Detroit Enthusiast Embraces ’80s General Motors Cars

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While almost everyone You can appreciate a pristine Bel Air, a barn Mustang Mach 1 or an unmodified Supra, what about the common but underrated vehicle models that somehow survived the test of time?

I recently came across a winter photo taken near the Tetons of my mom in her then-new 1982 Chevrolet Cavalier two-door coupe. She and my dad bought that car from Axtell Chevrolet in Logan, Utah, right around the time I was born, and they proudly drove it through the Rocky Mountains for several years before trading it in for a bigger one. Celebrity.

Mom and Dad were at the forefront of automotive technology at the time, as 1982 was the Cavalier’s inaugural model year. The car was based on General Motors’ “J-body” platform and went on sale in May 1981 with a single engine option: a 1.8-liter L46 inline-four that could be mated to a four-wheel manual transmission. speeds or one of three. -speed automatic transaxle. The J platform was used extensively during this era for other rebadged Cavalier variants such as the Buick Skyhawk, Cadillac Cimarron, Oldsmobile Firenza, and Pontiac Sunbird.

Forty years later (whoops, it hurts to write!), Mom has long since moved on from the General Motors family (she currently divides her time between a late-model Acura sedan and a Lexus convertible). But just as we’re seeing in other areas of the collector car world, the market for some vehicles from the 1980s and 1990s, including the Cavalier, has gained momentum.

I ran into Spencer Strucienski, a collector from Detroit who is a huge fan of this type of car. Spencer and I share a similar passion for General Motors’ boxy 1980s styles. His current collection encompasses some unique, nostalgia-inducing cars from that era, including a Pontiac Grand Prix and an Oldsmobile Silhouette minivan, a vehicle affectionately referred to as a “Dustbuster truck” for its iconic wedge shape.

Below is a 10 question Q&A session with Spencer on what it’s like to be a GM collector from the ’80s and ’90s.

How many vehicles have you owned?

Spencer: I currently own up to 52 vehicles in the 15 years I’ve been driving. They are vehicles ranging from model year 1983 to 2018.

What vehicles are in your current collection? Which is a daily driver, or do you cycle?

Spencer: This changes monthly, but I currently have a 1986 Chevy Cavalier CL, a 1989 Pontiac Grand Prix SE, a 1990 Pontiac Grand Prix STE, a 1993 Chevy Cavalier Z24, a 1995 Oldsmobile Silhouette, and my daily driver: a 2012 Ford Fusion SEL. None of my old cars are driven during the winter months, so the Fusion takes care of the daily chores. However, once the weather warms up, I step between the cars; usually driving them for a week or two at a time.

What first sparked your interest in 1980s GM vehicles?

Spencer: My dad was a Mopar guy, but somehow I ended up being a Ford fan as a kid. Two of my aunts had Tempos growing up and for some reason I had a crush on them and always wanted one to be my first car. Before I got my license, I was riding my bike around my neighborhood and “Tempo Spot”. Oddly enough, I still have all these photos I took years ago stored on an old laptop of mine. Anyway, fast forward to I was 15 years old in an auto shop in high school. We had a 1993 Chevy Cavalier RS ​​with a 3.1L V6 donated to our shop. My shop master decided we were going to fix it up and sell it to buy tools/supplies for the shop. my 16he the birthday was coming up soon, my mom passed the car to her and she said she would buy it for me as my first car. He wasn’t very enthusiastic because at the time he wasn’t a big fan of GMs. But that Cavalier is what sparked my interest in old GM FWD cars. The 3.1 V6 was very powerful in that car, and it was incredibly reliable in the five years I owned it; taking me to and from high school and eventually college. Rust eventually did, but still ran and drove to the junkyard. I owe a lot to that car because I think my life would have been very different if I had another car.

What are some of the unique features that the vehicles of that era had (digital dashes, the glove box with the Grand Prix combination lock, the Cimarron Symphony Sound audio system, things like that)?

Spencer: I love the digital displays, like the 88-91 Cutlass Supreme gauge clusters, the info center/compass displays on the Grand Prix and Bonneville. Basically all the nifty stuff that doesn’t add much to the car, other than the overwhelming nostalgia of what it was like to live in the 1980s. The quirky steering wheel controls on the Pontiacs were cool too. I still enjoy naive people worrying about buttons flying everywhere if the “airbag” deploys. I guess we’re entering the era where people don’t realize that not all cars had airbags back then. On the safety side, although many people find them annoying, I also loved the motorized seat belts from this era. I’ve owned a couple of Tempos and I like that feature.

I noticed you recently transported a Cavalier from California to Michigan. What made that vehicle desirable and what are your plans for it?

Spencer: This was a bit of an impulse buy. As I have aged I have less and less patience for rusty vehicles and when this car came on the market I couldn’t look away. It’s a car with many options in a cool color scheme – it’s only a couple of options short for a Cadillac Cimarron. Fortunately, the seller was super calm and patient with me setting up shipping and paying him online. I didn’t even talk to the guy on the phone; we did the entire transaction via text message. In today’s society that will probably make some people cringe, but it worked for me! I am very happy to have the car now, it is a native California car and it shows. The underbody is as clean as can be, just the way I like it.

What are one or two of your dream cars, either within your current “reach” or well beyond?

Spencer: This is a tough question because I’m a simple guy. Basically, I have all my dream cars right now. I really love this era of FWD cars and have pretty much everything I’ve ever wanted. Still on my wish list is a Dodge Omni GLHS and a Dodge Charger (the one based on the FWD Omni). I know, they are Mopar but they are so 80s and I love them. GLHSs are selling for a premium price due to their appeal and Chargers are incredibly hard to find.

If you had to make a prediction, what do you think is a currently underrated future collectible?

Spencer: Unfortunately, I think these eras of cars won’t be appreciated much, at least not normal mundane cars anyway. I think they might appreciate to a very low five figures once availability dwindles to near impossible to find, but it depends on the car. Generation Xers and Millennials don’t seem to be doing as well financially as baby boomers who can pay six figures for classic cars. Gen-X and Millennials enjoy these cars from a nostalgic standpoint, but not many of them have the disposable income to pay the high prices for these cars. Also, I feel like the shift in electrification is slowly killing car culture.

Are there any specific parts for these vehicles that are hard to find?

Spencer: Vehicle specific parts are starting to get hard to find: body parts, interior parts, etc. Mechanically, I haven’t had much trouble finding parts for my cars. My 1993 Cavalier Z24, for example, has been sitting for almost 20 years – it needs a lot of random bits and pieces that can really only be rectified by a donor car from the junkyard, but they don’t show up in yards anymore. Also, front struts are very hard to find for these cars. Those are really the only parts I’ve had a hard time finding.

What community resources are available to someone looking to break into this niche?

Spencer: Facebook groups are absolutely the best resource for someone trying to get into this community. I co-direct Classic GM FWD Partnership which targets any 2001 and earlier GM FWD vehicle. We have built a community of over 15,000 members since 2015 and we are always ready to help people with their related vehicles. Other clubs like Underappreciated Survivors and Malaise Motors are also great for showing off your vehicles. There are also more focused groups depending on your vehicle type such as the Cimarron Owners Club, First/Second Gen J-body, 5he Gen Grand Prix Owners, Club APV (for Dustbuster trucks) and much more if you want a more specific club.

What is your favorite song or album from the 1980s or 1990s to listen to while on the road?

Spencer: Whenever I drive my old vehicles, I always listen to period music. I don’t have a specific song or album I like, but I’ve curated an 80s playlist on Spotify that I often like to listen to. Since the recent Cavalier is a 1986, I’ve been listening to the GTA: Vice City soundtrack while driving it. I love being in that vintage mood when I’m driving my old cars, so it’s definitely something that helps me enjoy my cars even more. I’ve also curated a 1990s R&B playlist for when I’m driving my ’93 Cavalier or ’95 Olds Silhouette.

It was great connecting with Spencer about her love affair with GM cars from the 1980s.

By the way, the Chevrolet Cavalier survived two more generations after the one my parents had and was sent into the sunset after 2005. (Worth noting: The Cavalier nameplate still lives on in other parts of the world. It’s currently sold in Mexico as a rebadged version of the Chinese-made Chevrolet Monza compact car).

Did you or a family member own a 1980s General Motors vehicle in the past? Let us know in the comments section. And if you’re ready to jump in and join Spencer on the drive to collect cars in the 1980s malaise era, check out the listings at ClassicCars.com and the auctions in autohunter.com.

This article, written by Tyson Hugie, was originally Posted on ClassicCars.compublishing partner of Motor Authority.