The Hits and Misses of 1984

Go back four decades and you’ll discover something of a vintage year for new models, and no matter what sort of car you were after there was almost certain to be something that appealed.

But whatever your taste in cars it would be fair to say that some of those models can be considered more of a hit than others, so lets start by taking a look at the ones that grabbed the attention. And where better to start than with the pair of Ferraris we talked about previously, and that stood out from the crowd like few other cars. Popular? You bet.

All images provided by Magic Car Pics: https://www.magiccarpics.co.uk

The W124 generation of Mercedes-Benz was rather more understated than the Italian pair, but it was certainly a hit with buyers that appreciated the comfort and quality. Available as a saloon, coupe, cabriolet and estate more than 2.5 million were made before its replacement arrived in 1996 and this German classic is still sought-after today.

Our next car had its share of quality and reliability issues but the Montego proved very popular with families and company reps alike. So much so that 546,000 Austin/Rover versions were sold along with 23,000 of the hot MGs. And Renault’s Espace can only be considered a hit given how popular the MPV recipe would become; sales might have started slowly but more than 191,000 Mk 1s were sold and more generations would follow.

Which brings us to some cars from 1984 that didn’t quite captivate buyers for one reason or another. The Reliant Scimitar SS1 was the last design of the great Giovanni Michelotti, and the fun-to-drive sports car was launched right here in Birmingham at the British International Motor Show. Just 1507 made in ten years can only be viewed as disappointing, though.

Could something as stylish as the Alpine GTA and A610 be considered a miss? Okay, not when it comes to looks and performance but despite the promise it didn’t quite hit the mark in the UK. Perhaps it was badge snobbery but just 582 were made in right-hand drive. Its replacement, the A610, fared worse still and just 818 were made with 67 in right-hand drive. They are still very tempting today, though…

The last car that we think didn’t do as well as it should have done is the Lancia Thema, a large saloon that had plenty going for it from lively performance to a comfortable cabin. But production of 336,000 saloons wasn’t a big number compared to other upmarket models, which was a shame because it’s an interesting classic today.