Cars Of The Seventies Can’t Get No Respect

[cawimmer430]

Cars Of The Seventies Can't Get No Respect

By Jim Sutherland on March 10, 2014



One of the constants in the world of old iron is the amount of scorn heaped on vehicles from the Me Decade, aka the Seventies. I still retain a boatload of scorn for the music from the back nine of that decade (disco sucked then, now and forever for me), but I liked the 70s vehicles, and that makes me somewhat of an outcast in car circles.

The early part of the 70s was a no-brainer for most guys because muscle cars still had plenty of horses corralled under the hood. The usual big block suspects were still street monsters during that time frame, so names like SS 454, Hemi 'Cuda and Ford Cobra Jet had plenty of menace left in their game during the early 70s. Even Buick got in the muscle game with their 1970 GS Stage 1 model and its free-breathing 455 cubic inches of hell fire under the hood.

Few people could argue about the early 70s when it came to horsepower under the hood or music on the radio, but things changed dramatically in 1973 when the oil taps were turned off in the Middle East and North America saw a big spike in gas prices at the pump.

Cheap oil was no longer a way of life and the situation got even more complicated in the US when fuel supply shortages became a big problem. In fact it was a big enough problem for people to be shot when they attempted to cut in front of angry drivers at the massive gas station lineups during the oil supply crisis.

The knee jerk reaction was to castrate the big V-8 engines and take away their testosterone. Big blocks were de-stroked and the minimal horsepower left was strangled in a complicated exhaust emission system that ensured horrible performance and little else.

The other issue in 1973 was the 5 mph bumpers legislated onto North American vehicles. The bumpers were not pretty and made the cars look like a buck-toothed kid with old school braces on his teeth. Eventually the bumpers were aligned with the lines of the car as the decade moved on, but the bumpers on most 1973 models looked like they were added on by bad automotive legislation instead of good automotive direction. Indeed they were, for all intents and purposes.

But the overall style of the 70s cars from Detroit defined the decade's automotive look and I believe there were a lot of home runs in the style department during the 70s. In fact, when I look at cars from an era that brought us short decks and long front ends like the 70s car style, I still like the look.
Sure the cars were underachievers in the horsepower department- and who can forget their first whiff of catalytic convertor exhaust effluents in '73 -but the cars looked cool to me then and now. The advent of T-top roofs was an even hipper part of the automotive culture of the 70s.

The wild decal packages on cars like the Pontiac Trans Am gave them massive curb appeal then and now in my opinion, along with hood scoops on some of the sportier cars built in the 70s. The factory horsepower ratings were low, but the cars still looked like they meant business.

Some of the cars did mean business after they underwent an emission system removal and a few engine changes by the right mechanical surgeon. The process to regain the lost muscle under the hood was rarely advertised by practitioners, but the best of them were gods to car guys in the 70s looking for more power.

I will always be a staunch defender of the unloved cars from the 70s. These rides may be the favorite whipping boy for other car guys but, unlike disco music, I have always been on the 70s cars' side- then, now and forever.

Link: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/03/cars-of-the-seventies-cant-get-no-respect/

[cawimmer430]

 

[MX793]

In automotive terms, the '70s didn't really start until ~'73.  The vast majority of cars made in '70-'72 where still very much cars of the '60s and are generally thought of as belonging to that much cooler, and much better, generation/vintage of auto.

[Soup DeVille]

I'm a big fan of a lot of '70s cars (even though Wimmer's level of Fetishism confuses me), but by no means will I defend most of them as "good" cars. It wasn't only the aforementioned gas shortages and safety regulations that conspired against them, but also a stagnating economy and rising steel prices. The cost cutting measures on almost any car designed in the '70s is readily apparent to nearly anybody who looked beneath the sutface of them. That the automakers attempted to cover up these problems with the liberal application of chrome gewgaws and ridiculous striping schemes doesn't help much either.

That being said, the styling of many of them is holding up better every year. As new cars continue to outstrip the performance of even the legendary Big Hot Mommas from the '60s, the lackluster performance of them seems less and less important by way of comparison. We reached the point long ago where classic cars were more deisrable for their history and cachet than their abilities.

I'm also seeing more and more of them show up at the summer cruise-ins and especially on the auction listings.

[280Z Turbo]

I'm a big fan of a lot of '70s cars (even though Wimmer's level of Fetishism confuses me), but by no means will I defend most of them as "good" cars. It wasn't only the aforementioned gas shortages and safety regulations that conspired against them, but also a stagnating economy and rising steel prices. The cost cutting measures on almost any car designed in the '70s is readily apparent to nearly anybody who looked beneath the sutface of them. That the automakers attempted to cover up these problems with the liberal application of chrome gewgaws and ridiculous striping schemes doesn't help much either.

That being said, the styling of many of them is holding up better every year. As new cars continue to outstrip the performance of even the legendary Big Hot Mommas from the '60s, the lackluster performance of them seems less and less important by way of comparison. We reached the point long ago where classic cars were more deisrable for their history and cachet than their abilities.

I'm also seeing more and more of them show up at the summer cruise-ins and especially on the auction listings.

The big three pretty much stopped innovating in the early 60's. No new technology was developed, no new ideas were tried. The only thing they did was hog out the bores for more power. When they could no longer do that, they had nothing. Cars got worse and worse every year.

[Soup DeVille]

The big three pretty much stopped innovating in the early 60's. No new technology was developed, no new ideas were tried. The only thing they did was hog out the bores for more power. When they could no longer do that, they had nothing. Cars got worse and worse every year.

Late '60s. Okay, maybe mid '60s.

[MX793]

The big three pretty much stopped innovating in the early 60's. No new technology was developed, no new ideas were tried. The only thing they did was hog out the bores for more power. When they could no longer do that, they had nothing. Cars got worse and worse every year.

I'm not so sure about that.  GM, at the very least, had a lot of innovative ideas through the late 60s and into the 70s.  Unfortunately, a number of them were ahead of their time and didn't work very well, or weren't well received by the public at the time, and were abandoned until years later.  Cylinder deactivation (displacement on demand), airbags, and turbocharging come to mind.

[FoMoJo]

The big three pretty much stopped innovating in the early 60's. No new technology was developed, no new ideas were tried. The only thing they did was hog out the bores for more power. When they could no longer do that, they had nothing. Cars got worse and worse every year.

You could say that nothing much happened after the mid fifties regarding technology, other than a handful of innovations developed for various racing series.  However, the cars/engines did keep getting better throughout the '60s into the very early '70s.  Some of the best motors/cars only became available in the late '60s...Z28 302, Boss 302, Boss 429, ZL1. 

[GoCougs]

The big three pretty much stopped innovating in the early 60's. No new technology was developed, no new ideas were tried. The only thing they did was hog out the bores for more power. When they could no longer do that, they had nothing. Cars got worse and worse every year.

Lots of stuff happened mid-'60s to early-'70s. Most notable IMO is the transition to unit body construction and electronic ignition, both started by Mopar. Manufacturing processes also got better and cheaper such that tech in the '50s that was considered exotic - disc brakes, 4-bbl carbs, 300+ hp - was easily had in grocery getter sedans by the late '60s.

[GoCougs]

Meh, I think there is little in the way or redemption in the true cars of the '70s. Most of the cool cars such as the Trans Am, Coronet, Fury, Duster/Dart Sport/Demon, etc., were actually holdovers from ~1970.

[Rupert]

The only hope for '70s cars were imports.

[cawimmer430]

I'm a big fan of a lot of '70s cars (even though Wimmer's level of Fetishism confuses me), but by no means will I defend most of them as "good" cars. It wasn't only the aforementioned gas shortages and safety regulations that conspired against them, but also a stagnating economy and rising steel prices. The cost cutting measures on almost any car designed in the '70s is readily apparent to nearly anybody who looked beneath the sutface of them. That the automakers attempted to cover up these problems with the liberal application of chrome gewgaws and ridiculous striping schemes doesn't help much either.

That being said, the styling of many of them is holding up better every year. As new cars continue to outstrip the performance of even the legendary Big Hot Mommas from the '60s, the lackluster performance of them seems less and less important by way of comparison. We reached the point long ago where classic cars were more deisrable for their history and cachet than their abilities.

I'm also seeing more and more of them show up at the summer cruise-ins and especially on the auction listings.

Well said. 

I know that these cars weren't "quality cars", but their designs are what I find so awesome, elegant, stylish and beautiful. I "grew up" with these things on the movie screens as a kid. It made a lasting impression on me.

[Soup DeVille]

Well said. 

I know that these cars weren't "quality cars", but their designs are what I find so awesome, elegant, stylish and beautiful. I "grew up" with these things on the movie screens as a kid. It made a lasting impression on me.

http://www.mjcclassiccars.com

This guy seems to bear it out that at least some of the cars from this era are rising in price. Go to the inventory page and start to scroll down.

[cawimmer430]

http://www.mjcclassiccars.com

This guy seems to bear it out that at least some of the cars from this era are rising in price. Go to the inventory page and start to scroll down.

Oh my, somebody call a doctor... I'm having a heart attack here! 

'77 Chrysler Newport... PERFECTION. Absolute perfection. 

[cawimmer430]

Oh wow. 

[cawimmer430]

Gorgeous. 

[cawimmer430]

Sweet Jesus!     

[cawimmer430]

Sold to Germany!? I need to track this guy down and steal this car! So gorgeous! THIS is car design, people! THIS IS CAR DESIGN!!!   

[cawimmer430]

Is it weird that I am sexually aroused by these cars? Is that so wrong?   






   

[Soup DeVille]

I'm getting the feeling I've done a very bad thing. Like leaving an alcoholic alone in the house with the liquor cabinet unlocked.

[NomisR]

I'm getting the feeling I've done a very bad thing. Like leaving an alcoholic alone in the house with the liquor cabinet unlocked.

  And you were telling him that you approved of his choice to drink himself to death.

[FoMoJo]

http://www.mjcclassiccars.com

This guy seems to bear it out that at least some of the cars from this era are rising in price. Go to the inventory page and start to scroll down.

Nice site.

I suppose taste in cars goes hand in hand with taste in music.  Having said that, of the cars shown, there's nothing in the '70s and '80s that is anywhere near as appealing to me, as the cars of the '50s and '60s.

[cawimmer430]

I'm getting the feeling I've done a very bad thing. Like leaving an alcoholic alone in the house with the liquor cabinet unlocked.

You've done a very good thing. 

I'll be watching the Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth section like a hawk. Maybe one day a '74 Monaco or '76 Volare will show up. 

[Raza]

Junk.

[Rupert]

Nice site.

I suppose taste in cars goes hand in hand with taste in music.  Having said that, of the cars shown, there's nothing in the '70s and '80s that is anywhere near as appealing to me, as the cars of the '50s and '60s.

[FoMoJo]

[Rupert]

That was a great movie.

[cawimmer430]

I want that '77 Chrysler Newport with that smooth-shifting 3-speed automatic!

Hey, I saw it first!!!!

[Raza]

Hey, I saw it first!!!!

Reported.

[93JC]

The only hope for '70s cars were imports.

I think a more objective look back would reveal that 'import' cars from the '70s were all sorts of terrible too. The difference was that 'domestic' cars of the '70s were objectively and subjectively worse than their predecessors, whereas the 'import' cars of the '70s were better than their predecessors.

E.g. a 1969 Chevy Impala was better than a 1974 Impala, but a 1975 Honda Civic was far and away better than the little piles of shit Honda sold in the late '60s.