General Motors was one of the most iconic automakers during the muscle car era of the 1960s and ’70s. But by the 1980s and 90s, drivers saw General Motors as a far different company. Sales of General Motors cars were slipping and consumer tastes were shifting more toward imports. The company had to adapt quickly, but many of its efforts were short-lived failures like the Pontiac Fiero.
There were a few notable GM cars that came out in the 1980s and ’90s, however, and many were forward-thinking concepts. For example, the Typhoon and Syclone are still considered two of the fastest vehicles ever made. The 1995 Impala SS was also an iconic car that’s still a part of pop culture today. You could also say the C5 Corvette was one of the most iconic Corvette models ever made. So we looked back at the greatest GM creations of the 1980s and ‘90s. Take a trip down memory lane with some of your favorite General Motors cars of decades past here.
1981 Corvette C3
The 1981 Corvette C3 is one of the most controversial Corvette models. Because of the tightening emissions laws at the time, the C3 was only available with a single-engine option. The L81 engine only had a measly 190 horsepower but the rest of the car was flawless. The lines on the C3 Corvette were some of the most beautiful in Corvette history (via Bring a Trailer).
The interior was also a vast improvement over the previous generations as the car was a lot more livable for the driver. The Corvette C3 was a sports car that suffered from the political climate at the time but its design wasn’t that bad.