The previously unthinkable is about to happen. The end of days. Well, at least the end of Stranger Things. The best thing to happen to TV in the last decade, bar Olivia Atwood’s Bad Boyfriends, obvs. A welcome shot in the arm for any kid of the 80’s from the first time around;. And who’s therefore now middle-aged and surviving on a diet of nostalgia, whimsy and severe withdrawal symptoms for their carefree formative years. And clearly with a thing for writing in the third person.

As we write (late-November 2025) we’re just hours away from the much-trumpeted final chapter of a TV show which pretty much everyone is talking about. Indeed, there’s more chance of escaping from the Upside Down than there is 24 hour social media reels dedicated to Nancy’s new barnet, Steve’s recurrently bouffant-y barnet and Eleven with evidence of an actual barnet.

Our ‘Who Shot JR’ Moment Is Nearly Upon Us….

We’re deliriously binge-watching live feeds of the cast rocking up at official screenings and premieres around the globe, while joyously consuming snippets of variations of the same ensemble group sat on Joyce’s sofa discussing iconic moments from seasons 1 – 4. Our only viewing pleasure until the curtains go up on season 5.

Arguably the most anticipated moment in TV history since the beginning of the season which followed the season (although they were simply called ‘series’ back then) where J.R Ewing was shot in Dallas. And the world wanted to know who was holding the gun.

Times and weapons of choice designated for (potentially) killing off box office cast members may have changed beyond recognition since, well, the 1980’s.. With guns being usurped by Demigorgons and Vecna’s. Although the very basis of these belongs in authentic Dallas timelines, courtesy of the popularity of Dungeons and Dragons back in the day.

But the sense of what-happens-next is equally unbearable for those of us waiting to watch the final outcome of an on-going story which has captured the imagination of a global following.

Glue-sniffers and Flashers

Of course, not everything that was huge in the decade of excess (or blatantly inspired by it) has made a welcome return with more recent reinvention. The Dallas reboot being about as well-received as glue-sniffing and flashers when it reappeared on our screens in the mid-twenty-tens.

Yet Stranger Things – which came into being roughly the same time – was an altogether different tank of Darts. And was as enthusiastically embraced as A.L.F, Big-Trak, Phoebe Cates, BMX’s and mix tapes. Because it allowed us all to OD on pure 80’s vibes. Re-live our well-spent youth. Re-connect with our favourite things in a time and place where the stresses of the aspirational hamster wheel amounted to nothing more than whether your station wagon had wood-panelling on the sides. 

If you were American that is.

Here in the UK, automotive status-chasing was defined by the boot  badge on your dad’s car. In ascending order of provincial sale rep street cred we observed L, GL, GLS, GLi, Ghia, Envoy, Diplomat, Connoisseur, etc. 

Which brings us nicely to the point of this blog.

The Point of This Blog

Just which characters in Stranger Things drive the coolest cars. Or if we’re adhering to the principles of SEO good practice; ‘Which Of The Stranger Things Cars Is The Coolest.’

Although grammatically-speaking, there should be a question mark at the end of that last sentence. But question marks seldom count toward search engine optimization kudos.

The contenders are as follows, whilst the debating chamber will fling open its doors for business after the drop.

In no particular semblance of order at this juncture we have Barb Holland’s 1988 Veedub Golf cabriolet, Steve Harrington’s 1983 BMW 733i, Billy Hargroves’ 1979 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Joyce Byers’ 1976 Ford Pinto, Sheriff Hopper’s 1980 Chevrolet K5 Blazer, Jonathan Byer’s 1971 Ford LTD sedan, Argyle’s 1984 VW Vanagon, Nancy Wheeler’s 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park and Bob Newby’s 1983 Toyota Camry Liftback.

Nine very eclectic vehicles which on first appearance seem virtually impossible to pick between. Also the factors which influence the ultimate decision are about as vague as some of Steve’s expressions. After all, ‘cool’ is subjective. And one person’s meat is another person’s poison, etc.

Still, we’re not here to get bogged down in anything as homework-y as stats, quantitative aspects or the practical elements. That being said, as ‘car people’ we feel it necessary to address the obvious elephant in the room from the outset.

Notably the recently-ish departed, Barb’s car.

When Is An Early 80’s VW Golf NOT An Early 80’s VW Golf?

The short answer being, when it’s a blurry late 80’s VW golf. 

What?

As car buffs are quick to point out, the Veedub clipper rag-top driven by the hapless Barb was in fact a 1988 model year example of the marque. Yet the episodes in which it features are supposedly set some five years previous. Which essentially means that the revised/facelifted Golf cabrio hadn’t yet undergone the subsequent revision/facelift. 

Which is a bit of an unexpected faux pas from the normally fastidious researchers on Stranger Things, when considering how incredibly accurate they have been with everything else from this era. That being said reliable sources tell us that they had intended to use an earlier VW Rabbit convertible (to adhere to the authentic ‘83 aesthetic). Until that is the period-incorrect model was accidentally used.

Still, it’s only really car pedants who would be any the wiser as to this automotive typo, and the angular Golf soft-top in all its iterations would have been a popular spot back in the 1980’s day, per se. So we won’t say anything, if you don’t. PLUS, it was a proper rad hatchback, irrespective.

Steve Harrington’s 1983 BMW 733i

If you think Barb was lucky to find herself behind the wheel of the seminal Golf convertible, then Steve Harrington got an even better car deal. His burgundy-hued 733i flagship 7-Series might have been earmarked as the unofficial Uber for most of Stranger Things’ younger cast members throughout Steve’s babysitting story-arc, but nonetheless it was a car so cool that it’s been immortalised by Hot Wheels as part of their ‘Pop Culture’ collection.

Automotively, few cars shout ‘the 80’s’ quite as loudly as a shark-nosed 7-Series. Conversely however, it’s the Beemer’s largely played-down subtlety that was responsible for its enduring appeal.

Of course, if your mate regularly drove to school in something of this ilk when Kate Bush was Running Up That Hill at the first time of asking, then it’s almost a given that they would have been universally described as all of the following:

Popular with girls

Great at all sports

Had rich parents

Wore Nike Cortez trainers

Knew how to ski

Had a punchable face

Billy Hargroves’ 1979 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

If you championed the double denim look and sported a ITV ‘Bullseye’ prize-winning mullet in the 80’s then the chances are you also owned a Chevrolet Camaro. You were probably a NASCAR fan and ostensibly God-fearing too. Now, while we can’t vouch for the latter pairing/wild assumption, we can’t fail to appreciate that Billy Hargroves was magnanimous in both the arenas of double denim and dartboard-attracting mullets.

Wardrobe choices aside though, Billy’s car choices were peerless for the time. The time being 1983 as we’ve already established. If you nonchalantly glance at a list of Camaro pilots who featured prominently in popular culture, then you can instantly recognise the revered company young Billy finds himself in. Fast and Furious’ Paul Walker drove a ‘69 Camaro, as did Christopher Walken in the movie, ‘At Close Range’. Elsewhere, Tom Hank’s astronaut character from ‘Apollo 13’ also owned a ‘67 Camaro, whilst in ‘Heat’, Pacino and DeNiro drove Camaro’s.

Critics could concur that the Camaro is therefore a little too predictable – bordering on passe – to ascend to the top of our Stranger Things cool wall.

Joyce Byers’ 1976 Ford Pinto

Poor, downtrodden Joyce Byers. Isn’t it bad enough that she’s had to endure the worst 80’s wardrobe of ANY of the characters in all four seasons AND see her youngest son disappear more times than a INSERT PUN HERE. Not to mention witness one of the kids out of The Goonies get devoured by a plant-headed predator as a slightly rotund forty-something geek. But to shoehorn her behind the wheel of a non-descript lime green Ford Pinto would make us want to voluntarily throw ourselves into the path of an oncoming demidog.

A car lest we forget that’s generally considered the most dangerous classic on the rightside up, courtesy of a reputation for exploding fuel tanks should you be involved in a rear-end collision. It’s also so fugly it makes the AMC Gremlin look like something sculpted by Rodin.

Police Chief Hopper’s 1980 Chevrolet K5 Blazer

A no-nonsense guy will always want a no-nonsense whip. Although provided as a ‘company car’, Hop’s 1980 Chevy K5 Blazer is as no-nonsense as a vehicle ever gets. Redoubtable, functional and in permanent beast mode, if ever a utilitarian ride visually echoed its owner/driver, then the Blazer/Hop-synergy is a vehicular marriage made in heaven. 

Never not driven in haste and/or anger, this otherwise angular Chevy can take everything Hop throws at it as possibly THE most seen vehicle in all four seasons to date. And every time we feast our eyes upon it, it never fails to remind us of an oversized Tonka toy; systematically adding to the on-going 80’s nostalgia-fest to our minds.

Jonathan Byer’s 1971 Ford LTD

If the aforementioned Steve, Billy and Hopper are portrayed as very much alpha males, then Jonathan Byers is in stark contrast, Athena Man. All artsy, angsty and misunderstood. The sort of guy captured in a monochrome lens, clutching a small child to his chest. The archetypal shoe-gazer. Someone very much in touch with their feminine side. 

Portrayed as a loner, he’d doubtless be inspired by the lyrics of Morrissey and Robert Smith, and permanently projects a sort of moody, ‘tortured soul’ aura. He’d also drive an early 70’s Ford LTD which had seen better days. Frilly around the edges, and about as reliable as INSERT QUAISI-WITTY UNRELIABLE EXAMPLE HERE.

A car as seemingly disenfranchised and as unapologetic as the driver himself. A what-you-see-is-what-you-get car for a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kinda guy.

Argyle’s 1984 VW Vanagon

‘My dude’ might not have rocked up until season 4, however pizza-delivering, recreational drug fan, Argyle certainly made up for lost time thanks to his scene-stealing spirited driving techniques. His distinctive pizzamobile circumnavigated a host of US states so as to rescue Eleven from the site of the Nina Project.

Astonishingly – to anyone who’s ever owned a 1986 Vanagon – it guaranteed the safe passage of Mike, Will, Jonathan (and eventually, Eleven) from California to Hawkins, Indiana, with perma-stoned slacker, Argyle at the helm. A cooler camper, you’d go an even longer way to find.

Nancy Wheeler’s 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park

If you had arrived in life in mid-America during the mid-1980’s then a middle-class household would almost certainly find a wood-panelled station wagon sat on the driveway. And the Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park was as good as any example of the, er, marque.

Responsible, resourceful and reliable, this erstwhile estate car mirrored Nancy’s very own core values. Yet when pushed, would instantly kick the necessary ass and go totally ghetto on it, etc. Again, Nancy to a tee. Just ensure that the ignition cable is in working order if you happen to be parked up outside of a shopping mall in the plausible event that a redneck possessed by a flayer of minds in a Chevy Camaro was hell bent on taking you out. But not in a Steve or Jonathan ‘taking Nancy out’ romantic kinda way….

Bob Newby’s 1983 Toyota Camry Liftback

Again, if a car ever accurately projected the nature and social disposition of its owner/driver, then (HELLO SPOILER ALERT!) affable-yet-ultimately-doomed Bob’s terracotta coloured Toyota was bang on the money. A very sensible means of transportation for a very sensible (HELLO SPOILER ALERT! – however destined-to-meet-an-untimely-demise) chap who truly loved Joyce, don’t forget.

It’s the type of earnest, compact Japanese car you end up with if you do a lot of research beforehand and likely the sort of person acknowledged as hard into the audio visual world. If only Bob stayed pootling around in his Camry until everything died down a bit then he’d still be here now. (HELLO SPOILER ALERT!) Alas, that wasn’t to be. Still, a Toyota Camry is the most unlikely hero’s car in the history of the small screen…..

Let’s Vote For a Winner Here!

There you have it then.

Nine sassy, street-cred-y cars, all vying for the unofficial title of ‘The Coolest Car in Stranger Things’. 

The question is, WHICH is the coolest in your opinion?

Naturally we can save you the bother of trying to work it out for yourself, as the ONLY answer is Steve’s BMW 733i. Because it just is. Non-negotiable. That iconic ‘shark nose’ front end, euro-barge charm, discreet maroon exterior colour (and contrasting – if not impractical – light oatmeal leather interior) and its unswerving juxtaposition with the overtly all-American cars cited above make it a no-brainer to us.

Yes, there may be two fellow Germanic entries in the shape of the VW Vanago and Golf rag-top to distract us, but the Beemer is simply a class apart and receives our vote whichever perspective we admire it from.