I can't believe it.

[89ARIES]

Many K-cars aren't appearing for sale anymore. They are now extinct pretty much. The Chrysler LeBaron has been cleaned out except for convertibles, woodies,
and post 85 LeBarons. This was not suppossed to happen after only 25 years. Sorry, but GM and Ford has survived so much better. I still see 84-85 Tempos. What happened?
Why aren't people caring about the hardtops. So stupid.

[88 aries]

because 4 doors are low on the food chain, its always been that way, how many 55 chevy 150's do you see running around? almost none its the bel air all the time. Same principle applies to K-car sedans, of course in todays world that thought is changing, i see alot of 4 doors from the 60's at car shows and some 70's as well, but most people want the loaded cars with turbo charged engines and all the bells and whistles. which is why I dress my K sedans to the finest, I have outdone most of the cars in my class, including a restored firebird, an all original 60 dodge convertable. A 4 door can kick ass just as well as the 2 door or the convertables, but that of course is how much work you put into the car. I havent seen another K-car sedan that comes close to matching mine.

[RichG]

You have to understand that these cars were not built with the intention of lasting 12 years, let alone 20. The object was to turn out a car that would be traded or privately sold in six years, leading to another purchase....long before leasing was an option. Now, manufacturers are building vehicles with the leasing option in mind, for longevity and brand loyalty. Honda and Toyota started engineering engines designed to last 160,000 miles in the late 80's. Detriot is only catching up within the last six years; their heavy reliance on SUV's and truck based platforms meant they learned nothing fromthe late 70's gas crisis. The Japanese developed the engines first, then went to work on the unibody concept with greater attention to body panel and structural longevity. U.S. manufacturers were preoccupied with cost cutting measures, (which is reflected in the interior trim of most 80-85 vehicles), and using engine concepts that were designed based on older engineering models. My point, (and I do have one), is simply that nobody cares about the early 80 sedans because they were middle class grocery getters....mom and pop vehicles that were mostly family oriented.....not exciting (competent, perhaps) and that lacked pizzaz. And that is evident because of the remarkable amount that have LOW mileage on them. Most of what the club has in rolling stock was grandmas car, or Aunt Mary's, or an elderly persons legacy. If they were driven average annual mileage, say, 15,000 per year, the average 1983 vehicle should have 400,000 miles on it, and thats simply not the case with K cars (or most any car, for that matter.) Our cars were not on the road all that much, and they have survived because of it.

[88 aries]

well said

[1of10K]

I agree that most of the K car fleet still in existance today were the cars of another generation. My '82 Spring Special was bought new for a little old lady, who later on in life gave it to her nursing home, who fixed all the little things up to as new, and made it available for all the other little old ladies who didn't have a car to use. The nursing home finally sold it to a kid who drove it only for a very short time, before trading it in to a Chevy dealer for a S-10. When I got it from the dealer, luckily it still had low mileage and hadn't been in the wrong hands long enough to damage or kill it. Now it has a rest home of it's own; in my garage!

[nszotovich]

Yes. This is not a car for most teenagers. They are going through a "Rites of Passage" and many times driving a car like HELL is one of them. Showing off is part of being young, when your body is changing faster than the mind and spirit can process and "flooring it" is equated with sexual prowess (for males at least). K-cars were not built to be driven hard (as if any car is). Big, low revving V8s had already been driven and refined over a period of 20-30 years. High revving fours were relatively new and less refined and generally built for economy, not showing off.

[82Lebaronconv]

Unfortunately, there are a lot of other cars from the 1980's that are virtually extinct today. I've seen only two Chevy Citations for sale in the past year and only one was a first year 1980 model. Do you know how many 1980 model year Citations were sold? Over 811,000! It was Number 1 in sales for the year. Today, there are almost none left. Same for Chevettes. In 1981, the Chevette was the best selling car in America, with over 420,000 units produced (Citation sales had fallen to about 413,000 because of all the bad publicity from the recalls). I have not seen a Chevette on the road in my area since last summer when I spotted one in the parking lot of the local supermarket. And it was a later one, with the rubber bumpers, probably an '86 or an '87. Most compact and subcompact domestic cars from this era have long since vanished and nobody seems to want to save the few that are left. These cars were seen as disposable and were just driven to death and scrapped. Ford Fairmonts, Mercury Zephyrs, the GM "X" cars, especially the Pontiac Phoenix and the Olds Omega, and the any of early GM J bodies ('82-'87) are very scarce today. Actually, I see more K's on the road than any of these models. Recently, I spotted a very rare early GM J body, a Chevy Cavalier RS convertible in a local gas station. I think it was a 1984 or 1985. A pretty car, white, with a green top, but unfortunately, this one was really trashed. It would be nice if someone could restore it, but it probably won't happen. The value of the car is just too low. But try going out on the internet and find another one. I'd bet you'd find 20 first gen Lebaron ragtops before you find another Cavalier like this one.

[89ARIES]

In California, we still see Chevettes and Citations. They are rare, but not all that impossible to find yet. I see way more 80s Tempos than Ks.

[89ARIES]

In California, its the reverse. I saw two 80s J bodies today. We have a way more GM J bodies than K-cars and everything you just mentioned is the reverse. The K is almost dead here now.

[nszotovich]

Well I live in southern California also, and I see alot more K-cars than X-cars, or J-cars, which is a good sign, It means that people are preserving them. The cars are old enough now that the beaters are starting to disappear,but you see alot more well preserved ones. You may not see them as often, because they are being driven less, as cars 20-30 years old should be. They have moved genuinely from daily driver status into collector status. Considering how many more cars GM made, that when the dust clears, Chrysler Ks are going to be the most collectible economy car since the VW Beetle. Part of that is due to a full line of cars, convertibles being the drawing card. As Iacocca said, "They are like nothing out of America, Europe, or Japan." And that is part of their appeal.