Cars Of The Seventies Can’t Get No Respect

[FoMoJo]

I had 2 '70s vehicles.  One was a '73 Ford Courier...rebadged Mazda B1800.  Great little engine but, after 3 years, the body had all but disintegrated.  The other was a '78 Ford Bronco.  It was pretty nice but drank far too much gas.  It also had what they called "part time/full time" all wheel drive.  It was just a differential in the transfer case that could be locked by a switch on the dash.

[280Z Turbo]

The good cars of the 70s were sporty cars. America had the Corvette, F-body and the Mustang II. The Corvette's chassis was revolutionary for 1963, but fat and outdated by the mid 70s. The Mustang II was a sales success but handled poorly and had odd proportions. I think the only endearing American car of the malaise era is the Firebird Trans Am.

[giant_mtb]

Agreed. The only car that makes me REALLY want one is the Firebird.  I prefer the 60's versions of Stangs and Vettes.

[cawimmer430]

No love left for the gorgeous sedans and wagons of that era? A "Boat Tail" Buick Riviera perhaps?

With me it's different. I'm more into the sedans, wagons and luxury coupes of the '70s than the sports cars.

[Rupert]

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.

There were a lot of bad cars that only stand up because they're next to piles of shit, yes. But whereas 'Murrica had the Firebird and full-size trucks, other countries imported Z-cars, RX-7, mini-trucks, any Bimmer, any Saab, any Volvo, Celica, Land Rovers, little British cars, Alfa, Fiat, etc. Many of those weren't reliable, but they are still desirable today (well, maybe not all the Volvos...), which is much more than you can say for almost any post-'73 American car.

[GoCougs]

The good cars of the 70s were sporty cars. America had the Corvette, F-body and the Mustang II. The Corvette's chassis was revolutionary for 1963, but fat and outdated by the mid 70s. The Mustang II was a sales success but handled poorly and had odd proportions. I think the only endearing American car of the malaise era is the Firebird Trans Am.

And even then the T/A was a design from 1970, the peak of the muscle/pony car era.

[Raza]

No love left for the gorgeous sedans and wagons of that era? A "Boat Tail" Buick Riviera perhaps?

With me it's different. I'm more into the sedans, wagons and luxury coupes of the '70s than the sports cars.

The boattail Riv was great. 




But that's about it.

[cawimmer430]

I just love '70s car design. Car design was great from the 30s to the late '70s, then it all went downhill. 

[FoMoJo]

I just love '70s car design. Car design was great from the 30s to the late '70s, then it all went downhill. 

Still going downhill, imo.

[280Z Turbo]

Still going downhill, imo.

Yes, yes...nothing but hell in a hand basket talk from the near death crowd.

[280Z Turbo]

I like the Ford Maverick.

[FoMoJo]

Yes, yes...nothing but hell in a hand basket talk from the near death crowd.

Nothing but wrinkles, scallops and creases, no art.  How about some eye popping, innovative, creative styling from the "boomerang" crowd that doesn't look like something designed by 'auto' CAD.  I'd really like to see something unique and amazing from the auto industry before I kick the bucket.

[MX793]

I like the Ford Maverick.

+1

Though that one came out in 1970, so it was really the tail end of the 60s generation of cars.

[MX793]

Nothing but wrinkles, scallops and creases, no art.  How about some eye popping, innovative, creative styling from the "boomerang" crowd that doesn't look like something designed by 'auto' CAD.  I'd really like to see something unique and amazing from the auto industry before I kick the bucket.

Safety regulations have left designers of mainstream cars with their hands tied.

[CALL_911]

I like the Ford Maverick.

My parents had one when they first came to the US.

[FoMoJo]

Safety regulations have left designers of mainstream cars with their hands tied.

There's always been a tug-of-war between designers and engineers yet, they've managed some brilliant designs over the years.  Could it be that all the good designs have been done?  I don't think so.

[FoMoJo]

I like the Ford Maverick.

It's Mercury twin, the Gen. V Comet, was nice too.  Especially the early GTs with a 302.

[GoCougs]

I just love '70s car design. Car design was great from the 30s to the late '70s, then it all went downhill. 

A lot of it is unit body design - makes redesign much more complicated.

[Rupert]

Nothing but wrinkles, scallops and creases,

Oh, I thought you were describing yourself!

[FoMoJo]

Oh, I thought you were describing yourself!

That too .

[Mustangfan2003]

I would say that the 79 300SD I had was probably 10 to 15 years ahead of any Cadillac or Lincoln of the time. 

[Soup DeVille]

I would say that the 79 300SD I had was probably 10 to 15 years ahead of any Cadillac or Lincoln of the time. 

As far as diesels go, sure. In fact GM never has made a diesel car that was as good as that.

But in a lot of other respects, well: there's a big difference in what those cars were trying to be compared to the Mercedes.

[Mustangfan2003]

As far as diesels go, sure. In fact GM never has made a diesel car that was as good as that.

But in a lot of other respects, well: there's a big difference in what those cars were trying to be compared to the Mercedes.

Wasn't really talking about the engine though.  That car had 4 wheel disc while everyone was still using drums on the rear and it had IRS and I think the only American car at the time that offered that was the Corvette.  Then you look at the interiors and the American car makers were still using that old sofa looking style up into the late 80s/early 90s. 

[Soup DeVille]

Wasn't really talking about the engine though.  That car had 4 wheel disc while everyone was still using drums on the rear and it had IRS and I think the only American car at the time that offered that was the Corvette.  Then you look at the interiors and the American car makers were still using that old sofa looking style up into the late 80s/early 90s. 

Well, the style was a choice: its not like the big 3 weren't capable of making hard pleather seats with little vent holes in them. The Toro/Eldo had rear discs too, as an option.

[Madman]

From the Craigslist/eBay/Autotrader thread.......





http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/citroen/sm/1636618.html


Thiis '70s car gets massive respect! 

[12,000 RPM]

Terrible times. Strangely, a lot of the same conditions/constraints have come back to put a damper on car design today. Emissions/fuel economy are pushing cars sold in Europe to turbocharging; safety has increased weight and shoulder lines; less than ideal economic conditions have prompted a lot of weird mergers and platform recycling

[dazzleman]

Terrible times. Strangely, a lot of the same conditions/constraints have come back to put a damper on car design today. Emissions/fuel economy are pushing cars sold in Europe to turbocharging; safety has increased weight and shoulder lines; less than ideal economic conditions have prompted a lot of weird mergers and platform recycling

Taking the long view, I think that whenever there is a forced (and often necessary) change, the initial models are subpar, and eventually the manufacturers get it right.  In the 70s, there was a twin push for lower pollution and greater fuel economy, and the auto manufacturers found this hard to cope with at first.  But eventually, they started producing better products.

Similar things are happening today.  We got complacent with cheap oil in the 90s and went back to our gas guzzling ways (though we didn't relax pollution limitations), thinking it was absolutely necessary to drive our whole living rooms around with this.  This was something I never got caught up in; I've always liked driving the smallest car that was practical for me, because my priority is maneuverability, agility and speed.  The big SUVs were just the successor to the 70s land yachts.  History always repeats itself.

I do get a kick out of Wimmer's jizzing over the 70s land yachts, but he never had to depend on one for his day to day transportation.  I did, and I would never go back.  If I were to go for a classic car, it would be something from the 50s or 60s.  My grandpop (dad's father) had cool cars -- He had a '56 Ford Fairlane and a '65 Ford Galaxie.  Either one of them would be a great classic car, IMO.

[cawimmer430]

From the Craigslist/eBay/Autotrader thread.......





http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/citroen/sm/1636618.html


Thiis '70s car gets massive respect! 

I would seriously kill for this car. 

[cawimmer430]

I do get a kick out of Wimmer's jizzing over the 70s land yachts, but he never had to depend on one for his day to day transportation.  I did, and I would never go back.  If I were to go for a classic car, it would be something from the 50s or 60s.  My grandpop (dad's father) had cool cars -- He had a '56 Ford Fairlane and a '65 Ford Galaxie.  Either one of them would be a great classic car, IMO.

I would simply display my 1972 Oldsmobile Delta 88 or 1974 Dodge Monaco or 1972 Chrysler New Yorker in my XXXL-sized living room. 

I wouldn't drive them every day here - no place to park them and I ain't gonna fill them up with precious fuel every two hours! 

[dazzleman]

I would seriously kill for this car. 

Really?  I think it's fucking butt ugly.