I love the line, “just a hint of lockup and axle swing.”
@Cheezwizzz Жыл бұрын
And throwing a belt, no big deal 😅
@tkewrestler2662 Жыл бұрын
@@Cheezwizzz, I know I laughed at that one too. The early 80’s were not a good time for the General.
@NEO_RedPill_2024 Жыл бұрын
If that was a hint I hate to see the full on version 😅
@chrisbrowder9184 Жыл бұрын
@@Cheezwizzz ..but hey "access to the oil filter was much better" LOL!!!
@Cheezwizzz Жыл бұрын
@@chrisbrowder9184 It’s the little things that count 😂
@SoSorry4UrLoss Жыл бұрын
These older episodes were filmed at the very end of Interstate 70 in Baltimore, which is now a Park & Ride. I grew up right behind there.
@agy234 Жыл бұрын
It was still under construction then. I don’t remember which episode they mentioned that, possibly the pilot?
@natureboy1313 Жыл бұрын
Cool info
@vwestlife Жыл бұрын
The X-Car really wasn't bad once GM fixed its major design flaws. But they never seemed to figure out that you don't get a second chance to make a good first impression.
@ercsan Жыл бұрын
There was also competition that was just better looking and more modern by that time, such as the A body cars ( Celebrity and Pontiac 6000) and the Chrysler Lebaron GTS, even though you had to spend a little more. The Camry and Accord also had gotten larger and cemented their reputation for reliability by 1984-1985
@GeeEm1313 Жыл бұрын
My dad had a Citation and a Citation II. The Citation II actually lasted until 1995, when my mom bought a new Taurus and my dad ended up driving her old one.
@CM-cw8fe Жыл бұрын
I cried when I realized this is from 40 years ago
@JohnEvans-ct6mz Жыл бұрын
Funny thing is, the GM X and A bodies are structurally identical. The A body is just a revised X with a longer wheelbase. If they had allowed the X to continue, it would have been just as good as an A. However, true to GM form, they finally get something right then they drop it.
@ercsan Жыл бұрын
@@JohnEvans-ct6mz But by the time the x bodies were perfected, the N bodies ( Grand Am, Skylark, Calais- and later Corsica/ Beretta) were already out and GM needed warm bodies to purchase those in order to cover the development costs. Keeping the X Cars available would have eaten into the N body sales. It’s ridiculous to see GM had so many passenger car models back then.
@Crispychicken4u Жыл бұрын
I think Rodney Dangerfield’s joke applies here “ my car is always on a lift. It’s got more miles vertically than horizontally! You- know “😅
@Greatdome99 Жыл бұрын
And "I bought the perfect second car--a tow truck"
@johnsimun6533 Жыл бұрын
Sounds like a great second car for me. What color truck, would go with a ‘06 Impala SS? She’s White with the Oreo guts. Non chrome wheels, only polished.
@jacobfleming6616 Жыл бұрын
I can’t believe it threw a belt on a press test
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
It was only for the emissions air pump, which I would rip off anyway for better performance!
@scdevon Жыл бұрын
I can definitely believe it. This show acted as if there were only slight differences in quality between these POS domestic cars during the dark ages and Japanese vehicles.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
Reliability was NOT among the qualities of US cars in those days!
@itsabigchungus10 ай бұрын
@@TheOzthewizit still isn't 😂
@TraveladvRajanSRai7 ай бұрын
@@scdevon maybe some the small ones rest are solid
@rhemeon Жыл бұрын
My father had the Pontiac version of this. Now he always babied his cars.( I can still remember him saying don't slam the door every time I got out) Anyway one Christmas he got me a control line plane. He had the first go to show me how to do it. He didn't even make a full circle when wham!!, no more plane and a big dent in the B piller. He gathered up the pieces and not a word was spoken on the way home. RIP old timer and thanks for the memories. G.H
@jameswillard1 Жыл бұрын
Sorry for your loss
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
I feel the SAME about people slamming car doors (as though the door will close MORE tightly, the harder you slam it). If someone SLAMMED my car door, they would WALK the next time!
@Red-rl1xx6 ай бұрын
We had a couple of those control line planes! However, we flew them out in the front yard away from our cars. They were fun!
@blisterbrainАй бұрын
You need a lot more room for those planes than you'd think. Poor Dad.
@zzoinks Жыл бұрын
I like how we can see a lot of 60s and 70s cars driving in the background
@Rampant_Colt Жыл бұрын
I can already see rust and corrosion forming in the opening shot of that duded-up Citation
@2525alb Жыл бұрын
Where I don't see it
@Rampant_Colt Жыл бұрын
@@2525alb I'm being facetious
@MPMeterman Жыл бұрын
@@Rampant_Colt- be careful using big words 😂
@kevinpatrickmacnutt Жыл бұрын
My father had a 1981 X-11 and it was rusting out (in the middle of the drivers door?!?) by 1983. We had it repainted in 1984.
@Frank71 Жыл бұрын
Those were terrible cars. America couldn't make a good small car if the life of an industry depended on it.
@JetTech1966 Жыл бұрын
I was lucky enough to own a 1985 X-11. I absolutely loved that car. It was quite fast for the days back then and handled amazingly. Unfortunately I got T-boned. They fixed it but it was never right again so I traded it in. But it was an amazing car for it's time. Bright red...damn it was a sexy car for its day!
@that85z28 Жыл бұрын
I had a V6 81 Citation as a 1st car. The premature brake lockup was a “fun” introduction to driving as a 16 year old.
@rahsaanthomas7030 Жыл бұрын
It was my first car, too. I had fun, picking up girls, driving to wherever I felt like going. I junked it 2 years later..
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
Neither were their 4-speed transmissions! The one in my '80 V6 "X"-11 BROKE at 18mo and 8000miles. This happened just BEFORE the recall for "major reliablity problems". I did manage to get the transmission rebuilt (in THOSE days, they still repaired instead of replacing things) at NO CHARGE as a "goodwill adjustment" by GM! LOL Btw, the ONLY publication that warned consumers of the MAJOR TRANSMISSION problem was "Consumer Reports" for you haters of CR!!
@keithmurphy2740 Жыл бұрын
@ 3:45 "As are the checkpoints for all the bodily fluids" 😂
@josefstout2194 Жыл бұрын
Snigger !!😂
@epcothorizons9316 Жыл бұрын
It threw a belt. But Hey! You can get to the oil filter... GM quality of the 80s. Top notch!
@RyanBerich-u1w Жыл бұрын
Can you imagine a time when an air pump pulley falls off and a car review treats it like a minor thing.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
On an AMERICAN BUILT car? SNAFU (situation normal, all F**KED UP)!
@kevinmcmahon7182 Жыл бұрын
Just a hint of rear wheel lock up lmao
@HowardJrFord Жыл бұрын
My mom had an 83 X11 , and that hint of lockup of the left rear tire was enough to have you facing oncoming traffic on rainy or snowy surfaces if you weren't careful .
@ce9345 Жыл бұрын
The best yr for the X11 was 1985. It finally got horizontal hvac and radio controls, and the X11 got a 2.8 MFI V6.
@geekatron8 Жыл бұрын
All 135 horsepower of it.
@milfordcivic6755 Жыл бұрын
It makes you wonder why GM even bothered making those changes at all in the last year of production.
@MPMeterman Жыл бұрын
@@milfordcivic6755- GM being GM.
@bghoody5665 Жыл бұрын
@@MPMeterman Reminds me of the Fiero - the last year it finally got the suspension Pontiac always wanted and a better engine only for it to be discontinued. Like you said, GM being GM.
@TwentyOneThirty Жыл бұрын
@@geekatron8135 hp on a relatively light weight vehicle made for good times. I had a 1983 Camaro Z 28 with 160 hp and traded it for the 1985 X11. My X11 was just as fast as my Camaro and kept it for 15 years relatively trouble free. The downside was the roof started to rust around year 7 and by the 10 year mark, I literally had a two-tone paint job on my car ( brown/rust on top and black on bottom).
@20DYNAMITE06 Жыл бұрын
With opinion pieces like this, it’s amazing to me that Motor Week was ever taken seriously
@runner30335 ай бұрын
They were all the same. If you outright slammed a new car, you wouldn't get anything to review in the future, let alone invited to all expenses paid press junkets...
@3wheelmannc860 Жыл бұрын
I had an X-11 back in the day. Not a GM fan, but this was a solid offering back then. Dependable, sporty (for the time), very good ride quality and roomy. The only thing I did not like was the vertically placed stereo...almost impossible to upgrade.
@kevinpatrickmacnutt Жыл бұрын
I would question dependable. We had one and I remember a lot of loaner cars when we had it.
@floridaroadways Жыл бұрын
I like the stereo
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
@@kevinpatrickmacnutt The quality (reliability) was hit and miss. You had to make sure that it was built in the MIDDLE of the week. The Lordstown plant was running THREE SHIFTS trying to meet demand. What could possibly go wrong?
@ercsan Жыл бұрын
My dad made the mistake of buying a dark blue Citation hatchback coupe with the Iron Duke way back in 1980. Had issues with the premature locking brakes the first year of ownership. And it was the second time he made the error of buying a "Motortrend Car of the Year" with the previous mistake a Gold Plymouth Volare sedan with the 318 back in 76. That's why its never a good idea to buy a new car in the first model design year (except if it is a Honda or Toyota). Best experiences with reliable cars was a 77 VW Rabbit (from which he traded his 76 Volare to) and a 1982 Mazda GLC (from which he traded the Citation a couple years later). Still dont know how you would deal with replacing that vertical radio setup on the early X Cars. What was GM thinking?
@tomjanowski8584 Жыл бұрын
My Dad replaced a 1977 Volare station wagon with a Citation.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
As I remember "Motor Trend" said, "the fit and finish of the X-bodies was the finest on the planet". After all the complaints had been registered, Motor Trend was asked why they would make such an UN-RELIABLE car "The Car of The Year". They answered "Well we can't PREDICT how reliable the car will be"! Then why the F**K would you tell the people that this is the BEST thing since sliced bread and to hurry down to the dealer to buy one!
@ercsan Жыл бұрын
If the Motortrend Car of the Year was based on reliability only, Toyota would have won every year for the last 45 years.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
You forgot to mention ANOTHER "fine" MT car of the year...........the PACER! As far as that vertical radio, all you needed was a vertically oriented face plate, the head unit was not the problem.
@pjcornell9691 Жыл бұрын
How about a Pontiac 6000 STE road test?
@MPMeterman Жыл бұрын
Someone pirated and uploaded an 85 STE test from one of the monthly marathon streams if you’re interested.
@richkuban2027 Жыл бұрын
Got a great deal on one a Boston area dealer had on the lot for a year because it didn’t have air conditioning. Enjoyed it while we had it. It was fun compared to the other X bodies so common at the time. Didn’t have it long though, it was the only car ever stolen from us.
@asbel65 Жыл бұрын
SOMEBODY STOLE THAT CAR!!!!!
@TheDanno210 Жыл бұрын
Did they bring it back?
@richkuban2027 Жыл бұрын
Never saw it again….
@landonbenford8369 Жыл бұрын
@@richkuban2027 What did the insurance give y'all for it??
@Antsir124 ай бұрын
I won a new fire engine RED X-11 in a citywide lotto back in 1981. I loved that car! For its time it was really a small rocket and the handling with the Goodyear Eagles was fantastic. Mine had the 3 speed automatic transmission and boy did it go when the transmission would kick down from 3rd to second gear. I really miss it😢.
@lonestar8312 Жыл бұрын
my dad had one back then and I remember him being so disappointed in this car because it only got to 80,000 miles and the engine went. He bought it in 83 and he junked it in 1990.
@jimiburns6891 Жыл бұрын
It’s 2023, and for some reason, that car design still looks cool
@tonymickens8803 Жыл бұрын
Gene Margolis Chevy here in Michigan had a Turbo Charged Special Order one back in the day that was a BEAST!
@VcArena Жыл бұрын
Got any info on it?
@tonymickens8803 Жыл бұрын
I WISH! @@VcArena
@eternal1blue Жыл бұрын
Huh
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
It MUST have been a "special order" vehicle. I never heard of a TURBO version. Was it the 4 or V6?
@tonymickens8803 Жыл бұрын
It was a 3.8 V6 and it Screamed!@@TheOzthewiz
@josephwhiskeybeale Жыл бұрын
I remember these all being broken down and headed to the junkyards back in the late 80’s. Then completely gone and forgotten by the 90’s
@mph5896 Жыл бұрын
I remember strolls through the junk yard in the mid 90’s. 80’s garbage as far as the eye could see 😂
@MikeO-p8l10 ай бұрын
Except by me lol was my first car in 1998 ........
@kevinbarry71 Жыл бұрын
Of course by this time General Motors had managed to squander a lot of goodwill. And, 1983 was the first year for the Toyota Camry.
@milfordcivic6755 Жыл бұрын
The 2nd gen 1982 Honda Accord also swayed a lot of people away from the junk the big 3 were making back then.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
There was also the Honda Accord, built as precisely as a "Swiss Watch". I remember how EFFORTLESSLY the doors would close, they would latch by LITERALLY blowing on them!
@9chilidog10 ай бұрын
@@TheOzthewizwe were a Chrysler family, but '80 trash reliability made us turn our backs. By 87 my aunt got an accord, my mom got a Toyota Tercel and dad got a Sentra.
@danielsweeney6742 Жыл бұрын
My aunt owned a Citation it rotted out in 5 years. Hood front fenders rear quarters and frame. Well unibody.
@dave23024 Жыл бұрын
I had a 1984 Pontiac Phoenix with the 2.8L engine and I rebuilt it with an X-11 camshaft.
@JohnEvans-ct6mz Жыл бұрын
You can tell this was before GM figured out how to put an inertia lock on the passenger seat back for coupes. The passenger front seat back almost hits the dash on the panic stop.😂
@tomjanowski8584 Жыл бұрын
My family had one. It lived 5 years before going up in flames. But before it burned, it had the entire steering system replaced at 6 months old, the transmission was replaced twice, the engine was replaced and the radiator sprung a million tiny holes.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
Typical for a SMALL AMERICAN car!
@glennschiffer174211 ай бұрын
just bad luck 🤞
@tomjanowski858411 ай бұрын
@@glennschiffer1742 just a piece of junk
@Tool0GT92 Жыл бұрын
Would never see ease of maintenance highlights in a modern car video.
@pacoseventeen Жыл бұрын
I wish it would come back, I love seeing it in these old school videos
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
Changing the oil filter in the 4-cyl (iron duke), (not V6) engine was a nightmare! The iron duke was always used in a "longitudinal" arrangement, in the "X" bodies GM simply roatated the engine 90deg, with the filter butting up to the subframe, making it almost impossible to change the filter!
@MixingGBP Жыл бұрын
I took driver's Ed in high school in one of these...man, good times!
@edwardbianchi192 Жыл бұрын
Always liked the look. Hard to believe what was acceptable back then.
@glennschiffer174211 ай бұрын
i remember liking the mags
@KenanTurkiye Жыл бұрын
Quirky. The Japanese compacts forced US manufacturers into venturing in compact designs that was quirky. Good old late 70's early 80's. :)
@EmoDKTsuchiya Жыл бұрын
50-70s Japan copies America 80s-x America copies Japan
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
MORE IMPORTANT.....the Japanese FORCED American auto makers into making SOMEWHAT quality cars!
@KenanTurkiye Жыл бұрын
Whats wong with YT, thymbs up for the vid aren't registering. :/
@KenanTurkiye Жыл бұрын
...2 hours later...it's fixed now, seems like there was a problem the like number would count down from what it was down to zero and show zero no matter what thenumber of likes was, not only on this channel.
@rabit818 Жыл бұрын
If the Citation came out in the age of internet it will not stand a chance due to it’s countless problems. GM gets points for good styling for its time The scarf lol
@fernandorocha8459 Жыл бұрын
The Citation is nice car
@thomaspierce9458 Жыл бұрын
Learn when to use it's, which is "it is", vs. the possessive its. Lol...
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
@@thomaspierce9458 Thanks for pointing that out. I am also guilty of that grammar error!
@thomasofone Жыл бұрын
I loved my 81 Citation. Plenty of room for me and my girl in back with the seats down. Homemada homemada
@jackjohnson7396 Жыл бұрын
I drove one for a couple of years in the nineties. Bought it cheap had no serious issues either. Sold it to a kid long ago.
@braddietzmusic2429 Жыл бұрын
I see an X-11, and I always smile.
@gera117 Жыл бұрын
Where’s the Cavalier Z24? I want a Cavalier Z24 retro review hehe
@sponk2112 Жыл бұрын
"...halts were confidence building.." while the thing is skidding crazily sideways, nearly taking out the poor bundled-up lady with her measuring wheel.
@MrFcwright Жыл бұрын
Love these videos Never forget my 1977 Chevy Chevette
@LisaBurton-x9s Жыл бұрын
@ 3:45 "As are the checkpoints for all the bodily fluids" . Would never see ease of maintenance highlights in a modern car video..
@stoveguy2133 Жыл бұрын
Had a 87 celebrity v6. Mpi was pretty peppy.
@landyachtfan79 Жыл бұрын
Honestly, the GM X-cars will always be one of those car lines that REALLY frustrates me. They had all of the ingredients to be the best cars ever built, & that is exactly what they could & should have been. Ultimately, I feel that the X-cars' undoing was not really the cars THEMSELVES, but the company who built them, late-'70's/early '80's GM. As was the case with Ford & Chrysler, they became too focused on beating the European & Japanese competition at their own game & not focused ENOUGH on providing the American car-buying public with viable alternatives to the imports. As a result, quality & reliability were allowed to fall by the wayside.
@teds7379 Жыл бұрын
It's kind of become a GM hallmark: doing 90% of a great job then crapping out on the final 10% to ensure the car feels cheap and doesn't work well.
@landyachtfan79 Жыл бұрын
As is finally getting the car right, & then dropping it, @@teds7379. They finally got the X's right for the 1985 model year, & then................PFFFFFT!!!! Same with the Pontiac Fiero & the Cadillac Allante` later on.
@mediocreman2 Жыл бұрын
Yes, the deadline became more important than the product. GM obviously could have engineered a better car, but they didn't want to. They wanted to get the car to market as quick as possible to beat the competition, but the GM management didn't realize that the competition was built with higher quality. Must have been incredibly frustrating to be a good engineer at GM.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
You have to remember that if you wanted the quality to be as good as say, a Volvo at about $15k, you would NOT get THAT quality for $8k! You get what you pay for..
@teds7379 Жыл бұрын
@@TheOzthewiz It's not that simple. A lot of luxury cars were and are terrible. A 1980's Toyota was built better than a Jaguar or a Cadillac.
@steveboyd3377 Жыл бұрын
Nothing says reliability like throwing a belt on the test drive.
@williamdavis4809 Жыл бұрын
Word
@carlasghost656 Жыл бұрын
Their Cutlass review from the same era, trim pieces literally fell off. Post malaise GM coasted way too long on reputation and fleet sales. Chrysler finally got it together and was moving forward. (Though in finest Chrysler tradition screwed it up.) Ford had a few missteps (Merkur), but had the Taurus and was moving nicely towards the 90's. But GM couldn't get out of their own way. Their older stuff was, just old. And their newer attempts came with a list of recalls longer than the owner's manual. I know pointing out the problems with GM is redundant and has been done to death. But the only thing that kept them going was the momentum of their size and "Too big to fail" status.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
That was a GOOD thing! Would save you the trouble of having to disable the air pump for BETTER performance!
@OLDS98 Жыл бұрын
Thank you for posting another GM review.
@davidpowell3347 Жыл бұрын
This thing ran much better than the first version Chevrolet Citations but still had too many things going wrong with it,I believe still came with some suspension bolts loose. The 135 horsepower rating was probably much understated as compared to how cars are rated today.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
The X-11 that I ordered came with an "extra" rear hub flange bolt that was rolling around INSIDE the rear brake drum. I heard a LOUD snapping sound coming from the rear when I went over a large bump. Thought it was a loose spring mount until one day going down my alley at slow speed, I heard a continuous rattling noise. Decided to pull the rear wheel and drum. Found a bolt that had been "floating" around inside the drum and had been catching on the metal part of the brake shoe. If I hadn't found this extra bolt and I was clipping along at 70mph, it could have locked up that one wheel and made for a VERY BAD DAY!
@dohc1067 Жыл бұрын
Looking back at the Citation, Gm has definitely come a long way and it's no wonder the imported competition caught up.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
You have that BACKWARDS. GM caught up (?) to the imported competition!
@garretlewis4103 Жыл бұрын
When I was a young man, I wanted a Citation X11.
@MH-so9oz Жыл бұрын
I was also young back then so I have to ask,,, with Camaro and Mustangs available, why would you want this pos?
@garretlewis4103 Жыл бұрын
@@MH-so9oz Oh I wanted those. I just didn't think I could afford it considering insurance, etc. Needless to say, I didn't get a X-11, Mustang, or Camaro when I was young (just out of high school). I did get a Mustang later in life.
@Kenneth-fu3js Жыл бұрын
My Cousin and I were HOOKED on this show from day 1!!! We would be on the phone with each other as we watched it and go back and forth on the featured vehicle 😎🤣
@Greatdome99 Жыл бұрын
The Achilles Heel of this car was that dreadful 2.8 liter V6. I had one for 7 years and the valve covers never stopped leaking oil. And then there was the blown head gasket and leaking timing chain/water pump cover on the replacement engine which drained all the coolant. Several friends had the same fate. I never bought another GM car again.
@davidmckibbin4440 Жыл бұрын
the last year i bought a new gm car was 1982. a S10 pickup V6 5 speed, what a piece of shit
@msk3905 Жыл бұрын
Good god i remember these junk boxes and so happy we moved on from those dark days of automobile design.
@thebionicbassplayer Жыл бұрын
I drove a Citation in 1985, for a courier service. The brakes had a propensity to lock up...a death trap.
@RaymondHaley-lv2mo6 ай бұрын
The X cars weren't perfect but a small step in the right direction,a perfect starting point ❤😂😮
@padistedor Жыл бұрын
At least the 80s had good music.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
That's YOUR opinion. And you know what "they" say about opinions...........they are like arseholes, everybody has one!
@Tennesseestorm766 ай бұрын
My parents had a '81 Olds Omega Brougham they purchased in 1987. I was only 11, but remember the car well. I remember the bottom of the doors were rusted on the backside, the previous owner had covered it in silicone and painted over it... it was a southern car too. I remember the transmission went out before it hit 75k miles and the carburetor had constant issues. It had the 2.8L V6.
@monroetoolman Жыл бұрын
So a brand new one they had prepped to go to the automotive press and the pulley fell off... And Motor Week is still like "build quality is way up!" lol We take for granted how good cars are today. Dealers having to fix brand new cars from the factory was definitely a GM thing back in the 80`s.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
All AMERICAN manufacturers did that "back in the day" unlike Toyota. If a Toyota had defects, the car would be sent back through the line AGAIN to correct those defects! In the US, if a car didn't start during loading, it would be HAND PUSHED onto the carrier. This was known as "goodies for the dealer"!
@victorm3237 Жыл бұрын
Please let me know if they did an episode on the 1990 Cavalier Z-24
@KartKing4ever Жыл бұрын
Wow, yeah, I didn't even notice that rear end lock up.
@GeeEm1313 Жыл бұрын
Is that a Datsun Nissan Maxima wagon parked when the Citation took off?
@GeeEm1313 Жыл бұрын
Or a Cressida?
@NarcFreedom Жыл бұрын
@@GeeEm1313I believe Maxima. The side panel bumpers look higher on the Cressida … in line with the top of the wheel cover.
@ricardocorbie6803 Жыл бұрын
I loved this little car,, back in the day I remember wanting ☝🏿 one!! Even tho I am not a Chevy guy, I would own one of these today!!❤️
@TralfazConstruction Жыл бұрын
I had the redwood metallic '82 X-11. It was peppy and handled great taking corners exceptionally well. Dry, clean corners were fun.
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
I had an "X -11" V6 in 1980. Had test reviews from Car and Driver stating 0-60 in 9.2sec. After my car arrived, it was NOWHERE near that fast. Consumer Reports tested a V6 X-11, 4-speed, their 0-60 was 12.3sec, WTF! It turns that the X-11 that Car and Driver test was a factory supplied "press" car, meaning it was "messaged" i.e. had a "blue printed" engine. The one Consumer Reports had was a STOCK V6 bought off a dealers' lot. This why I buy "car" magazines for entertaining reading only, not for factual information!
@jaydibernardo4320 Жыл бұрын
That was both entertaining & comical at the same time. 😅
@jefferypease3920 Жыл бұрын
My sister had a 1980 Chevy citation not the X11 just the standard citation with 2.5 L 4 banger. It was OK car but I was always working on it for her.😂
@DavidPerez-cu2zo10 ай бұрын
Ahh man that was my 1st car, I loved it man. Also my 1at accident, ahh man my insurance went through the roof lol. Fitting a big engine sideways in a compact car. That little car had some power man. Good memories lol
@ChevyCitation Жыл бұрын
Those were nice looking cars with the "Sideways Radio" before they Rotted Out
@Packard1947 Жыл бұрын
Struts and shocks wore out at about 20k. I know I used to sell them.
@landonbenford8369 Жыл бұрын
Back in the 90's weren't you supposed to change Monroe shocks every 12,000 miles?
@Packard1947 Жыл бұрын
@landonbenford8369 No Mercedes shocks used to last two hundred thousand miles. Toyota would go 50,000miles.
@DUNEATV Жыл бұрын
Was that an old Highway they were doing the testing on???
@Affalterbach1967 Жыл бұрын
The simple design with thin-pillar glasshousre has aged well.
@roddydykes7053 Жыл бұрын
Don’t know if I’ve ever seen one of these, if I did I must’ve mistaken it for a Chevette
@landonbenford8369 Жыл бұрын
"Turn the wheels into the direction of the skid!!" said my Driver's Ed instructors!😎
@toymot5 ай бұрын
"Look how effortlessly the X11 takes a high speed manuver, little twitch and lots of confidence"
@mediocreman2 Жыл бұрын
At GM, the deadline became more important than the product. GM obviously could have engineered a better car, but they didn't want to. They wanted to get the car to market as quick as possible to beat the competition, but the GM management didn't realize that the competition was built with higher quality. Must have been incredibly frustrating to be a good engineer at GM.
@lobsterwhisperer7932 Жыл бұрын
When are you doing another Motorweek Marathon? I love those.
@JerryJ26 Жыл бұрын
I owned a 1980 model bought in 1984, owned it for 5 years and never had any problems.
@proman1926 Жыл бұрын
This was my second car I bought in 1988. Kept it for 2 years.
@mitchkelleher7972 Жыл бұрын
Love the way the passenger seat flops forward under braking. WTF was with Isadora Duncan's scarf?
@ztwntyn8 Жыл бұрын
My friend in high school had one. I had a 68 Impala 327 went low 14s but still I about shit when he floored it to beat a yellow light lol. It tucked the ass and pulled well. I was surprised and remember it many years later.
@anibalbabilonia1867 Жыл бұрын
Boy we’ve come a loooong way since then in automotive reliability!😂
@TheOzthewiz Жыл бұрын
THANK THE JAPANESE!
@connermt74 Жыл бұрын
First car was a 81 manual citation. Red with black interior, front bench and no AC. Had to replace the clutch and when I sold it needed a front axle boot replaced and reseated as I tore it when hitting a curb or pot hole or something (like I said was my first car)
@2H252110 ай бұрын
This was the true beginning of the end for GM “quality.”
@pjcornell9691 Жыл бұрын
Great video!
@Offthbadan Жыл бұрын
The sound effects from the wheels screeching just makes me laugh. Not to mention the scarf that guy is wearing.
@carlasghost656 Жыл бұрын
Scarf Guy is Craig Singhaus. He became a regular and did their features for years. Joyce Braga, who did the automotive news and tech stories for years can also be seen as a test driver earlier on. Limited budget on a PBS show means everyone does more than one job.
@JohnnyAloha694 ай бұрын
I have an interesting recollection of the 83 X-11. They had just come out and it was interesting to see a new car that was faster than the previous year! (Since 1971 each year had seen slower and uglier cars year to year). Anyway I took my 18 year old self to the local Chevy dealer and the eager young salesman quickly offered me a test drive in a black manual transmission version. It was peppy by 1983 standards and it sounded good. He saw I wasn’t overly impressed (I was driving a ratty old 69 GTO Judge at the time) so he kept egging me to beat hard on it. So I thrashed her hard, shifting only when the rpm’s stopped climbing. The car didn’t like it much and on the way back to the dealership the engine had clearly developed a knock. One of those pulls had spun a bearing. The salesman didn’t know what he was hearing and just said it had an exhaust leak. I didn’t waste any time getting out of there. So somewhere out there there was an 83 X-11 that needed an engine with 7 miles on the odometer.
@donswier Жыл бұрын
The first Chevy of the 80's The first Chevy of its kind. This could be the car you had in mind.
@wisco_guy Жыл бұрын
Motor Week reviews before they sold out to the car companies. I miss them.
@GeeEm1313 Жыл бұрын
I guess they needed funding.
@MalachiWhite-tw7hl Жыл бұрын
Do you mean "after" ? Sounds like they've sold out here.
@2dfx Жыл бұрын
Impossible to find these cars today...
@pmafterdark Жыл бұрын
Love these oldies. 😄
@pleaseadoptus Жыл бұрын
I wonder if any of these are still on the road
@landonbenford8369 Жыл бұрын
Probably not here in the Snow Belt. Unless someone garaged & washed it weekly, the bodies woulda rusted out long ago!
@BaronvonBlutwurst Жыл бұрын
had one..loved it.
@MrOnemanop Жыл бұрын
My favourite line, "Bodily fluids." X11 ambulance perhaps?
@mercoid Жыл бұрын
I’m ready for the 80’s.
@howardkerr8174 Жыл бұрын
I have never driven a Citation but my sister owned one that I rode in. I did own a J2000 and have driven a few GM FWD cars of the late 60s through the mid 80s. Yes, they handled reasonably well, but steering feel was almost nonexistent. So not sure how good or bad it's mentioned competition was, but my 80 Ford Fiesta was much more fun to drive.
@joegrahe3958 Жыл бұрын
Always remember the commercials in 1979- "The First Chevy of the 80s..."
@radggs6961 Жыл бұрын
Always appreciated MW honesty, but there are some factors in this test that, well, make this testing questionable. The first is the obvious cold pavement testing which slid the numbers in the wrong direction. Another point here are those Goodyear GTs. Having owned new GM vehicles of the '80s, equipped with those GTs, there was something substandard to what Goodyear supplied to GM and the much better rubber acquired from Tire Rack. The factory GTs only worked well in 65 degrees or higher temps. Cold as well as wet conditions proved sometimes dangerous driving characteristics. This 'Pocket Rocket' needed a five speed. But any test vehicle that threw a belt would be hard to buy as new & improved.
@ItsaRomethingeveryday11 ай бұрын
I used to have one it had 2.8L four speed manual transmission it was great dependable car flawless
@JohnDoe-yj5ng8 ай бұрын
There's a Citation X11 at Standard Auto Wreckers in Toronto Canada. Body still in good shape. Engine still in it. Hood missing. Needs work.
@hopefloats7573 Жыл бұрын
My family went to look at a 4 Dr Citation in 1980. We bought a '79 Malibu 2 Dr which became my high school car. Wow, really dodged one there!!!