Major, paradigm-shifting geopolitical events like the literal and figurative fall of the Berlin Wall overshadowed a banner year in the automotive industry. As 1990 approached, stylists gradually shifted away from boxiness and once again injected curves into their designs. Performance was making a comeback thanks in part to the democratization of new, computer-based technologies like electronic fuel injection.

Cars were safer and cleaner than they had ever been and they were generally better equipped. Motorists could listen to grunge, another late-1980s phenomenon that blossomed during the 1990s, by popping a CD into their dashboard. Many of the cars introduced in 1989 accurately previewed the trends that influenced the automotive industry during the 1990s. From city cars to supercars, join us as celebrate the class of 1989’s 30th birthday by looking back at the highlights: