Class of 1987

The March 2012 issue of my Classic Car Magazine prompts an interesting consideration.
The Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) considers anything older than 25 years a so-called “classic-car,” eligible for judging as an antique at car-shows.
This means the 1987 model-year becomes a “classic” this year.
To me this is laughable.
I have a hard time imagining I’d get turned on by a beautifully-restored ’87 Chevrolet Caprice stationwagon at a car-show.
Or an ’87 Mustang. Or a Turbo Thunderbird. Or a GMC Safari minivan.
Well, the first Ford Taurus is a landmark car, the car that saved Ford Motor Company.
I remember renting one in Denver, and I was impressed.
The only thing wrong was the power-steering, which felt like cold molasses.
Ford’s attempt to give it European steering-feel crashed.
Otherwise it was really good. I rented a Chevy Corsica a few months later and it was awful.
But the only notable car for 1987, the one that qualifies as a classic, is the Cadillac Allanté, an attempt by Cadillac to market a megabuck performance roadster to compete with the Mercedes SL.

Allanté roadster.

The Allanté debuted in the 1987 model-year, and was an almighty stretch for Cadillac.
The underpinnings were Cadillac, but the styling and body were by Pininfarina of Italy (“pin-in-fer-IN-ya”).
(Pininfarina is responsible for many Ferraris.)
In fact, Allantés were started in Italy, and then shipped to Cadillac's Detroit/Hamtramck plant for completion.
Making for the world’s longest assembly-line.
The only thing wrong with the Allanté was that it was front-wheel-drive, using pretty much the standard GM front-wheel-drive platform.
Everything else in its market-segment was rear-wheel drive, and the opinion of sportscar-wags was that a megabuck performance roadster should be rear-wheel drive.
Supposedly front-wheel-drive was not Cadillac’s decision.
But it’s hard to imagine Cadillac reconfiguring everything just to meet that requirement.
But build it they did, and the Allanté is the most memorable car of the 1987 model-year.
If I saw one at a car-show I’d be impressed.
And that’s despite its disco styling.
A 1987 Chevrolet El Camino maybe, but a Chevette or a Dodge Diplomat are forgettable.