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No, Colt pretty much dropped out of the "civilian" market because they were taken over by leadership who didn't believe "civilians" should own guns, and who perceived selling guns to "civilians" as being a liability concern they didn't wish to carry. This was all well-known and well-publicized at the time ... it's not top-secret, eyes-only information.
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They also were losing their great reputation at the same time, sales were in decline, their "new" models were very lackluster, they basically did not have any good ideas left. The "revolutionary" Colt 2000 was a flop and most of their other models did not sell well. If not for the 1911s and variants, a few of the DA models, the SAA, and AR15 and variants, they wouldn't have sold much of anything. The 1911 is from 1911, the AR15 from the late 1950s, their DA revolver designs were remakes of older designs (no 44 magnum until 1990, really colt?) and the SAA was from 1873. Notice a trend here of leaning on an old design rather than new ideas? Aside from that, there were other problems such as the strike which lowered quality, the take over, etc. Most of the "new" stuff they tried flopped.
You have to understand that regardless of "new anti-gun ownership" Colt as a company was headed downhill in the 1980s, long before this ownership took over the company.
I can accept what you're saying, but it was also obviously not just what you pointed out either.