1986 Chevrolet Suburban C20 Silverado

The seventh generation of Chevy's Suburban nameplate stretched from 1973 all the way to 1991 with only minor changes every few years. Going by the cosmetics, this one could be an '85-'87 and it's the Light Blue Metallic and Frost White two-tone paint job that has me leaning towards a 1986 model.

Not a diesel, so it's got one of two carbureted V-8 options: the 5.7L motor making 165hp or the 7.4L 240-horsepower big-block. 

This one was photographed in May of 2026 using a Canon EOS R and an RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS zoom lens.

1986 Ford Thunderbird

The ninth generation of Ford's Thunderbird personal luxury coupe debuted for 1983 with eye-catching rounded lines that were a radical departure from the creased, angular "formal look" of the late '70s and presaged Ford's design direction for the remainder of the Eighties.

It shared its Fox platform underpinnings with not only the Mercury Cougar and Lincoln Mark VII personal luxury coupes, but also the sporty Mustang and Mercury Capri coupes.

Other than modest changes to the grille and taillamp treatments for 1985, the first four model years looked pretty much the same. This Oxford White coupe is identifiable as a 1986 model by having both the newer grille and lights as well as the presence of the CHMSL (Center High-Mounted Stop Lamp, aka the "third brake light") in the rear window.

It was available as the base coupe, the more luxurious élan, and the Turbo Coupe, with the former two having the 3.8L Essex V-6 as the base motor with an optional 5.0L V-8, while the performance-oriented Turbo Coupe had a non-intercooled 2.3L OHC turbo four rated at 155 SAE net horsepower.

While the 1986 Thunderbird V-8 had sequential EFI intake setup like the Mustang's, the more restrictive single exhaust and milder camshaft held the output down to a sedate 150 ponies.

The easiest way to distinguish between a base coupe and an élan is to look for cornering lamps, which this one does not have, but they did spring for the 14" styled steel road wheels.

The top photo was taken with a Nikon Df and 24-85mm f/2.8-4 zoom lens while the bottom two used a Nikon D300S and 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR II zoom lens, all in February of 2026.

1986 Toyota MR2

The Toyota MR2, released in the US market by Toyota for the 1985 model year, was everything its only competitors were not. The Fiat X1/9 was still sold in the North American market as the Bertone X1/9, imported by Malcolm Bricklin, but it had the durability and reliability issues typical of low-production Italian sporty cars of the era. Pontiac's Fiero had been on the market for a year, but was heavy for its size and had an uninspiring suspension.

The MR2 boasted Toyota levels of build quality, weighed about the same as the X1/9 and boasted almost 66% more power, while being a hundred pounds lighter and much more nimble and better handling than the Fiero.

Powered by the zingy 1.6L DOHC 16V 4A-GE inline four also found in the Corolla FX, which made 112hp and which could be paired with a slick-shifting five-speed manual or, if your soul was dead, a four-speed auto, the MR2 was the kind of sports car that made automotive writers pull out thesauruses looking for extra synonyms for "fun".

When Car and Driver tested an '85 model (with the stick shift, natch), they saw a zero-to-sixty time of 8.3 seconds and a 16.3 second quarter at 82mph. Top speed was 116 and all-up curb weight was 2,380 pounds. For comparison, those are about the same numbers put up by a 140hp V-6 Fiero GT, which was almost 400 pounds heavier.

The Light Beige example in the picture was photographed with an Olympus OM-D E-M1X and a Panasonic Leica Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4 ASPH zoom lens in June of 2025.

1986 Ford Mustang GT Convertible

When the Mustang II launched in 1974 it could be had as a notchback coupe or a three-door hatchback with a sleek fastback roofline. What was missing from Ford's pony paddock for the first time since the debut of the first 1964½ 'Stangs was a convertible.

It wasn't until the fifth model year of the third generation "Fox body" Mustangs that the convertible made its return after a decade-long hiatus. For 1985, the Mustang got a newer, more aerodynamic nose, with a little mailbox slot in the fascia replacing the eggcrate grille but retaining the inset quad headlamps because the government was dragging their feet about approving modern composition headlamps.

In 1986, the droptop model was available in both LX and GT trim levels, like this Oxford White example. (Only distinguishable from the '85 by the third brake light integrated into the standard decklid-mounted luggage rack.) Under the hood, the new standard motor for the GT was the trusty 5.0L "Windsor" 302cid pushrod V-8, now featuring sequential fuel injection and rated at 200 SAE net horsepower, backed with a 5-speed Borg-Warner transmission.

Car and Driver tested an '86 LX 2-door coupe with the EFI 5.0 motor and the five-speed gearbox and and it returned a zero-to-sixty time of 6.2 seconds, only a tenth of a second slower than the 5.7L IROC-Z Camaro in the same test, although the gap opened to four tenths in the quarter, with the 'Stang's 14.9 second E.T., and the Camaro's better aero and bigger motor paid off the most on the top end, where it exceeded the LX's 132mph top speed by an even ten miles per hour.

The convertible in the pictures here would be a couple hundred pounds heavier than that LX coupe, so adjust expectations accordingly.

It was photographed in June of 2025 using a Canon EOS R and an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens. 

1986 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible

Chrysler inherited the LeBaron nameplate from the defunct Imperial division of Mopar in 1977 and originally applied it to a car that shared the new rear wheel drive M-platform with the Dodge Diplomat and Plymouth Gran Fury. The M-cars were derived from the Aspen/Volare compact sedans, which were themselves evolved from the Dart/Valiant twins.

The LeBaron was the smallest, lowest-priced Chrysler, intended to do battle with the Cadillac Seville. With the dawn of the FWD era at Chrysler in the early Eighties, the LeBaron became Chrysler's version of the new K-car platform: It was the glitziest variant of a trio that included the Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant.

Along with being the Chrysler marque's first FWD luxury car, the new 1982 LeBaron saw the return of the factory convertible to Detroit.

For 1986, the base engine in a LeBaron convertible was the SOHC "Trenton" 2.2L four cylinder with throttle body electronic fuel injection, rated at 97 horsepower. The next engine up the options list was the 2.5L Trenton four, which had the same bore but almost a half-inch longer stroke, giving a three-horsepower increase to an even 100, but bumping torque from 122 to 136 lb-ft at 2,800 RPM, four hundred RPM lower than the torque peak on the 2.2L mill. The increase in displacement necessitated counterrotating balance shafts to keep things acceptably smooth in the cabin.

The top of the line powertrain, as found in this Gunmetal Blue Pearl example, was the 2.2L Turbo, indicated by the fender badges and hood louvers. It came with 146 SAE net horsepower and torque steer for days.

Among other options to let you know that it was the Eighties was a voice alert system that used a speech synthesizer like the one from the old Texas Instruments Speak & Spell to let you know when a door was ajar or your seat belt was unfastened.

This one was photographed with a Canon EOS 40D and an EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS zoom lens in May of 2025.

1986 Toyota Land Cruiser

The FJ60 generation of the Toyota Land Cruiser introduced for the '80s had a more civilized interior than its FJ50-series predecessors. Niceties such as a tilt steering wheel and intermittent wipers were standard and you could even get air conditioning.

It still had the rugged ladder frame with enclosed box-section frame rails and 4-wheel drive with a standard four-speed manual transmission and two-speed transfer case.

Power was provided by the carbureted 4.2L 2F overhead valve inline six. Output was a mere 125 SAE net horsepower at 3600 rpm, mostly because the compression ratio was only 7.8:1, the better to be able to run on whatever garbage gasoline was available when you were safariing way out past where Jesus left His sandals.

MotorWeek got an '89 model to sixty in 14.2 seconds and managed the quarter in just under twenty, but nobody buys these things to drag race.

This Blue one was photographed with a Canon EOS 7D and EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS zoom lens in April of 2023.

1986 BMW 325i Cabriolet

For the 1986 model year, thee second generation of BMW's 3-series, the E30, received a light styling upgrade. The top performance engine's displacement was bumped from the 2.3L M20B23 inline-six to the 2.5L M20B25, and the zoomy six was made available in North America for the first time. Finally, the convertible became a factory production offering. (The aluminum diving board bumpers wouldn't get replaced with more compact body-colored units until the major '87 mid-cycle refresh.)

In the go-go years of the mid-'80s, the 325i...especially the cabrio...was the "it" car for yuppies to have. If you were making a Brat Pack teen movie and wanted everyone to know the antagonist was a stuck up jerk of a rich kid, you'd have him drive a 325i. Its popularity even exceeded that of the 944 and the only reason that Miss Christina in the opening lyrics of David + David's smash hit "Welcome to the Boomtown" didn't drive one instead of a 944 is that "Cabriolet" doesn't rhyme with "pores".

They were zippy, responsive performers. Even the sluggards at Consumer Reports could granny-shift their way to a ten second zero to sixty time

The Cinnabar example seen here was photographed with a Hasselblad Lunar and a Sony PZ 18-105mm f/4 G OSS zoom lens in September of 2017.

1986 Dodge Omni

When Volkswagen's Golf hit U.S. showrooms as the Rabbit in the mid-'70s, it caused quite a stir. Coming on the heels of the '73 Oil Crisis, the front wheel drive subcompact seemed ultramodern, especially compared to the domestic competition.

Chevrolet and Ford had the Chevette and Pinto, both rear wheel drive cars powered by old-tech pushrod motors. Mopar didn't even have its own subcompact, selling a re-badged RWD Mitsubishi Lancer as the Dodge Colt and Plymouth Arrow.

Chrysler huddled with its European subsidiaries and released a little two-box front wheel drive compact of its own for 1978, beating FoMoCo and GM to the punch. Sold in Europe as the Simca Horizon and in the UK as the Talbot Horizon, it was sold in the USA as the Dodge Omni and the Plymouth Horizon.

The Euro cars used little Simca-sourced motors deemed not potent enough for the US market, so the first Omnis sold here had 1.7L OHC inline fours bought from VW and fitted with Chrysler intake systems.

For the '81 model year, Chrysler's new 2.2L SOHC four cylinder, ubiquitous across the K-car lineup, became an optional motor in the Omni and Horizon. By 1986, the 2.2L in this Crimson Red Omni would have seen its 2bbl carb replaced by throttle body fuel injection, giving it a rated output of 93 SAE net horsepower. With a five-speed manual this would have given zero-to-sixty times around ten seconds flat and a quarter in the mid-seventeens. Not scintillating, but enough to merge in traffic without white knuckles.

Best of all, an '86 Omni started out at a mere $6,209, less than eighteen grand in today's coin, and came with a then-exceptional 5-year/50,000-mile powertrain warranty.

This one was photographed in October of 2024 using an Olympus OM-D E-M1X and an M. Zuiko Digital 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens.

1986 BMW 528e

If one had to pick a year for the peak of the Malaise Era in the American auto market, one would not go far wrong by picking 1982.

That was the year that BMW launched one of the least Bimmer-like motors, designed specifically to boost its corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) numbers in the USA.

They took their high-winding 2.5L inline six and increased the stroke by a quarter inch, bumping the displacement to 2.7L. They also fitted a head with smaller ports, altered the cam profile, reduced the compression to 9.0:1, and added a 4,800 RPM rev limiter.

It was judged that the increase in low-end torque would offset the drop in peak power to 121hp, making for a car better suited to American urban and suburban driving, to say nothing of our Interstates, which were still saddled with the 55mph National Maximum Speed Limit.

The resulting car was called the 528e, the e standing for "eta", signifying "efficiency". It may have looked like a savage Bimmer sports sedan, but struggled to top 110mph or crack the 10-second barrier in the 0-60 sprint.

The gold BBS wheels on the Jet Black 1986 528e in the picture are Peak Eighties. I want to pop a vaporwave mix tape in the Blaupunkt and go cruising. It was photographed in November of 2023 using a Nikon 1 V1 & 1 Nikkor 18.5mm f/1.8 lens.