Cars Of The Seventies Can’t Get No Respect

[MexicoCityM3]

Some do get respect. They'r just not the land barges you love.

[Byteme]

Oh wow. 

This one I'll agree with you on.  In fact 1966 was a vintage year for GM designs.

[Rupert]

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.

I wasn't referring to build quality and reliability. Most of the Euro makes and some of the Japanese makes made awesome in the '70s, because they drove well and looked awesome. Bimmers, Z cars, all the Porsches, Jags (terribly unreliable, but good cars otherwise), etc. There was nothing that good coming out of America then.

[280Z Turbo]

I think the '76 Camaro was a much better deal than the '76 280Z.

You could have V8 power for thousands less than the Z and it probably had better build quality too.

[MX793]

I think the '76 Camaro was a much better deal than the '76 280Z.

You could have V8 power for thousands less than the Z and it probably had better build quality too.

Sadly, the 280Z had every bit as much power as the most powerful Camaro in 76.

[Raza]

Some do get respect. They'r just not the land barges you love.

[cawimmer430]

This one I'll agree with you on.  In fact 1966 was a vintage year for GM designs.

The original Oldsmobile Toronado is definitely a classic and an amazing car. I've also always liked the Toronado's of the early 1970s.

[68_427]

Hey Wimmer how about some interior photos of those beauties?

[NomisR]

I'm so glad this is only contained to this thread...

[280Z Turbo]

Sadly, the 280Z had every bit as much power as the most powerful Camaro in 76.

Nah, the Z had a lot less torque and only about 135 net hp.

The RS would beat it to 60 mph and be neck and neck in the quarter mile.

[SVT32V]

Sadly, the 280Z had every bit as much power as the most powerful Camaro in 76.

Yeah, the camaro wasn't as strong as the TAs of the time.

I am sure the 400 and 455 versions of these were more than a match for the 280Z

[Byteme]

Yeah, the camaro wasn't as strong as the TAs of the time.

I am sure the 400 and 455 versions of these were more than a match for the 280Z

In a straight line race to the nearest gas pump maybe.   

[93JC]

I wasn't referring to build quality and reliability. Most of the Euro makes and some of the Japanese makes made awesome in the '70s, because they drove well and looked awesome. Bimmers, Z cars, all the Porsches, Jags (terribly unreliable, but good cars otherwise), etc. There was nothing that good coming out of America then.

"Drove well".

[Rupert]

Yep, them's the words I typed.

[cawimmer430]

Hey Wimmer how about some interior photos of those beauties?

Drool. So kitsch, so pimp. 





They made a wagon out of this thing!? WANT... no, NEED!!! 

[3.0L V6]

[MX793]

I do miss overstuffed velour seats.  Like driving in a La-Z-Boy.

[280Z Turbo]

It looks like it smells like moth balls.

[cawimmer430]

You should have put up a "NSFW" / "18+" warning! I just jizzed in my pants! Lovely interior.

[3.0L V6]

You should have put up a "NSFW" / "18+" warning! I just jizzed in my pants! Lovely interior.

Added to my list of regrets in life.

[cawimmer430]

Added to my list of regrets in life.

Was that your car?

[3.0L V6]

Was that your car?

No, posting the picture was my regret. I should have known better

[Secret Chimp]

Wow even the center console is velour. Good grief.

[cawimmer430]

No, posting the picture was my regret. I should have known better

You made a stranger happy that day. You should do this more often.

[Madman]

Wow even the center console is velour. Good grief.

It's not very common to see a console in these cars.  Most had a bench seat in front.

[dazzleman]

The only hope for '70s cars were imports.

Imports were pretty bad then too.

[dazzleman]

Yeah, the camaro wasn't as strong as the TAs of the time.

I am sure the 400 and 455 versions of these were more than a match for the 280Z

I loved those cars up to '78.  I had a '73 Firebird.

[dazzleman]

You should have put up a "NSFW" / "18+" warning! I just jizzed in my pants! Lovely interior.

I knew that would happen when you saw that picture!

[Rupert]

Imports were pretty bad then too.

Some of them, but certainly not all. I would take any German or Japanese car from '73 or later than any American or British car from the same year, and that goes for both performance and reliability.

[dazzleman]

Some of them, but certainly not all. I would take any German or Japanese car from '73 or later than any American or British car from the same year, and that goes for both performance and reliability.

I agree, but you're putting the European and Japanese cars against a very low standard.  American cars from that era were pitiably bad in terms of performance and reliability.

Japanese cars from that time were econoboxes, tiny little wheelers with engines not much bigger than go-kart engines, that somehow didn't get particularly good fuel economy.  European cars were finicky and unreliable and their performance was not that great.

Still, they were both better than American cars of that era.  That's a damning indictment of the American cars.