2021 was another positive year for Eighties Cars. Though I had a major medical issue in the spring that involved surgery and meant no posts for four months, we still managed 16 new or substantially revised blog entries—one every 23 days on the average. Posts counts were divided into nine featuring a specific car, three covering auctions, and four miscellaneous posts.
Just one marque made its first appearance in a specific post in 2021, and that was Bentley. 2021 was by far the best year for page views since I started the blog—we were up a frankly astounding 144% over 2020.
Every year, I look at the end of the year results for the blog’s most viewed posts. For 2021, it once again looked like the key to an individual post’s popularity was often in the rarity of the other coverage available for that particular vehicle. It also didn’t hurt to be a Buick, a Chevrolet, or a Mercury. This year, there was one more obvious pattern—fully half of the top ten posts were for vehicles that had not previously been present in the top ten. In reverse order, we’ll discuss the top ten most viewed posts of this year.
10) 1987 Chevrolet Caprice Classic coupe—this elderly (April 2014) but evergreen post is about the last of the big Caprice coupes. For the eight years Eighties Cars has been around, it’s the fifth most viewed post overall, but it slid down four spots in 2021. Chevrolet sold a mere 3,110 coupes in the 1987 model year.
9) 1985 Buick Somerset Regal coupe—this post has been picked up by other websites a few times, including a couple of years ago by Jalopnik. Hilariously, I don’t think I would have ever gotten around to writing about the Somerset Regal if I hadn’t seen one on the streets of Philadelphia back in 2014. Sharply down from its #1 spot in 2020, but still the second most popular entry all-time.
8) 1987 Mercury Lynx XR3 hatchback coupe—this post dropped from #2 in 2020 and is now the fourth most popular all-time. Mercury is, of course, an orphan make, but this blog entry has been viewed almost five times more than my write-up on the related 1981 Ford Escort hatchback coupe.
7) 1980 Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport coupe—Rally Sports are given short shrift by most late second-generation Camaros followers, with the Z28 getting far more attention. Despite this, Hagerty does track them—seeing them as worth $17,600 in #1/Concours condition and $10,600 in #3/Good condition with the best available LG4 V8. Up from #10 in 2020.
6) 1987 Mercury Cougar XR-7 coupe—the first new entry for this year is another Mercury and another car that Hagerty does not track (though they do track eighties Thunderbirds).
5) 1989 Buick Electra Park Avenue Ultra sedan—another new entry, the Ultra replaces two other Buicks that were in last year’s top 10.
4) 1984 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible—the most expensive Eldorado since the early 1960s was the only post written this year that made the 2021 top ten. According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, values are sliding up—a 1984 Eldorado convertible in #1/Concours condition is $34,400, with a far more normal #3/Good condition version going for $9,500.
3) 1986 Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta hatchback coupe—the Berlinetta is rarely written about, with almost all the attention to eighties Camaros going to the Z28 and the IROC-Z. Nevertheless, Hagerty tracks these cars, currently at $19,900 in #1/Concours condition, $12,000 in #3/Good condition for the version with the optional V8. This post held at #3 in 2021 and remains the all-time most popular entry.
2) 1985 Chevrolet C20 Suburban Silverado SUV—this is the first eighties SUV to make any year’s top 10. According to Hagerty, all the money for a 1985 C20 Suburban Silverado in #1/Concours condition is $28,600, with a more typical #3/Good condition example going for $13,400.
1) 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme coupe—a new entry in the yearly top ten and the new top dog, this post is already #3 all-time. It kind of makes sense—Cutlass Supremes were hugely popular in their day. Popularity evidently does not equal collectability, as Hagerty has yet to track eighties Cutlass Supreme values.
Five posts that did not make it into the top ten in 2021, after doing so in 2020 were those on the 1987 Buick LeSabre T Type coupe, the 1980 Buick Riviera S Type coupe, the 1989 Chevrolet Celebrity sedan, the 1980 Pontiac Grand Am coupe, and the 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Sport Hatch. The best performing Chrysler product post was on the 1980 Plymouth Horizon hatchback coupe (17th), while the best performing foreign car was the 1985 Volkswagen Cabriolet (14th). The highest-ranking Japanese car post was on the 1986 Honda Accord sedan (37th).
A post on the rise in the final quarter of 2021 was written about the 1980 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 coupe. Finally, eight vehicles cleared the all-time 1,000 Views count in 2021: 1980 Plymouth Horizon hatchback sedan, 1989 Buick Electra Park Avenue Ultra sedan, 1980 Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport coupe, 1985 Chevrolet C20 Suburban Silverado SUV, 1987 Buick LeSabre T Type coupe, 1989 Chevrolet Celebrity sedan, 1980 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 coupe, and 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme coupe. Once rare, exceeding 1,000 views is now common enough that I no longer write a post about it when it happens.
Thanks to all who viewed this blog in 2021!
Eighties Cars 