Damon Darlin and John Markoff of the New York Times write:
Another breakthrough Apple product, the original Macintosh, initially sold briskly in 1984 and then stalled abruptly. The Macintosh market did not regain its luster until 1986 with the introduction of the Macintosh II.
My recollection is (and Wikipedia confirms) that the Macintosh II was released in 1987. The Macintosh Plus was released in January, 1986, and is often credited with saving the Mac by enabling the birth of desktop publishing.
Posted by Jim Matthews 