Sports Cars, Pickups, and Sedans dominated the vehicle marketplace in the 1970s.
Recovering from the social and political havoc of the '60s, manufacturers of the '70s regrouped
and explored new designs, coming up with new hits for car buyers.
We've gathered a list of some of the best and most unusual vehicles
you could purchase during that decade. I'm Glenn and let's have a look.
Number Fifteen
A radical redesign happened to the popular Buick Riviera in 1971. The car was revealed
with long flowing lines and featured a fastback style dramatic boat-tail rear window and trunk
area.
Larger and heavier than the previous design, the new Riviera design was apparently inspired
by the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray split-window coupe. The 455-engine produced 255 horsepower.
Performance did stay reasonably brisk, with a 0 to 60 time of 8.1 seconds for the GS version.
But reviewers say the Riviera's sporty image was rapidly fading, and sales were down, as
Buick executives said the boat tail deck style might have been too radical for buyers.
Number Fourteen
This Canadian built sports car, named after its American Creator Malcom Bricklin, was
only manufactured from 1974 to 1975.
It had gull-wing doors, and its body was a colored resin bonded to fiberglass. The SV-1
stood for "Safety Vehicle One" and was promoted as a very safe car to drive.
Production problems and parts availability plagued the company, so they produced less
than 3,000 vehicles. One version had a Chrysler Slant-6 engine, with the suspension, brake
parts, and steering wheel from other larger manufacturers. Later, prototype Bricklins
used V-8 engines.
Number Thirteen
Chevrolet, in 1976, produced a scarce pickup edition. Their special edition K10 was called
"The Spirit of ‘76 Scottsdale Bonanza" and was made to help celebrate America's bicentennial.
This edition was rare indeed, with only 500 produced.
The ones with the red, white and blue striping and baby blue paint were even rarer, as most
were painted white. The pickups package included a unique grill, A/C, dash gauge package, automatic
transmission, and power steering. The truck had a 350 V-8 engine and novel interior touches,
including red, white, and blue seat upholstery.
Number Twelve
The Piper P2 was an evolution of 3 previous sports cars, the GT, GTR, and GTT produced
by the small company, Piper Cars, a United Kingdom manufacturer of specialist sports
cars.
Having little luck racing, the company focused on its newest design, the Piper P2. It had
several chassis, interior, and body improvements.
Produced through the mid-‘70s, British Regulations made times difficult for Piper, and they only
built an estimated 80 to 100 of these vehicles. Today only 57 Piper road cars are said to
be in existence.
Number Eleven
This French designed and built car seemed advanced for its time as it contained many
forward-thinking and unusual driving qualities. The company had bought Maserati and used its
performance engine technology to produce a Gran Tourismo car, which was the SM, first
shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 1970.
Due to government regulations in France at the time, the engine was limited to 165 cubic
inches and had 174 horsepower. Reviewers found the car to have excellent handling, comfort,
and extremely efficient braking.
Number Ten
You might not see one of these 1977 Falcons anywhere else but in Australia, as Ford produced
this unusual combination for the Aussie market. They were hitting the younger buyers with
this "Crusin' Van from Ford".
The Falcon was successful in the mid-‘70s and was styled similar to the American Ford
model Fairlane. It came standard with a 200 cubic inch, 6-cylinder engine with two choices
of more powerful V-8's as options. Radio and Air Conditioning were also optional.
I'm Allie, and it's Mind's Eye Trivia time. By looking at just these images, do you know
what this is and where it's from? Leave the correct answer or your best guess in the comment
section below.
Number Nine
Could this be the original "Mini" or maybe a "Micro" van? This 1972 van from Honda of
Japan was built and sold in their home country. Based on their 1971 Honda Life sedan, the
step van was marketed toward small businesses and shop owners who needed a small economical
delivery vehicle.
It drove like a passenger car and featured a low step floor, had a 30 horsepower, 22
cubic inch, two-cylinder water-cooled engine, front-wheel-drive with a manual transmission,
and the rear end had a two-piece horizontal clamshell gate.
Honda sold a little over 17,000 of these cute little vans.
Number Eight
The years between the early ‘70s to Mid '80s saw little change in the body styling
of General Motors and Chevrolet pickups, but that didn't stop them from producing a multitude
of special editions to appeal to a broader audience of buyers.
Enter - two upscale editions for the discriminating man, the Beau James, and Gentleman Jim.
The 1975 Chevy "Beau James" Sierra Classic was dressed in blue and silver paint and had
wire hubcaps, a unique hood ornament, and a distinctive chrome decal on the side. It
also featured full instrumentation, velour seats, air conditioning, and cruise control.
It was available with a 4-barrel 350 or a 454 V8 engine.
Not be left out, in 1975, GM presented their "Gentleman Jim" Sierra Classic pickup in a
plush black and gold motif. The interior featured a brown theme with vinyl bucket seats, a center
console, and plenty of woodgrain accents and door storage pouches. It also featured their
two most powerful V-8 engines. The truck had all the options, like A/C, tilt steering wheel,
power brakes, and a stereo radio with an 8-track tape player.
Number Seven
Another impressive looking sports and rally car out of Italy was the Lancia Stratos HF,
or more simply known as 'Lancia Stratos'.
It had a 146 cubic inch V6, and a 5-speed transaxle from Ferrari, independent suspension,
rack-and-pinion steering, and four-wheel disc brakes. The Stratos had 190 horsepower and
could travel faster than 140 miles per hour.
They produced only around 500 of the Stratos, and it is now highly sought after by collectors
Number Six
With the Bora model, built from 1971 to 1978, Maserati produced its first mid-engine sports
car. Its first engine was the well-known quad-cam 287 cubic inch V8 with 310 horsepower, and
it was rear-wheel drive with a five-speed transaxle. The later engine used was a 300
cubic inch V8.
A first for a production vehicle, the Bora had adjustable pedals and standard A/C, tilt/telescopic
steering wheel, and power windows.
Sales of the Bora suffered from the oil-crisis of the time, plus plans for racing the Bora
faltered. Maserati only built a total of 564 units.
Number Five
Manufactured by Alpine, a company that developed faster versions of Renaults, this sports car
is a slick two-seater.
Their first model was the A310, which featured six headlights and had a fiberglass body over
a tubular steel chassis. It had a longitudinally-mounted four-cylinder engine in the rear, driving
the wheels through a manual five-speed gearbox with 94 horsepower.
Despite its small size, the Alpine A310 did feature a pair of rear seats for tiny passengers!
Number Four
This sleek-looking "Jarama" grand tourer debuted in 1970 and was Lamborghini's final front-engine
V-12 model.
It was broad and low and had a 350 horsepower, 238 cubic inch V12 engine, with a top speed
of 160 miles per hour.
Styled by designer Marcello Gandini from Bertone, it had seats for four passengers. Two models
were available, the original GT and the GTS that produced 365 horsepower.
It featured several modifications and extras, like power steering and an optional Chrysler
automatic transmission. Production of both models totaled only 328 units.
Number Three
Designed by the famous movie car creator George Barris, this heavily customized 1972 Lincoln
Mark IV was nicknamed an 'American Rolls-Royce'.
This thing was sure to draw stares as it drove down Hollywood Boulevard. It featured gold
leaf accents, heavy lacquer, and wacky lanterns in place of headlights.
The interior was literally fit for a king, with gold trim, a TV, Italian door handles
mounted on Italian marble slabs, Persian rugs, and a wet bar in the back-seat area.
Number Two
Another uniquely refreshing ‘70's vehicle was the short-lived version of the Plymouth
Road Runner, called the Superbird.
This vehicle was a radical alteration of the Road Runner with a pointed nose and high rear
wing on the tail. Three engine options were available with many of Superbirds equipped
with a 440 cubic inch and some with a 426 cubic inch Hemi engine.
The company produced an estimated 2,000 Superbirds in 1970, and dealers sold them across the
US and some in Canada. It’s believed that over 1,000 of these vehicles exist today.
The little Honda Z was the forerunner of the popular Civic. Sold until 1974, it debuted
in Japan in 1970.
A few of these mini size cars made their way from Japan to America in the early ‘70s.
In America, they were running with a 37 cubic inch engine and first sold at motorcycle dealers
until new Honda auto dealers opened.
The Z had seats for 4, but the rear seat was tiny. Honda ended production after the arrival
of the Civic in 1974.
Number One
Internal struggles within American Motors Corporation may have limited sales of these
sharp vehicles, but the company put its best foot forward with this 340-horsepower vehicle.
The clean lines of the Rebel combined with the distinctive Red, White, and Blue stripes
were sure to catch the eye of prospective buyers.
First introduced in 1967, the Rebel replaced the Rambler Classic. In addition to 6-cylinder
engines, they also added a powerful 390 cubic inch engine.
In collaboration with Hurst Performance, they brought out their high performance 'The Machine'
for the Rebel's last model year. Adorned with bright patriotic red, white, and blue striping,
'The Machine' debuted at the National Hot Rod Association's drag race finals in 1969.