kadett. It gives Vauxhall at least a match for the new MK3 Ford Escort, and is a far more modern and competent car than the ageing Viva that it replaces.

[edit] France

Peugeot unveiled the new 505, a rear-wheel drive range of saloons and estates which were designed as an eventual replacement for the long-running 504 and a competitor for the likes of the Ford Granada, Rover SD1 and Vauxhall Carlton.

The Peugeot-owned Talbot marque (created on the company's acquisition of Chrysler Europe in 1979) has seen the launch of the Tagora, a large four-door saloon which is to be built in France in limited numbers. The Alpine hatchback now also forms the basis of the Solara saloon.

Production of the Renault 12 finished two years after the launch of its successor - the R18. The R12 had been on sale for 11 years, though Romanian production of the car continues under licence by Dacia.

[edit] Italy

Fiat introduced a new entry-level three-door hatchback - the Panda - as a more modern and practical alternative to the rear-engined 126. It shares a 652cc two-cylinder engine with the 126, but this version of the Panda is only sold on the domestic market. Spanish customers will be offered the SEAT Panda.

Lancia began exporting its new Delta range of five-door medium sized hatchbacks, designed as direct competitors for the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Escort. Sales began in Italy at the end of 1979 and the ultra-modern Delta was voted European Car of the Year thanks to its contemporary styling, impressive ride and handling, and quality which suggests that is a more durable product than some of the rust-prone models which have tainted Lancia's image in recent years. For the Swedish market, there will also be a Saab model known as the 600.

1980 saw a relaunch of Lancia's Monte Carlo sports car, a year after it was withdrawn from production. The re-lauched Monte Carlo sports a much improved braking system - with refinements being made in response to heavy criticism over safety issues - but few other significant changes.

[edit] Spain

Fiat decided to withdraw its subsidisation of the SEAT marque, a venture between themselves and the Spanish government. Though production of SEAT's Fiat-based models will continue, licening reasons will prevent them from using the same nameplates as the Italian models from which they are derived.

[edit] Sweden

The recently-launched Saab 900 range of upmarket hatchbacks has been joined by a smaller, entry-level model - the Saab 600 - which is a clone of the Lancia Delta and will only be sold on the domestic market.

[edit] Germany

Volkswagen updated the 30-year-old Transporter range to give it an entirely new bodyshell, but the air-cooled engines and rear-wheel drive chassis continued largely unchanged. The new range of vans and people carriers had a much-improved braking system as well as much improved specification levels, with some models even having power steering and air-conditioning.

Volkswagen also expanded its commercial vehicle range by launching the Caddy, a Golf-based range of compact vans and pickup trucks.

[edit] Eastern Europe

Lada facelifted its decade-old Fiat-based range of saloons and estates and renamed them "Riva". The car's technology remained unchanged, with power still coming from 1.2, 1.3, 1.5 and 1.6 petrol engines. The new model will follow where its predecessor left off, retailing at a low price wherever it is sold.

[edit] Japan

A year after going on sale in its homeland, the latest generation of the Toyota Corolla went on sale in Europe. The traditional rear-wheel drive chassis and saloon bodystyle continues, as do the 1.3, 1.6 and 1.8 petrol engines. The latest Corolla will have the same virtues as the old - low running costs, a competitive list price, good space and comfort, solid build quality and cast-iron reliability.

Toyota gave its rear-wheel drive mini-car, the Starlet, a major facelift which included square front headlights instead of round ones. The old 1.0, 1.2 and 1.3 power units were replaced by new 12-valve ones which gave more power and even better economy.

Honda introduced a new medium-sized family saloon - the Ballade - which gave traditionalists a viable alternative to the Civic hatchback. It will be imported to the USA as a Civic, but the British version will go into production next year as part of a venture with British Leyland.

The Civic, Honda's best-selling model, was facelifted to exhibit a more aerodynamic shape and a more extensive range of trim levels. The 1.3 and 1.5 petrol engines are both new to the range, replacing the outdated 1.3 power unit from the original Civic range.

Nissan bolstered its Datsun brand to give European buyers a new, more credible alternative to the Ford Cortina. Its latest generation Bluebird comes in a range of saloons, estates and coupes which are hardly exciting but offer high levels of refinement, quality, comfort and economy. The coupe version comes in "SSS" form with a more powerful version of the already good 2.0 power unit. The standard 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 petrol engines are carried over from the previous range, though the under-powered 1.4 unit has been discontinued.

Mazda moved to front-wheel drive for its popular 323 hatchback, which will be sold in Australia as the Ford Meteor and Ford Laser as part of Mazda's venture with Ford. The latest 323 will have 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5 petrol engines, and the car's contemporary body was designed with the help of Ford's design team. Production of the rear-wheel drive estate, part of the pre-1980 range, will continue for at least a couple more years.

[edit] See also