Editing 1980s (section)

===Automobiles===
The American auto industry began in the 1980s in a thoroughly grim situation, faced with poor quality control, rising import competition, and a severe economic downturn.<ref>{{cite magazine|url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,924408-8,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071130033908/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,924408-8,00.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 30 November 2007 |title=Detroit's Uphill Battle |magazine=Time |date=1980-09-08 |first1=Alexander |last1=Taylor |first2=Christopher |last2=Redman |first3=Barrett |last3=Seaman |access-date=2015-04-18}}</ref> [[Chrysler]] and [[American Motors]] (AMC) were near bankruptcy, and Ford was little better off.<ref>{{cite magazine| first1=Alexander |last1=Taylor |first2=Christopher |last2=Redman |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922223-2,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121105153045/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922223-2,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= November 5, 2012|title=Detroit's Road Is Still Rocky |magazine=Time |date=1980-12-15 |access-date=2015-04-18}}</ref> Only [[General Motors]] (GM) continued with business as usual. But the auto makers recovered with the economy by 1983, and in 1985 auto sales in the United States hit a new record. However, the Japanese were now a major presence, and would begin  manufacturing cars in the US to get around tariffs. In 1986, [[Hyundai Motor Company|Hyundai]] became the first Korean auto maker to enter the American market. In the same year, the Yugoslavian-built [[Zastava Koral|Yugo]] was brought to the US, but the car was so small and cheap, that it became the subject of jokes. It was sold up to 1991, when economic sanctions against Yugoslavia forced its withdrawal from the American market.

As the decade progressed, cars became smaller and more efficient in design. In 1983, [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] design teams began to incorporate aerodynamic styling to decrease drag while in motion. The [[Ford Thunderbird|Thunderbird]] was one of the first cars to receive these design changes. In 1985, Ford released the [[Ford Taurus|Taurus]] with a design that was revolutionary among domestic mass market automobiles.

GM began suffering significant losses in the late 1980s, partially the result of chairman [[Roger Smith (executive)|Roger Smith]]'s restructuring attempts, and partially because of increasingly dated cars. An example were customers who increasingly purchased European luxury cars rather than [[Cadillac]]s. In 1985, GM started [[Saturn Corporation|Saturn]] (the first new American make since the Edsel), with the goal of producing high-quality import fighters. Production would not begin until 1990.

Chrysler introduced its new compact, front-wheel drive [[Chrysler K platform|K-cars]] in 1981. Under the leadership of [[Lee Iacocca]], the company turned a profit again the following year, and by 1983 paid off its government loans. A succession of models using this automobile platform followed. The most significant were the [[minivan]]s in 1984. These proved a to be popular and they would dominate the van market for more than a decade. In 1987, Chrysler purchased the Italian makes of [[Lamborghini]] and [[Maserati]]. In the same year, Chrysler bought [[American Motors Corporation|AMC]] from [[Renault]] laying to rest the last significant independent US automaker, but acquiring the hugely profitable [[Jeep]] line and continuing the [[Eagle (automobile)|Eagle]] brand until the late 1990s.<ref>{{cite news|last=Holusha |first=John |title=Chrysler is Buying American Motors; Cost is $1.5&nbsp;billion |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/10/business/chrysler-is-buying-american-motors-cost-is-1.5-billion.html |work=The New York Times |date=1987-03-10 |access-date=2015-04-18}}</ref>

The [[DMC DeLorean]] was the brainchild of [[John DeLorean]], a flamboyant former GM executive. Production of the gull-winged sports car began in Northern Ireland in 1981. John DeLorean was arrested in October 1982 in a sting operation where he was attempting to sell cocaine to save his struggling company. He was acquitted of all charges in 1984, but too late for the [[DeLorean Motor Company]], which closed down in 1983. The DeLorean gained renewed fame afterward as the time machine in the [[Back to the Future (series)|''Back to the Future'' film trilogy]].

The imposition of [[corporate average fuel economy]] (CAFE) fuel-mileage standards in 1979 spelled the end of big-block engines, but [[performance car]]s and [[convertible]]s reemerged in the 1980s. [[Turbocharger]]s were widely used to boost the performance of small cars, and technology from [[fuel injection]] began to take over from the widely used application of [[carburetors]] by the late 1980s. Front-wheel drive also became dominant.

The 1980s marked the decline of European brands in North America by the end of the decade. Renault, [[Citroën]], and [[Peugeot]] ceased importation by the end of the decade. [[Alfa Romeo]] would continue until 1993. [[Fiat Automobiles|Fiat]] also ceased imports to North America in the 1980s.