Car of the Day-Chevrolet Citation (1980-1985)

Introduced in 1979 for the 1980 model year, the Citation was what led General Motors into the 80s (it was even advertised as "The first Chevy of the 80s") The car featured innovations such as front wheel drive and a hatchback body style (which was unusual for GM at the time). The Citation came in three body styles: a 4 door hatchback, a 2 door hatchback, and a 2 door notchback.  

Upon introduction, the Citation was well received by both the press and the public.  The car was the recipient of several awards, such as Motor Trend Magazine's "Car of the Year" for 1980.  In 1980 alone, Chevrolet sold over 800,000 Citations alone.  People were drawn to it's front wheel drive layout, good gas milage, and reasonable price (about $6000 in 1980 dollars).

Unfortunately, the Citation's success was short lived, as high buyer demand caught GM off guard.  To keep up with the sudden increase, GM cut corners in it's development and production.  This led to poor build quality, several recalls, and hundreds of thousand pissed off owners.  GM refreshed the car in 1984 that corrected most of the issues (even going so far as to re-christen it the "Citation II")  But that wasn't enough to improve sales and the Citation was put out of it's misery after the 1985 model year.

To most car historians, mechanics, and people who had the misfortune of owning one, the Citation is often considered one of the worst cars ever made.  It's also cited (get it!) as one of the reasons for the rise of imported cars in the United States.  Vehicles such as the Volkswagen Rabbit, Toyota Camry, and Honda Accord not only were equipped with front wheel drive, fuel injection and came in hatchback form, but the reliability was much better and were priced competitively.  

I personally have seen ONE Chevy Citation in person, and it was at a Chocolate festival (don't ask what I was doing there).  I was waiting in the parking lot for my parents to leave when I saw a dilapidated 4-door Citation II with what sounded like an engine misfire pull up across from where we were parked.  The guy driving it looked (and smelled) like he just returned from a Doobie Brothers concert.  The one thing that stood out to me was the color-an ugly seafoam green with matching interior...ICK!

(photo courtesy of Wikipedia)