Is it an 88 or 89?

[Guest]

The production number on the door jam of my Reatta says the car was built on November of 1988. I purchased the car with the understanding it was an 89. Which is it? Could I essentially list the car as a bookend year of 1988?<P>Thanks!

[reattadudes]

three easy ways to tell an '88 from an '89: 1) hood badge is about three inches in diameter on the '89, smaller on the '88, 2) switches on the front of the console: 4 on '88, 2 on '89, 3)steering wheel center on '89 matches the logo on the hood badge, '88 is just a stylized "R" in black and silver.<P>when all else fails: look for the model year on the underhood emission label.

[Guest]

I have conzulted with Jo Jo Simard and Clio and you have a 1989

[Rattaboy]

An '89 could have been built in late '88. The usual model change takes place around Sept. more or less. The 10th character of the VIN is J in '88 and K in '89.

[padgett]

An American institution is the concept of the "model year". It seems to have begun in the early 1900's (know Zenith radios went to a model year early on) with the intent of allowing purchaser's to buy "next year's" model as Christmas presents.<P>Slowly this backed up as manufacturers tried to have a jump on the competition until the present when the new year's models are introduced at the start of the fourth quarter.<P>In order to have sufficient stock at introduction, production actually starts about eight weeks earlier with a few cars of available for magazine "long leads".<P>Midyear introductions became a fad in the early 60's with the result that the earliest "next year's" model can be introduced is either Feb or March (anyone know the exact date ?)<p>[ 07-10-2002: Message edited by: padgett ]