By the dawn of the 1970s, Datsun, Toyota, Mazda, and Honda were making huge headway in the American marketplace with cars that didn't cost a lot and used less gas. Chevrolet, American Motors, and Ford responded with the Vega, Gremlin, and Pinto. Each was offered in coupe form with a standard trunk and, ultimately, as a hatchback. Few buyers wanted station wagons at that time, and the hatchback body style made a compact car more practical.
Performance and image weren't issues for this class of automobile; cars like the original GTI weren't born yet, much less today's GTI and the Volvo C30. Funny enough, each of these Detroit hatchbacks had its foibles: Vega engines melted down (which ultimately killed off the model entirely), the Pinto went through its purported exploding gas-tank phase, and, though lovable, the Gremlin was just a little strange.
Coverage: May 1982
Volvo's C30 is something pretty darned new, but so were the first 700-series cars of 25 years ago. Those versions were large, boxy, safe, and a big departure from the faithful 200-series models, which had roots dating back to 1967. The May 1982 issue also had a story we've repeated often through the years: Mustang versus Camaro. The Camaro won this round, although it was slower and about a grand more expensive.