1983 Alfa Romeo Spider

At first, I thought this was a Porsche.  But instead, its even more uncommon.  A third generation Alfa Romeo Spider!

 Based on the big bumper, this would appear to be a Series 3 Spider (the series 2 and prior didn't have the huge bumper in front of it).  
This came with a 1.6L or 2.0L engine, but I have no idea since it was gone already.

Surprisingly large trunk considering the type of car it is.

There were three trim levels: Graduate, Veloce, and Quadrifoglio.  This one appears to be a mid level trim (based in the leather seats and aluminum wheels.

 

1983 VW Rabbit GTI

Here's a true classic hot hatch, an '83 Rabbit (Golf) GTI.

 While not the first year of the Rabbit in the USA (that was 1978) this was the first year they made the GTI Rabbit - it was also one of the last.  After 1984 they started using the Golf nameplate.

 1.8L with 90hp.  Not too bad, especially considering the light weight of the car.

 I thought I forgot to check the mileage, since I've heard these things will last a long time.  But I couldn't have, someone took the whole dash.

 I can't tell if this car has been painted orange, or is just a very faded "Royal Red".

1987 Toyota Corolla FX

Here's one you don't see too often.  A 1987 Toyota Corolla FX, "3 door hatchback".  Granted, this is only the standard version, and not the more spirited FX16 (which if it was, it would surely be gutted).

 This particular model was made from 1983-1987.  

 Likely the 1.6L engine.

Pretty standard interior. Although this one did come with the manual transmission.  It also managed to make it 226k miles

1981 Chevy Citation

Another gem from the 80's.  A Chevy Citation.  

 This was a short-lived car.  They only made them from 1980-1985.  And from 1984-1985 it was re-branded as a Citation II.

 

Pretty standard interior.  Reminds me a bit of the Chevette I found.  

It came with either a 2.5L 4 cylinder (the Iron Duke) or a 2.8L V6.  The 4 cylinder was the most popular due to the gas mileage, but they produced more V6's due to lack of foresight.

1986 Mercury Lynx L

I'll say it right now, the Mercury Lynx is nothing special.  I wasn't sure what it was at first, but I looked it up; it is simply a rebadged Ford Escort.  They were made from 1981-1987.

This particular one is an L model which as I understand is the mid-level trim.

This one also came with the automatic transmission.

1989 Mazda MX-6 GT

The Mazda MX-6 had a few different versions, such as the DX, LX, and GT.  This is the GT model that came with the 2.2L Turbo engine.  Which is the same one found in a Probe GT (that I also found at the same salvage yard).

Other than being the GT model, there's not much that's special about it.  Though the power and torque output from the GT model greatly differed 145hp vs 110hp, and 190 ft.lb vs 130.

The GT came with 4 wheel disc brakes, optional ABS, and electronically adjustable suspension.  This one apparently had the optional automatic transmission too.

It also only made it to 156k miles.  (while the Probe GT I found made it to over 200). 

 

Looks like the previous owner painted the valve cover.

1981 Porsche 924

Here's one I never thought I'd find, a Porsche!

 This is a 1981 Porsche 924.  The 924 replaced the 914 as the entry level model.  It was produced from 1976-1988.
Surprisingly, this one still has a lot of its bits left, with exception to the interior.

However, surprisingly most of the engine was still there!

As far as I know this is the base model.  There were a number of different ones made, such as the 924 Turbo and 924S.  There were others as well but they were not made for the US market.  I believe the engine in this is the 2.0L one.

1989 Nissan NX Pulsar

  
I remember the first time I came across one of these.  I was driving on the I-17 and I saw one with a rare Sportback.  My first thought was that perhaps it was some kind of import, or rare sports car.  What I saw was a second generation Nissan NX Pulsar (just like this one, except this has the standard hatchback).  
These were made from 1986-1990.

I think the rear is obviously the cooler-looking part of the car.  The front and side seems pretty typical to me.

Not too exciting inside. 

This particular car came with the 1.6L throttle body injection SOHC (with the other option being a 1.8L fuel injection, DOHC)

1989 Ford Probe GT

The first generation Ford Probe.  It was only made from 1989-1992.  The second generation lasted a bit longer ('93-'97).  In any case, out if all the trim levels available this is the big one: the GT!

 Special styling in the rear

It came with the 2.2L turbo charged engine. The whole car is based on the Mazda GD platform.

More special decals on the side.

Came with a 5 speed manual and 4 wheel disc brakes.

This particular one managed to make it almost to 212,000.  These engines were very reliable.  The same engine was also found in the Mazda MX-6 Turbo (which coincidentally I also found at the same junkyard)

1988 Volkswagen Fox

I never heard of one of these until I saw it in the junkyard. In the US these were made from '87-'93. 

It had the same 1.8L as the Golf.  But apparently didn't get very good gas mileage (mid 20's)

 

Supposedly there was no power steering in this car.  All in all a very basic car.

  

Check out those low miles!!

Original hubcaps were still in the car as well.

1980 Chevorlet Chevette

Here's a gem from the 70's/80's. A Chevette!

Produced from 1975-1986 (with model years being '76-'87) the Chevette sold quite well; it was a replacement for the failing Vega.
It came with a 1.4 or 1.6L engine, and made decent gas mileage (supposedly 29-39mpg).

And look at that interior!  They don't make it like they used to.

Looks like this one came with the optional 3-speed automatic.