A Surprising Survivor: 1981 Chevrolet Citation
OK, so some of you are probably wondering what in the Sam Hill is a Chevy Citation, such as this 1981 two-door version doing here on the webpages of Barn Finds? Rocco B. thought it a worthy tip and I would have to agree with him. Certain cars are a slam dunk as far as readership goes but not always for the reasons that you may think. A controversial car? Probably, but let’s look it over and see if we can determine what all of the hoopla was about when it came to Chevrolet’s version of GM’s newly redesigned X-body. Found in New Milford, Connecticut, this two-tone hatchback is available, here on craigslist for $7,800.
In production for six model years (’80-’85), the Citation replaced Chevrolet’s tried and true Nova. They sold pretty well knocking out 1.6 M units over its lifetime, with about a quarter of that total, approximately 400K, hitting the street in 1981. A three-door hatchback (our subject car) or a five-door were the two body styles offered that year. Curiously, there was a two-door notchback body style available in the inaugural year of ’80. It was discontinued in ’81 but returned in ’82. Criticisms and recalls of the Citation arose as a result of poor build quality, mechanical reliability issues, rear wheel lockup tendencies under hard braking, and palpable torque-steer.
Our subject car claims 57K miles and shows amazingly well. I can’t recall the last time that I actually spied one in the steel. For a model with significant production numbers, the Citation seemed to rapidly disappear from the automotive landscape. Styling is always subjective and I’d put the Citation down as a miss, but an awful lot of marketplace participants obviously disagreed with my assessment. The two-tone hue of bland and blander has held up remarkably well, though the seller mentions some fading that has occurred to the mostly original finish – a rather remarkable feat for a New England resident. I imagine this car has always always garaged and has had limited exposure to winter driving.
Driving the front wheels via a three-speed automatic transaxle is an 84 HP, 2.5 liter “Iron Duke”, in-line, four-cylinder engine. The consensus from the Duke’s era (’77-’93) referred to it as a reliable but crude powerplant, something more akin to a pea thrasher. This is the last year for a carburetor-fueled version as 1982 brought the “Tech IV” fuel-injected variation to market. The seller claims it, “runs well“.
This Citation’s interior is said to be “excellent” and it is exceedingly clean though it is a very plain environment – almost to the point of austerity. While this is supposed to be an economical compact, the instrument panel, comprised of a fuel gauge and a dinky 85 MPH speedometer, has set a very low bar. That said, the layout is quite functional and appears to need no attention.
How should we classify a car like a Chevrolet Citation 43 years after the fact? It’s not collectible, or an enthusiast’s motor. It’s hardly rare though trying to find a similar condition example, today, would be a tall order. An everyday driver? I can’t imagine that. So, who would be the target market for a 1981 Chevrolet Citation? I haven’t a suggestion, how about you?
Auctions Ending Soon
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1Bid Now14 hours$7,100
2003 Porsche Boxster SBid Now15 hours$6,250
1966 Lincoln ContinentalBid Now17 hours$500
2000 Jaguar XJ8LBid Now4 days$1,250
1977 Datsun 280ZBid Now5 days$275
Comments
Wasn’t there a performance version in the later years?
V6 and x pattern 4 speed?
The X-11 was a so called performance version, a decal package with stripes on top of a 2.8L V6 can only do so much, 16.7 in the quarter mile tells the story. The Citation was a product of its time, a disposable economy car that got relatively good gas mileage and would likely last until it was paid off.
Steve R
Thanks.
I remember the television ads the first year where a Citation without rear wheels pulled a trailer to demo the FWD.
While the 80 X-11 was just a decal package, for 81 the X-11 became a complete performance package that turned it into a proper performance car. The 81 X-11 package included an exclusive 135 hp-165 torque High Output version of the 2.8L V6, larger springs, stiffer shocks, freer flowing (and throatier) exhaust, faster steering rack, 14″ rims with 215/60R14 Goodyear Eagle GT’s, full gauges and other upgrades. It’s 0-60 time was just a tick slower than the 81 Corvette’s, and faster than most other 81 cars.
X-11’s dominated the SCCA Showroom Stock B class in the early 80’s. For those not familiar with SCCA SS racing, it was a series for stock production cars with the only modifications allowed were for safety (roll bar, racing belts, window net & fire bottle), and street tires with the tread shaved off. I ordered an 82 X-11 to race in SSB, but shortly after I was offered a position on a Trans Am team pit crew, and the only competition the X-11 ever saw were a few autocrosses.
To the author, a speedometer and fuel gauge were the only gauges in most cars back then. Even cars like the Camaro Z/28 and GTO only came with a speedometer and gas gauge, a tach and full gauges were optional.
Yeah, I know that, the Citation just did an exceptionally poor job of executing it.
JO
16s arent really all that bad for a small v6 in the early 80s though. Slow yes but ‘not bad’ for what it was. The 0-60 is wats more painful…people probably werent hammering the gas and holding it for a quarter mile, but they were likely punching it up to highway speeds. Needed to be a 6-7s 0-60 with better gearing or something. That would have reasonably kept pace with much bigger engines.
My mom had an 83 Citation with a V6. I beat the snot out of that car. It was ugly but never broke down ever. She sold to my friends sister who wrecked it with 290,000 miles on it.
Yes out had a big block 454 4 speed.with a super charger.
I had one that was a v6 but it wasn’t an X-11. If I remember right it was some kind of upgraded edition though. We traveled Europe with it and it would bury that 85MPH speedo with no problem. I don’t think we ever had a single problem with that car for the 7 or 8 years we owned it. I’m glad because there wasn’t a Chevy Dealer in every town like here in the states. It wasn’t fast, it wasn’t pretty, but it was dependable. Anyway, if I wanted fast or pretty, I could have rode my GXSR or driven my 911. I truly enjoyed my time living in Europe. My only regret was leaving my 911 over there, but driving here in the US wouldn’t have been the same.
I actually kind of liked these, mostly the X-11. But this one? That’s pretty much my most hated GM motor under the hood, and it’s an automatic. ZERO interest.
Greenhorn, why hate the Iron Duke?
It had some problems but plenty people had good luck w/ the old Iron Duke, and I am one of them. It won’t win you many races but that’s not what it was designed to do.
The author describes it well as “reliable but crude powerplant”.
I had two Citations, one w/ the 4 banger and one w/ the 6 cyl. The Iron Duke car was good to me. The 2.8 Liter car… not so much.
Chances are the oldest frontline working fleet vehicle you saw today was a USPS LLV powered by an Iron Duke.
Cool old car in great shape, remember radio was not installed like others , it was perpendicular which looks wrong. Also close to me. Most rotted away.
I had a ’81 Pontiac Phoenix and sold it for $700 at 176,000 miles.
The only problem I had was the transmission gasket continually leaked after 150,000 miles.
Had to stop at the side of the road, climb underneath and crank the nuts down (I guess up) on the transmission and pour in more transmission fluid.
Finally enough was enough and sold it.
The target market for this is people who collect cars solely to use as period pieces in Hollywood movies.
I saw a while back a savvy 19-year-old that had inherited his parents’ 1980s, Ford Escort station wagon, two-tone orange and brown with plaid upholstery, in nearly mint condition (others in the family had a Model T, a Model A, and a 1957 Ford). “Ugly” and “square” as sin, but he claimed he more than paid the insurance and parts on the car renting it out to movie and TV producers as a “period” car!
Aside from that, however, this is among the cars a thorough automotive museum might present as the low point, the nadir, the national embarrassment of 20th century American major auto production. I’m told there a reason–no, multiple–why this car “seemed to rapidly disappear from the automotive landscape”……..
There is another group interested in cars like this, basic, bland and boring that have no appeal other than they are inexpensive and might draw attention at a Coffee and Cars.
Steve R
Fine merican craftsmanship
This would be the car that I had taken driving education in. Very funny experiences, one student who went through a yellow light was asked by the instructor. What does a yellow light mean? The driving student replies, give it gas and get though the intercession as fast as possible! Yeah I it was my turn at the wheel, I was white knuckles all the way. The instructor said that I needed to relax and not grip the wheel so hard. So I let go of it “steering wheel” shaking my hands to relax them! Not what he meant! Fon times as a youngster. Not that you’re going to make a racer out of this, but a good around town car.
Boy oh, boy I remember these cars. Well, back in the day. My brother-in-law at the time bought a X 11. They were pretty cool until they were overtaken by quality issues. And there were plenty. And just look at that interior. Holy smokes, no wonder, we lost market share to the other side of the oceans. Bathed in general motors, cheap plastics of the era. No wonder the Japanese and Europeans took away so much. And unfortunately, deservedly so. But, I do have a soft spot in my heart for this Citation. Mainly, I guess, because you just don’t see them anymore. Anyway, another great article.
Hoo boy, that drive train would also be used as the base for the equally forgettable Celebrity in ’84 or ’85 (as a fuel injected Tech-4). I had an ’86. Bad enough the thing couldn’t get out of its own way, it leaked water..both coolant to the outside and rain water to the inside. And it had an insidious habit to refuse to start occasionally. No matter where I was, if it decided not to start it wasn’t going to…unless I waited an hour , a day, a week. I sometimes had to walk, even towed it home once (then it started, the b*stard). Anyway after throwing various parts at it I fianlly gave up and sent it to the crusher.
Was selling Chevy’s in this time period and there was a LOT of interest in these cars when they came out. They were seen as practical and economical. They appealed to buyers who wanted four doors but not something as big and expensive as an Impala or Caprice. We sold a ton of them despite the bland styling etc. and mediocre performance. A V6 helped but of course hurt the fuel economy.
I remember the X11 version of those, with the 2.8 V6 and lots of “go-fast” decals. They too were quite popular. And unless you’re good at remembering bad cars, also forgettable.
I too was selling these. They came on the market in spring of 1979. The demand far outweighed the supply…so the buyer had to order the car and wait…and wait…and wait for it to arrive. Meanwhile, as the Citation started to appear on our lot, the customer who was still waiting for his would ask if he could have one from our inventory instead. Sure…as long as he paid for the half dozen price increases since he ordered his!
We sold the Buick version (Skylark). I agree completely. We had waiting lists. Remember the times: Fuel embargos, carmakers desperate to downsize. We didn’t realize how bad these cars were. But don’t forget that poor quality was not exclusive to American cars. Datsuns and Toyotas with instant rust, AMC Renault Alliances and other cars which would barely run due to tightening emissions and fuel economy standards, etc.
I bought one as a family car. 4 door automatic a.m. Radio no a.c. Tan in side Tan outside Tan carpet.
Boring and dependable. Sold it 3 years later. Never had a problem with it.
You probably sold a pair to my father in law and his wife way back then. He got the same color as the one listed above and his wife took a red one. They kept them for many years and overall held up well. But the Michigan winters ate them up and they traded them in for another pair of Chevy’s. Same color scheme, his brown hers red.
My Aunt had the Pontiac version of this, the Phoenix. I forget what year it was, but looked just like this one. It was a non-metallic tan with a cloth interior. She had it a few years, and it was more reliable than her first car, a 76 Volkswagen Rabbit, which was pitiful junk.
The GM X bodies were GM’s first foray into mass front wheel drive cars across 4 divisions. Yes the X bodies could have been better executed but contrast them to the really bland, but very successful, 3 box K-cars from Chrysler that followed shortly thereafter. Chrysler stuck with it and morphed the K-car into wildly successful minivans. Nice find!
I own a 1980 x11 with a 4speed and v6 got it a few years ago with 2780 miles yes 2780 it was owned by former racer cliff gottlob and was featured here on barn finds , that’s how I found it…you can look it up. Anyway it now has 12800 miles, drive it all the time, window sticker is still on the car. I can’t get it off. The car has ps pb ac f41and sunroof…I removed the cat and what a difference Handles great and moves pretty good Plastic was still on the carpet. Many put it down but GM made the 6cyl transverse fwd cars for the next 30 plus years
Nextdoor neighbor back home in Jersey had one for a company car,I left in 92′ and he still had it.
Older guy I worked with at an Olds dealer ( Line mechanics) traded a 1970 LS6 454 El Camino for one of these at the Chevy dealer a few miles down the road. He had gotten frustrated after trying to paint the Camino 3 times and not succeeding. A coworker immediately hauled a** down to the Chevy dealer to try and buy the car from the wholesale lot, but he was too late. An employee had already bought it. Citation guy never heard the end of it.
My mom had an X-11 when i was a wee tyke. My dad says he preffered the notchback as it was stiffer. And my brother had a V6 5-door as a first car. So these things are very memorable.bbwe never had one with the iron puke though.
I remember helping my dad patch a hole in the floor of the x-11, it was soon replaced by a celebrity eurosport (we were moving UP in the world) and my brother having the shift knob come out in his hand. Cool car with a decent design for the era that was totally horribly executed.
To say I hate this car would be a understatement! I sold my coveted T/A 6.6 Trans Am got married & ended up driving a citation when I should have been committed for crimes against common sense! The marriage didn’t last & I got bamboozled by a Topless Dancer & ran away! I was a impression able young man not much better 40 years later but I don’t give away things for marriage
Whoever buys this Citation can relive, or, experience that “Great GM Feeling” of the early 80’s. And then wonder how the company is still afloat. These cars were the epitome of how Detroit was scrambling to genuflect to government rules and regulations.
I had a sales rep who drove one of these, it was red and white.
Believe me, that color combination did NOTHING for its looks.
I had one brand new as a company car in1980. Worked great through its first winter in Cleveland Ohio, then I quit and returned the car. Would never have been my choice if I was buying.
I had a ’80 Citation 2 door with a V6 and 4 speed. It was my first new car. The brakes were horrible with the rear-end wanting pass the front during heavy braking. Later I learned that the 4 door models weren’t nearly as bad with the rear brake issue, more weight. It leaked oil from the front of the engine. I accidentally let the oil get a little to low, just below a quart. While doing a quick right/left turn into a parking lot, it spun a rod bearing. After pulling the engine and tearing it down, I discovered that there was no timing cover gasket or silicon sealer. Just metal to metal. Had the rod journals ground 0.030 under, fixed the rod, and a new clutch disc. With a proper timing cover gasket, it never leaked again.
Upon retirement, my parents bought a new one in 1982 to get them around. They lived up a bumpy gravel road, and the front wheel drive performed well, but broke one of the motor mounts. A few years later, upon returning from a trip abroad, Dad fell asleep at the wheel, ran off the highway and thru a chain-link fence, totaling it. As I recall, he replaced it with a new 1984 model before moving on to a Celebrity.
Context is everything. Was this a good car by 2024 standards? Hell, no. Anymore than 71 yr old me is NOT 34 yr old me. But, when working for the enemy (GMAC) I had an 82 Pontiac SJ with V6 and a four speed. My experience with the SJ models of any Pontiac was going to be a well mannered car for the times.
I worked for a Chevy dealer in 1981 and sold quite a few of these cars. GM had not yet figured out FWD under-steer and torque-steer issues. But they were a good alternative to the big gas gusslers.
Besides the car itself being horrible, the name was a very poor choice; the word “citation” always had negative connotations in my world. But this car looks like that rare exceptional example of an X-Car that was actually assembled well. And being a largely rust-free example from New England adds to its miracle persona.
Worst new car comes to mind….I was an 18 year old living with my parents in Switzerland. A neighbor spent a vacation in US and brought home a Citation. He was impressed by the low price tag….but when the car arrived, he wasn’t so impressed anymore. My dad needed a new car and the Citation was very cheap indeed. It was the bargain basement model with the iron puke but four doors. I could not believe the shoddy workmanship on the car. There were 2 inch long welding wires sticking out of the roof railings, the entire interior looked like it was made from recycled plastic cups and creaked and wiggled going down the road. Everything on the car screamed CHEAP. It was anemic, crude, uncomfortable. But….it was surprisingly fuel efficient. Fortunately, we didn’t have it long. While I was driving home doing about 40 mph, a car pulled out of a gas station and I T-boned it. The police measured the tire marks and couldn’t believe that I was not able to stop in time, given the long marks…Firestone tires ….The Citation was totaled and had to be towed, while the offending car drove away under it’s own power.
I should have know better, but years later I bought a Chevy Astro Van with Firestone tires….not a winning team either.
A 4 door Slowtation in champagne brownish paint was my first new company car in 1981 or 1982. I needed the hatchback design for some of the service work I did and the car was relatively reliable until the company’s service garage ripped us off, convinced the admin that it needed a tranny. I was replaced 2 years later by the same color Mercury Slowpaz, but the cloth interior and FM radio option made it feel like luxury.
I owned 5 Citations in the 80’s including an X-11. Actually really liked them!
Two of them were the first and second car for our oldest Daughter. Had some issues, but they always seemed to be reliable as a family car. I would buy this car just for old times sake if I had a place to keep it.
The GM X-body is tied for first place in my worst assembled car contest, along with the GM H-Body (Monza)… Really terrible fit/finish and interior materials. I remember a work trip where a coworker and I renting an X-Body (Pontiac version) soon after they came out. It drove fine, and I remember thinking it handled reasonably well, but it was horribly screwed together. I don’t think anything fit correctly in the interior, and all the materials felt and looked really cheap. We just laughed at it the whole time…
I was a GM dealership parts counter guy when these were new cars. They had a lot of trouble with the steering rack and pinion (part number 7842746 which updated to 26003943). At one time there was a reseal kit available as a stopgap fix. This was also when “Mister Sandman” by Emmylou Harris was a hit and the repair techs came up with their version of the song:
Mister Goodwrench,
Reseal my gear.
‘Cause in the morning
It’s so hard to steer.
While my mom and us kids were on a ski trip, my dad bought a Citation for my mom in 1981, the same year I got my driver’s license. It was a beige 5-door with a beige interior. A/C, AM radio, and Cruise Control along with an automatic transmission. The interior door panels were hard plastic, and the grain on the vinyl interior was different on different parts of the seats and mismatched. The AM radio was vertical, which meant a replacement AM/FM cassette tape didn’t fit right. This car was a nightmare. It spent more time in the shop than in our garage, was noisy, and uncomfortable. The front seat looked like a pair of buckets, but it was a bench seat. My mom being under 5 feet tall ran the seat all the way forward and the passenger had their face in the dash and windshield. Finally, after four years and easily 200 trips to the mechanic, when my dad was on an extended business trip, my mom bought herself a new Volvo 740GLE. Other than being a tad underpowered, the Volvo was a comfortable luxocruiser.
The one good thing about the ’80 Phoenix I traded a 6 mo. old New co. Buick 4 door was that bought from Holley which used this 2.8 V6 was that the cloth upholstery was the toughest stuff i’ve ever seen. My two boys romped all over that interior which should’ve destroyed it but it never shredded, wore or let us down in any way.
The the stories about their introduction abound: One of our co. guys got a new Citation bizcar – first time he went to put gas in it, the stuff poured out on the ground! The factory had somehow missed putting in the hose between the filler neck & tank!!
I rented one on a biztrip and found it wouldn’t get out of 2nd gear in the sideways Hydramatic. Then I started calling on Hydraumatic as part of my job with Dupont Automotive Polymers, looking at using high temp plastics as thrust bearings in their slushboxes of these first FWD series. The engineers told me they had to make 40+ changes in the first production yr! No wonder…..
Best thing about the car re the factory is that the line guys loved to sneak home the rear beam axle as it made a wonderful homebuilt trailer! Lots of those left under various pretenses…….
One of the other serious probs with the X cars, as they were called in the biz, was the rear brakes locking up prematurely. My then wife was driving the car one day on a twisty wet road near Orchard Lake in W. Bloomfind – Pontiac Trail – when for one reason or another, she hit the brakes, the car did a 180, and the car ended up bass-ackwards between two very large trees! Fortunately, no crash, and she made it home very carefully. I got home an hr later, learned about the excitement, took the car along that very stretch of road, and hit the brakes in the same spot, and bingo – another 180 started – but I was ready for it, off the brakes and countersteered, & kept it out of the trees.
What I learned was that, having taken the car a few days before to the local garage to have the rears replaced, their liners were aftermkt. Turns out the light rear end and whatever proportioning valve they may have had, was very sensitive to lining properties, & you really needed to stick with OEM parts. Dont’ know if that message ever got back to GM, but seems they survived those types of shenanigans after awhile.
Message got back to GM? Oh, they knew all along. Driver documentation appeared in court. When I worked there as a driver we in the middle eighties we were instructed on how to evaluate the vehicle without using incriminating verbage.
These were built at GM’s Oklahoma City plant. The first one off the line is on display at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds.
None of you mentioned the Olds version Omega X-Body. I bought my 81 Sport Omega new in 81 and still have it with 240,000 on the OD. 2dr sedan V6 4sp PS, PB, AM/FM with factory 8 track. its fast and handles great, very few Sport Omegas made.
Interesting option load on this car, 2-tone paint, fancy wheel covers but no Deluxe Exterior Package (that included chrome side window surrounds, amber rear turn signals and the pinstripes this car DOES have – maybe they were bundled in with 2-tone as well, or maybe just done by the dealer), vinyl interior, 4 cylinder auto. And only 2 doors – it seems like the vast bulk of survivor Citations are either 4-doors or X11s, regular 2-doors are doubly rare.
In 1981 I was looking for a newer used car. The Citation looked a lot better than the Fairmont. I thought about a one year old Citation. I went to a dealer and test drove one. It was making a weird growling noise and it happened I drove by a transmission place. The lot was filled with Citations and other X cars. Apparently Chevy made the transmission wall too thin to save gas. The growling was the main bearing failing. They told me GM fixed it in the 1981s. So I bought a new 1981. The car was great except for the super heavy clutch that wore out my leg commuting. At about 25000 miles I was at a stop light. When it turned green i was shocked to find the shifter in the gear box was completely disconnected from anything. As I let the clutch out I found it was in first gear. I crawled to a Chevy dealer near where I worked. As I drove in a mechanic walked over and asked if I had purchased the extended warranty. I said I had. He said, “Good man.” The gear box had fallen apart and everything was at the bottom. He manually rebuilt it but said I should likely sell it soon. He underestimated his work. I sold it years later. It had lots of room for my emerging family and got great gas mileage for the time. Never had any other mechanical problem with the car.