Driving Line’s 7 Bad Truck Trends from the 1980s
Look I was born in the 80’s so I didn’t quite live through them with the memory of a high schooler or a formative youth. The 90’s defined me tad more.
However, I cannot help remember the gaudy colors, acid wash jeans and leg warmers? Let’s not forget, big hair, mullets, and all that music with too much synthesizer. Thanks Phil Collins.
Men with pickups were not immune to any of these trends either and it oozed into the design of their trucks. What were some of the worst offenders? Here’s some of them thanks to our friends over at Driving Line.
Neon Paint Jobs
Neon, neon, neon with horrible clip-art style graphics. Yeah, this was cool at some point and thank heaven it was left in the 80’s. Twisted Customs made a tribute paint job for Hal Frost’s buggy that shines with heinous paint and graphics.
Triple-Double Roll Bars
Remember the Toyota from Back to the Future, while one of the best examples of most everything on this list, the Triple-Double roll bar behind the cab and bolted into the bed. These roll bars did nothing since many were not connected to the frame of the vehicle. We think it was just a hand rail for buxom bikini babes that wanted to ride in the bed while you drove with one hand while you clutched a Bud in your left.
Those Damn KC Daylighters
Those triple-double rollbars provided the perfect place to mount a bank of KC Daylighters. KCs dominated the aftermarket lighting accessories market. Whether No one cared if they worked because you only got them so you could cover them with smiling KC light covers.
Chrome
Ugh…Chrome. Everything that could possibly be chromed in the 80s was sent out to be plated, from grilles to rollbars to shocks.
Super Wide Tires
There was no such thing as “too wide” in the 80s. Bigfoot reigned supreme in the Monster Truck world and everyone wanted their own mini monster truck. The problem is that super wide tires only functioned well in snow and sand, and on the road they were simply for appearance.
Bench Seats
Not too sure we’ll consider this a negative because bench seats are awesome and back in the 80’s they were plush and bouncy.
Wing Windows
While horrible for maintaining vehicle security, wing windows did provide a natural means of cooling the interior of the cabin when your air-conditioning breaks down.
