The 1980 Citation was the most important new product for Chevrolet in a generation. Learn all the ins and outs of the compact front-drive sedan in this original GM dealer film.
In watching this six-minute dealer video, the casual observer could be forgiven for assuming that General Motors invented the transverse front-wheel drive chassis configuration for passenger cars. Okay, not really. As all enthusiasts probably know, the credit for that breakthrough generally goes to Sir Alec Issigonis, creator of the BMC Mini in 1959. (Learn about the groundbreaking Mini here.) But when the Chevrolet Citation was unveiled in April of 1979, it was the first passenger car from GM to utilize the highly efficient layout—that is, as part of a corporate lineup of X-body compact front-drive vehicles that also included the Buick Skylark, Oldsmobile Omega, and Pontiac Phoenix.
A huge departure for the automaker, the GM X-body platform took more than five years to develop. And while the engineering was ambitious indeed, the critics will add that the execution was lacking in some areas. The X-cars were plagued with build-quality and reliability issues, followed by a lengthy string of product recalls. For its final two years of production in 1984-85, the Chevy version was rebranded as the Citation II to signal to buyers that the problems had been addressed. (Fun fact: Originally, the Citation was to be named the Condor.)
Despite its well-known shortcomings, the X-body program spun off the larger and more successful A-body intermediate series from GM, and really, served as the springboard for all the transverse-front-drive GM cars that followed. In the wall-to-wall marketing blitz that launched the Citation, the slogan was “the first Chevy of the ’80s.” True enough, we suppose. Video below.
I’m ready, where can I buy one? Oh, what’s that you say, this is the first {or the second if you count the Vega as first} of the throw away cars from GM? None left on the roads? So much money spent, so many engineering hours spent, so much hype on what turned out to be almost as big a bust as the Edsel! These cars laid the foundation for a continuing policy from GM, build them to fall apart in 5 years so we can sell them another one! So much promise turned into so much junk. I haven’t seen one of these cars in 30 years. I still see 80’s Camaro’s and pickups, but these X bodies were worn out and thrown away in 5 years, so GM did still build some quality vehicles back then, just these weren’t some of them…
I wonder if the X cars were as bad as we remember them. They were new and radical so the problems tended to get a lot of attention. I was working as a service writer at the time and the customers liked them even though there were recalls.
The X-Cars were phenomenally package-efficient. My wife (then fiancé) bought an early Phoenix LJ 5-door. It’s combination of passenger, cargo space, and relative fuel efficiency were class leading.
But as the article states, the build quality was the worst of any of the dozens of cars in my 50 years of driving. The spare tire well was a swimming pool (water leak), the tail pipe rattled (no rubber insulator on the hanger), the carpet didn’t fit (gapped to the floor console), and the instrument panel was not attached to the body (it popped off after a minor railroad track jostle, landing on the front passenger’s knees… only the steering column prevented it from landing on the driver’s knees). This was all observed in the 1st 24 hours of ownership. Later in ownership, the shift knob fell off, the cotter pin that controlled the lateral shift gate (1/2 v. 3/4) came off (creating a 2-speed tranny), the notorious rear brakes would lock-up (causing involuntary spin-outs), and if that wasn’t enough of an insult, the engine caught fire 6 months after the warranty expired.
But the worst of the experience was the service experience. The concept of “customer satisfaction” didn’t exist back then.
Today, I’d have no hesitation at buying a new vehicle… except anything from Europe.