The Most '70s Cars of the 1970s

Thrillst ^ | 11/29/15 | Aaron Miller

[DallasBiff]

You didn't have to be alive in the 1970s to know how crazy they were. John Travolta was disco dancing in bellbottoms and shag was a desirable feature for a rug, not just something you did on it. Serious news from Watergate and the war in Vietnam heavily impacted, well, everything, but ultimately didn't put a damper on style. The cars reflected all of it, from garish excess to the automotive dark ages when the Oil Crisis and the advent of emissions standards combined to cause as much muscle-car agony as Burt Reynolds selling his beloved Bandit.

Some of the cars below would be in the Automotive Hall of Fame if it actually inducted automobiles (but it doesn't, weird right?) and some of them are just gloriously tacky as hell. Either way, they're the 1970s-est cars of the 1970s.

[DallasBiff]

The 70's, the era of the Vega, Pacer, and Pinto.

The late 60's had the Hemi Cuda and Shelby Mustangs.

[EEGator]

I had the 1978 Trans Am with the “firechicken” on it.
That’s what my boss called it. He had a 1970 Roadrunner 440 6-pack.

[Secret Agent Man]

Pinto

Gremlin

Chevette

Datsun 240z

Volare

Cordoba

[hardspunned]

I owned a Vega and a Gremlin in the 70s

[alternatives?]

Pacer

Mustang II

[DallasBiff]

I owned a Vega and a Gremlin in the 70s

Did the Vega rust out?

[eyedigress]

AMC Pacer.

A neighbor had one.

[EEGator]

With rich Corinthian leather?…

[EEGator]

Drop a worked 360 in one and run the 1/4 mile.
A dude raced one in Cecil County Maryland. It moved…

[Newbomb Turk]

Vega

Monza

[higgmeister]

1972 Olds Vista Cruiser

My wife and I owned a wonderful car like this one bought from her father.   It was very low mileage, only used to pull the camping trailer to the mountains once a year.   It was totalled in a run-in with a drunk driver.   Nobody was hurt badly but we grounded ten feet up an concrete overpass abutment.

[Newbomb Turk]

You rarely see a Vega in tact. They didn’t rust but every Datsun started rusting on the boat from Japan.

[GMThrust]

Classic commercial. Good ole Kahn.

[smokingfrog]

I had a Triumph Spitfire & a Chevy Monza. The Monza was just a Vega made to look more sporty, but later they did put a V8 in one.

Emission requirements took a toll on performance & those 5 mph bumpers were ugly.

[crusty old prospector]

I had a ‘76 Camaro and got three speeding tickets in a a couple months. My dad traded it in for 1980 Toyota Celica that would barely make 75 going downhill.

[Coleus]

great years, great cars

[smokingfrog]

The near twin of the Pontiac Grand Safari wagon.

[Responsibility2nd]

Not many people would think this 1976 Honda Accord would be such a gamechanger. But it was. It was The Greatest 1970's car.

It changed the automotive field forever. Big unreliable gas guzzling V8 American cars began to decline when the Accord was introduced. US manufacturers have been trying to play catch up with the Accord ever since.

[GMThrust]

Sadly, my dad traded in a 67 Riviera for a green Plymouth Scamp. He was trying to be a little more economical-he had a 2hr commute to work from Long Guyland to Ct. Gas was .25/gal but that Riviera gulped the fuel.

[Roadrunner383]

Thanks for mentioning the 240Z, shouldn’t be left out of any list of 70s cars.

The Pontiac 73-74 Trans-Ams with the Super-Duty 455 need mentioning. With the emissions regulations in place it was a miracle the Pontiac engineers were able to deliver such a monster. Last of the real Detroit muscle cars IMO.