Top 10 Facts About the Most Recalled Cars in US History: The 1980-85 GM X Cars (incl. the Citation)

I had two X-cars as company cars… an ‘81 Olds Omega with the Iron Duke and an ‘84 Buick Skylark with the V-6. I was driving 20k miles per year and both of them held up. Adam is correct. The interiors were comfortable and roomy and neither car stranded me. What I most remember was both of them had pronounced torque steer at full throttle and the 4-cylinder Omega was very crude… noisy with considerable vibration. The paint on both left much to be desired, as well.

The X-Cars were GM's first front-wheel-drive, transverse-engine cars, but not the first built in the USA by an American automaker -- that honor goes to the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon, introduced in 1978, although with the caveat that they were co-developed with Chrysler Europe and thus were not 100% American-designed. For the first few years they also used VW and Peugeot engines, rather than Chrysler's own. Speaking of which, VW also began manufacturing the Rabbit in their Westmoreland, PA plant in 1978; it was obviously a German-designed car, but the U.S.-built ones were called "Malibuized" because they had a softer suspension and color-keyed interior to suit American tastes. And as part of the deal to supply Chrysler with engines, VW got to use Chrysler-made automatic transmissions in their cars.

I would really like an in-depth video about the FWD A platform, the Chevrolet Celebrity, Pontiac 6000, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera and Buick Century

The X-cars had such promise but they arguably drove more loyal GM customers into the arms of imports than ever. Case in point was my uncle who was a die hard GM buyer from 1960 until his purchase of a new 1983 Skylark Limited V6. Loaded with every option and a beautiful velour interior…but the honeymoon was very short. The car was plagued with so many drivability woes, most notably a transmission failure at 13k miles. Adding all the recalls, he grew disgusted with the car and dumped it in early 1986 and purchased a new Toyota Camry. And he drove only Toyotas until his passing in 2017.

The beginning of the end for USA dominance in the Automotive Industry in America.

The X cars were rushed to market for a variety of reasons: GM (and Ford) were pressured to bring a small, fuel efficient car to market by the gov't in response to the 1973-74 oil embargo (it took the feds several years thereafter before being able to give the Big 3 direction regarding fuel economy - which included gov't incentives). In addition, the bean counters were working overtime cutting corners not just on engineering, but quality control. And in typical GM fashion, when they finally have the cars dialed in correctly, they cancel the program. 1984-85 X cars were not too bad for the era. GM did the same with the 1990/91 Reatta, 2000-2002 Eldorado, and 2018/2019 Impala (to name three). Good video!

I was a warranty admiistration in the years when the x bodies were introduced and they actuallly had over 20 recalls before they could be sold in fall 79

Summer, 1981....having had my learner's permit for a few months, my junior high science teacher stopped by my house with a brand new 1981 Chevy Citation 5 door hatch. The teacher had a summer job teaching behind the wheel. The Citation was supplied by a local Chevrolet dealership who loaned the school system new vehicles on a yearly basis. We spent a few days a week for a couple of weeks driving around town and learning the basics. The challenging thing was reversing and finding the rear sightlines....we managed to reverse into a concrete wall a few times but the 5 mph bumpers shrugged it off without issue. On a family vacation, I met someone who was also taking behind the wheel...and her school system was getting the "new K-cars" probably a Dodge Aries. The car was pretty well equipped...and was a white over cinnabar two tone paint combo with a dove gray velour interior. I remember the aroma of new car smell and mint flavored chewing gum...our teacher chewed gum constantly and had packs of gum stashed in the glove box. Probably to calm down while teaching new drivers in a new car that had to go back to the dealer at the end of the summer. We would go over the features....the teacher said he would tune the radio...he kept it off mostly and adjusted the climate control. We did get to try out the cruise control and the resume feature...which would cause the car to full throttle accelerate when engaged...and the iron duke would thrash in the background getting us up to 55 mph....the legal limit back then. The last day, he would invite a parent to join us and offer feedback on our driving skills. So my Mom joined us for a session. I had to work on my lane changes but other than that he was very happy with my driving ability. The Citation was a perfect car to learn on...not too big...not too small and not powerful enough to get into serious trouble. I would then start driving my parents cars....a G-Body Cutlass and a PA build VW Rabbit during the height of the Malaise era.

I always liked that sedan/hatchback design the X platform had, it's a good shape that I wish automakers used more.

My aunt won a 1982 Buick Skylark from Publisher's Clearinghouse. I remember it being a very nice looking car and asked her about it years later. She didn't have much good to say about it.

My Dad bought an ‘81 Pontiac Phoenix used in 1981. I think it was 9 months old when we got it. It was a GM employee’s car. It was an ok car. It completely rusted out and had to be repainted. The transmission blew when we were on a trip down south. My Dad won a an arbitration case against GM for the blown transmission. It was the first car that I drove. The brakes were terrible. The left side wheels would lock up before the right side. If you were not careful, you could go into a spin because of the brakes locking up. We kept the car until 1992. I learned a lot about driving from this car.

My parents had an '82 Citation 5-door with the V6. It was one of the first two cars I drove after getting my license in the summer of '87. They kept it until the fall of '89. It was actually kind of fun to drive - the V6 had way more oomph than my parents' '83 Sentra, and was a far more reliable vehicle; that Sentra was garbage. While GM studied the Lancia Beta and VW Dasher to learn about FWD compact cars, Volvo used the Citation as a test mule for the Volvo 850's 5 cylinder engine.

My parents bought a 1980 Pontiac Phoenix LJ hatchback in the spring of 1979. Red on red. Really turned heads as it just came out. We toured the Tarrytown NY assembly plant. Soon after delivery the parking brake broke. They had to replace the entire dashboard with a black one they repainted red. It looked terrible. We had the rear brake problems and steering morning sickness. It was my car through college and I really liked it.

While I agree that the A bodies were essentially spiritual successors to the X body, the late unlamented L-body: Chevrolet Corsica and Beretta deserve some mention in this evolution since they were marketed for almost a decade until return of the reimagined Malibu. A pretty much forgotten car…but might warrant a retrospective review.

It's unfortunate how the X cars turned out. They could have been so much more, and done so much better for GM. I remember how common they were in the early and mid 80's, but they thinned out fast even before 1990. Now, I can't remember the last time I've seen one.

Fun fact! The Chevrolet Citation and Buick Skylark were also sold in Japan

I would like to hear that V5 Diesel engine run 😊

Maybe I'd call myself an X car expert... I worked on many and owned a few. In fact, i was driving a $100 rotted out V6 stripper Citation coupe in 1988, repairing a Corvair at the curb in Montréal, when I met a guy who got me started in real estate, and that new career changed my life

Once again, learned a ton about a GM platform that I thought I was thoroughly knowledgeable about. Thanks Adam. Nearly a three year sub of your channel and really like your content (and fabulous car collection). Yes, would have preferred an X platform Cimarron over the Cavalier J-Car with chrome that our Cadillac District Sales Managers had to force on dealers to get better preferencing on faster moving, more profitable models. But it’s all part of automotive history that you document so well.

The 1980 Pontiac Phoenix was the last American car my family bought. Generations of our families have now purchased Hondas and Toyota. I can remember driving the car and it was great on gas, quiet unless under acceleration, and ran well until it didn't. The front seat bottom fell apart and the dealer couldn't get it run after about 30k miles. They just disconnected the pollution controls and plugged the vacuum lines with screws. It would barely idle and wouldn't accelerate and when it did it backfired. A neighbor went through several x and j cars unable to keep them running and kept trading them in. They then bought VW's.