1986 Hyundai Excel So Cheap, Buy Two in the Name of Marital Harmony

Malcolm Bricklin began selling the Yugo GV in the United States in mid-1985, and its $3,990 sticker price (a hilarious $11,460 in today's dollars) seemed absolutely unbeatable. But wait! A South Korean car company few Americans had heard of quickly showed up with a car that managed to get within shouting distance of that price: the $4,995 Hyundai Excel ($14,357 after inflation). Here's a magazine advertisement for that car.

There were few cars that could even approach those bargain-basement price tags; the microscopic Chevrolet Sprint (aka Suzuki Cultus) came closest at $5,380 ($15,453 now). The Yugo was more of a cruel Balkan joke than a real car, but the Excel seemed like a legitimate commuter. You could get two new 1986 Excels for the price of a single 1986 Olds Cutlass Supreme, and thus avoid fighting with your spouse over the car keys.