Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Somerset, Kentucky

I would guess the Iron Duke. I knew someone who had a Skylark or Somerset Regal coupe (can't remember the year now) with the Iron duke and a stick shift, and he and his wife got something like 190-200,000 miles out of it, before getting rid of it. I don't think anything actually failed on it, but they were just getting tired of it. I've known a few people with Cavalier Z-24's, with the 2.8 V-6, and those things tended to blow a head gasket by 80-90,000 miles, it seemed.

I don't think I've ever ridden in an X-car, but I've sat in a few. Compared to the N (Grand Am, Corsica, Beretta, etc), I think they were roomier and more comfortable. But then, I guess that would make sense, as the X-car went on to become GM's intermediate (Celebrity et al), whereas the N-car was just a slightly enlarged version of the J-car (Cavalier etc) Cars like the Celebrity were bigger overall than the Citation, as much as a foot longer, as I recall. But, most of that length went into the styling...longer front-end to make it look more impressive, and a longer rear, which did bump trunk space up from around 14 to 16 cubic feet. But interior-wise, I think they were close. I think the roof was a bit taller on the A-body from the B-pillar back, so perhaps there was a bit more head room in the back. The X-body could also be trimmed out pretty nicely inside. The Citation was really cheap in entry-level trim, but I don't think the upper trim levels were bad. And the Phoenix, Omega, and especially the Skylark could be quite luxurious in the top trim levels. In contrast, I don't think the Corsica, or Grand Am, ever looked that nice inside, no matter what the trim level. Just too much hard plastic, odd shapes, etc. But the Calais and Somerset Regal/N-body Skylark could be pretty nice.

Whatever year they stretched the rear quarters a bit, and whenever they started using the 4.5 liter, I always thought a dark green Eldo might make a nice used (excuse me, 'pre-owned' in Cadillac-speak!) car. I don't think they ever did stretch the rear quarter panels on the '86-91 Eldorado, although they did on the Riviera for 1989, and I think the Toronado got it for 1990. Sometime around 1988, maybe 1989, they did give the Eldorado a bit of a "power bulge" in the hood that gave it a bit more presence. And I think it was also 1989 that they started using the 4.5, but not positive on that. I used to have all that stuff memorized, but I've found that, as time goes on, I tend to pull a Ronald Reagan moment from time to time! Those shrunken '86 E/K bodies were designed for a bleak future with expensive, scarce gasoline and ultra-restrictive fuel economy standards, but by the time they were released, gas was cheap and free-flowing again, and there were enough loopholes to keep the economy standards at bay, so these cars really came out at the wrong time. Plus, once buyers found out they were going to be downsized, they rushed out to buy one of the last '85's, while they could still get one. Plus, the market was starting to shift, anyway, and coupes were beginning to lose their popularity. Another problem is that GM launched the N-body Grand Am, Calais, and Somerset Regal coupes the year before, cars that were very similar in style, looked close in size (to my eye, at least, the '86 Eldorado/et al actually looked smaller than they really were), but much less expensive.

I thought the N-body Grand Am, Somerset Regal/Skylark, and Calais were good looking for the time as well, although the Grand Am had a pretty bad interior. When I graduated college in 1985, I moved home to California and needed to buy a car. I looked at both an '86 Grand Am as well as an '86 Mustang (4-cyl). Neither really impressed me, so I ended up buying a year old, 17K mile '85 Accord LX hatch. Malaise is the right word. On the Mopar front, I thought the LeBaron GTS and Dodge Lancer were really sharp looking. And Chrysler was actually putting some fairly nice interiors into most of their cars at the time. Concur. Especially with the 140 HP (!) turbo 2.2L engines that were available. I liked the 5-door hatch configuration. Mazda offered a turbo 2.0L 5-door 626 at the time as well.

Stylewise, I prefer the Corsica/Beretta to the Tempo/Topaz, but I always hated the interiors. Not that the interior of the Tempo/Topaz was anything to write home about. I thought the N-body Grand Am, Somerset Regal/Skylark, and Calais were good looking for the time as well, although the Grand Am had a pretty bad interior. The Buick and Olds seemed decent on the inside, though. Again, for the time. On the Mopar front, I thought the LeBaron GTS and Dodge Lancer were really sharp looking. And Chrysler was actually putting some fairly nice interiors into most of their cars at the time.