What Happened in 1980 Major Events, Popular Culture, Prices, Born This Year
What happened in 1980 Major News Stories include John Lennon shot and killed in New York, Post-It Notes go on sale, Liberty City, Miami Rioting, MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas Destroyed with Fire, Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act passed. As the continued miniaturization continues new technology allows for new consumer products that could never have existed to appear including Domestic Camcorders and Fax Machines , One other notable is the release of the Pac-Man arcade game. Politics enters the Olympic games with the boycott by the US of the Moscow Olympics and War breaks out between Iraq and Iran. This was also a bad year for natural disasters including Mount St. Helens eruption on 27th March and a major heat wave in the US. Also the world tunes in to the answer of Who Shot JR? on the popular soap Dallas.
Rubik’s Cube Debuts
The Rubik’s Cube puzzle toy debuts internationally during January at a toy fair in London. The toy had been created by Erno Rubik in the 1970s and was first patented as the “Magic Cube” in Hungary in 1975. The colorful puzzle was soon picked up by Ideal Toys to develop the toy for a global market. After its introduction in early 1980, the Rubik’s Cube hit toy stores in May of that year. By the following year it was a huge success causing a worldwide craze. Competitions for who could solve the puzzle the fastest emerged and it still remains popular today.
US defeats Soviet Union in ice hockey in what was labeled the “Miracle on Ice”
The United States Olympic ice hockey team makes history at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics on February 22nd in what was later called the “Miracle on Ice.” The U.S. Team, composed of mostly college-level players, defeated the four-time gold medal winning team from the Soviet Union in one of the greatest upsets in sports history. The game was the semi-final and would determine who would go on to compete for the gold. the Soviet team had not lost a single Olympic hockey game since 1968 and were the heavy favorites, but the Americans amazingly beat them with a score of 4-3 and continued on to the final match, winning again against Finland. This was the second time that the United States had won the gold medal in Olympic hockey.
Mount St. Helens erupts
More Information for Mount St. Helens Eruption on May 18th in Washington killing 57..
1. A series of small earthquakes near Mount St. Helens in Washington state begin in March of 1980.
2. Earthquakes throughout the month increased the volcanic activity, and near the end of the month, the volcano had its first eruption in over one hundred years as a series of steam explosions blew a crater into the summit, releasing ash.
3. The volcano remained active through most of April but then ceased activity for a number of days.
4. Volcanic activity began again in May.
5. By the middle of May on May 18 the pressure had built and Mount St. Helens experienced a huge eruption that created avalanches, explosions, large ash clouds, mudslides, and massive damage to the surrounding area.
6. A total of 57 people were killed as a result of the volcanic blast.
Start of Iran — Iraq War.
The Iran-Iraq war begins in September of 1980 after Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ordered his forces to invade Western Iran. Fighting during the war continued between the two nations until 1988 when they signed a cease-fire. A formal peace agreement to officially end the war was not signed until August of 1990. It was estimated that over one million people, military members and civilians, lost their lives as a result of the conflict
Year End Close Dow Jones 963
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 21.50%
Average Cost of new house $68,700
Median Price Of and Existing Home – $62,200 –
Average Income per year $19,500.00
Average Monthly Rent $300.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas $1.19
Average cost new car $7,200.00
Ground Beef Lb $1.39
Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head $4.77
LCD Pendant Watch $34.95
Pontiac Firebird $5,992.00
Men’s Casual Shirt $14.00
Magnavox VHS Recorder $699.00
VHS Home Movie Camera $1,599.00
Tomi Cosmic Combat Electronic Game $28.99
Mens 3 Piece Suit $89.95
From our 1980 US Cars Page
Ford F150 Truck
Price: From $7,595
EPA : 19 MPG
Description This offers a great example of auto manufacturer changing engines and designs to meet the fuel efficiency Americans were looking for following the fuel crisis with the new F150 providing 19 MPG EPA with a 4.9L 300 CID six cylinder engine.
CNN Launches
CNN (Cable News Network) began broadcasting on June 1st. The American-based network was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and founded by Ted Turner. It was the first 24-hour news network available to cable subscribers in the United States and Canada and has since become available worldwide. The network originally struggled to find success but by the mid- 1980s it had gained more influence and became well known for its live coverage of events as they happened, often being the first to broadcast during big news events.
The Staggers Act
The Staggers Act of 1980 comes into effect in October of 1980. The Act allowed for the deregulation of the United States Rail Industry which had remained largely untouched since the 1887 Interstate Commerce Act that had been created with the purpose of regulating the booming rail industry and the monopolies that had been controlling the rails. The Staggers Act allowed carriers greater freedom in establishing rates as well as increasing the overall flexibility of the industry. The deregulation was thought of as necessary as the automobiles and trucking greatly overshadowed rail in the 20th century.
Post-It Notes
3M begins sales of it’s latest product Post-It Notes invented by Arthur Fry and Spencer Silver.
More Information for the creation of Post-It Notes
Post-It notes are officially introduced to U.S. stores during April of 1980. The innovative product featured a square, yellow notepad that had a lightweight and sticky adhesive strip on the back of each note, making it removable. The product was created by the 3M corporation in 1974 by scientists Spencer Silver and Art Fry. Silver had created the adhesive earlier and Fry came up with the idea to use the adhesive on a note. The notes were then market tested in 1978 under the name “Press n’ Peel.” By 1980, interest in the product increased and they were officially added to shelves in stores across the country.
Former Beatle John Lennon is shot to death
Popular musician and former Beatles member John Lennon was shot and killed by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman outside of Lennon’s apartment in Manhattan during December of 1980 at the age of 40. Lennon, beloved by many around the world for his talent as an artist and outspoken nature as a public figure, had given an autograph to Chapman earlier in the day and was returning home from a recording studio with his wife Yoko Ono at the time of the attack. In the days following his death hundreds of fans gathered outside of his apartment in mourning.
Cencus US Population
Latest Cencus reveals US Population is 226,504,825
U.S. Severe Summer Heat Wave
Severe Summer Heat Wave in Southern US Causes 1,117 deaths in 20 States
Mini Gold Rush in Australian
Mini Gold Rush in Australian outback after gold is discovered.
Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act Passed
US Passes “Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act” to tax high profits by oil companies
The Killer Clown
The Killer Clown ( John Wayne Gacy Jr ) sentenced to death for the murder of 33 boys and young men.
Israel introduced Shekel
Israel Replaces the Pound with a new currency the Shekel
MGM Grand Hotel
Fire Destroys the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas
Italy terrorist bombing
Right wing terrorists explode a bomb at Bologna railway station, Italy killing over 70
6.0 earthquake strikes southern Italy causing the death of more than 3,000 people
Rioting Liberty City, Miami
Rioting Liberty City, Miami on on May 17 leaves 18 dead
A severe and destructive thunderstorm strikes four counties in western Wisconsin
Hurricane Allen hits landfall on Haiti and Jamaica
Born This Year in 1980
Born: November 17th, Tulsa, OK
Born: July 10th, Abilene, TX
Born: August 26th, New York, NY
Born: October 21st, Los Angeles, CA
Matthew Gray Gubler
Born: March 9th, Las Vegas, NV
Born: January 16th, New York, NY
1980 Mens and Womens Fashion Clothes
Part of our Collection of Toys From this Year
Popular Culture 1980
Millions of viewers tune into the TV soap opera Dallas to learn who shot lead character J.R. Ewing.
John Lennon is shot outside his New York apartment
The Rubik’s Cube goes on Sale From Ideal Toy Corp ( invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik
Popular Films
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Coal Miner’s Daughter
Popular Music
Adam and the Ants
Blondie with ” Call Me “
KC and The Sunshine Band
Queen with ” Another One Bites the Dust “
Diana Ross ” Upside Down “
Olivia Newton-John with ” Magic “
Electric Light Orchestra
Popular TV
The Facts Of Life
The Dukes Of Hazzard
Alexander Kielland platform capsized in the North Sea with the loss of 123
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games are held in Lake Placid, New York, United States
Zimbabwe formerly Rhodesia gains independence
Majority black rule in Zimbabwe
Solidarity Trade Union
Solidarity Trade Union Formed in Poland and shipyard workers go on strike
Iran US Hostages
Failed operation by US to free hostages in Iran
Yassar Arafat is elected the President of the Palestinian National Council
Ronald Reagan Elected President of the USA
UK Iran Embassy
Terrorists seize Iran embassy and hostages in London leading to the British SAS storming embassy and releasing hostages
Japan becomes the worlds largest auto producing country
US leads boycott of Moscow Olympics
US leads boycott of Moscow Olympics in protest at Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
political refugees from Cuba
Mariel boat lift mass exodus of political refugees from Cuba to the United States
Spain and United Kingdom agree to reopen the border between Gibraltar and Spain closed since 1969.
© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved thepeoplehistory.com
The 1980s
In the 1980s, a new conservatism arose in social, economic and political life, characterized by the policies of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. For some, the 1960s and 1970s had been a troubling time that undermined Americans’ confidence in their fellow citizens and in their government. The 1980s, often remembered for its materialism and consumerism, also saw the rise of the “yuppie,” an explosion of blockbuster movies and the emergence of cable networks like CNN and MTV, which introduced the music video and launched the careers of many iconic artists. The AIDS crisis of the 1980s would go on to kill more than 700,000 people in the United States alone.
Reagan Revolution
The populist conservative movement known as the New Right enjoyed unprecedented growth in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It appealed to a diverse assortment of Americans including evangelical Christians, anti-tax crusaders, advocates of a more powerful American presence abroad, disaffected white liberals and defenders of a free market with few if any regulations.
Did You Know? At the beginning of the decade, as the Cold War showed no signs of easing, arms control advocates argued for a “nuclear freeze” agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1982, almost a million people rallied in support of the freeze in New York City’s Central Park. Many historians believe this was the largest mass demonstration in American history.
The movement resonated with many citizens who had once supported more liberal policies but who no longer believed the Democratic Party represented their interests.
During and after the 1980 presidential election, these disaffected former liberals came to be known as “Reagan Democrats.” They contributed millions of crucial votes to the victory of Republican Ronald Reagan, the former actor and governor of California, over incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter.
Reaganomics
Reagan advocated for industrial deregulation, reductions in government spending and tax cuts for both individuals and corporations, as part of an economic plan he and his advisors referred to as “supply-side economics.” His economic and social agenda was largely shared by his across-the-pond friend, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
The resulting economic growth would allegedly “trickle down” to everyone—but whether it did or not is a matter of ongoing debate among politicians and economists. George H.W. Bush, campaigning against Reagan in the 1980 primary election, referred to his opponent’s economic policy as “voodoo economics.”
Reagan’s economic policies—known as Reaganomics—initially proved less successful than its partisans had hoped, particularly when it came to a key tenet of the plan: balancing the budget.
Huge increases in military spending—during the Reagan administration, Pentagon spending would reach $34 million an hour—were not offset by spending cuts or tax increases elsewhere. This fact, plus Reagan’s militaristic posture in international affairs, earned him the nickname “Ronald Ray-Gun.”
By early 1982, the United States was experiencing its worst recession since the Great Depression. Nine million people were unemployed in November of that year. Businesses closed, families lost their homes and farmers lost their land. The economy slowly righted itself, however, and Reaganomics grew popular again.
Even the stock market crash of October 1987 did little to undermine the confidence of middle-class and wealthy Americans in the president’s economic agenda. Many also overlooked the fact that Reagan’s policies created record budget deficits: During his eight years in office, the federal government accumulated more debt than it had in its entire history.
Reagan Doctrine
Like many other American leaders during the Cold War, Reagan believed that the spread of communism anywhere threatened freedom everywhere. As a result, his administration was eager to provide financial and military aid to anticommunist governments and insurgencies around the world. This policy, applied in nations including Grenada, El Salvador and Nicaragua, was known as the Reagan Doctrine.
In November 1986, it emerged that the White House had illegally sold arms to Iran in an effort to win the freedom of U.S. hostages in Lebanon, and then diverted money from the sales to Nicaraguan rebels known as the Contras. The Iran-Contra affair, as it became known, resulted in the convictions—later reversed—of Reagan’s national security adviser, John Poindexter, and Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, a member of the National Security Council.
Despite its mixed track record, a majority of Americans still believed in the conservative agenda by the late 1980s. When Ronald Reagan left office in 1989, he had the highest approval rating of any president since Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1988, Reagan’s vice president, George H. W. Bush, soundly defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the presidential election.
Fall of Communism
While Reagan and Thatcher trumpeted the march of conservative politics and capitalism, the foundations of communism grew increasingly shaky. In Poland, former electrician Lech Walesa led striking workers to form Solidarity, the first labor union to develop in a Soviet bloc nation. In 1980, representatives of the communist government of Poland agreed to the demands of the strikers.
In 1985, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began to introduce the twin concepts of glasnost, or “openness” and perestroika, or “restructuring,” to revive the moribund Soviet economy—but those efforts yielded few tangible results.
By the end of the 1980s, communism was in rapid retreat across Europe and Asia. The Berlin Wall, which had long divided the German city into an eastern, communist-held half and a western democratic half, was torn down by ecstatic crowds in 1989. And two years later, the Soviet Union collapsed.
In communist China, the Tiananmen Square protests—student-led demonstrations calling for democracy, free speech and a free press—began in the spring of 1989. In June of that year, the protests were ended by the Chinese government in a bloody crackdown known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Yuppie Culture
In some respects, the popular culture of the 1980s reflected the era’s political conservatism. For many people, the embodiment of the decade was the young, urban professional, or “yuppie,” a baby boomer with a college education, a good-paying job and expensive taste.
Many people derided yuppies for being self-centered and materialistic, and surveys of young urban professionals across the country showed that they were, indeed, more concerned with making money and buying consumer goods than their parents and grandparents had been.
Movies in the 1980s
Unlike the 1970s, when hard-hitting movies addressed controversial subjects, lighthearted fare seemed to reign supreme in the 1980s. Films like “Ghostbusters,” “Die Hard,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” kept audiences enthralled and box office receipts high.
The decade was also the era when blockbusters dominated: Movies like “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Beverly Hills Cop” and mammoth franchises like the Indiana Jones, Back to the Future and Star Wars series appealed to moviegoers of all ages, making hundreds of millions of dollars in domestic and international releases.
But not everything was superficial escapism: Many now-famous directors honed their craft with dark, serious movies like David Lynch in “Blue Velvet” and “The Elephant Man,” Martin Scorsese in “Raging Bull” and Gus Van Sant in “Drugstore Cowboy.”
Television in the 1980s
At home, millions watched family sitcoms like “The Cosby Show,” “The Simpsons,” “thirtysomething” “Family Ties,” “Roseanne” and “Married. with Children.” They also skipped broadcast network fare and watched rented movies on their new VCRs.
By the end of the 1980s, broadcast networks realized they were in serious trouble as 60 percent of American television owners had cable service. Soon, cable companies like HBO, Cinemax, TBS and Nickelodeon were household names.
In 1980, the Cable News Network first aired, and soon CNN became a major player in delivering U.S. and international news via satellite worldwide, 24 hours a day. One year later, another revolutionary cable network, MTV, made its debut and completely changed the way Americans thought about music, dance and fashion.
Music in the 1980s
The music videos MTV played made stars out of bands like Duran Duran, R.E.M. and Culture Club and megastars out of artists like Madonna, Prince, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, whose elaborate “Thriller” video helped sell 600,000 albums in the five days after its first broadcast.
Later, MTV became a forum for those who went against the grain or were left out of predominantly white, yuppie culture. Rap and hip-hop artists such as Public Enemy channeled the frustration of urban Blacks into their powerful album “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.”
But because of the consistent promotion of white musicians and bands on MTV, other venues soon opened up for emerging artists. BET, or Black Entertainment Television, premiered in 1980 as a challenger to MTV by promoting Black bands and musicians.
Hard rock acts such as Metallica and Guns N’ Roses captured the sense of malaise among young people, particularly young men. The 1980s also saw the growing popularity of electronic music, house music, reggae, new wave and other dance-club favorites.
Fashion in the 1980s
In addition to serving as a platform for music, MTV also influenced fashion: People across the country (and around the world) did their best to copy the hairstyles and fashions they saw in music videos. Soon, musicians like Madonna, MC Hammer and Boy George also became style icons.
But behind the gloss of MTV, another influence grew in both music and fashion: Punk culture and new-wave fashion, especially in London, grew from a late-1970s trend into a potent 1980s fashion force worldwide, with designers like Vivienne Westwood leading the charge. Ripped jeans and jackets—replete with safety pins and other metallic adornments—Doc Martens boots, spiked hair and heavy makeup were all the rage.
Other fashion trends from the 1980s included athletic wear—running shoes or basketball shoes, track suits and leg warmers—worn as everyday clothing. The preppy look, which mimicked the clothing worn by Ivy League students and buttoned-up professionals, invaded college campuses and nightclubs alike, following the success of “The Official Preppy Handbook,” published by Lisa Birnbach in 1980.
AIDS Crisis
In 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other sources began reporting on an outbreak of unusual health conditions in otherwise healthy, young gay men in New York City, San Francisco and other urban areas.
Within a few years, an alarmed public learned about the spread of a deadly infectious disease now known as AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, transmitted by direct contact with bodily fluids. Because it was initially dismissed by many—including the political and medical establishments—as occurring only among gay men, the disease spread rapidly, with at least 100,000 U.S. cases and an estimated 400,000 AIDS cases worldwide by the end of the 1980s.
After news broke that a number of popular figures—including Rock Hudson, Keith Haring, Magic Johnson, Greg Louganis and Liberace—were infected with the disease, the government, medical officials and the general public rallied to prevent the spread of AIDS and offer help to those affected.
Red ribbons supporting AIDS awareness soon adorned clothes, books, cars and public buildings, including the White House. The first antiviral treatment for AIDS, azidothymidine (AZT), was made available in 1987 and was followed by other, more advanced treatments, but the disease remains a health threat to this day.
Women in the News
Expanding on the hard-won rights that women earned in previous decades, women were leaders in many arenas in the 1980s, from politics to science and the arts. Maggie Thatcher was elected as the first woman prime minister of Great Britain, and Corazon Aquino—following the assassination of her husband, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr.—was ushered into office as the first women president of the Philippines.
U.S. astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space on the space shuttle Challenger in 1983. On the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O’Connor was appointed by President Reagan as the first woman to serve as associate justice.
Arguably the most famous woman of the era was Princess Diana, who married Charles, the Prince of Wales, in an elaborate 1981 televised wedding watched by some 750 million people around the world. Her visage was to grace television screens and magazine covers for many years thereafter until Diana’s death in 1997.
Disasters
A number of disasters, both natural and manmade, made headlines in the 1980s. The decade began with the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington. The titanic explosion claimed more than 50 human lives and destroyed thousands of acres of forest and rangeland.
In Bhopal, India, an explosion at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in 1984 led to the worst industrial accident in history. At least 2,000 people died and another 200,000 were injured when poisonous gas enveloped the city.
Memories of the 1979 nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania were revived when the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine exploded in 1986, killing dozens of people, sickening many more and sending plumes of radioactive particles into the air as far as Sweden. Mikhail Gorbachev would later say the Chernobyl disaster “was perhaps the real cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union five years later.”
In Alaska, the pristine shores of Prince William Sound were stained black in 1989 when the Exxon Valdez tanker spilled some 11 million gallons of crude oil into the sea, killing hundreds of thousands of seabirds, otters, seals and whales. Even 30 years later, pockets of crude oil remained in some areas.
And in the blue skies above Cape Canaveral, Florida, the space shuttle Challenger exploded as millions of people watched on television and on the ground. All seven crew members aboard were killed.
Technology in the 1980s
Throughout the 1970s, computers were expensive devices that remained the province of a handful of garage tinkerers and multibillion-dollar entities like IBM and NASA. But all that changed during the 1980s, the decade that introduced the world to the video game Pac-Man.
IBM released the IBM Model 5150, the first IBM personal computer, to much fanfare in 1981. One year later, the Commodore 64 personal computer debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and TIME magazine named The Computer as its “Man of the Year.”
Soon, scattered computer users began to communicate with one another through an early network developed by the U.S. Department of Defense: ARPANET. In 1983, the network adopted TCP/IP, a set of communications protocols that led to the creation of the internet, and the modern era of computer communications was born.
With the personal computer, or PC, now available to middle-class consumers, Microsoft—founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen—soon became the dominant player in PC software. In 1983, Microsoft released Word, a simple, practical word-processing program, followed in 1985 by Windows, now the world’s most popular computer operating system. And Apple released its first Apple computer in 1984.
Communication took another leap forward when Motorola introduced the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, a handheld cellular telephone. Weighing in at 1 lb., 12 ounces and 13 inches tall, the brick-like cell phone was a novelty at the time, but it heralded the beginning of a new era. By 2021, almost 15 million cell phones would be in use worldwide.
Sources
Timeline: 1980s. Security and Exchange Commission: Historical Society.
List of 1980’s Major News Events in History. The People History.
The 10 biggest tech breakthroughs of the 1980s. TechRadar.
POP Culture: 1980. United States Census Bureau.
1980s: Pop Culture in Excess. The Guardian (UCSD).
The 10 defining moments of the 1980s. SBS.
HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan, Matt Mullen and Christian Zapata.
“Старенька” і “макака”: прізвиська мотоциклів ХХ ст.
Власне ім’я від користувача, навіть якщо воно не дуже милозвучне – ознака успіху, як не крути. Як мінімум це значить, що продуктом користувалося багато людей протягом чималого періоду. Разом з ветеранами мотосправи “Авто 24” пригадав прізвиська, якими називали свої мотоциклів наші батьки та дідусі.
Етимологія прізвиськ, як і походження висловів народної мудрості, стала темою не для одної дисертації. Внесемо і ми свою лепту у цю справу, тим більше, серед нас ще чимало тих, хто свого часу здіймав куряву на цих самих “стареньких” та “макаках”.
За радянських часів мотоцикл позиціонувався не лише як засіб для розваг, а й як транспорт для щоденних поїздок
Пес, Пе еС
Звісно, це про “ІЖ Планета Спорт”. Пес – слово, співзвучне промові літер П та С, якими часто кратко позначали цей ІЖ. Іноді на нього казали також просто “Спорт”, причому при відмінюванні наголос робили на останній склад: не “СпОрта”, а “СпортА”.
“ІЖ Планета Спорт” не мав собі рівних у тій країні, тож щоб представити його, замість імені було достатньо озвучити дві літери: Пе еС
Найпотужніший на вітчизняних шляхах мотоцикл-”одинак” (32 к.с.) викликах повагу в усіх, хто хоч трохи тямив щось у мототехніці. Але купували його не всі – по-перше, він коштував аж 1000 крб., а по-друге, вимагав особливої мужності при керуванні.
Старенька
Цим теплим словом і дотепер звуть чехословацькі мотоцикли Jawa серій 354 та 360. Прізвисько з’явилося після того, як на ринок вийшла наступна модель “Яви”, але називати відправлену у відставку стильну машину старою ні в кого, певно, не повертався язик.
Прізвисько “Старенька” у СРСР отримали усі Jawa серій 354 та 360. Але це сталося лише після появи новішої моделі
А ось старенька – це зовсім інше, тим більше, що і м’які лінії її екстер’єру цілком відповідали лагідній фонетиці цього слова. А ще моделі цієї лінійки називали Сливкою – за характерну форму баку.
Вишневка, Вишнева
Народна назва для ще однієї Jawa – серії 634 у ранніх модифікаціях аж до 634.4.03. Як і попередниця Старенька, серія 634 на радянському ринку спочатку була темно-червоного кольору. У 1976 році вона поміняла колір на яскраво-червоний, і для того, щоб відрізняти рестайлінгову версію від ранньої кращого імені годі було й шукати.
Ідентифікувати ранні модифікації Jawa серії 634 найпростіше виявилося за кольором – тому їх так і називали: Вишневка
Пенал, Мильниця
Своє ім’я, навіть декілька, отримала і остання з “Яв”, які продавалися у Союзі – серії 638. В неї були розвинені панелі облицювання, незвичні для радянських мотоциклістів тієї пори, тож за цією головною ознакою модель і отримала своє прізвисько.
В технічному плані остання на радянському просторі “Ява 638” була неоднозначною, але зовнішність її справляла враження
Іноді її також називали “люксовою”, хоча історики чехословацької марки кажуть, що сам завод позиціонував як “Люкс” лише одну з пізніх версій Пенала.
Чиза
Чехословацький Cezet найчастіше “Чезетом” і називали, але іноді молоді мотоциклісти зривалися на таке скорочення. При тому, що основні агрегати і системи мотоциклів цієї марки були від Jawa, вони мали власну, полегшену екіпажну частину. Що давало підстави позиціонувати Cezet як спортивний молодіжний мотоцикл. І молодь, власне, з цим погоджувалася.
Cezet як не дуже практичний найчастіше обирали молоді хлопці. Їхня схильність до спрощення і скорочень породила сленгове ім’я Чиза
Їжак
Тут все ясно – так на сленгу називали всі мотоцикли іжевського заводу (350 куб. см, 18 – 28 к.с.) у 1970 – 1990-ті. Звісно, часто для ясності доводилося додавати “Планета третя” або, скажімо, “Четвертий Юпітер”.
ІЖів одночасно продавалося та експлуатувалося ледь не десяток моделей, тому крім прізвиська Їжак часто доводилося додавати ім’я моделі та індекс
Проте, одноциліндрові “Планети” молодь здебільшого не шанувала (ІЖ ПС – окремий випадок), хоча вони справедливо вважалися більш надійними. Юні мотоциклісти більше любили двоциліндрові “Юпітери”, які при тих же 350 “кубиках” об’єму видавали більшу потужність і краще крутилися “на верхах”.
Ковровець
Так по старому називали мотоцикли “Восход” люди старшого покоління, які знали цю 175-кубову техніку Ковровського мотозаводу саме під брендом “Ковровець” (до 1965 р.).
Нічого дивного не було у тому, що “Восход” іноді називали Ковровцем – за першим найменуванням мотоцикла ковровського заводу ім. Дегтярева
Важкий мотоцикл
Так шанобливо говорили і на ірбітський “Урал”, і на київський “Дніпро”. В країні були два виробника, які випускали мотоцикли з 650-кубовими чотиритактними моторами-опозитниками, і мати такий мріяли багато хто з хазяйновитих чоловіків.
Це у нас важкі опозитні мотоцикли були транспортом для хазяйновитих чоловіків, у а Європі на “Дніпрі” роз’їжджає сам Челентано
Принципової різниці між “Уралом” і “Дніпром” не було, купували той, який траплявся у магазині, тому і класифікували їх у народі терміном “важкий”, а не за типом двигуна (це тепер МТ “Дніпро” та його родичів називають “опозитами”). До речі, поняття “важкий мотоцикл” було тоді офіційним класом у типажі вітчизняної мотопромисловості.
Макака
Так трошки зневажливо йменувала молодь мотоцикли “Мінськ”. А дарма, адже найменший з радянських мотоциклів міг дати фору за безвідмовністю будь-якому Їжаку. Проста і невибаглива конструкція, а також мала вага зробили його популярним серед людей середнього віку, кому потрібен був невибагливий транспорт для недалеких поїздок.
Макаку (від народження – “Мінськ”) шанували не лише на селі. Городяни її тримали навіть у квартирах і підвалах багатоповерхівок, закочуючи сходами по дошці.
Колясич
Узагальнююча назва для мотоцикла з боковим причепом – коляскою. В Союзі масово експлуатувався цей вид транспорту, причому практично всі мотоцикли з двигуном 350 куб. см могли експлуатуватися у триколісному варіанті. Винятком були IЖ ПС та Cezet, які вважалися спортивними і не мали на рамі відповідних місць для кріплення причепу. Panonnia, навпаки, маючи двигун лише 250 куб. см, комплектувалася власною коляскою.
Коляски до ІЖів та “Яв” вільно продавалися у магазинах.
Для вітчизняних машин продавалися зручні моделі марки БП Вятсько-Полянського заводу, а для Jawa склопластикові коляски постачалися з Чехословаччини – марки Velorex. Важкі мотоцикли “Урал” та “Дніпро” без колясок не продавалися і більше того – експлуатувати ці справді важкі і потужні байки у двоколісному варіанті не дозволялося. Винятком були міліцейські “Урали” та ескортні “Дніпри”, але на них їздили спеціально підготовані люди.
Швидше за все, ми згадали не всі прізвиська, якими нагороджували вітчизняні мотоциклісти минулого століття, адже ані ми самі, ані наші експерти не жили у тій країні протягом всього ХХ століття. Тим більше, що частина назв, певно, були регіональними. Але дух епохи і силу кохання наших батьків та дідусів до своїх залізних коней, сподіваємося, з цим імен можна зрозуміти.