Since 1953, the Chevrolet Corvette has been America’s sports car, a car that has stood the test of time and represented the culture of the year that it was produced. From the European lines and curves of the C1 to the muscle car rumble of the C2 and C3, and who could forget the wedge shape of the C4, which rivaled the best that Italy had to offer at the time in the 1980s, the Corvette truly is a year by year glimpse into American culture.

This success didn’t come without a share of growing pains of course, with many Corvette models living past their prime before their generation is finally put to rest, and with new battles with fuel economy, safety, and emissions requirements in the 1980s, the 1983 model year became the only year without a Corvette.

While these small setbacks through Corvette history often go unnoticed due to their current consistent success as an innovator in the automotive industry, there have been a few slip-ups over the years that have caught the public’s eye as significant low points in Corvette history, and one of the biggest lowlights is by far the 1982 Corvette, a car that was a perfect representative for faltering performance during the malaise era.

This is the story of the 1982 Chevrolet Corvette, one of the slowest Corvettes ever built.

Related: Here's The Best Muscle Car Of The Malaise Era

The Malaise Corvette

1982 Chevrolet Corvette Collector Edition 2 Cropped
Via mecum.com

The malaise era ran from 1973 at the start of the 1973 oil crisis, to roughly 1984 at the advent of computer-controlled emission systems and widespread fuel injection systems that made cars more powerful and fuel-efficient. During this time in history, cars were getting larger and heavier to compensate for new government safety requirements, and in response, bigger gas-guzzling engines were developed to run these large vehicles.

To compensate for rising fuel prices, the Corvette team, unfortunately, compromised heavily on power to bring a car to the world that still felt like a Corvette on the inside and still offered a Corvette-like driving experience, but one that would still pass emissions requirements and be reasonably cheap to fuel up.

Related: Here Is Why Malaise Cars Will Never Be Worth Anything

The Crossfire Injection System

1982 Corvette Crossfire
Via: The Corvette Story

For the 1982 model year, the Crossfire Injection system was newly implemented on the Corvette. While the rest of the engine remained relatively unchained from the typical 350 V8 that has been placed into Corvettes for years, this injection system was a step up from a traditional carbureted system.

The Crossfire Injection System consisted of two throttle bodies placed on the top of the engine that fed separate rails of cylinders; the left throttle body fueled the right cylinders, the right throttle body fueled the left cylinders. This crossover fueling system led to the name “Crossfire”, and it proved to be a solid introduction into modern fuel injection for Corvettes, although it wasn’t the first fuel-injected Corvette.

While this injection system proved to be economical, it was complicated for many technicians to service, and when some enthusiasts dug into the Crossfire looking to tune their car for performance, it proved to be destructive for the car for an untrained person to handle the system.

Related: Check Out This Fully Restored Period-Correct Fuel-Injected 1959 Chevrolet Corvette

A Transmission That Forced You To Be Economical

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The 1982 Corvette was also a unique car because it was one of the only Corvettes in history that was only offered with an automatic transmission. While the automatic-only Corvette is expected today, it was odd for the 1980s, and many enthusiasts were disappointed about not having a stick-shift Vette.

This transmission was the 700-R4 four-speed transmission, which kept the first and second gearing low to keep acceleration moderately quick but offered a fourth gear that reduced highway RPM by 30%, making the Corvette sip gas at high speeds.

This transmission held over into the automatic C4 Corvettes, and as time went on, this automatic transmission proved to be successful in many of GM’s vehicles including the Monte Carlo.

Related: Here's How Much The 1983 Chevy Monte Carlo SS Costs Today

A Dated Design

1968 Chevrolet Corvette C3
Mecum Auctions
Via mecum.com

The 1982 Corvette was the last of the C3, or 3rd generation, of the Corvette. This generation ran from 1968 to 1982, and after so many years of production, the body was starting to look dated by the early 80s, a decade that was defined by wedge-shaped Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

For 1982, the Corvette kept the design that was started in the 60s, and other than a few facelifts around the car, it was largely the same car as the 1968 Vette.

Most notably, the largest design difference shown on the 1982 Corvette was the Collector’s Edition 1982, which offered a unique hatchback where the entire back glass would open to make luggage easier to load into the back of the car. This hatchback design would follow into the Corvette’s fourth generation as a huge selling point of the practicality of the car.

Related: Coolest '80s Car Design Features We Still Miss

Malaise Era Performance That Is Tough To Ignore

Via Mecum

With all of the shortcomings of the 1982 Corvette in terms of a new complicated throttle body injection system, a forced automatic transmission, and a design from the mid-60s, the performance is the biggest sin for this early 80s Vette.

The 350 c.i. V8 produced a low 200 HP and only around 285ft/lbs of torque, and without a performance manual transmission, much of this available power went to waste. The 1982 Corvette achieved a 0-60 time of 7.9 seconds, and while it was an accomplishment to achieve a sub-8 second time during the malaise era, this is laughable today, just as it was shortly after the malaise era ended.

For the sake of comparison, a late 1990s Chevy Cavalier could achieve a 0-60 time of around 8 seconds, a 1997 Dodge Neon could reach 60 MPH in around 8 seconds, as could a 2008 Dodge Caravan SXT minivan.

The 1982 Corvette was still considered a sports car, and it is tough to ignore the low-performance today, especially when it is about as fast as a 90’s economy car or a minivan from 2008.

Without the 1982 Corvette and all of the growing pains associated with the early 80s, our automatic-only mid-engine supercar C8s wouldn’t be on the road today. So the next time you see an early 80s Corvette, give them some appreciation, they are an important piece of Corvette history. Even if they are a very slow piece of Corvette history.