Good morning, Autopians! It’s an hour later than you feel like it should be, thanks to our old friend Daylight Saving Time. I’m here to help ease your mental jet lag with a couple of nicely preserved, low-mileage Chevrolets.
Friday, we took a trip east, and found slim pickings in the state of Maryland. (Lucky for us, the house-hunting is better than the car-hunting in those parts.) The prevailing opinion seemed to be that the idea of the old Pontiac wagon was pretty cool, but that particular one was just too far gone. Fixing up an old car is one thing, but literally pulling one out of a junkyard is next-level automotive resurrection, and as so often happens when bringing things back from the dead, it came back a little, well, wrong.
That little wine-colored Mercedes, on the other hand, is a gem. Yes, it can be outrun by a senior citizen on a Rascal, at least for the first twenty yards or so, but it’s in nice shape, and has hundreds of thousands of miles left in it. It was no contest at all, really. But I had to include that Pontiac; how often do you see a Catalina wagon for sale at all?
Moving on: We have a semi-regular feature here called “GM Hit Or Miss,” which celebrates the automotive juggernaut’s tendency to swing for the fences with a new idea. Sometimes it knocks it out of the park, and sometimes it swings at a stupid curveball and completely whiffs. Far more often, though, it tends to hit good predictable singles, little dribblers that slip past the shortstop for long enough to get on base. But hey, put enough of those little singles together, and you’ve got yourself on the scoreboard. All you have to do is not strike out in the meantime.
So here is a lesson in perseverance, in steadily improving and not messing with something that works. One of today’s cars is an evolution of the other. They both use the same basic powertrain – a 60-degree pushrod V6 coupled to a Turbo-Hydramatic 125C transmission – with eleven years of development and lessons learned between them. Let’s take a look.
1981 Chevrolet Citation – $5,900
Engine/drivetrain: 2.8-liter overhead valve V6, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: York, PA
Odometer reading: 43,000 miles
Operational status: Not expressly stated, actually
I can hear it now: “The Citation? A hit? All right; this guy has finally lost it.” But Chevy sold a million and a half of these things, in just five years, and applied lessons learned from it to generations of cars to follow. Yes, it was half-baked, rushed into production, and spawned a ton of recalls. But it sold. Put it this way: Encino Man was considered a hit, too.
The Citation, and its fellow X-body vehicles, were the first cars to use the 60-degree V6 that saw use in countless GM vehicles, both front- and rear-wheel-drive. Here, it displaces 2.8 liters, is fed by a two-barrel carburetor, and drives the front wheels through a three-speed automatic. This one has only 43,000 miles on it. The ad doesn’t expressly say how well (or even if) it runs, but for this price, at that mileage, it had better purr like a kitten.
It’s clean inside, but even as nice as this one is, you can see that these were not well-built cars. Fit and finish is all over the place, and the beige plastic is several different shades. The Citation has one feature inside that I always thought would be annoying: the radio is mounted vertically in the dash. The stock radio had the numbers on the dial oriented correctly, but if you installed an aftermarket stereo, you’d have to turn your head sideways to read it.
The plastic bumper filler panels are gone, of course, but otherwise it’s a time capsule to the early ’80s outside. And yes, that beige-over-red two-tone job was from the factory. You could get red over beige, too. Maybe it’s not just colors that need to come back, but multiple colors. And five-door hatchbacks definitely need to make a comeback.
1992 Chevrolet Beretta GT – $4,999
Engine/drivetrain: 3.1-liter overhead valve V6, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Shoreline, WA
Odometer reading: 41,000 miles
Operational status: “Must drive to appreciate” they say
The X-body was a bit of a fiasco for GM, but its basic layout had legs. The J, A, N, and L platforms were all developments of the basic front-wheel-drive X architecture: McPherson struts in front, beam axle in back, transverse engine, under economy cars, family sedans, wagons, and sporty coupes. It’s the same basic idea as Chrysler’s many K-car variants. But hey, everything on Taco Bell’s menu is made from like eight ingredients combined in different ways, too. It works for them.
The V6 had gained a little displacement and multi-port fuel injection by the time it found its way under the hood of this Beretta GT. It’s backed by the same three-speed automatic, not sophisticated, but fairly reliable. With only 41,000 miles on it, this one runs beautifully.
GM interiors were still not exactly luxurious in ’92, but they were a whole lot better put together. And these Berettas were pretty comfortable cars. Obviously, with the low mileage, it’s in beautiful condition. Anyone with any experience of GM cars of this era can look at this photo and know exactly what this car feels, sounds, and smells like inside. They’re all pretty much the same.
The GT had a few cool touches outside, like a rear spoiler, those fabulous basket-weave wheels, and flashy badges. This one looks like it just rolled out of a showroom in 1992. Even the headlights aren’t cloudy.
Yes, I know; they’re both expensive. I don’t set the prices. And really, if you look at what ’80s and ’90s nostalgia costs these days, these aren’t bad. They’re both clean, low-mileage cars that are sure to start conversations at any gearhead gathering. All you have to do is choose a generation.
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
The Beretta had me at “fuel injection.” Also, its design has aged extremely well.
I don’t share the commentariat’s antipathy toward the Citation, though I also noticed the weird paint situation that Dr. Barth mentioned. But this particular example is especially mumsy, and while I don’t mind the prices on either car (especially given the apparent condition), the premium for the Citation makes no sense.
The Beretta looks like a car you might actually voluntarily pay money for and drive because you like it. The Citation looks like something you drive because it’s been sitting in Grandma’s garage for a while and she, umm, doesn’t need it anymore.
Facts. I had a Citation. It was given to me by my great grandpa because he was no longer driving. He had only purchased it so there was something nicer than his pickup and an automatic in case my great grandma had to drive–she had never driven, but she figured she could put it in drive and go if there was an emergency. After she died, I don’t think he ever drove it again.
Always wanted a late model Beretta GTU etc, they were handsome cars for the time!
Beau needs to buy that Citation for the Galpin Studio Rental fleet, and the next time Jason gets to LA he can drive it and admire how it’s loaded with the (optional!) amber rear turn signals.
Seriously, they were bundled with the chrome trim around the windows and those pinstripes. Yes, they were factory- and not dealer-installed.
Beretta, please.
It is in excellent shape and is much less tragic than the Citation.
However, I have questions about the Citation – specifically about the paintwork. In pictures 9 and 13 in the CL ad there appears to be red paint peeking through the beige. Pic 9 has it in the door jamb, around the top hinge of the rear door, and pic 13 shows red paint under the beige in the area where the front door closes.
I was wondering why there was a long piece of wood in the cargo area. Then I noticed that the shadow of the photographer seems to show one arm holding the hatch open.
NO WEEZING THE JUU-UUUICE!
Yep. All factory. They likely sprayed the red first without masking, then masked and sprayed the beige. Typical of the time.
I thought that might be the case: the underhood part looks pretty good.
However, it would have made more sense to paint the car beige first, since that’s maybe 80% of the surface area, and then mask off and paint the red at the bottom; that way the rockers, etc. would have an additional layer of protection. Then again, making sense wasn’t always part of GM’s process. 🙂
Hey it was a Chevy, not a Ford, so you can’t expect quality to be job #1.
Much less tragic, but tragic nonetheless. Such is low-end Chevies.
If the Citation was an X11 with a clutch pedal it would be different, but as it is the Beretta gets the nod.
+1. I was typing up the exact same response.
I learned to drive a stick in my father’s 82 Citation X11. It was a 4 speed manual with the HO 2.8 V6, made a nice snarl when you got on it… Citations were generally junk as stated but the one my dad owned was the exception somehow. After upgrading to an 85 Monte Carlo SS the Citation got passed around to family and friends before ending up back in my dad’s garage in the 90s where he kept it working and looking good long after all other Citations had been shredded up (and made into new Berettas?). It was still working well when I borrowed it to move into my home in 1997, towing a trailer no less!
Initially after seeing the header images I thought about the Citation, as it is a survivor car. When’s the last time you saw one on the road? But then I remembered the Citation.
So I went Beretta. Seats look comfy.
Fun fact… the first car I ever drove on public roads was a Beretta. I’ll take it today with my fake internet money.
The ad also says the title says “miles are exempt on the title.” It looks pretty clean, but it may not be 43,000 miles. Odometer rolls over at 100k on the Citation.
If it had 143k, the driver’s seat would be trashed.
You’re probably right, but that exempt mileage mention feels like the 43k might be wrong.
I had the vinyl seats, so I have no experience with how the cloth holds up, but my interior looked pretty good at the end despite not being treated kindly.
If it had 143k, it’d be orange powder at the bottom of a junk yard.
I should choose the Beretta, but my sister had a blue one and it was a genuine POS. Can’t do it.
Each are too high. The Citation is a real pos car, the great brake system almost killed my Dad way back then. Fuck GM.
The Beretta is a better car though. Do I care to ever own an example of either of these shitboxes? No. YMMV
Good job today Mark, thanks.
Yeah this is too easy. The blue interior, the beer-tap door handles, those gorgeous rims- this is close to peak Baretta.
I did know someone in high school who had a Citation X-11 with a 4-speed. It was an ok car, pretty quick and not a bad handler either. At the time it was brand-new and I have no idea if it lasted. The Citation would have to be that car and PERFECT to win this one.
Went Beretta myself if for nothing more than MPFI.
What’s with the shade? Encino Man is a cinematic masterpiece!!!
The cheese has grown old and moldy!
El queso es viejo y potrido, donde esta el sanitario?
It has two future Oscar winners! Brendan Frasier is genuinely great in it! The juice is weezed!
Brendan Fraser is great, but Pauly Shore annoys the crap out of me.
Encino Man is easily his best movie because he’s a supporting role in it (and because Stoney is mostly a well-meaning doofus as opposed to an oblivious slacker, like some of his other roles).
Always liked the Beretta, particularly with the revised interior seen here.
If you could find one that would fit, sure. But you’re probably installing one under the dash and wiring in new speakers. Connecting the dash speakers to anything other than the basic factory AM radio blows them out almost immediately.
Source: I installed a CD player (and speakers) into my 1981 Chevy Citation in the 90s.
We always just put them in the glovebox. Less chance of a nice stereo getting stolen and just easier from a wiring standpoint. Just left the original sitting in place and since we mostly listened to tapes, hardly had to touch it while driving.
That probably would have been an easier install, but we made do with the under dash solution. Luckily, there was plenty of space under trim pieces for speaker wire. One benefit of the loose construction, I guess.
The Citation is Grade A Prime malaise, I can’t recall the last time I saw one here in PA. I didn’t hate them as a kid, I actually liked the look of the 5 door hatch, particularly in X-11 guise. Never rode in one but rode in plenty of A-bodies to know it is meh at best. BTW – that car has no inspection sticker so has likely not been registered here. It is an out of state import.
Beretta. And that’s the name of that tune
Don’t do da crime if ya can’t do da time. Excuse me, I need to go shoot my wife.
COTD
And keep your eye on the sparrow.
Too soon?
Don’t go to bed with a price on your head
And his alibi was that he had to go retrieve his gun for the restaurant table.
Beretta for sure.
Buddy of mine has a GTU back in high school (00/01) so it was an 11-12 year old car for the time but I always loved the look of the GTU and I can appreciate the same with this blue one.
Regardless of the diverse presentations and common ingredients, everything from Taco Bell eventually winds up in the toilet. So, too, the fate of these cars Taking the Citation simply because it’s virtually extinct. Berettas, however, beaten, are still out there.
Beretta. Both are built terribly, but at least the Beretta has a chance to survive as a weekend driver. The Citation was designed during the Malaise Era and GM’s period of hatred for small cars and thus I have no faith in it. I still don’t want it dead and would take it *with* the Beretta, but since I can only choose one I’ll leave the Citation behind.
The Citation is an absolute penalty box of the highest order. We had one when I was a kid, and I’ve never recovered from the shame.
That Baretta is the Dean’s peanuts! Gets my vote!
The original Beretta in ’88 did look very fresh and modern to my middle school eyes. Not the design breakthrough the original Taurus was but they were common and seemed a window to the future.
Same here. I recall the ads, with one rising up out of the ocean for some reason. Sharky, I guess.
What’s interesting about the Beretta is that it only ever had one body, never refreshed, so the entire production run looks basically the same.
All they did was simplify the exterior trim really. More monochromatic/sporty and not an improvement on all trim levels. Never bought one in my youth but plenty were available. My W-body at least had overdrive.
Mine was the monochrome. Which even at the time, I missed the contrast black trim of the earlier ones.
Beretta for me. Owned one in the ’90s, and it was quite decent for what it was.
Lesser appreciated perhaps is that GM absolutely nailed it with the Beretta’s seats. They hit the sweet spot between comfortable and supportive – decent bolstering, and the velour fabric texture works great for providing you a little extra glue to keep you in place.
Perhaps the best overall seat of any car I’ve owned.
Also points for this one NOT having GM’s failed seatbelts-in-the-door experiment that mine did. I tried it as advertised (keep it buckled, slide in and out) exactly once.
God those were awful. The ’88 W-body I had in college had them. Yep, tried it just once.
It amuses me how MotorWeek always keeps them buckled and slides under. Seeing someone do it demonstrates what a dumb idea it was.
My 1990 Sunbird has them (the door-mounted seatbelts) and I have tried the “leave them buckled” thing exactly once as well.
The door-mount belts were so ubiquitous at GM into the early 90s I forget they had cars that didn’t have them. It’s almost more strange the Corsica/Beretta had ‘normal’ belts and an airbag, considering the redesigned neighboring N-bodies still kept door belts and no airbag in their 1992 redesign, and the larger W-bodies kept door-mount belts until ~95. And then GM switched back to door-mount belts on the L-body in ’94 again with the passive restraint law.
Where’s the ‘I want Both’ option when you need it?!
The Beretta is objectively the better car, but, something about the Citation – probably that they all but don’t exist anymore. Looks to have had a terribly cheap repaint at some point, but, the beige fits it. Overpriced a bit in my opinion, but, it’s still such a cheap price.
Trust me, you do not want that Citation for any reason.
Oh, I can assure you, I most certainly do.
As someone who had to ride in the back seat of one to Disney World for 18hrs, I promise you you don’t. Sometimes, malaise is just malaise. This turd is the embodiment of malaise. My folks didn’t keep it long because it was an unreliable heap.
For a thousand bucks less, I’ll take my shot with the Beretta!