When poring over the pictures of today’s eBay find, I was reminded of something which perplexed me all the way back in my boyhood: cars whose tachometers didn’t rest at zero when the ignition was turned off. A little research suggests that not using a spring-load mechanism to pin the needle down when power was cut allowed more accurate, instantaneous engine speed readings, and a cynic could safely assume that it made for cheaper production. Either way, Mopars have traditionally been generous with their number of readouts, which were a rather fun way to show off an owner’s generously chosen specification.
As we know, the era which brought you such things as the talking dash was notable for conspicuous displays of “high-tech,” making digital dashes very popular. But there was nothing like a full set of analog gauges to clearly state a car’s (or marketing department’s) sporting intent, and as the ’90s wore on, these became less and less common. Especially noticeable are the lack of boost gauges in an era where the turbocharged, direct injection engines have become mainstream and I miss these most, especially when mounted where passengers could see them.
Lest you think I’m partial to Chrysler, check out this Rallye Gauge package from Oldsmobile. Six neatly sited gauges where a ribbon speedo and gas gauge would normally sit add an extra dimension to the most mundane drive to the grocery store, though as a package, it’s less ’80s-specific than the Laser’s set-up with graph paper background.
When it came to standard instrumentation, imports usually had the Americans beat, but Japanese offerings outside North America were available with a bevy of wacky digital dash options, and in the case of the e90 Corolla, also with a full-width analog set-up. Who knew grandma’s Corolla could be equipped with a 9,000 rpm tach and an oil pressure gauge where the radio usually went? Talk about missing out.
At least the Supra and 300ZX offered the same effect, if only for a lot more money. I’d list the analog version of the Z’s dash as having close to being my favorite comprehensive instrumentation package from the era, but something a little simpler, or at least more concentrated in one place would be preferable.
Could more carmakers not have simply offered such options through the dealer, as Volvo did? There’s no boost gauge on this 240, and the five-speed M47 gearbox confirms this isn’t a turbo (boo hoo), but there’s no denying the appeal of having all auxiliary gauge and switch slots occupied. The analogue tuner and overseas climate control panel complete the effect.
Now that you’re feeling inspired by all these shining examples of gauges gone wild, what are your favorite complete analog instrumentation set-ups from the era?
I remember the “graph paper” background which for me seemed to start around 1988 or so…I remember a rental car (probably a Cavallier) that had round speedometer and other instruments, and wondering what function (except for styling) the graph paper backgrond had…not that it didn’t look good, but it wasn’t like you were “plotting” speed or gas level, you were looking at instantaneous not trend data…
I liked the instrument panel on my Mk1 Scirocco…neat looking, and it kept the controls
“high up” without having to have a massive central console…I wish VW kept this “ergonomic” design without going to the same central console focus like they do today…with heater and radio mounted much lower.
I didn’t particularly like how my Mk2 GTI instrument panel looked (too many blank switch positions around the speedometer/tach)…that seemed to be a trend in the
’80s where they clustered bunches of controls “around” the steering wheel.
The oddest one to me was the ’86 Mitsubishi Galant, which had an odd “flipper” turn signal pod kind of like the old chrysler turn signal levers mounted on a pod to the left of the wheel, then had HVAC controls on a pod on the other side…undoubtedly handy but how often do I need to adjust the HVAC to justify the “premium” accessabily position near the steering wheel? They also had the wheel mounted remote radio controls.
Also, seemed like most of the “premium” stereos had graphics equilizers on them…don’t see this much at all now, but that was considered to be “high end” stereo (along with auto-reversing tape decks).
The other wierd marketing thing I remember from the 80’s was the overuse of the “turbo” word…even on things without what I thought was turbocharger…such as “Turbo Pascal” or “Turbo C”…I also still think of the mid-80’s Nissan 350ZX commercial when I hear the word “awesome”…remember the commercial where after the guy finishes driving he does a long whistle followed by the single word “awesome”. Makes me think the guy was able to drive over deep water without the car sinking or something…like everything is “awesome” including some pretty mundane stuff.
Unless I scanned too fast – can’t believe no one has nominated the Subaru XT – it was a video game in a car!
That’s not a Subaru XT cluster, the XT had 2 bar graph lanes on each side of the car, representing boost and tach, making it look like something from Pole Position.
Someone mentioned it a few posts above.
That Olds cluster brings back memories. After one of my junk yard expeditions I brought one home for my father’s Oldsmobile. Told him it would look much better than the bar speedo/idiot light cluster that was in his Cutlass.
He gave me his ever popular “you pissing money away on dumb crap” look that I saw all to often back then….and he had the cluster installed by the next weekend.
Check out this page for a great rundown of some 80’s to early 90’s GM dashes:
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f19/look-back-some-early-gm-digital-dashboards-109305/
Similar to the Daytona/Laser, the OmniRizon cars also offered surprisingly complete (optional) instrumentation for basic econoboxes. I’ll admit that looking at these gauges in my ’84 Turismo made it feel “sporty,” though in reality they were the only aspect of the car that did. (Well, except for the tape stripes, of course.)
I also liked how the pattern of the warning lights in the right pod (sort of) resembled the Plymouth fratzog from the sixties.
Photo is from AllPar.
Well it is from the 1980’s and it is attached to a 1980’s car so I am choosing the dash from K.I.T.T
I can still hear William Daniels “Michael” voice…
I like the Buick Regal T-Type/Grand National LED tachometer and boost gauge.
Wasn’t there a optional cluster on a Eurosport Chevy Celebrity that had a tach like that?
Yes, I think It was in the PRNDL square when you got a floor shifter. Even rarer is a Celebrity police spec cluster with a 120mph certified speedometer.
The first 2 photos are from a Turbo Dodge Shadow right?
Are you kidding me? I guess I have to represent.
Another big French car that gave you the spaceship feeling !
I was wondering when somebody would nominate the CX. Although I admire the early series, I have a slight preference for dashboard in the second-series GTi I used to have – nice combination of analog gauges with the switch-pods.
70’s dash.
Up to 1984. The ’85 and on dash was the one I saw in my Prestige:
And just in case you didn’t get enough with the CX, allow me to present the GSA:
Not really a car, but I always liked the dash on the McDonnell Douglas MD-88…which first flew in 1988 🙂
It has been about ten years but I spent many days rewiring the panels in -30 and MD-82. It takes about an hour to pull all three main panels out, all wires up thru 20 cannon plugs.
Porsche 944:
Some mentioned a few I forgot. I will post them.
1988 Pontiac Grand Prix:
1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme:
1988 Buick Regal:
Pontiac 6000 STE:
1988 Lincoln Town Car:
cant believe no one else has mentioned the mk1 austin metro
OK, I know it dates from the 70s, but what about the Porsche 928 with the instrument binnacle that tilts with the steering wheel? I prefer MB green lacklighting to BMW red backlighting, whatever that’s worth. I do miss oil pressure and coolant temp gauges…especially with a worn out old car, it’s nice to know what’s going on under the hood. My W126 would get hot if it idled too long on a really hot day…had to watch the temp gauge creeping up, and the oil pressure creeping down, sitting in the drivethrough line at Sonic.
I don’t know what model the car is or year but it looks cool