As far as recessions go, the economic dip of the early Eighties wasn’t much of a downturn. Apparently the Fed overdid it a bit, and tightened the money supply a bit more than banks and lenders liked.
Madness 1980 Cast
Model-Year Madness! 10 Classic Ads From 1981. Test Drive: 2018 Audi A5 Sportback. Test Drive: 2015 Audi A3 TDI. Test Drive: 2018 Audi SQ5. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1981 Vinyl release of 7 on Discogs. Label: Stiff Records - SEEZ 39. Format: Vinyl LP, Album. Country: Italy. Genre: Rock. Style: Ska Madness - 7 (1981. Available on iTunes: In 1981, after a string of UK Top Ten hit singles and two smash hit albums, Madness took to the silver screen. Tales of Ordinary Madness is a 1981 film by Italian director Marco Ferreri. It was shot in English in the United States, featuring Ben Gazzara and Ornella Muti in the leading roles. The film's title and subject matter are based on the works and the person of US poet Charles Bukowski, including the short story The Most Beautiful Woman in Town. The film's protagonist, Charles Serking, is based on Bukowski's.
Still, the general public must have gotten a sense of the economic tension; the 1981 Ford TV ad below responds directly to the recession. Note that the print ads shared below make no mention of any economic slowdown.
If you were driving by 1981, and you recall having spent time with any of the vehicles seen below, please tell us about it. We’d love to hear what you remember about these early-Eighties rides.
Audi 5000
1981 Audi 5000 ad
Cadillac Seville
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
1981 Chevrolet Monte Carlo ad
Movie Madness 1981
Ford LTD
Honda Accord
1981 Honda Accord ad
Mercury Lynx
Madness 1980 Movie
Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme ad
March Madness 1980s
Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
Renault Le Car
1981 Renault Le Car Ad