Saturday 27th February 1982

The 74th Chicago Auto Show opened to the public. Visitors enjoyed a close look at the sporty Dodge Daytona and Chrysler Laser. Concept vehicles that year included the Buick Questor, Ford Probe IV, Continental Concept 100 and Nissan NRV II research vehicle. Convertibles were coming back into fashion, with rag top models of the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunbird. The Oldsmobile subcompact Firenza also made is debut, and a GM experimental, unnamed economy car, said to achieve 60 mpg. Chevrolet redesigned the Camaro for 1982, while Pontiac undertook comparable action with its Firebird. The new Camaro was nearly 10 inches shorter and 500 pounds lighter, with an all-coil suspension, and for the first time, a standard four-cylinder engine. The compound-curved backlight served as a hatch.