The Dutchman bought these cars in 1987

At Opel, they probably sometimes think back to the 80s with nostalgia. The brand was supreme in the Netherlands and sold almost 89,000 cars in 1987 – a market share of no less than 16 percent. De Kadett single-handedly accounted for more than 52,000. Other Opels were less in demand at the time, as evidenced by the eleventh place in the ranking for the next model, the then new Omega. The Corsa only came in twelfth place. The number two in the Netherlands was Ford, with 56,000 cars, which is barely more than what that dastardly Kadett did on his own. This underlines the dominance of the streamlined German, who was then on the market for three years. According to current views, that is long enough to at least give a car an extensive facelift, but the situation was clearly different thirty years ago. Models lasted much longer and the Kadett would even run until 1991, when it was replaced by the first Astra.

Nissan Sunny best-selling Japanese car

Notable in the list of brands is Nissan’s fifth place, after Volkswagen (third) and Peugeot (fourth). With 17,000 units, the Sunny was by far the best-selling Japanese car in the Netherlands; next in the list was the Toyota Corolla (seventh and ninth, respectively). Nissan came a long way, as it occupied tenth place a year earlier. In any case, the Japanese brands made a big advance in the second half of the 80s; with the exception of Honda, they all scored a small or large plus. Mazda is the third brand to make the top ten that year. Hyundai, then the only Korean brand in the Netherlands, worked its way up from 27th place in 1986 to 21st in 1987. Lada was still fully involved at the time; Thanks to the 2105 and to a lesser extent the Samara in 1987, it was the fourteenth brand in the Netherlands. It went less well for Fiat, which had tumbled from fifth to eighth place, and with Renault, which even fell outside the top ten brands. Their most popular model was the Renault 5, which finished 23rd all the way. Furthermore, many brands that have since disappeared from the 1987 list, such as Daihatsu (19th), Austin (25th), Saab (26th) and Rover (28th).

Dacia and Skoda

At the very bottom of the list dangled not even Ferrari, which sold 20 cars, but Talbot, which came to 10. Probably cars that were still in stock somewhere, because the brand had already officially left the Netherlands in 1987. Just up there we come across Zastava and FSO. There are also brands that are now smiling because they are doing so much better than they were 30 years ago. This is, of course, because they have been embraced by the greats of the automotive industry – they are not, in fact, comparable situations. But still: Dacia did not sell more than 82 cars in 1987 (4,200 last year), while Skoda – which did well in 1987 with 3,500 units – reached 15,300 cars last year.

Top 10 models:

1. Opel Kadett (52,772)

Introduced in 1984. Sales cannon par excellence, with a very extensive range: three- and five-door hatchback, sedan, station wagon, convertible, many petrol engines, one diesel and a GSi. And endless possibilities to combine engines, versions and bodies.

2.Volkswagen Golf (26,885)

Introduced in 1983. Very popular, but not nearly as popular as the Kadett in terms of numbers. The Golf is always ahead of its opponent when it comes to innovation: previously with 4WD, as a GTI 16V and as a turbo diesel. The Variant was not yet in the range at the time, while the sedan Jetta does not count for the numbers.

3. Ford Escort (25,992)

Introduced in 1980, voted Car of the Year for 1981. Facelifted in 1986, with a new front and technical innovations. Available as a three- and five-door hatchback, convertible and combi. The four-door Orion was still a separate model. Striking in the range: the very fast RS Turbo.

4. Volvo 340/360 (19,727)

Introduced in 1976 and constantly refreshed and adapted in the meantime. Present in 1987 with a wide range, ranging from the 340 1.4 automatic to the 360 ​​GLT with the two-litre injection engine. Popular additions at the time were the 1.7 petrol engine and the 1.6 diesel.

Peugeot 205 Accent

5. Peugeot 205 (17,601)

Introduced in 1983. After the disappearance of the 104 it was the smallest Peugeot. Available as a three- and five-door hatchback, convertible and of course as the fierce GTI (with the 1.6-litre engine with 105 hp). Also very popular as a diesel and as an Accent, an action model.

Ford Sierra from the facelift that came in 1987.

6. Ford Sierra (17,366)

Introduced in 1982 as a futuristic, because very streamlined successor to the Taunus. The program was spacious, with three- and five-door hatchback, sedan, station wagon, 4×4 versions and, as a highlight, the super-fast RS Cosworth developed for motorsport.

7. Nissan Sunny (17,341)

Introduced in 1986. The good sales figures are not only explained by the recent introduction date, but also because the Sunny replaced the slightly smaller Cherry. It was available as a three- and five-door hatchback, sedan, combi (Sunny Florida) and coupé.

8. Citroen BX (16,830)

Introduced in 1982 and facelifted in 1986, when it got bigger bumpers and a less futuristic dashboard, including round instruments. Wide range with hatchback, Estate and a wide choice of petrol and (turbo) diesel engines.

This generation of the Toyota Corolla, the E8, was replaced in 1987 by the E9. This is the Liftback.

9. Toyota Corolla (14,630)

Introduced in 1983; a new version came in the course of 1987. There was always a very broad model range, with a hatchback, sedan, liftback, wagon and coupé – the latter as a very sporty rear-wheel drive. Toyota was early with engines with three and four valves per cylinder.

10.Mazda 323 (12,325)

Introduced in 1985. Available as a three- and five-door hatchback, sedan (with rear wiper!) and wagon with petrol and diesel engines. A not very special car; the rare rally edition Formula 4 with its turbo engine and 4WD stood out from the rest.