From the motorhead perspective, 1980s cars were cool because they were the best of two worlds. They were modern in the sense of being fuel injected and using electronic engine management, but they weren’t so complex that you couldn’t work on them. They struck the perfect balance. I’ve got two cars from the 1980s — a Toyota and a BMW, both in headturningly excellent condition — and they are simply great cars.
From the cultural perspective, the 1980s was the last decade that was still rooted in traditional America. I was in elementary school in the 1980s and several of my teachers were women in their fifties, as was the principle, who set the tone for the school. They were educated and started their careers in the 1950s. That was the culture they taught, though of course somewhat modified by their experiences in the 1960s and 1970s. The 1980s was the last decade where people in power positions within the educational establishment had their roots in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Musicwise I’ll just post this as something good that the eighties gave us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG07WSu7Q9w
“From the motorhead perspective, 1980s cars were cool because they were the best of two worlds. They were modern in the sense of being fuel injected and using electronic engine management, but they weren’t so complex that you couldn’t work on them. They struck the perfect balance. I’ve got two cars from the 1980s — a Toyota and a BMW, both in headturningly excellent condition — and they are simply great cars.”
Amen to that. It was also the decade when performance cars reappeared; I still remember what big news it was when Ford brought back the Mustang GT (with its 2-bbl 302 packing a mighty 157-hp wallop).
“From the cultural perspective, the 1980s was the last decade that was still rooted in traditional America. I was in elementary school in the 1980s and several of my teachers were women in their fifties, as was the principle, who set the tone for the school. They were educated and started their careers in the 1950s. That was the culture they taught, though of course somewhat modified by their experiences in the 1960s and 1970s. The 1980s was the last decade where people in power positions within the educational establishment had their roots in the 1950s and early 1960s.”
As someone who graduated high school in the ‘80s (class of 1986, btw), I tell people I was among the last generation that was taught HOW to think rather than WHAT to think.