Sold in the US as the Merkur XR4Ti, but with a max output of 175hp. (less with an auto transmission.)
Cool little cars, way better performers than the Buick but also not a convertible and not a smooth riding boat!
2 Likes
I remember those…we always used the mnemonic “X-RATTY”!
3 Likes
Boattail Riv is very, very high on my list of cars for my never-to-be-realized car collection.
2 Likes
We had a couple, both four-doors and both with V6 engines: a '77 that was gold/bronze, and an '80 that was blue. The latter was, I believe, the first car my parents bought new.
I borrowed a big, green Regal (I think – the one with the different emblem) from a relative and, yeah, it handled like a boat, but also seemingly floated like one. That was almost 30 years ago, and it was old even then. I think it was a '73 or so and looked a lot like one my grandparents had in the '70s (with which they pulled an Airstream trailer or similar).
I’d drive that for years before I’d even step into a Pontiac Aztec.
My parents bought a Buick Rendezvous a few years ago. Glad I don’t have to go anywhere near that either.
1 Like
The XR4i was a thing here - Your XR4Ti didn’t use the Cosworth YB engine. That had a 2nd fuel rail that could be enabled in race trim. It wasn’t too much work to get 400HP from them.
1 Like
The one my parents had was trouble because of the engine. You could easily end up speeding and the car felt like you weren’t going fast at all, it was smooth and quiet. Definitely an old person’s car and i’m glad they don’t really make them like that any more but i still miss it. My parents sure knew how to pick them, i’m very fond of all the different cars they bought 
They had a Chevrolet Monza (don’t know the year), a Toyota Starlet (amazing hatchback, not sold in the US but widely loved in Asia and Latin America), and a special version of the Toyota 4Runner released in Latin America called a Toyota Autana (kickass offroader, an uncle still has it)
1 Like
It’s a bit late in the game for such a large car but I still like it for its sheer audacity. This is what men over 60 were driving in 1985.
1 Like
Ha! I thought of this car, and the awful Toyota Solara.
what was going on mid-eighties was 12%+ interest rates on 30yr mortgages
1 Like
I always like the 80s IROC Camaro, and the fastback mustang. Also the Bronco and Blazer. Thoughts?
This front wheel drive Riviera was made to compete with the front wheel drive Ford Thunderbird which was selling fast. GM was getting good sales from the Buick Regal and started to pour more development into the Regal as a result. The Riviera came with a V8, or a turbo six. Both engines burn oil, and the turbo six made a horrible engine note.
1 Like
My first car was an early 80’s Bronco - the full size one on huge 33" tires with a 351M V8 engine and Edelbrock 4 barrel carb. Thing was a beast but broke down so often it totally turned me off of all American cars. Mustang’s are cool looking but when I actually drove one I hated it. High School buddy had a 5.0 Mustang that we raised a lot of hell in. In the 80’s, you could only drive a Camaro if you also sported a mullet.
Other buddy went out of his way to get an '83 Hurst/Olds special edition. That thing was a cool car - not much to look at on the outside but it was a beast under the hood with a 307 V8 and 3.73 rear end.
I can only imagine the turbo lag as well…
Stomp on gas…count…1…2…3…4…5…6…Vroom!!
2 Likes
All car technology has to an amazing degree. Suspension, brakes, sound insulation, engine management, emissions, cold starting, fit and finish, etc. A 2019 Kia can dust a 1972 Ferrari on the track all day long, then drive you home at 30mpg, The next day, it’ll start on the first crank in the dead of winter and get you to work.
People lust over the looks of some of these old cars, but most people forget they are terrible cars in virtually every way by modern standards. Live axles, pitman arm steering, drum brakes, sluggish throttle response, loud, rattly, won’t start in cold days, won’t run at high altitudes, the list goes on and on. Most people who casually lust after old cars haven’t driven one. 
There are some exceptions of course. ‘80s BMWs are amazing to drive, and I raced one for several years as a result. Built like tanks and neutral handling that was a joy in every corner.
I loved my 1974 Jeep, but it was a terrible vehicle (and a death trap) by any objective modern standard.
6 Likes
It’s one of the reasons that if i ever wanted to buy a classic car i wouldn’t need some fussy perfect restoration. Give me a modern car with the old car slapped on top. Typically those types of builds are very expensive so i doubt i’ll ever had that kind of cash so i’m safe from my own delusions.
3 Likes
Those are called restomods, and like you and me, there’s a whole lot of people who want them. As you surmised, they are very very expensive. Generally reserved for the 1% hipsters. Pretty much every car-shop reality show is about celebrity restomod builders. There are so many that the genre is a cliché in car circles, but the prices remain at supercar levels for what is just a basic grocery getter underneath the cool bodywork.
4 Likes
There has never been a FWD Thunderbird.
1 Like
Weird trivia: the first one I saw in a movie after seeing one IRL was in Blackenstein
1 Like
Yeah.
In 1999, I attempted to drive a 1964 Thunderbird from Chicago to Austin. This car was huge, flamboyant, covered in chrome. A real head-turner. After numerous problems along the way (oh, I could go on), I made as far as the Texas/Oklahoma border, at which point the bell-housing gasket failed and white smoke billowed out the back, making the car a hazard to navigation for other road users.
I left the car with the Ford dealer there and took the Greyhound home. I returned a week later in some boring rental Oldsmobile. It was silent, the AC worked, and the trip was comfortable, quiet, and completely uneventful.
3 Likes
This is correct. Those of us that are old enough to have had daily drivers made in the 70’s or 80’s (or earlier) either forget what a pain in the ass it was to own said cars, or can list the multiple times we were left stranded on the side of the road…
My first car in 1982 was a '72 Pinto wagon. Yea. Not fun. I was stranded in the mountains coming home from skiing one time and only because we broke down close to a service station (where the guy lived behind it and was kind enough to fix the sheered off bolt that held the alternator in place) so I didn’t wind up a popsicle. I also owned an '87 Fiero that was hot garbage at best.
I’ve driven modern German cars since 1995 (VW, Audi, BMW) and while I had a handful of issues, I was never stranded. I’ve also owned Hondas - with zero issues.
I personally wouldn’t own an 80’s BMW as a daily driver (I say this as an owner of a modern one) but would love an E30 as a weekend car.
2 Likes
