How many cars had powersteering in the 1980s?

Dsemaj

Dsemaj

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I was going to put this in Questions and Answers, but I thought it'd get more exposure here.

I was wondering, how many medium sized cars had power steering as standard back in the 1980s? I was thinking about other cars from the 1980s, and I was just wondering if my Bluebird was just basic as hell in comparison to it's competitors.
 
Dsemaj said:
I was going to put this in Questions and Answers, but I thought it'd get more exposure here.
Click to expand...

Kinda defeats the purpose of the section, don't ya think?
 
AFAIK in the 80s, powersteering was an option only.
Maybe some of the S class Benzes had it as standard, but nothing else.
Even my old 87 Golf had no power steering. And bigass tyres.

Parking = sweat
 
Mah volvo has powersteering!! And it was standard on the GLT model..
 
I think power steering was pretty much an optional extra back then or a part of the next trim level or spec for the vehicle.
 
avanti said:
power steering is for sissy boys!:mrgreen:
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Oh, no doubt! I love my manual steering.

@WellsieTRD ah, that seems to clear that up. Although my Bluebird was pretty much the top spec model, the GXE, and the next one up, GXE Ultra only had power windows and mirrors as far as I know, over the GXE. Do you know if the Corona had powersteering?
 
well My buick is a 1994 with power steering, but the 1981 on models also had it

my grand prix has power steering too

both of my cars are sort of large though
 
Kind of curious here, do all manual steering cars need to be manhandled at city speeds?

The ones I've driven needed alot of input to change direction quickly. I dread to think what a McF1 would be like. :eek:
 
Cars running a large scrub radius with big steering geometry (castor/KPI) have meaty steering at very low speeds. This serves two handy purposes:

1) You shouldn't steer when the car is stationary (it slowly tears the tyre sidewalls). At anything above that, you can steer a car without power steering unless it's incredibly heavy and has big geometry.

2) You shouldn't lie down to drive. The number of stupid people who cruise around with their head behind the b-pillar is ridiculous these days. Just because they did it in FnF does not mean it's cool or right. They also steered from the shoulders in FnF, and that looked downright moronic! Oh, and if you crash when lying down, you'll end up as a crumpled ball in the footwell. Sit up, and you can "manhandle" with ease, using the correct steering technique. :)

The payoff for non-assisted steering at speed is awesome. Even great power steering feels sticky in comparison, and the feedback and linearity just can't be matched. I would take the heavy parking-speed steering over that any day (because how often are you after parking performance vs. open road/track?!).

*hugs his 205*

On topic (well, moreso..): Power steering really took off around the time of the catalytic converter and crumple zones. People get stupid/lazy and crash a lot, car gets heavier/safer, car needs power steering, car needs emission control for the extra fuel. :p
 
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lol, that's a long time spent body building. :)

I've had the power steering go on a LWB mitsubishi pajero, it was like stirring set concrete. :p

Mind, we once removed the power steering on a volvo 240 to see if some of the rubberiness would go away (bored + spanners = fun). Boy did that steering load up as you got to 45 degrees or so, even with the boat-sized steering wheel! It was like steering a gokart with an elephant sitting in your lap.
 
Anything that was sold as "luxury" during this time in most cases had power steering. In the case of Toyota, I believe the the late 70s to very early 1980s Corolla received power steering.
 
My parents have a Transit van from 1987, without power steering :). It's a bit like driving a steamroller, but I still like the feedback you get and the (more) precise steering (which you need if you don't want to loose all the hard-earned speed in the corners).


By the way, Cubits, do you remember this:

Abarth65913.jpg
 
I think that power steering may have been standard on my Fairmont, and all the following Fox-bodies from '78 on. I've never seen a Fairmont or Fox Mustang without power steering. I may ditch it though. It has a tendency to puke a bunch of fluid every few hundred miles or so.
 
avanti said:
none of my cars are difficult to handle at city speeds, one has a tiny sports steering wheel and the other car has huge fat tires.
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Even when parking and slaloming between potholes? BTW, I never said it was difficult. I just had to put my arm into it.
 
Okay, most of the posters on this thread have been from non-US countries. NooDle, we've talked about the difference in equipment standards between the US and Europe, so this will come as no surprise to you.

Dsemaj: In the 80s, things like your Bluebird (or the US counterpart, the Maxima) usually came with the following as standard equipment, at least:

Power steering, power brakes, front discs, automatic transmission.

It's just a function of the US market - you must have the same or better features to compete in a class, its as simple as that. Often, makers will "one up" each other with a new feature as standard - and within two or three years, all the class will have it as standard.

If the car didn't come standard with all of those, it was a negligible cost option or included with a higher trim level. I do know that one of Nissan's big selling points in the 1980s was the fact that *all* their cars in the US came with power steering at no extra cost (at one point) and a secondary point was that a number of their cars had ZF-built rack-and-pinion steering systems lifted directly from the 3-series BMWs - the 300ZX being the best example of this.

All the GM, Ford, and Chrysler midsizers had power steering as a matter of course (thanks to the Japanese competition in the 70s). I think you *could* still get a stripper Toyota Camry with a stick and no power steering up until 88, but it was a special order model. The Cressida was never (IIRC) available without power steering. The Honda Accords *all* had power steering by 88, and I vaguely recall it was standard by 79.
 
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