1988 Audi 90 | Retro Review

Audi reintroduced their previously named 4000 to the U.S. as the all new Audi 90, This smooth aero shaped beauty was a fresh alternative to the aging BMW 3-Series, and stunning in Pearl White Metallic!
Show 720 | Original Airdate 02-11-1988
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[@daison96]

"Sounds like they once worked for GM." Our man John is low-key savage.

[@biggkoz]

I LOL’ed at that jab 😂

[@Spheredalai]

hahaha yea

[@upeedinalamb5297]

This lamb lol’ed at that human’s comment.

[@andi4life]

I'm from germany and i can tell you that i sometimes still see the cheaper sibling of this car, the Audi 80, today on german roads. I myself had an Audi 80 from 1994 as my very first car. The Audi 80 was a very huge success here, it once was one of the most common cars.

[@josephdominics5935]

Do you remember the Audi 100 diesel ? A friend of mine had one as a first car here in States. It wasn't very quick but it would run and it looked good. Platinum silver with chrome trim, blue leather interior. that was such a long time ago. Good times.

[@johnnydodge]

Do u cook or eat German food ??

[@andi4life]

@@josephdominics5935 i never had an Audi 100 diesel and don’t know anyone who had one. Diesel cars weren‘t very common here (except for Mercedes and Taxis) until the late 90s. I had a gasoline powered Audi 100 C4 from 1992 as my daily driver until 2021.

[@josephdominics5935]

@@andi4life yeah man. It was an early 70's Audi 100 LS. It handled really smooth. At the time of remind me of a Mercedes. We would get on the freeway and just drive 100 mph as long as we could. My buddy was very into affordable German cars and was always tinkering on them. Later he had a 77 Volkswagen Scirocco with the round headlights. He swapped out the original motor and put a GTI motor into it. Man.. that car was one of the fastest cars I had driven back in the days. 😂. I was going to buy it from him, told him to hold it until my next paycheck... A few days later he hit a telephone pole and totalled the classic, hurt himself really bad. The first thing I was going to do was upgrade the brakes. It was just to fast for it's own good. Take care my friend and have a great day. ✌️

[@creakid]

@@josephdominics5935 I still have a project 1984 Jetta coupe manual transmission, manual steering & manual sunroof in S California. The A/C stopped working though. Fortunately I retrofitted vent windows... But I might need to sell it in order to make room.

[@donaldwilson2620]

It was the popularity of the 1st generation A4 that helped save Audi from leaving the U.S. market. The unintended acceleration controversy really hurt Audi sales in the late 80's and early 90's.

[@HamsterWheelGaming]

Man those 5 cylinders sound amazing, shame these types of engines are dying out

[@agrippa1234]

Amazed by; how much bigger Audi's have become and how much more successful Audi has become..

[@RobertSmith-le8wp]

For sure, my buddy bought a new A4 1.8t manual in the early 2000’s. They seemed so different to anything else available and the interiors were incredible compared to anything else of the day. He had a few little electrical problems but the engine was fantastic. He did a turbo and chip and it was very fast. You didn’t see many around back then

[@compu85]

Wow this is a fairly scathing review by MotorWeek standards!

[@mediocreman2]

It was a different time. Audi was the underdog back then and when 60 Minutes doctored their test car and lied to everyone, it had a massive impact on perception. It's not like today where you can go read about a car online, or watch video reviews from regular people. Your only sources of info were magazines and television, and people still believed media back then.

[@edpoe4622]

Nobody needed to lie about the turdiness of audi, they were shitboxes.

[@jackson4274]

Motorweek didn't even roast the Yugo this hard, lol

[@Jason_The_Stooge]

Well, the price plays a huge part

[@rekleif]

One of the best cars I have ever had was an Audi 90... Loved that car and would be driving it still if I had a choice, with hindsight that is .

[@brown8174]

I had a 1988 90 from 1995-2001. I've regretted selling it for years.

[@BensEcoAdvntr]

The pricing of this car is absolutely bonkers - $26,000 in 1988 is about $70,000 in 2023 adjusted for inflation. No wonder it didn’t sell well

[@kalnmar]

Is it really? I think that range-wise it's equivalent to a good spec S4. Where I live, in 2024, the S4 is a diesel now. And costs around 70k. But it's Euros and for a poor spec, so as the boxes for options get checked, it easily can go up to 85k.

[@quattroTorsen]

I have one of these cars with quattro( which is a must) and it feels surprisingly modern to drive still

[@robertc5200]

I had one of these , it was an amazing car back in its day. One of my favorite non performance cars I’ve ever owned

[@taurussho86]

I'd buy that today.

[@777jones]

These cars were beautifully assembled luxury cars. I remember my dad test drove one of these. Very expensive and small. E30 competitor.

[@chuckhpnwx]

I had a 1989 90 quattro and it was one of my favorite cars. Great seats, very comfortable. Trunk was short, but very deep and didn't have cargo crusher hinges. Not fast from a start, but once rolling it moved along just fine.

[@DarinNederhoff]

As a former 4000 CS quattro owner, I can tell you that the firing of "team doorhandle" was one of the biggest upgrades on the 80/90. These didn't snap off in the winter. ;-) The only part I disliked about these (also present in my 90 Coupe quattro 20V) was the GM derived automatic climate control system. I would much prefer the manual setup of this car.

[@ralleyquattro]

Canadian Audi 90 (FWD and quattro) were all manual climate control, only the CQ got the GM derived CC

[@SM-ih6dt]

as a former lincoln navigator 5000 tds i would like to buy one for fun

[@TelexToTexel]

I am not really a car person, but I enjoy the sleek infomercial presentations done by MotorWeek, to me it is the 80's a nutshell 😃

[@MegaRetr]

I'd buy that today. awesome car

[@mediocreman2]

Beautiful car and amazing engine sound! Wish it was a quattro version. Too bad 60 Minutes faked everything in their 'testing'. How Audi didn't sue 60 Minutes for lost sales. I'll never understand.

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

I had new in 1988. I traded in a 1986 Cadillac Seville. I just didn't care what GM had done to down size at the time. I still drive Audi today.

[@palebeachbum]

The designers did a great job with the appearance inside and out. It looks thoroughly modern for the time and I think it's still a pretty car, but when your smallest entry model costs more than one of your much larger models, it's probably not going to sell well. I'd take an Audi 100 over this for less money in a heartbeat. It's a no-brainer. That car was also very attractive and offered much better passenger and cargo room.

[@HAL-dm1eh]

Honda copied this design shamelessly for their Accord.

[@mervinprone]

Yea very well designed, advanced but I’d skip on this year, like most, it takes a couple years to get everything right.

[@KartKing4ever]

Compared to the cars being made here in the US at the time this thing looks like a futuristic spaceship.

[@devinbiz]

Still love these models

[@maxsager139]

Woo this looks soo nice car. Very modern to 88. This car would had be sale at 1998 era.

[@WorthlessNickores]

My brother had the 10V Quattro 90 1988. What a dream.

[@guitarexpert2245]

This thing tips around the cones like crazy

[@michaelre7556]

Before: sudden unintended acceleration. After: limited acceleration at all.

[@kingkat8080]

This is the harshest Motor week review I've ever seen.

[@kevinwong6588]

The same body continued to the 1997 Cabriolet, although the older 1980 coupe was last built in 1988 (and as a Quattro in Europe to 1991).

[@johnrobinson1328]

I had a 1994 90 CS Quattro Sport. I never drove an earlier example but I suspect it was much improved over the first model year. It wasn't quick but it was built like a tank and it handled great. It compared favorably to the 96 BMW 325i I had later, though the driving experiences were very different.

[@timothyhh]

The only Audi 80 I can recall seeing in real life was the one owned by my Aunt. None of us had even heard of Audi before. The 80/90 was a rare car.

[@koolkeiths]

I had a 1990 in High School, great car...

[@davidaubin3902]

2:57 John: THE STEERING WHEEL IS FIXED, BUT DOESN’T BLOCK THE GAUGES! LOL

[@mustangmike8515]

The Audi 90 has a name that predicted the look of all cars in the 1990s, aerodynamic, fast and futuristic.

[@creakid]

I test drove the 4-cyl 80 manual. The body porpoises like a dolphin even over bumps or small undulations. The 90's “Longitudinal inline-5 over the front axle” would make this nose-heaviness even more severe -- See 1:54 (Watch for a couple seconds) & 4:53 (Watch for a minute), LOL & “the ride is a bit harsh”, even with such loose suspension set up? To make a long story short, by 2004, I've discovered that the light-nose 4-dr RX-8 with standard 16" rims & soft suspension soaks up bumps softer than any sporty car yet still handles like race car!

[@biggkoz]

I had a 1995 90 and the car was HEAVY! The suspension back then didn’t really embrace the “race style” of now days. And of course the power was also lacking too. But overall the car was beautiful and fit and trim.

[@creakid]

“If it were not for the clever 4wd system, the car from Ingolstadt would fall straight through the grid into oblivion. It is hard to understand why Ingolstadt did not do a better job when tuning the Coupe's suspension. Although the springs and dampers have been stiffened, the Coupe floats and wavers just as badly as the 90 saloon. While the Quattro drivetrain does its best to keep all four wheels busy, the body and chassis fight a constant battle that is dramatic to watch and traumatic to experience. The whole car heaves and lurches like a four-wheeled successor to the Titanic. Roadholding, traction and grip are fine, but balance and composure are definitely not. Excessive body roll, doughy steering and an underdamped and undersprung chassis mar the Audi's handling to an extent that is simply incompatible with the manners expected of a sports car...The Audi has much softer hardware and probably twice as much spring travel which is fine for pussy-footed drivers. Anybody ambitious enough to push this car to its limit will, however, experience a rough and bumpy flight which is unnerving, un-comfortable and, in the final analysis, potentially unsafe.” From UK's CAR magazine article -- New order: Audi Coupe Quattro vs Porsche 944 vs VW Corrado G60 (CAR archive, 1989)

[@themaritimegirl]

Front passenger wheel left the road for a split second at 1:55!

[@peterkragger4824]

I've never seen any other car that has a button for turning off the anti-lock

[@AnthonyJSollitto]

Probably Motorweeks harshest review ever

[@Andyface79]

These must've been really really rare because I don't remember seeing a single one of these things (I grew up in the 80s/90s.) I remember previous Audi's and ones after this but not these. In fact I don't think Audi really started being popular again until the A4 came out. 60 min did them dirty.

[@williamegler8771]

I don't know where you grew up but I grew up in Winnetka Illinois and these were as common as Fords and Chevys.

[@Andyface79]

Huh interesting! I grew up in Wichita Kansas which might explain the difference. I could see how these would be popular in wealthy liberal suburbs. We had plenty of money but I just remember Mercedes and Bimmers with a few Jags. A lot of people drove huge trucks instead.@@williamegler8771

[@TripleKOShorts]

You could put your kids through college by the time this finishes the 1/4 mile.

[@2dfx]

Wow, imagine trusting the driver to disable the ABS system to improve performance in certain conditions. Wouldn't find that on any car today!

[@doug6191]

Meanwhile, Cadillac was selling the Cimarron. 😂 This car was pretty nice. It's no sports sedan. I'm not sure Audi presented it that way. I think it was just the way Americans percieved Audi, BMW, and Mercedes back then.

[@richardbrown4816]

That’s moderate body roll?

[@ShervinsGarage]

1:04 “This just may be the best-looking four-door sedan to come out of Germany this decade.” Are you really gonna do the W126 like that?

[@towelies4884]

That is some straight boat leaning in the curves

[@lfsracer79]

5:05 "moderate body roll"

[@90boiler]

comically bad handling, you would get seasick from this "moderate" body roll

[@creakid]

@@90boiler & the ride is still a bit harsh?

[@alexisledesma7109]

"sounds like they once worked with GM" Gm: hahaheeeeeyyy.... wait a minute.

[@DiggyT]

I really miss the simplicity of an 80s car, manual transmission should be a standard for getting a license.

[@imedmhissen3849]

🇹🇳❤🇵🇸

[@a.person7825]

Wouldn’t snow, sand and gravel require anti-locking brakes the most?

[@ibrahimcehajic]

No,you want the snow or sand to build up in front of your tires to stop, abs on snow or sand would just keep cycling and take forever to stop.

[@SM-ih6dt]

is time for rifftrax

[@AnyManProjects]

"unintended acceleration in the Audi 5000....) Hence the 80's term "I'm Audi 5000" meaning.. I'm outta here! back in the day Ha Ha

[@DillonAuto]

The 80/90 and the 100/200 replaced the 4000 and 5000 after 60 Minutes falsified a story about cars over powering brakes, which cannot happen. When a person panics they often can't think straight or remember what happened.

[@smokesgtp]

60 minutes has always been fake news

[@bonesnharmony3422]

2010 audi s-5 manual

[@HAL-dm1eh]

I fell in love with Audi after driving a friend's 100 and thought this was the right car for me. That same friend told me if I got one, I better be able to afford the repair bills. With that and later learning of that aspect of their reputation I never took the plunge. I really wish Audi had put better quality into their cars for America though. I sure did like them.

[@mediocreman2]

Not sure which generation of 100 he had, but the C4 (starting in 1992) were very well made and surprisingly affordable to run. I've spent more on maintenance on my Toyota. But it does leak oil if you don't maintain it! 😅

[@JamesGadbury]

How was quality lacking? Audi's of this age were solidly built and very reliable. I'm still driving my 1990 90 20v. 220,000 miles.

[@johnnymason2460]

I would likely get the 1988 Audi 80 or the 90 with a four cylinder engine and an automatic. I will never get any Audi model with a five cylinder engine.

[@rheijm9201]

So..al usa sedans of the day in the k car segment did 0-60 in what? 4 seconds? It was precision engineering as thoi brochure dub this, and the body would not rust because of z1nc but this thing i find difficult (rain and roof / house innit/ but 4 markets than only knew Golf 1 and Beetle , your market, go extra mile for rust proofing was a good idea. Worlds fastest sauna is more relevant critisizn the percentage of glass is very large therefore it heats up quickly. Its handling is very good as the video shows?! but the race track voice narrator je just dont believe it i guess .. ..

[@user-cj4sm8hv9y]

Comeback Audi…?

[@hellkitty1014]

The hit job that Audi took on the unintended acceleration hoopla really almost tanked the brand. I always wonder if that is what caused Audi to miss the huge boom of BMW and MB going into the 90s. The interiors were always one of Germany's best.

[@dragonbutt]

What kind of person bought this in 88?

[@JrAsmrs]

gold silverado turn 21

[@poppyneese1811]

Don’t know much about Audi’s but neighbors BMW is loaded on a roll back about once every 2 months and driven 2 110 miles to the nearest BMW dealer to be worked on.

[@johnrobinson1328]

How's that relevant?

[@landyachtfan79]

7:05..............when MotorWeek didn't like a new car, you KNEW it was a REAL POS. 1987 had been a VERY bad year for Audi, as their Sudden Unintended Acceleration scandal on their 5000 models cost the brand a lot of US sales, not to mention their reputation in this country. The 1988 Audi 90 was a beautiful car to look at, but, unfortunately, that beauty was only skin-deep. The car just lacked the polish necessary to bring the company back.

[@user-cj4sm8hv9y]

1988 Audi 90

[@ricardocorbie6803]

Audi has always had nice looking cars! I just sold our A8, it’s still a sexy looking vehicle,, but very troublesome!! The transmission just gave out on the buyer 🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️

[@taurussho86]

Front end of reminiscent of Nissan Sentra

[@santopotter]

10.3 to 60 is "adequate" LOL

[@BabyBugBug]

At that time it was.

[@theKevronHarris]

Look how small the trunk is!!

[@ExUSSailor]

Why would anyone want an automatic, when a manual is available? That doesn't make any sense...

[@sassiqua]

because it’s easier to drive and less distracting?

[@GeeEm1313]

Luxury car drivers prefer automatics.

[@henryovalles1163]

These cars interior and exterior don’t look from the 1980s

[@02ujtb00626]

I remember this era of Audi's....they all looked so boring. The Honda Accord of this era looked better, had similar if not better features, and were rockstars for cost of ownership on top of owning the reliability segment. Why own this generation of Audi when you could have a Corolla sport or Honda Accord for cheaper, with better styling and better cost of ownership.

[@JamesGadbury]

Because a Honda or Toyota feels like it's made of tin in comparison. The reliability might be good, but the build isn't the same.

[@02ujtb00626]

@@JamesGadbury I dunno about that. My mom was in multiple accidents in her 86 accord, she wasn't super injured in any of them. My dad's 92 camry was T-boned on the front passenger side (where I was sitting) by a car doing 30 MPH and everyone, including me, walked away without a scratch.