10 Best Cars of Model Year 1979

The 10 Most Reliable and Durable Cars of Model Year 1979 

This page lists the top ten (11 by tie) cars of model year 1979 by reliability-and-durability grade point average (Reliability-Durability GPA or more concisely, R-D GPA).

1979's Top 11 Classic Cars 

These 11 car classics are listed below in descending order of Reliability-Durability GPA.

  • The Toyota Corolla, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 3.85

The 1979 Toyota Corolla came in either a 2-door, 2-door-hatchback, 4-door-sedan, or 4-door-wagon edition and with an inline 4-cylinder, 97-cubic-inch (1.6-Liter), 75-horsepower engine, a 3-speed automatic, 4-speed or 5-speed manual transmission, and a fuel capacity of 13 gallons. The 4-door sedan has an overall length of 165 inches and an overall width of 62 inches. The Corolla's tire size is 165R13.

  • The Toyota Celica, with a R-D GPA of 3.85

The 1979 Toyota Celica came in either a 2-door or 2-door-hatchback edition and with an inline 4-cylinder, 134-cubic-inch (2.2-Liter), 90-horsepower engine, a 3-speed automatic or 5-speed manual transmission, and a fuel capacity of 16.1 gallons.  The 2-door has an overall length of 174 inches and an overall width of 65 inches.

  • The Toyota Corona, with a R-D GPA of 3.77

The 1979 Toyota Corona came in either a 4-door-sedan, 4-door-hatchback, or 4-door-wagon edition and with an inline 4-cylinder, 134-cubic-inch (2.2-Liter), 90-horsepower engine, a 3-speed automatic or 5-speed manual transmission, and a fuel capacity of 16.1 gallons. The 4-door sedan has an overall length of 175 inches and an overall width of 65 inches.

  • The Toyota Pickup Truck 2-wheel-drive, with a R-D GPA of 3.75
  • The Mazda RX-7, with a R-D GPA of 3.71
  • The Mazda GLC rear-wheel-drive , with a R-D GPA of 3.69

The 1979 Mazda GLC came in either a 2-door-hatchback, 4-door-hatchback, or 4-door-wagen edition and with an inline 4-cylinder, 86-cubic-inch (1.4-Liter), 65-horsepower engine, a 3-speed automatic or 4-speed or 5-speed manual transmission, and a fuel capacity of 10.6 gallons. The 4-door hatchback has an overall length of 154 inches and an overall width of 64 inches.

  • The Mercedes-Benz 240D Inline 4, with a R-D GPA of 3.67
  • The Mercedes-Benz 300D Inline 5, with a R-D GPA of 3.60

The diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz 300D Inline 5 came in a 2-door-sedan or 4-door-sedan edition and with an inline 5-cylinder, 183-cubic-inch (3.0-Liter), 77-horsepower engine, a 4-speed automatic transmission, an overall length of 191 inches, an overall width of 70 inches, and a fuel capacity of 21 gallons.

  • The Mazda 626, with a R-D GPA of 3.59
  • The Mercedes-Benz Turbo Diesel Inline 5, with a R-D GPA of 3.57
  • The Toyota Cressida, with a R-D GPA of 3.57

Manufacturers of the Top 10 

Toyota Motor Corporation again accounted for 5 of the most reliable and durable cars of 1979, an increase from 4 in 1975, 1976 and 1977. As in 1978, the Toyota Corolla and the Toyota Celica tied for first place, each with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 3.85.

Daimler-Benz AG and Mazda Motor Corporation accounted for the remaining 6 of the best cars of 1979.

Japanese-built cars accounted for 8 of 1979's best cars; German-built cars accounted for the remaining 3. The Top 4 were all made by Toyota.

Note that in 1979 none of the Detroit 3 had a car among the Top 11 and, consequently, there was no sizable gap between any two of the 11 best.

The following chart gives each car maker's percent share of the Top 11 of 1979.

Milestone in Reliability and Durability

1979 was the first year in which all of the Top 10 (here Top 11) had a Reliability-Durability Grade of A (R-D GPA of 3.50 or higher).

Computations

To compute the reliability-durability grade point average of the MY 1979 cars, Consumer Reports' reliability ratings for the age ranges 4-to-5 years and 5-to-6 years are used.

CR's ratings are converted to numerical values following the standard academic pattern: a grade point of 4.0 (an A) is accorded a rating of Much Better Than Average, a 3.0 (a B) is accorded a rating of Better Than Average, a 2.0 (a C) is accorded a rating of Average, a 1.0 (a D) is accorded a rating of Below Average, and a 0 (an F) is accorded a rating of Much Below Average.

Then, for each age range, the grade point of CR's overall reliability rating is weighted 2/3 and the average of the grade points of the category ratings is weighted 1/3.

Finally, the average for the two age ranges is taken.

Best and Worst Vehicles of Each Model Year

The Best Cars of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1975  1976  1977  1978  1979  1980  1981  1982  1983  1984  1985  1986  ...  2004  2005

The Worst Cars of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1980  1981  1982  1983  1984  1985  1986  ...  2004  2005 

Additional Resources

The Best Car Brands of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

The Worst Car Brands of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

The Best Car Manufacturers of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

The Worst Car Manufacturers of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

Best Car Brands by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid:  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 

Worst Car Brands by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid:  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006

Best Car Makers by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid: 1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006

Worst Car Makers by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid:  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006

For additional car quality information, visit www.AutoOnInfo.net and CarsOnInfo.net.

In particular, for additional durability information, see:

http://www.AutoOnInfo.net/SharesOfHighMileageVehicles.aspx 
http://CarsOnInfo.net/ToyotaAgeEquivalents.aspx 
http://CarsOnInfo.net/ToyotaMileageEquivalents.aspx 
http://CarsOnInfo.net/Top25OfAutoonInfosHighMileageRoster.aspx

www.CarQualityInfo.net: The car-quality website for the brighter-than-average North American consumer.
 
To help support independent car quality information, shop Amazon.com by clicking a link from this site.

Comments