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Category Archives: Reseda C’1982 30th Reunion
The Class of 1982: The Prom
For a graduating senior in high school, the second-to-last rite of passage is the prom.
No matter where you live or how many are in your graduating class, the prom is a familiar sight. It is the one time prior to the graduation ceremony where you can live it up like rock stars – if only for one night. The ritual itself is the same: Asking for the date, going to get your dress or tuxedo, securing transportation and buying the tickets – not all in the same order. It is the only chance for the popular clique to shine and the shiest, geekiest, nerdiest guy to get a chance to live in the spotlight.
Where it deviates is the locale. Some towns may not have the luxury of a banquet center or hotel to hold their prom in as they do in larger communities. The gym is the safest place – assuring that school rules are adhered to onsite. The wealthier the communities, the stakes are raised. Only the best hotels, the best limousines and the best outfits arrive in style.
Not to mention the level of nonsense that you’d find at proms are raised according to community as well.
So, in essence, the 1982 Reseda High School Senior Prom, held at the Sheraton-Universal hotel next to Universal Studios, was just like any other prom anywhere across the country. For the sake of argument, it was. Continue reading
The Class of 1982: Reflection and Reunion
Tweet “It used to be our playground.” All photos by Randy Stern The date has been announced – the 30th Reunion is on! It is a long time until August 11. It seems there is enough time to research airfares, … Continue reading
Five Favorites for a Hometown’s Centennial
Tweet Home. Photo by Randy Stern The memo never crossed my desk… It was supposed to be a big memo – one that crosses civic pride, heritage and my current work. I had to get my information from YouTube from … Continue reading
The Class of 1982: Beyond Zuma 9
Tweet Photo courtesy of the Ford Motor Company. The world did not end at the Pacific Ocean. I knew this was true. Some friends went outward beyond the ocean to places I could only dream of going. Australia was of … Continue reading
Posted in Automobile History, Reseda C'1982 30th Reunion
Tagged Citroen, Ford, GM, Holden
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The Class of 1982: The Legacy
The one vehicle that was introduced during my senior year in high school played a significant part in my life. It helped shape the first 11 years of my driving life. It’s timing could not be any better.
Just like my first car – it was from General Motors.
While the clock continued to tick for the end of 1981, GM indicated that they weren’t finished with their flood of new products. Their next step was to introduce a line of mid-sized sedans aimed to eventually replace its already-downsized rear-drive models. The old A-Bodies were GM’s bread-and-butter. The Oldsmobile Cutlass lineup was the best selling passenger car in the USA. To replace it would affect sales of the entire company.
The plan was to retain the old rear-drive A-Bodies, but rename them as the G-Cars. That meant a consolidation of several lines across the board. The Buick Century sedan took the Regal name, while all rear-drive Cutlasses were known as Supremes. Pontiac was left without a full-sized car in the USA, so the former Grand LeMans became the Bonneville Model G.
The new A-Bodies rolled out on extended front-drive platforms that appeared to be better executed than the X-Cars. Buick’s Century name appeared on their new front-drive mid-sizer, while Oldsmobile adopted the Cutlass name by adding Ciera at the end. Chevrolet introduced their A-Body as the Celebrity, while Pontiac simply used a numeric nomenclature on theirs: The 6000. Continue reading
Posted in Automobile History, Reseda C'1982 30th Reunion
Tagged Buick, GM, Oldsmobile
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The Class of 1982: A Geneological Treatment of the New Performance Race
Tweet What was a young teenager’s fantasy in 1982? A young man loved his cars fast, furious…or astute. The Lamborghini Countach would soon replace Farah Fawcett on some bedroom walls, but even Journey or Rush couldn’t yield to a difficult-to-drive … Continue reading
Posted in Automobile History, Reseda C'1982 30th Reunion
Tagged 1982, Chevrolet, GM, Pontiac, Porsche, Toyota
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The Class of 1982: Der E28
Tweet All photos courtesy of BMW of North America, LLC Imagine a world without the M5. Shocking, isn’t it? It is because we can’t. BMW’s M5 changed the way we saw the performance sedan. A few add ons and some … Continue reading
The Class of 1982: The Rise of the Mini-Truck
Tweet 1982 GMC S-15 Pickup. Photo (c)1981, 2012 General Motors To survive a recession, you have to weather the storm. The early 1980s were an economic mess, yet not as bad as it was during the 1970s. This past recession … Continue reading
Posted in Automobile History, Reseda C'1982 30th Reunion
Tagged Chevrolet, Chrysler, Datsun, Dodge, Ford, GM, GMC, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Plymouth, Toyota
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The Class of 1982: The Coming of Better Transit in L.A.
Automobiles weren’t the only ones affecting the universe in 1982.
In the years after World War II, the way Americans viewed transportation shifted to reflect an overall lifestyle migration from an urban society to metropolitan sprawl. Places that were once agrarian and bucolic became paved with new family housing units and expanding businesses supporting the new suburbs.
To coincide with this move, it was deemed that the current public transport infrastructure would not be the optimal solution for linking these new homes with places of employment. Somehow, the equation came up with money for roads – limited-access ones designed for automobile use, specifically – instead of laying down new streetcar rolling stock beyond a city’s terminus. Instead, public transit sought to remove the old streetcar in favor of a bus in induce more flexibility in the transport system.
Buses supplanting streetcars was a drop in the bucket to what transpired during the postwar years. Automobile sales skyrocketed thanks to the suburban migration. To survive in the suburbs, you have to find a way to go from Point A to Point B. The automobile became the primary mode of transport in these new neighborhoods thanks to the G.I. Bill, affordable purchasing options, low insurance rates and very low fuel prices.
There were some consequences to the growth of the automobile. Continue reading
The Class of 1982: The Franco-American Affair
If divine foreign intervention did not come in time for an American automaker, the company in question would have probably ceased to exist by 1982.
It is an audacious statement to make where history was thwarted to save a company from extinction. We’ve seen this many times over the past 30 years where Detroit-based automakers sought alliances and acquisitions with other automakers around the globe. To recall each one would be a massive effort to digest and analyze. Yet, most of the readers of this site have probably forgotten the scenario that put American Motors on the brink before Renault came in to assist them through most of the 1980s. Continue reading
Posted in Automobile History, Reseda C'1982 30th Reunion
Tagged AMC, Chrysler, Hudson, Jeep, Nash, Renault
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