1980s

Following the oil crisis of the 1970s, American manufacturers began to prioritize smaller vehicles with better fuel economy. Sedate front-wheel-drive models like the K-Car and Taurus are generally credited with bringing the Big Three back from the brink. Carmakers in Europe and Japan had been making small, sporty cars for some time and began to find new niches in the US market with vehicles like the Volkswagen Golf, BMW 3-series, and Honda Civic CRX. As the decade progressed and oil again became cheaper, the SUV trend took off with models like the Jeep Cherokee and Wagoneer as well as the Chevrolet S10 Blazer and Ford Explorer.