Home Cars 1980s Sports Cars That Drivers Want To Stay Forgotten

1980s Sports Cars That Drivers Want To Stay Forgotten

Cameron EittreimNovember 15, 2021

4: Dodge Omni Shelby GLH/GLHS

What happened when Carroll Shelby and Dodge got together in the 1980s? Drivers got the Omni with racing stripes. The Shelby GLH was a turbocharged variety of the Omni that you’d sometimes see making its way down the freeway. The problem is that the car was still basically an Omni with ugly styling and an outdated interior (via Silodrone).

There was a time when the Omni was popular, but by the late 1980s, this wasn’t the case anymore. Consumer tastes had evolved, and there were other more appealing small cars entering the market. Still Caroll Shelby stood behind this car, and there was plenty of press coverage that surrounded it.

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3: Lamborghini Countach

The Countach was the car you may have had a poster of on your wall if you were a kid in the 80s. The car was everything you envisioned was cool was back then. But aside from the obscene wing and the effects of the car, the Countach was just an oversized boat. The car is mountainous, and by today’s standards, its performance isn’t that great (via The Car Guide).

Lamborgini Countach — Photo Credit: Motor Trend

This was from an era where supercars used loud and fast motors, and the Countach is anything but refined. You’ll still hear this car coming from a mile away, and you can’t miss it either. Many famous people own this obscene-looking car, including star car afficianado Jay Leno.

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2: Mazda 323 GTX

Mazda had many notable cars in the 1980s, yet the Mazda 323 GTX was something else. It was a hopped-up hatchback with a faster engine than the run-of-the-mill 323. While the effects of the car weren’t much, its performance made up for it. The problem was that the price tag was outrageous for what the car was.

You could get a comparably priced sports car that would offer more performance and display for the same price. Where the 323 GTX did shine was in the rally circuit, where the sports car won numerous awards and accolades around the world.

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1: Merkur XR4Ti

Ford tried something different with the Merkur brand when it brought the cars over from Britain. The problem was that the observations of the cars were polarizing and the prices were high. Consumers didn’t want to plunge down the money on a car model unknown at the time. Which meant sales for Merkur cars suffered tremendously (via Classic).

Although the styling and performance was widely acclaimed, the cars simply didn’t catch on with consumers. At the end of the day, the Merkur XR4Ti is sort of a relic of a time when Ford was trying to innovate. Sadly, the car didn’t last that long, but you’ll still encounter one on the road every now and then.

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1980s Sports Cars That Drivers Want To Stay Forgotten

4: Dodge Omni Shelby GLH/GLHS

3: Lamborghini Countach

2: Mazda 323 GTX

1: Merkur XR4Ti

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