CHEVY CITATION 1980-1985 - Learn Why It Didn't Last!

Introduced in 1980, the Chevy Citation was a welcomed response to foreign-manufactured rivals like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. The United States was in the throes of its second gas crisis, and the Chevy Citation came along in time to replace the Chevy Nova.
Compared to the other compact cars on the market at the time, the Chevy Citation had an edge when it came to body style. The Chevy Citation offered more body style choices than any other compact car, with three versions produced, including the notchback coupe, the three-door hatchback, and the five-door hatchback, which ultimately proved to be the most popular of the three.
The chevy Citation Equipped with a 2.5-liter four cylinder engine, generating 90 horsepower, or a 2.8-liter V6 engine, able to produce 115 horsepower, either engine was operated by a four-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission.
Despite strong sales, Chevy still upped its own game by releasing a sporty X-11 package with an updated suspension and eye-catching exterior, featuring stripes along its sides, a black grille, white lettered Goodyear tires, and striking body accents. Marketed to the younger generation of drivers, the X-11 featured the V6 engine paired with the four-speed manual transmission.
Produced as a separate trim level, the Citation X-11 was a variant featuring cosmetic, chassis, and powertrain upgrades over the standard Citation. While less powerful than the Camaro Z28 (and later Monte Carlo SS), the Citation X-11 would also take over the role of the similarly sized Chevrolet Monza. The X-11 was offered throughout the production run of the Citation/Citation II, on the 3-door hatchback and 2-door "club coupe" (discontinued in 1981 and 1985).

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

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[@markw208]

Corvair was Car of the Year in 1960, Vega in 1971, Citation in 1980. They all were groundbreaking at the time but each had many problems. This video would have made more sense if didn't repeat some information and actually detailed the problems that led to it's demise. My girlfriend had a brand new one in 80. Seemed kind of cheap. Lots of molded hard plastic. The 4 cylinder engine was a little rough but not terrible. The car just wasn't refined. As a larger alternative to small imports it achieved that goal. But when a car goes out of production in 6 years there is proof of too many issues.

[@pcno2832]

GM never seemed to learn that you only get one chance to make a first impression.

[@snek9353]

Ehhh, not really, ultimately the citation was simply replaced by a redesign and rebadged as the cavalier.

[@paulj6756]

@@snek9353 The Citation was on the X Body whereas the Cavalier used the J Body.

[@davidpowell3347]

@@snek9353 Cavalier was smaller and inferior to the Citation until later on it got a 3.1 version of the Citation V6.

[@drippinglass]

GM battin’ a thousand back then! A new turd to ring in every new decade! 😀

[@billj5645]

We owned a 1980 4-cylinder 4-speed. We actually tried to order one with V6 but never got it, they were in demand and we were suspicious that the dealer received our order and sold it to someone else. We ended up buying our 1980 off of a lot. We drove it 70,000 miles in 3 years including towing our small travel trailer around the western US. On the highway we got very good gas mileage. We traded it in for a 1983 X/11 and we really liked that one. We used it for towing the trailer but also for driving to work. It was sporty and performed well. Both of our Citations were nice cars, comfortable to drive, gave good fuel economy and were very reliable. I don't know what people do to their cars to make them unreliable, maybe don't beat the car with a chain every day. Maybe an unreliable car reflects more on the owner than on the car. (My family has been in the auto repair business for over 60 years so I know a little about what is reliable and what is not.)

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Glad to hear you had both with no problems. I agree. I wonder at times what people do to their cars to make them go bad.

[@glbrown4262]

Had an 82 and 83 X11's,, was happy with both, though the 83 was somewhat rust prone.

[@silverwings11035]

Thats awsome your family had 2. I always wanted a X/11. I love how they look and always been a fan! Like you mentioned, maybe if you dont beat the hell out of your car and service it well it will last a long time. Hell, I daily drive a 1982 DeLorean. A car they say is slow....its not. Say its unreliable.... well it isn't. I restored it myself, Update it where I need it and put it back on the road. Even with its mechanical Bosch fuel injection I am getting 28 miles to the gallon. Its a great car, like your Citations were that you've had. 😀

[@TheRiceguy78]

My dad had an X11 also but the auto tranny couldnt handle the stop and go of hot LA gridlock traffic. that was the only issue it had . as a little kid i remember it being spacious inside. it was one of the cooler looking cars that my dad owned in the past.

[@mrdiplomat9018]

Our 1980 blew a hole through a piston, other than that, a decent car 🙄☠️🇺🇸

[@mhlaw229]

We bought a new one in 1981. Quality was fair at best. Short in the windshield wipers caused them to sometimes activate when you started the car. Then it started jumping out of 3rd gear unless you held the shifter in place. Power steering failure after about 2 years. Clutch issues. Engine was completely worn out at 100,000 miles. We basically gave it to the dealer in 1987 as a trade on a new Olds Cutlass Supreme, GMs best ever car in my opinion. Also we took good care of our vehicles. So, none of the Citation issues was related to abuse or lack of proper service

[@pilskadden]

After such a lemon you still went back and bought another GM vehicle?

[@mhlaw229]

@@pilskadden We already had an older Olds Cutlass Supreme. I think it was an '84 model and it was an excellent car. Not all GM quality was bad. Olds and Buick were fine cars. Chevy and GMC full size trucks were good too, although we preferred Ford trucks

[@gtpcruiser02]

@bobcat baldfat drunkbeater Engine failures in three vehicles is from NOT changing the oil and filter at 5000 mile intervals.

[@christopheryanoski6899]

@@gtpcruiser02 if you do a lot of highway driving you can do 7k miles intervals before that oil needs changed. As per the dealership shop manual.

[@5KpGD]

Toyota secretly bought an early production model Citation in 1979 when it was available for sale, sent it back to Japan for test evaluation and eventually was torn apart to understand its engineering and how GM did their FWD set up. Toyota had bought one to understand why Americans bought them in their thousands. To their surprise, Toyota engineers discovered that the Citation (and the X-Car in general) wasn't a fully baked product and lacked in quality control. Toyota was confident that they could introduce, produce, and sell a better car in the American market that Americans would rather prefer to own and drive. And this is how the Camry was born, because Toyota themselves bought a Chevy Citation. Without the Citation, there would be no such thing as a Camry, because the Citation inspired Toyota to do much better. And they did.

[@5KpGD]

Also, fun fact. The Citation was slated to be phased out of production by the 1987 model year, to be replaced by the L-Body Corsica and Beretta in 1988. There is a huge reason why all 1987 Corsicas and Berettas went to fleet users first before it was sold to the public, GM got burned badly by the X-car, and the replacement cars for it had to be better executed to have a better positive impact on the buying public. As the Citation was axed after the 1985 model year, Chevy had no sized car of Citation for the market until the L-body was ready, but that was two years out.

[@vadim6385]

I suppose that someone at Toyota saw the Citation, and said "if they can get away with selling THAT, then we have nothing to worry about". Judging on how the Camry changed over the years, the real pain in the a$$ for them was the Ford Taurus. Now that was a worthy competitor that suddenly made the Camry/Accord/Stanza look outdated.

[@5KpGD]

@@vadim6385 The 86 Ford Taurus was a fantastic car with a history of its own, and the single product that prevented a total financial collapse of the Ford Motor Company in the 1980's. The Citation/X-Body nearly killed GM. The Camry allowed a foothold for Toyota to dominate the American market for generations to come. And the Taurus saved Ford from extinction. But in time, Camry was a car that all companies vowed to compete and beat in the market. But never get close. Look at Ford and GM now, that can't hold a candle to the imports on how to design and build a passenger car Americans want to buy. None of them are offering any sedans anymore. Yet, the Camry still sells. And with that, you can thank the Citation after all.

[@kens97sto171]

@@5KpGD What's interesting to me is that you got Toyota and Honda , Kia and Hyundai in that sedan segment. And they're doing quite well. It's been amazing watching the Korean manufacturers go from pretty much rolling piles of poo to being some of the best that there is both an engineering and in design and desirability. But if I had to roll the dice on a car I'd probably still pick Toyota get a Camry with a 4 cylinder engine do the maintenance on it and it'll probably run forever. I'd probably get the hybrid version honestly of the camry. That simplifies things even more in many ways mechanically. You add some complication with the Hybrid battery and a few other secondary systems. But the transmission in the Toyota hybrids is about as simple as can be. It's just a planetary split device with two electric motors. All you got to do is drain and refill the fluid every 50,000 miles there's no filter.. and it's easy to do. I personally have a 2008 Prius with 374,000 Miles still running good.

[@05gtdriver]

@@5KpGD That helps explain why the 1st gen Camry in 4 door hatchback form looks somewhat like a Japanese version of a 4 door hatchback Citation(scaled down a bit, of course).

[@kevinkeeney6693]

I will never forget my father telling me that the Chevy Citation is the car of the future and you will be driving this car when you get older. With that statement, I thought I better buy a 1960's car for a weekend fun car.

[@Bartonovich52]

Sure. And then promptly get blown away by a front wheel drive hatchback. I’ve got a middle of the road 2019 Impala. Was chasing an STI up the hill going home and I guess I got the attention of a 1968 Camaro SS 396 who quickly whipped out into the right lane around some slower traffic looking like he wanted to play. I gunned it and watched him get smaller and smaller in the rear view. Sorry pal.. you’ve got a 15 second car.. same as my wife’s Honda Civic.

[@lrodriguez9315]

Your dad must of been related to homer .

[@kevinkeeney6693]

@@Bartonovich52 Do you really believe that a Chevy Citation would have a chance with your Impala?

[@AhmedAhmed-bv4fo]

I have one and it works. I got it in an old store and I don't know anything about it

[@Vertshark]

I had a 2-door hatchback with a 4-speed manual. I was traveling over 30K a year with my job and the storage space was great. Liked it so much a bought a new 1983 which was one of the biggest POS I've ever owned

[@Myvintageiron7512]

I worked with a guy that had a 1980 citation he bought it new when he worked at a Chevrolet dealer he was still driving that thing in 2016 when he retired as far as I know he is still driving it had a 2.5L iron Duke

[@robertdragoff6909]

I think the reason (and I’m kind of joking) that Citation held up for so long was that he worked at a Chevy dealership …

[@67marlins]

The Pontiac Inline 4 Iron Duke was known as very durable, even if it was somewhat unrefined.

[@nlpnt]

@@robertdragoff6909 Quite possibly. "Friends and family" attention to its' teething troubles and first-year recalls early on, and likely a chance to clean out the stock of Citation-specific parts sometime in the '90s, straight into his hatch instead of the dumpster.

[@mikefannon6994]

We inherited one from my father-in-law. A good car, never had any problems.

[@danlewis3605]

I bought a 1980 Citation V6 automatic. My first new car.. I was 20. Always maintained it. Great little car. Awesome in the snow. Never any problems. Just a couple recalls. Fast forward- I bought a new 2021 Bronco sport on May. It broke down in August at 1700 miles. Won't start. It's still at the Ford dealer. They can't find the problem yet. So much for cars being better now

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Thanks for your comment and for watching. I'm not so sure about all the hype of the Bronco.

[@geraldscott4302]

The Nova looked a million times better, was rear wheel drive, and you could get a V8 engine. The Citation was one of the first "appliance" cars.

[@nathandwyer7273]

The Citation, and each of the new FWD X-bodies, had one genuinely outstanding feature. For their size, they had great interior room.

[@geraldscott4302]

@@nathandwyer7273 That may be true. But they didn't have anything else. They were hideously ugly, and front wheel drive. I can't believe they replaced the Nova with this POS. While I am a fan of the 1968-1974 Nova, the 1975-1979 Novas were not at all bad looking cars, and they were rear wheel drive. I have owned 2 front wheel drive cars, and will never make that mistake again. Both were junk.

[@davidpowell3347]

1970 Nova with 350 V8 4 bbl. and 4 speed--would be heaven on wheels today.

[@drippinglass]

My Dad had a ‘79 Nova Custom 2 door. It was light blue metallic with blue fabric interior. It only had the 250 six and turbo 350 but I was 14 at the time and wanted it for my 1st car to put a small block in it. He only had it for 6 months and in April ‘79 when I was at school, he went with my Mom to Reedman’s and traded it in for a 4 door ‘80 Citation with the 2.5 and automatic. I hated that car from the second I saw it! 😡😄

[@robertdragoff6909]

@@geraldscott4302 What make & model?

[@danielventura8073]

My best friend had a red 81 X-11. High output V6, air conditioning, sport suspension. It was a very cool car.

[@ScottSchindewolf]

I a 23 year old drive an 85 citation as my daily I guess I take very good care of it like my grandfather had it has well over 400k on the engine which is out of the 81 omega the chassis I believe has well over 800k or 900k miles we really don't know it has never left me stranded and though I remain cautious I shall continue to trust this wonderful car even if I need to convert the rear brakes to disc for safety reasons

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

I want to see pics of that.

[@ScottSchindewolf]

@@ThisOldCarChannel id love to share them but i do not know how on youtube i tried posting a link to an album but it got deleted

[@michijimc9753]

A family member had an 80 model year Citation. Four banger with manual transmission. That car provided reliable service for many years. It carried a band of four of we cousins on several road trips out west. That car had one of the first “big” stereos in it too. So road-trips were enjoyable. On more than one occasion the occupants of the Citation could have been rightfully accused of trying to compete with Cheech and Chong due to all the smoke billowing out the sunroof! Oh to be young and not have a care in the world again.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Those were certainly the good old days. I say it all the time. I guess this is why I began this channel and asked my brother to voice videos. We enjoy going back in time. We hope you're a subscriber!

[@bigray2859]

Had one. Really liked it. Mine was fairly plain Jane. Big inside, modest outside. Mine folded in half. It was common for frame rails/unibody to rust away under the passenger compartment here in Wisconsin.

[@christopheryanoski6899]

It's common for any car to rot out when the underneath isn't flushed out when the weather breaks or spring arrives.

[@JasonJones-br3or]

I wrecked my Citation when I was in college a little over 20 years ago; surprisingly, it didn't catch on fire that time.

[@dale116dot7]

I also had one. And I also wrecked it in college. I had the 2.8 V6, I liked the car.

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

I owned a 1981 Chevrolet Citation , four doors in Silver. Black vinyl interior. It was a wonderful automobile. Traded in on a 1987 Chevy Impala new. Thank you.

[@donaldphelps7031]

I had an 85 citation. Drove it for 114 thousand miles. Had very few problems with it. That was a great car. I loved it.

[@estpst]

My dad had one, the trunk and interior was huge. Of course the quality of fit and finish was not that great, was quite reliable.

[@michaelmills5972]

Had an '84 4-door hatchback, w/4-spd; my favorite car I've owned

[@stussels]

had one in high school and into college. was actually a great first car. 2.8 v6 auto was surprisingly fast. fold down rear seat was good for oil well parking. towed my fishing boat with it and put in at the marina. got around good in the snow but would spin out easy. that was good and bad. beat up on a lot of domestic four bangers with it. mustangs and barettas, etc. the whole interior was green with the vertical radio.

[@stussels]

@@liberals_destroy_everythin2497 thats when youd take your gal out in the sticks to some secluded oil well for a make out session. small town only thing maybe

[@stussels]

@@liberals_destroy_everythin2497 ah, hadnt considered that.

[@talldude5841]

I had a 82 Citation hatchback that was used. I drove it 40 miles round trip to work and back for probably 5 years. I went to a nearby junkyard and pulled out a stereo verticle radio and put it in. Was driving to work one morning and hit a 6 point buck at 65 miles an hour. Well that was the end of that car. I have to admit tho, I have owned over 20 cars in my lifetime, and this was one of the top five.

[@jtc1964x]

The V6 version had great power for its day. What is funny is the new Caddy CT5 kinda mirrors this shape

[@johnnikollaj496]

Like most GM cars they weren't well thought out and killed any chance of it truly becoming successful. By the time the car was perfected it was far too late.

[@tenfourproductionsllc]

The Celebrity was the perfected version of it. Everything that was wrong in the Citation was right in the Celebrity.

[@turnne]

These cars were heaps. A buddy of mine had one in the late 80's in college. It was a true POS

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Dog sleds to say the least but to drive one today would be awesome! Thanks for watching.

[@BikerJim74]

totally. I wouldnt even want to drive one today

[@wildcoyote34]

@@ThisOldCarChannel when i was a freshman in high school in 1989 my mother bought a 1982 chevy citation ,it was admittedly not a fast car , there are 4 of us kids and we all could fit in it ,it had plenty of room and was easy to drive ,,I learned to drive in it when i turned 16 and my older sister and one of my brothers learned to drive in it as well ,,the only better vehicle that GM made was the S10 truck , my grandfather bought a brand new S10 in 1983 and it lasted for well over 20 years ,my mother bought another new one in 1999 and it's still on the road today with it's second owner and I currently own a 1987 chevy S10 4x4 , one of the very rare Tahoe package S10 trucks with the 5 speed ,,still going strong with 600,000 miles on it

[@neilbarratt1523]

I bought a 1985 Citation, loved that car, never had any issues with it.

[@Bartonovich52]

Most of these cars were POS because people didn’t take care of them.

[@tripsadelica]

GM's Holden division in Australia looked carefully at the Citation as a possible follow-up to the HZ series Holden IF the smaller size Opel-derived Commodore failed to ignite the market's interest. Holden's Australian engineers went over the citation with a fine tooth comb and the use of the venerable Buick 3.8 V6 was mooted (which would have necessitated a change in the car's front clip and steering system). In the end it was believed that Aussies were too enamoured of their large RWD cars to take a punt on going FWD and so had the Commodore failed to ignite the interests of the Australian public a rebodied HZ/WB would have gone into production instead. Fortunately for Holden Aussies took to the modified Commodore and the rest is history. I have often wondered what the Aussie version of the Citation would have looked like and how it would have coped with Aussie roads.

[@my11badkids78]

My grandparents had a 4 door hatchback. I remember lots of fun drives in it. I always wanted to find a 2 door hatchback and drop a V-8 in it. 2 tone paint and some nice period rims.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Wish I had the X-11. You don't see any around in town. lol

[@Grey_Beard72]

Everyone I knew that had one loved them. My mom and sister also had one. Mom's was a a four door V6 auto and My sister's a four cylinder auto. Neither one had any problems with theirs. I drove both cars many times and they were very solid. I remember driving my mom's V6 all day long and the gas gauge barely moved. When I drove my sister's four banger, the radio got stolen. I later bought a 91 S-10 with that same 2.5 4 banger and that truck was indestructible.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

You were the lucky one. lol Thanks for watching.

[@davidpowell3347]

It certainly got a lot better gas mileage than the Grand Cherokee.

[@claylyons6447]

These cars were very popular in the 1980's. Front wheel drive was just becoming common.

[@pcno2832]

The 1980 models had teething problems that gave the car a bad reputation, but my parent's '81 was well put together and reliable. It was a lot of car for the money with more comfortable seating than the '75 Malibu they owned previously, a huge trunk and a decent combination of ride and handling. This car was really the trial version of the FWD A-body, which stayed in production for many years after the demise of the Citation. It's too bad that GM ceased to offer mid-sized hatchbacks after 1985; they offered a nice combination of economy and versatility.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Appreciate you comments! Thanks for watching.

[@williamdelmar3964]

As a friend and I (who both owned one) called it "the dreaded X car" The finish and reliability were terrible for both of us. I was happy when I upgraded to a Chrysler K car. Too many corners were cut somewhere on a car that should have been great.

[@T-41]

The X cars in their early model years were plagued with failure of front wheel drive components like axle shafts/ CV joints. As they got older severe body rust issues became apparent. You mention Chrysler K cars. Fortunately for Chrysler ( and their customers) their K- Cars, the Plymouth Reliant and Dodge Aries which were introduced about a year or so later for 1981 did not exhibit serious problems like the GM cars.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

That's correct. Thanks for watching and the interesting comment.

[@toddberner9198]

I have to agree with the comments pertaining to cars being a POS. Every decade had those runs, and every manufacturer did as well. The 80's can be blamed because of the lingering 1970s oil crisis. Mannys were hastily trying to introduce new lighter, cheaper, affordable models with good fuel economy....with that came quality issues. The speedy builds and some untried technologies created longevity and safety issues.

[@100forks]

For me. I really liked the way it looked and loved everything from the firewall back. Firewall forward was a different story. Had the four cylinder, carb. model that produced a lot of issues. The engine died, under warranty thankfully. At first I was to get a completely new engine but then they decided to rebuild the old one; to save money. I must say, that the dealer was very nice. They gave me a loaner and the job was finished right on time. One dangerous problem was driving in the rain. If you came to an intersection and had to stop, you had a good chance of just sliding into the intersection. Chevy knew about the problem.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

I though the X11 looked cool. Junk but cool looking

[@williamtroup3498]

Had a beige 1982 X-11 hatchback with a red interior. Quick and handled well and could haul a lot of stuff. Had it for about 7 years before the Florida salt air had it rust away.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Thanks for sharing!

[@barbmelle3136]

From Leo: We had lots of neighbors that had them. It was a dependable, cheap fill in car while the American makers transitioned to the smaller, higher mileage product lines. The only negative I remember was how people who were used to full sized V8 sedans for years did not really like compromising to a smaller car, especially families with a lot of children. That would be the same no matter what they bought.

[@Andyface79]

It was an unmitigated disaster. It had a huge number of recalls, the brakes locked up because GM was too cheap to put a valve in to help them, and the iron duke was a joke compared to Japanese 4 cylinders. They are still making Accords and Camrys today. These lasted 5 years.

[@barbmelle3136]

@@Andyface79 From Leo: I remember the Japanese cars back then. Soon to be wife even had a 77 Accord. The light car was pretty spunky with that CVCC engine. It did have a lot of electrical problems and in 1981, the dealer said it was unsafe to drive because of rust. Most Japanese cars rusted really quickly in those years. Plus her Accord was really cramped. I am 14 inches taller than her. I hope all manufacturers have gotten better since 1980, that was 40 years ago. Sadly, they all size the cars for smaller framed people.

[@Andyface79]

@@barbmelle3136 Yeah I’m 6 foot 5 and I struggle with smaller cars too. I do agree the rust was a problem but overall the Accord was a better car. I will acknowledge that GM’s quality has gone waaay up.

[@dzim8822]

My first car was a 1982 Chevy Citation two door with a manual 4 speed. It was a pretty decent car imo, pretty reliable in my experience. He said the 2 door was abandoned after 1981, but I had a1982 that was a coupe.

[@michelbeauloye4269]

Had an Olds Omega, a rebadged Citation, maybe a bit more luxurious, which I kept my usual 10 years. A very good looking head turning automobile. Never had serious technical issues. Just a broken window crank and quite a lot of rust on the lower body parts (due to salty roads in Northern European roads). The real weak point was the limited fuel tank capacity, which meant a maximum 350 km drive between filling up again. It ended up towing gliders at the nearby airfield with its V6 engine.

[@TBustah]

I’m rather surprised to hear that these made it to Europe. I would think there’d be too much overlap with Opel and Vauxhall (in fact, there were Opels and Vauxhalls based on the same platform as the Citation’s successor, the first gen Cavalier). Was yours a grey import left behind by a serviceman, maybe?

[@michelbeauloye4269]

@@TBustah You are right, these were rather rare in Europe. I bought mine new at the GM (mainly Opel) dealer in Luxembourg for an attractive price due to the favorable exchange rate with the US $.

[@akr01364]

My stepfather's grandfather had one. One day we realized he always drove like a bat out of hell in the thing. The speedo came disconnected and after trying for half a decade to get it fixed he just figured the speeding tickets were cheaper.

[@Charliefox71]

The bar was pretty low in 1980.

[@tomsnyder6955]

In high school, I had a 1981 , Chevrolet Citation 4 door hatchback

[@drippinglass]

I’m sorry. Have you recovered from the trauma? 😀

[@shawnaburns5158]

Love and miss the looks of these ❤️💙 hard to find today

[@dannyhemphill1552]

Had the Pontiac version. Blew a head gasket at 30.000 miles. Still pisses me off after all these years

[@andrewdonohue1853]

i once bought one of these cars for $75. the car was already quite old and this was years ago. the owner couldnt get it to idle. i replaced the faulty choke pull off and we drove it for a couple of years, sold it for $50. was one of the best deals we ever had. the bad part about the car, the floor was absolutely toast. most rotted floor i had ever seen, it was rotted when we bought it but for $75 i didnt care. the car never left us in a bind, in fact my mother drove it a summer because the transmission in her 96 taurus wagon failed and had to be rebuilt. the floors, sucked

[@Walkercolt1]

Because the front struts punched thru the hood when the strut mounts rusted as the cars aged! I was driving a company car down a gravel oil rig road in Tejas, hit a sight wash-out in the road and did that! NEARLY turned the POS over!!! Had to wait in the 109* heat ( engine wouldn't run) for 3 1/2 hours for help to come down the road. They just shoved it off the side of the road with an oil field truck and let it rust to death-never tried to recover it.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Funny story. I'm sure it wasn't funny at the time. lol

[@jamese.morris2891]

I had an 82 x11 back in the day...I loved it ..then I got a 87 Z24.Loved it even more.

[@chriskrueger8225]

The 87 Z24 was and still is a great looking car. My brother bought one brand new. It was blue, 5spd with the cowl hood. I loved that car!

[@gtpcruiser02]

My in laws had a new 1980 canary yellow Citation. It was a nice vehicle except for a few oddities such as the roll up windows rolled up and down in reverse of what was normal and the radio was mounted vertical in the dash as if there wasn't enough room to mount it horizontal.

[@Ogre302]

I have had a couple of these and I really liked them. Especially the V6 in the snow. The whole car felt solid and safe and the only real problem I had with the V6 was the transmission dipstick tube kept working its way loose. I was a dumb high school kid so I never bothered to actually find out WHY, as long as it ran. The 4 banger ate head gaskets like cookies.

[@rager1969]

I remember the vertical radio was a thing. The only other car that had one was Corvettes from the 60's. Very few after market radios offered a vertical radio, so most would end up having the numbers for the radio frequency appear sideways when installed into a Citation. I remember my sister got a radio from Radio Shack that came with a second faceplate specifically for use when mounting vertically.

[@knowbodiesfull5768]

Late '60s to early '70s AMC Ambassadors also had a vertically-mounted radio. _(4/22/2022)_

[@sasz2107]

When the Chevy Citation was introduced in 1980, the Toyota Camry did not exist. They were introduced in 1983. The Honda Accord had only been around since 1978.

[@jamesdennis2058]

The Honda Accord came out in 1976

[@radioshack3839]

Keep in mind this is a history from 80 to 85.

[@edgrigsby8610]

Umm... because they sucked? Horrible in the winter, even with good tires

[@onlyme112]

Casey Kasem, welcome back!

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

As a matter of fact. My brother and I were radio Djs for over 20 years. Casey....what a guy! Hey scoob!

[@dcrasta]

My first car was a 72ish Vega wagon. I wanted a Citation x11 . Ended up gifted a Chevette. This video reminded me of my childhood desires. Thanks for the content.

[@rickloera9468]

It was not a competitive with the Toyota Camry, unless Chevrolet was into fortune telling. Camry came out in late 1983

[@douglasb.1203]

Beat me to it. And at that moment realized a poorly researched retrospect is a WOT.

[@barbmelle3136]

It was competitive with the Toyota Cressida that had been around for maybe 10 years that was around before the Camry and eventually dropped.

[@mrpoohbearlvr]

@@barbmelle3136 you honestly think the Citation was competition for the Cressida!? That's like saying that the Yugo was competition for the Corolla! 🤮

[@rickloera9468]

@@barbmelle3136 The Cressida came out in the spring of 1979 to compete with the Datsun 810 Maxima that had come out in 77/78. Cressida was the top dog in the U.S. line up. Before the Cressida it was the Toyota Crown. The Cressida became the Avalon and the Toyota Corona became what is now the Camry. Cmary competed with the Honda Accord and Nissans revisioned 510 Stanza that became the Stanza Altima then Altima. The Citations main competition was the Ford Faimont, Mercury Zephyr twins. Chrysler K Cars as well as other GM X cars. It tried to compete with the Honda Accord, Toyota Corona/Camry but was a weak contender at that.

[@lvsqcsl]

I had customers with these things and they were not that great. They would complain when I had to replace a leaking steering rack or a Front-Wheel-Drive shaft CV joint that failed due to those rubber boots that would break and sling all the grease out. They had the steering unit mounted high on the fire wall and it steered the car by the top of the MacPherson struts. I would just tell them, "Just think of all that traction you got in the snow; Just think of all that room you have inside; Just think of all that gas you saved." It was one of the most recalled cars in history. I recall there was a NHTSA spokesman on the national news at that time that said this car "needs a Citation." As far as competing with the Cressida, I have a neighbor right now that still has his 1992 Cressida that is his daily driver. The Camry replaced the rear-wheel-drive Corona in the fall of 1982 for the 1983 model year. Great video!

[@tedecker3792]

Perfect illustration of GMs thinking. Honda and Toyota looked at the big picture, thinking long term brand benefits of building quality. GMs bean counters thought saving money by making every single part as cheaply as possible was the way to go. I’m surprised GM is still around.

[@_LM_]

I wonder who approved a name like that. I mean, who would name a car after something nobody wants to hear about? "Hey, I heard you bought a new car?" "Yeah, I just got a Citation..." "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that... Are you gonna fight it in court?"

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

What? You got a Citation for what speeding? No...the car Citation! Lol

[@donaldwilson2620]

The FWD A Body GM cars(Buick Century, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, Pontiac 6000, and Chevrolet Celebrity) shared a similar platform to the X Cars, but ironically, the A Body cars were far more superior than the X Cars.

[@johnmcmullen456]

I drove a new loaner Celebrity Eurosport V6 coupe a couple days back in 1986, was impressed.

[@davidpowell3347]

Pontiac 6000 STE (?) is supposed to have been the best of these

[@HookMann88]

I bought a V6 Citation coupe for 150.00 from a gas station dealer. It lasted a month. Boy, I ripped him off.......lol.

[@kippaseo8027]

Its own a Toyota Camry was not introduced until 4 years after the Chevrolet citation was. Also the camry was introduced with more body styles then just the 4 door hatchback

[@1985toyotacamry]

I would have said Civic or Corolla.

[@recoveringnewyorker2243]

I was a junior mechanic at two GM dealerships in the early 1980s. In my 4 book expose’ series “All in a DAZE work” (The decline and fall of the American work ethic) by Shepperd November (available on Amazon) I write of how dissatisfied customers were with their X body cars. Especially with a malfunctioning dual diagonal brake system. I was later recruited away to work at a dealership that’s sold three brands of popular Japanese cars. Many of the customers I knew at the GM dealerships traded in their X body cars. Honestly, I would be a very wealthy man if I had a $1 for every American consumer who has said “I will never again by an American car!“

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Thanks for watching and your input! X body, got to love em. Or hate them! Lol

[@recoveringnewyorker2243]

@@ThisOldCarChannel Thanx! Buy my book series?

[@catjudo1]

This is, for me, the car that showed that GM not only decided they no longer cared about making quality cars, but also no longer cared about their customers. It took GM most of the decade to introduce a relatively decent front drive mid-size sedan, but the GM-10 (Lumina and clones) were outdated when they debuted and had those idiotic door mounted seatbelts because they never planned on using airbags. I drove a Lumina Z-34 and then drove an 89 Ford Taurus SHO and even with the torque steer the Taurus felt like it came from another world. GM had some interesting cars on paper, but they always found ways to screw them up. It's a lasting legacy that explains why I drive Japanese.

[@Allegronaut]

Brings back memories of how shitty cars were in the 80's!

[@randallmack3066]

My dad bought one of these turds (5 door hatchback) around 81'. We were living in Portland , Oregon in those days. I'll never forget hearing water sloshing around in the doors when they'd fill up with water whenever parked outside in the rain. Then that metallic silver paint job peeled off in sheets like a painful Irish sunburned back from a two week vacation in Hawaii.

[@OpenBarGarage]

What a beautiful car!! I'm surprised I didn't know anything about it until this video! Thank you.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Thanks for watching and your comments. Different for its time!

[@bruschmidt9943]

I ordered a new 1980 Skylark 4 Dr X-Car in April '79 & got it mid-June. Sales of these were nothing short of nuts then! I ordered most options with the 4 cylinder & 4 spd manual for maximum gas mileage. I'm a car Detailer & the first time I went over the exterior, I saw countless paint defects virtually on every body panel. The Dealership told me to circle the "few" spots with a body crayon, as they thought I was exaggerating. I brought the car in with circles marked all over the body & when they checked, saw they were legit. They resprayed the car with lacquer & afterwards it looked 10 times better than the factory orange-peel paint. The color was Claret Red, a deep metallic maroon. The vinyl top was also stained by the car leaking above it on the Car Loader. They replaced the Factory tan top with a Cadillac grade padded vinyl in gold; 10 times better than it was. At least Buick tried to make it right, but was upset because they had to pay for that 😡. I had no issues with the car & though it was smaller, it looked almost as good as a Cadillac Seville 😊

[@scottyallen9196]

I knew someone back in the 80s that had a 82 red Citation. It was a awesome car. They drove it for eight years problem free.

[@Sammydx1]

Ok. Aug 1996 I turned 16 That May me and my Father found a Citation for 200 bucks. Sat for years. 2 door blue with a V6 auto. All summer me and my dad worked on it. Little here. Little there. By Aug it was running good. I started my Junior year and drove it for 2 years. Never broke down or left me stranded. Survived Chicago winters and me beating it all day.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Great read. Father and son project. Thanks for watching!

[@ryankenyon5010]

This was my buddy's first car when we were teens. It didn't run often.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Boca Brothers Classic Cars Thanks for watching and the comment! We're asking our viewers for a little help. Can you please subscribe if you haven't already? We can't tell who is and who is not. lol....Again, appreciate ya watching!

[@guykwalter1693]

The car of the tear award is the kiss of death. No car of the year survived long, and they turn out to be junk.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Great for the time being Guy but only until the issues began popping up. lol

[@toddmo1]

We had an 81 5 door sedan...my mother loved the way it went in the snow.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

My dad had one. Drove it till it died. Thanks for watching! Make sure and subscribe.

[@geraldsmith8152]

My mom had one, as a kid I called it the "C" car because of how it was shaped lol

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Come to think about it, sure does look like it. Ha!

[@andrewjacobson556]

Funny you mentioned it, this was my first car and I did the same!!🤣🤣

[@michaelupton3107]

My mom had a white 1983 Chevy Citation four door hatchback, it used to be a state car when she bought it back in the summer of 1991😊❤👍

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Hope you got some use out of it. City and state have high maintenance schedules. I know because I work for the City of San Antonio and my truck goes in or they shut my gas card down. lol

[@michaelupton3107]

@@ThisOldCarChannel she drove it up into about 1996 or 1997😊❤👍

[@buckshot6481]

The Citation is why Toyota rules the compact sedan market. My father in law bought one, when he got home from the dealership it started pouring oil on the driveway. He took it back twice, it never stopped draining oil onto the driveway 😂🥳🤣

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

My dads would be in the shop countless times. Thank goodness it was a company car. 😆

[@wildcoyote34]

@@ThisOldCarChannel the classic citation oil leak was the 2.8 V6 engines chronic rear main seal leak ,the 2.8 in the S10 trucks suffered from the same problem there was a design flaw in the rear main seal ,,they actually had a rope packing seal and they would weep constantly and usually needed replaced at 50K miles ,,the replacement seal today is a 2 piece rubber wiper seal and if they aren't installed right they will fail very rapidly ,,the one in my S10 has been replaced 5 times

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

@@wildcoyote34 Appreciate your knowledge. We learn more and more from our viewers!

[@wildcoyote34]

@@ThisOldCarChannel I've been an avid lover of GM vehicles my whole life ,,,i currently own only GM and ford trucks ,,mother's 1982 citation is still around , i restored it in 2002 and it gets driven regularly ,it's been completely rebuilt but thhe body has well over 250K miles on it ,, toyota has yet to mak a car except maybe the Prius that i would drive ,my sister has a 2020 camry and i can't stand to even ride in it ,,my personal daily driver is a 2001 chevy Tahoe SUV which has every option availablr

[@darrellrobinson2833]

Had one in college and i loved that car. The hatch back was so handy going back and forth home. Drove very smooth and was comfortable. Also had a Vega that was nice, the engine was crap.

[@pascalolesen5187]

WE lost one of these in Manhatten and never even called the tow trucks due to value lol

[@JasonJones-br3or]

Lolz that's funny!

[@georgestaunton6994]

Dad had the 5-door hatchback. It was a surprisingly nice car to drive. The A/C smelled like sweat socks, however. We never changed the inside air filter! Still, we liked driving it.

[@mattt198654321]

I feel like this narrator is going to sell me a kitchen gadget.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

And that's the power voice. Theater of the mind. lol. Yes...Radio personalities for over 25 years and just so happen to love cars! FYI...Up next is the Fox Body mustang. Thanks for watching.

[@zortella]

My parents had one. The transmission started going out while we were on vacation. They only had it for a year or so when the issues started.

[@davidpowell3347]

There was a recall on some automatics in 1984 and I think some other years,they would start slipping after a few months from new.

[@tedlym.3390]

I remember the Chevrolet Citation fondly, probably because I never owned one. Thank you,

[@mgmnfld3109]

Had a Pontiac Phoenix back in the 80's. Same, same, just different...lol.

[@keetonkatt4621]

I had a '80 Pontiac Phoenix hatchback that I special ordered (had to wait for it) with the V-6 and 4-speed. The car was very roomy and comfortable for its size, for both passengers and cargo. The V-6 was pretty peppy, especially compared to the malaise-era competition. Unfortunately, it had problems that couldn't be fixed. The 4-speed's cable shifter meant shifting was always clunky and the ratios were so wide that there were certain speeds where the engine was revving too high but would lug in the next gear. The front axle shafts leaked and couldn't be fixed due to the design. Then there were the brakes - every road test noted that the rear brakes would prematurely lock up on just moderately hard braking potentially causing loss of control of the vehicle and my car was affected by this. Sold the car after 2 1/2 years and bought a new Volvo 240.

[@davidpowell3347]

Rear brakes would lock up even with light braking on damp road until you got them warmed up,on the other hand once they faded they didn't have much power even under heavy braking putting better tires on the car helped,a recall did nothing to help except to limit the power of the rear brakes to very little even under panic braking but the rear brakes still grabbed when they were cool and damp

[@kenriley2352]

Learn why it failed???? It was a hunk of shit!! Should have never got rid of the nova.

[@Charliefox71]

Damn right.

[@uncledavid31]

My parents owned a 1980 Citation. It was the car they gave me to drive as a new teenage driver in early 1990s. It was a POS.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

So was my dad's Citation.

[@standhd]

“Now that’s more like it, more like it….The newwwwww…..Cheverlet…….” That was the jingle for the Citation I would hear on my dad’s car radio when he would take us to school. I was 11 when that car was released. I remember that car like it was yesterday.

[@petersimpson1734]

My Dad bought an early 1980 Pontiac Phoenix.......... What a total POS, the paint peeled, the auto transmission had problems.........Roger Smith was a bean counter that ran GM into the ground.

[@Rock19621962]

Buddies parents had a citation did great donuts in reverse

[@NIGHTOWL-jf9zt]

I loved my 3 door 4 speed manual. I bought 2, 1 was for parts. Being 16 with a new license I basically lived in it because I loved to drive. Would come home long enough to shower, eat and was gone again just driving. The novelty of new independence and a license. Now I am 58 and I hate to even get in a car. My new Jeep Grand Cherokee 2019, only just over 2K. LOL.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

I can relate! My twin brother and I are 57. My first car ever was a 1973 Capri. I had it painted for $300 and I didn't care. I just drove! I bought a brand new Chevy Duramax Z-71 and that truck sits parked in the garage. I drive a 98 Honda accord to work and back! lol BTW....Those Grand Cherokees are sweet! Thanks for watching!

[@jamespn]

The Citation X11 was quick with the V6 engine and manual transmission.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Wish I had one today!

[@05gtdriver]

I thought the notchback version of the X11 was a sharp looking car, by the time Chevy worked the bugs out(well, at least made the Citation line somewhat better) they replaced it with the Corsica/Beretta line a few years later.

[@jamespn]

@@05gtdriver in 1984, I test drove a Cadillac Cimarron with a 2.8 liter V6 and it was quick, the salesman said that they’ve had one or two with a manual transmission and those are even faster.

[@05gtdriver]

@@jamespn In 1986 I raced a Z24 Cavalier 2.8 H.O. in my '73 Capri 2600 V6 and it pulled away from me around 80mph, I was impressed because my Capri was breathed on a bit with headers a bigger carb and re-curved ignition.

[@johnmcmullen456]

Back in the day I had a new 1984 Thunderbird Turbocoupe. A kid at a red-light tried to run me with his X11 with big tires and load exhaust. He lost badly, should have been close.

[@CHRISROYALSCHIEFSFAN]

Drove one when I was young!

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Same here!

[@CraigArndt]

It's incredible how long GM ran with that Iron Puke. Had one in a Pontiac Grand Am SE. Beautiful car. Too bad the Quad 4 wasn't released sooner, when that motor came out it was like GM finally could compete with Toyota and Honda.

[@willhorting5317]

My step-grandmother had a 4-door version. I don't recall what year it was. I just recall that it was red. And owned it for over 25 years, refusing to stop driving it until it just became more expensive to repair than replace.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

Boca Brothers Classic Cars Thanks for watching and the comment! We're asking our viewers for a little help. Can you please subscribe if you haven't already? We can't tell who is and who is not. lol....Again, appreciate ya watching!

[@scottgordon600]

My Mom's X-11 was fast as funk. Off the line with those mid-sixties and early seventies muscle cars it couldn't be beat. Up to 50m.p.h. that "little missile" couldn't be beat.

[@michaelashcraft8569]

It didn't last because it didn't sell, it was plug ugly, broke down a lot, and, few folks wanted it.

[@wrotenwasp]

Wow, reminds me of the last two years of high school. Those things were everywhere. I started to work in as a mechanic in 1985 so by then there were plenty of olders citations, phoenixes, omegas and skylarks. Michigan was hard on those front suspensions, salt was hard on the radiator. The heater core was somewhat common, water pumps, AC issues , electric cooling fan. But they weren't as nearly as common in the garage as allllllllllllllll the Ford tauruses and tempos we repaired.

[@67marlins]

Even as a Ford & Mopar fan, I wish GM had better durability and quality underneath the X cars' excellent stying. I was a kid then, and the X cars were simply beautiful compared to the foreign junk. Beautifully balanced stying, an extremely elegant transition from GM large vehicle good looks and small car reality.

[@stevenbennett3805]

The Chevrolet Citation. Now that's the ticket. BTW the only way a Chevy Citation would get you a ticket was if you were driving downhill, with a strong tailwind, in a school zone. American cars in the 80s were true crap. The Ford Granada tops the POS list. Even Chrysler was making better cars than Ford or GM then.

[@ThisOldCarChannel]

hahah!

[@ScottSchindewolf]

I actually got a citation driving mine a week after studded tires had to be removed

[@artdude8059]

I got a 1980 4 cylinder Chevy citation for 350.00 in 1996. I drove it ALL over 3 states. It lasted 4 years, and the repairs costed Under 300.00. After it played out the odometer read: 437,295.9.... IMPRESSIVE!!!

[@josenazario3658]

My father almost bought one in 1980 but decided to go with a 1979 Caprice 2dr. Beautiful car

[@gsprings43]

got my learners permit in one of these back in 85 in high school

[@2W3X4YZ5]

NOW I KNOW I where Mitsuoka got the design idea for the Buddy. All the people buying them think they are the coolest thing on wheels. Little do they know. Side note, the first used car I sold was a Citation X11. Thanks for the video.

[@scottleyva8656]

I still remember the commercial jingle. Chevy CiTaTION!