At the end of April, I drove up from San Diego to the Automobile Driving Museum (link) in Los Angeles to attend the Malaise Daze Car Show. This was the second car show put on by the Malaise Motors Facebook Group. Even though I don’t currently own a “malaise” era automobile, just like you I appreciate them so I did not want to miss this opportunity to see a bunch of them all gathered together. The purpose of the Malaise Motors group is:
Dedicated to the history, design, manufacture and “roadability” of the unloved cars of the Malaise Era. We are the Brougham package of car groups ! Our seats are button tufted, roofs landau and we roll on the shiniest genuine wire wheel covers !
For the sake of clarity, we define the malaise era as beginning in 1972 and ending in 1995. For 1972 year model vehicles there was an across the board drop in compression ratios and a switch to net horsepower ratings in preparation for upcoming emissions regulations. In 1996 OBDII diagnostic electronics were universally adopted thus beginning the modern era of engine management and emissions control.
(ED: that 1996 cut-off is rather absurd, as the Viper in the show is the ultimate non-Malaise-mobile. Performance engines and modern engine management systems were in use long before this date, as in Ford’s 1983 EEC-IV engine management system and fuel injection. Probably the last car to qualify might be the carburated Olds 307, which was last built in 1990, IIRC)
Lets see how well the colorful Malaise era was represented.
General Motors
Given how much market share GM had during the Malaise era, it’s no wonder that cars from the General were the most prevalent.
This is a good car to kick off the Malaise era at GM. The gas crunch drove people to buy smaller cars. To respond as quickly as they could and give all of their divisions economy cars to share, GM kicked off it’s “badge-engineering” practice with the X-cars, like this 1973 Buick Apollo.
As the 70’s wore on, it seemed like Pontiac was the only manufacturer to truly produce something resembling the muscle cars of the pre-Malaise era. This beautifully patina’d 1975 Firebird was not one of those fire-breathing monsters.
During the Malaise era there was an increase in government safety regulations for automobiles. One highly anticipated regulation was rollover standards, that drove convertibles to an early grave (although the regulation never happened and the grave was short lived). This big, beautiful B-body 1975 Oldsmobile Delta 88 convertible was one of the last Oldsmobile convertibles built until the early 90s. Check out that gorgeous all red interior!
GMs first big downsizing happened to the large B-body cars for 1977. This 1979 (guess based on the grille) represents that generation Caprice very nicely. It was in excellent shape.
The next to get the downsizing treatment were the mid-sized A-bodies. These cars were represented at the show by not 1, but 2 A-body wagons. A 1980 Malibu wagon and a 1983 Cutlass Cruiser wagon.
The third swing at downsizing were the E-body personal luxury coupes, like this Cadillac Eldorado. I was enamored by the blue and white leather interior that this car had, which is a 1985 Commemorative Edition Eldorado.
Even though it was “downsized”, this B-Body wagon was still a big girl in the 80s. As a lover of station wagons, I was really liking this blue whale 1984 Pontiac Safari wagon.
The traditional, big American luxury car was represented by this gorgeous Chamios (?) 1986 Fleetwood Brougham.
As the 80s wore on, GM continued downsizing, as well as switching to front wheel drive. When the Deville was shrunken in 1985, it appeared as though GM had gone too far. Sales tanked. This 1987 Deville was an attempt to correct course, featuring a lengthened body.
You might wonder why am I including the last of the K-cars, this very Iaccoca-ish 1992 Chrysler LeBaron, in the GM section. It’s because of the car behind it. It’s the only front end shot I have of this Corsica. For the launch of the Chevrolet Corsica, the first Corsica’s built all went to rental fleets before you could actually buy them. This Corsica is one of those, and it was very lightly optioned. A/C was really the only option it had on it. It only had an AM radio and crank windows. The owner loved to talk about his Corsica. His grandfather owned a GM dealership, and was the one to get this Corsica once it was done with it’s rental car duties. It has since been passed between 4 different family members but it still in the family. Check out the original California “Sunset” plate and all the literature in the back.
More downsizing and switching to FWD, the big Oldsmobile Delta 88 switched over from the B-body to the FWD H-body. This is a pretty rare 1989 coupe model. It sported the Buick “twisted 6” engine decal on the front fender, and sported an FE3 tag on the grille denoting the possibility of being equipped with the performance FE3 suspension.
The GM section is finished out with this two-fer comparison shot. By the time that this aero-nose 1992 Buick Century was sold, it was already a relic from the previous era. It had been severely outclassed by the Ford Taurus when it debuted in 1986. But Buick continued to sell these until 1996, even after most of it’s platform mates had been replaced by the GM-10/W-body cars. This Taurus is a 1991 model, and leads us into….
Ford Motor Company
This 1972 Ford Ranchero is just inside the group’s guidelines of the Malaise Era. With it’s Arrest-Me red paint and great stance, it sure looked gorgeous.
Another that was just inside the guidelines is this baby blue 1972 Mercury Comet. Even though the Comet’s twin, the Ford Maverick went on sale in April of 1969 followed by the Comet in 1971, I’m sure almost everyone will associate the Maverick/Coment with the Malaise Era and not the Muscle Car era. Also shown is the first of a few Fox body cars that were at the show. The Fox platform proliferated through Ford’s lineup in the late 70s and early 80s. This was one of the more luxurious ever made, the bustle-back 1984 Lincoln Continental .
Here is Ford’s “sporty” economy car, the 1982 Ford EXP. This was essentially a rebodied 2-seater Ford Escort.
This beautiful 1989 Town Car (also seen at the top of this post) that sports the CA vanity plate MALAISE is owned by one of the original founders of the group. It still looks showroom fresh.
There were no Fox-body Mustangs at the show, at least two-door versions. This is a Ford LTD LX, which was also known as the “Four-Door Mustang”. The LTD shared the Fox platform with the Mustang, and Bob Bondurant built a special LTD with Mustang engine and suspension parts to create a training car for the Bob Bondurant Driving School. After Ford President Donald Petersen rode in one, the LTD LX package was born. The HO 5.0L V8, 4-speed automatic, and Mustang suspension were installed into the LTD. (More information at the LTD LX Registry) These were only available in late 1984 and 1985, and according to a Marti Report only 5,287 were produced during the 1.5 year model run. This particular LX has non-stock Mustang GT “phone-dial” rims on it. It was great to see not only one LTD LX at the show….
…but 3!!! Out of ~40 cars, three of them were LTD LXs?!? The near car has had some mods to it, including the later EFI from the Mustang 5.0 and some 17″ 93 Cobra Rims.
This car is a car that I have actually stalked on message boards and FB, and I’ve chatted with the owner a few times online. This has had some serious work done to it. The motor has been hopped up, Cobra intake, 5-speed manual trans, and 5-lug conversion. I’ve seen photos and video of this car on the autocross, and it’s been featured in a magazine or two. Probably the best looking and running LX in the entire country.
We will finish off the visit with Ford Motor Company with this side-by-side comparison shot. The car on the left, the mid-size RWD sedan. On the right, the car that replaced it, the new FWD Ford Taurus. The Taurus was a radical departure from the LTD, and Ford sold both for a year (1986) side by side in case the Taurus styling went too far and turned customers away. The personalized black plate is a nod to the first ad campaign when the Taurus debuted. Taurus… FOR US.
Chrysler Corporation
Just as it has almost always done in sales of the “Big-3”, Chrysler Corporation was 3rd place in representation. Starting off is a 3rd generation 1972 Dodge Charger. While the Charger is almost always though of as a powerful muscle car, it had a bit of an identity crisis in the early 70s. This is a 1972 SE package, which added a lot of brougham features to the mid-size coupe. I do love those hideaway headlamps. This particular car was owned by Doris Day!! (reference link)
More hideaway headlamps on this, the top of the line Chrysler for 1979. Chrysler basically repurposed the mid-size B-body chassis from 1979 to create the new “downsized” full-size R-body chassis. This 1979 Chrysler New Yorker Fifth Avenue edition features a two-tone Cream-on-Beige paint job and every features Chrysler could throw at it. These sold very poorly, but I have alway liked the styling of these R-body cars.
While most would not consider the 400-hp, 8.0L V-10 powered Viper proper “malaise”, by the groups definition it is part of the cars from the era that is celebrated. This 1995 Viper RT/10 was beautiful in Emerald Green metallic over tan leather interior.
American Motors Corporation
American Motors was always last place in sales of the domestic manufacturers, but there were still a few of them that were here at the show. This particular Pacer is a one year only model, being that it was the newly introduced Wagon bodystyle with the pre-facelift front end. For 1978 it would gain a larger, more upright grille.
This here AMC Pacer X was a looker as well. It appears to be a Pacer X package. The interior, however has had the buckets recovered in the “Basketry Print” fabric. According to the brochures I saw, the “Basketry Print” fabric was part of the D/L package which was never available with the “X” Package. The seats of the D/L package were also of a different shape than you see here, which appear correct for a Pacer X. Even though, it still looked the part of a total 70s car!
Finishing out the AMC representation is this very clean AMC Eagle wagon.
Delorean Motor Company
The Delorean made a huge splash when it was introduced in the early 80s. So much as been said about it, so I won’t repeat. They are still just as awesome to see in person almost 40 years later. This particular one had a very clean interior.
Furrin’ Jobbies
The show definitely had a very US-centric showing, but there were a couple of cars from foreign makes.
Representing Europe is this 1987 BMW M6. It was just perfect. This has always been my favorite BMW design (followed closely by it’s replacement the 8-series). The color, wheels, interior, everything on this car is exactly as I would want it.
Representing Japan is this 1989 Nissan Pulsar NX XE. The second generation Pulsar was just your regular ol’ FWD 4-cyl “sporty” commuter car, with one exception. With a variety of removable panels, it could be converted into several different body styles. Coupe, Targa, Cabriolet or station wagon. The most unqiue of the removable panels was the “station wagon” that replaced the rear hatch, called the Sportback. I’ve seen a few Pulsars running around Southern California, but this is the first I have seen with a Sportback on it.
…and the winner is.
There was a best in show award that was presented. The award was the coveted Golden Smog Pump. And the winner is…..
… this 1977 Dodge Royal Monaco Brougham wagon, sporting a 440 CID big block under the hood, and a LOL-tastic vanity plate 7MPG4ME. The Royal Monaco was another 1-year wonder. Prior to 1977, the C-body Dodge was named just Monaco. For 1977, the Monaco name moved to the B-body (replacing the Coronet) and the C-body was rechristened the Royal Monaco.
That’s it for this year. The museum has already been booked for next year’s hosting of the show, and I plan on being there with my camera in hand.
One of those town cars was stored on my mates lawn recently, had a real good look round it, yeah I guess it was thought to be the duck’s guts in its day but all that chintz and only a 302 under the hood and the asthmatic US 302 at that, I still see it struggling along every now and then when its owner takes it for exercise.
I will agree that these really needed more than the 5.0 and that AOD automatic in that price class, but as compromised as these were they rocket-like compared to the contemporary Cadillac with its carbureted 307 V8.
I disagree, the car was plenty powerful for what it was made for. The Town car was meant as a comfortable conveyance to transport folks around. They were very smooth driving on the highway and kept up with traffic well (they still do keep up with traffic today)
The clientele that was buying this car wanted a large car that was roomy and luxurious and was smooth riding. They were not taking the thing on the Nurburgring in Germany
It was a lot more powerful then the GM 307 based cars. (driving a car with a 307 Olds engine was like trying to drive a car with one of the Queen Mary’s anchors chained to it)
As one who owned a 63 Cadillac which could move its 5200 pounds with some amazing scoot, I respectfully disagree. People bought the Town Car because it was 1) getting a better reputation than the Cadillac and because 2) it was what Lincoln was offering. I have driven this powertrain in a couple of lighter Ford/Mercury versions and it was the modern equivalent of a late 40s Chrysler straight 8 with Fluid Drive. Yes it was smooth and yes it would move if you thrashed it (and on the Lincoln worked hard to keep the AOD out of low revs in 3rd gear when the torque converter locked up) but it was not anywhere near the effortless torque of this class of car in the 60s or even the 70s – which most of its buyers wistfully remembered.
I feel the Town Car should have stuck with the 351 earlier panthers used.
I had an ‘88 T-Bird with that power train, and it had plenty of power for that car, but have to agree with Matt that the 351 would’ve been a better fit for the Lincoln Town Car. Heck even the Fox Mark VII would’ve benefited from the 351 set up, with the T-Bird’s sequential port fuel injection of course.
Maybe the later 1986 on up port injected 302 Town Cars but the early 1980-1983 TBI cars were dogs rated for a paltry 130 Hp and 230 torque. The 1984 and 85 cars were a little better at 140 HP and 250 torque but still hardly quick.
The 307 was rated for 140 HP and 255 torque in the 86-90 Fleetwood cars so got a decent jump off the line but it was highway passing and steep hills that showed this engines lack of top end power more than anything. I had a 1990 for a few years and it was a dog at first. Going through everything, rebuilding the carburetor, corrected a non functioning EGR valve and placing the base timing at a factory 20 degrees woke it up considerably and it easily kept pace with traffic after that.
With that said I agree the big Lincoln’s should have had the 351 tied to the 4 speed AOD and the GM cars should have carried on the Olds Rocket 350 tied to GM’s 200R4 in all the C-body cars.
The guy that stored it there also has a five litre(302) Aussie Falcon it was he who pointed out its deficiencies but got it in a deal because he thought it was cool at the time he’s now looking for another someone like that.
Some great stuff. Yes, I would quibble with some of the choices (the LTD LX was sort of the anti-malaise car of the mid 80s) but all in all it is a nice selection.
That R body New Yorker (along with its Newport companion) actually sold quite well for 1979, coming in within rounding error of big Chrysler sales in 1976 (and with no wagon, we should note) and even outselling the 1978 cars by nearly 15K units. But sales fell off a cliff for 1980 (dropping from 100K to about 30K) and fell off a cliff again in 81 (about 15K units) before being put down.
That Royal Monaco wagon is simply delicious!
+1 on that beautiful wagon. How could you even notice anything else?
+2 for the Royal Monaco Wagon… Best in Show… yeah, I gotta agree with the judges. ⚖️
Yup. It caught my eye right away in the earlier pictures.
Did the R-body New Yorker ‘sell’ well, or did Chrysler just produce far in excess of market demand.
My guess would be R-bodies languished for months at the sales bank…
My memory is that the cars really did sell decently, at least at first. I recall seeing a reasonable number of them on the streets, at least for a model only selling 100K units a year (including Newports) in a decent year. Which is only 2000 units for each state if distributed evenly, so there’s that. The 76-78 big Chrysler had developed a rep as one of the company’s better built cars and so I don’t think these were as hurt by Chrysler’s quality rep as much as some others were. But then after these started hitting the streets they got a bad reputation and then late in the 79 model year (summer of 79) the second energy crisis hit and then it was all over for these. By early 80 the company’s health was in jeopardy which added another drag. So I don’t think these clogged sales banks as much as some other models had, at least in the first half of the model year.
The market took a dump in 1980. Cadillac’s Deville sales dropped in half.
Stir with Chrysler’s corporate woes, which are a bad image for an expensive car.
That Royal Monaco was def the best in show. That was the first car I gravitated towards when I first walked into the show.
Count me with everyone else who thought the ’77 Dodge Royal Monaco was deserving of the Golden Smog Pump award.
Its license plate sums it up perfectly. Malaise heaven! 😀
Maybe next year someone will show up with another one-year-only ’70s station wagon: A 1977 Mercury Villager. Could be a heavy competition with MONACO versus VILLAGER.
If that Buick Apollo is anything like my Mom’s Oldsmobile Omega it was a decent sleeper with that 350. Today with a good tune and maybe an extra gear or two you could chase other sportier cars up and down the highway.
The Apollo wasn’t a bad car in an objective sense, but as a Buick it was somewhat lacking. Sort of a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse cheeseburger.
For those who weren’t yet around, the Appolo model name chosen by Buick might seem like more of a Greek mythology reference, and it is, but in the 70’s the Appolo name conjured up images of the Appolo Space Program. It was a very trendy name back then, used by many businesses as well as the featured Buick.
This is my favorite trivia nugget about the Nova clones. Each letter of the car’s name form Nova.
Nova, by Chevrolet
Omega, by Oldsmobile
Ventura, by Pontiac
Apollo, by Buick
My dad had a Buick Apollo just like that one. Well, his was a well used, rusty one… but it was brown with a lighter tan vinyl roof. And I swear it had a straight 6 in it, cause I distinctly remember him taking a picture of me standing IN the engine compartment next to the motor… (and also remember the spare tire falling out of the trunk through the rust holes in it…)
Great pictures. The Royal Monaco wagon is very rare, I think only a few thousand were made.
I always liked the LTD LX. If I recall correctly, (and I may not be) there was a Mercury version sold in Canada, the Marquis LTS. Now that would be a rare find today. Can anyone confirm whether that is a figment of my imagination or not?
When Paul wrote up the LTD the other day there was a fellow in the comments who wrote that he owns one of them, so it was evidently not a figment of your imagination.
That fellow would be me 🙂 . I own a VERY rough Marquis LTS which I hope to start working on sometime this year.
Hey, I saw that white Cutlass Cruiser wagon’s exact twin in traffic the other day. Or possibly the exact car if the owner decided to drive it up to Nor Cal.
I love the core concept of this show. The cars made from the mid 70s and mid 90s are always stragglers at car shows, either latching on to classic car cruise nights for the older 70s ones, among a majority of more saught after muscle car era stuff, or in the case of 80s-90s cars latching onto club gatherings as a sort of side show (the LTD LXs with Mustang centric groups for example). And despite being “malaise” there was far more variety with models, body styles, powertrains and execution than any other era, before, or especially after(frankly if not for the horsepower we are currently in a new malaise era, for different reasons).
But there is no way I’m accepting that year range as malaise era. Ending the era with OBDII is totally arbitrary, which for one thing was introduced on a handful of cars earlier than that (my 1994 Cougar V8 came with it). Ending with the advent of OBD I would be a more acceptable end point, as that system effectively supported everything OBD II could, and could be tuned with a chip. Yeah, you can’t diagnose or flash them through a universal diagnostic port, but big whoop.
That very 5-speed LTD made a big impression on me when I saw it on a forum I was on, it may have actually been the catalyst for my own stickshift swap into my Cougar. This video of it was one of my favorites on YouTube.
I remember being disappointed at the time that Ford would not offer the LTD LX with the 5 speed. I suppose they were trying to be protective of the Mustang, but jeeze – the T Bird got the 5 speed but made you take a miserable rough peaky turbo four. Then the LTD LX got the good engine (or at least the detuned automatic version of it) but stuck you with the miserable AOD. Perhaps the AOD was easier to live with given all the extra torque, but still I wonder if these might have sold better had the 5 speed been available. I know I would have at least test driven one.
I think Ford misjudged the market with them, they were trying to position the LTD LX as a pseudo euro 6000STE like competitor, but not the 4-door Mustang that essentially inspired the concept through the Bondurant racing school training LTDs(though I’m not sure if those were 5-speed or AOD). I suspect aiming it towards the latter would have made equipping the 5-speed a given, and found more buyers than it ultimately did.
As is the LX merely come off as a slightly better trimmed LTD, and I actually wonder how many prospective buyers were even aware that there was no V8 option in regular (civilian) LTDs, where the LX package would come off as special.
You make good points. Actually I don’t ever recall even seeing an LTD LX in a local dealership. The only way I knew it existed was from whichever car mag I read about it in. I recall the LX coming out fairly late in the model run and getting very little publicity. It was like Civilian Crown Victorias in the 90s – they were available but you had to work to get one.
I like to think that it could have been a credible “American Sports Sedan” – solid, European road performance but with a good ol’ Murcan V8. A 4 door Mustang Q ship. OH well, I’m probably delusional. Studebaker couldn’t sell them and Ford wouldn’t have been able to sell one that looked like this either.
The Falcon ESP was a similar concept in Australia from 1980-82 (til 84 with the 4.1 EFI six), with suspension and appearance upgrades. Also pretty low-production, just 440 or so 1982 XE models with the V8. This ad is the 1980 XD model.
At my suggestion, my grandparents bought a new 1985 LTD LX off the lot at the Hayward Ford dealer near SF. White with a charcoal interior. Their car selections of the day were limited because they insisted on a V-8 sedan that could tow their boat. It was loaded up with everything including the “phone dial” aluminum wheels shown in the pics here. Yes they were a factory option. My grandmother loved the fact that her car was the same model that the local cops drove.
Considering that all modern day cars are only 4 door sedans that look like a Camry and only come in Red, White, Black, and Silver/Gray, we’re in another malaise phase, except this time there is zero styling.
Oh surely you jest. Notice the Emporer’s finest new clothing!
Mark, I’m glad to see that you also think we are in a new malaise era. I could buy a new car, but there is absolutely NOTHING out there today to tempt me.
We are definitely in another Malaise era for sure IMO. With sedans falling out of favor and ugly pudgy little CUV’s powered by mundane 4 cylinder engines ruling the streets compete with ugly black rims and black interiors and zero styling. The only thing being made now that remotely interests me are the pony cars like the Stang, Camaro and Challenger and very specific 2 door pickup trucks with RWL tires and a V8 under hood.
All the talk of self driving electric cars is also very depressing to us car guys along with many tiny underperforming turbo engines, weird shifting transmissions etc. Add in fewer and fewer stick shifts, lack of interior and exterior color choices, way too many electronic nannies and over complications, silly gear selectors like the one in the new GMC terrain that forces you to take your eyes off the road, poor rear and side visibility and certain SUV’s reaching into the 100k price bracket to give the 2005-2020 time era a solid Malaize rating. I’m not even going to get into styling on many vehicles in the past 10 years.
I hope you just mean a Malaise era for styling (although even that I would object to) because today’s modern, fuel-efficient, powerful engines are a far cry from the hastily downsized and emissions equipment-choked engines of the 1970s.
Also I’m really struggling to figure out why the Terrain’s electronic gear selector bothers you so much. It’s an automatic. Why are you looking at it while you’re driving? Do you not have to look down anyway with a conventional shifter?
And your bit about underperforming turbo engines has me flummoxed because most modern turbo engines may be smaller in displacement than the naturally-aspirated engines they replace, or have fewer cylinders, but rarely have new generation engines taken a step down in power and most have seen an increase in torque.
Great show! And the Golden Smog Pump award! I love it, that’s perfect!
There was a page on book face called “malaise motors” in which I was a member to for month or so. I have a feeling the organizer of this car show also runs that page. I got booted from that page cos I had an argument with the guy who runs the page to what the “malaise era” really was. The founder said the same range of years as it’s listed here. My definition was much narrower. Any car built between 1973-82. To solidify my argument, I used the 1979-2011 (LTD) Crown Victoria. I asked him, why would a 1995 crown Vic be considered as “malaise” and a 1996 wouldn’t be? Aside from powertrain management, it’s the exact same car. I got booted from the group after that. I had a 1975 Lincoln continental town car that would be a shoe-in for this car show, but I decided not to attend cos of that jackass
Sounds typical to that site, agree and parrot in our echo chamber or get out. I 100% agree with your year range
I think whatever date range you pick you are going to pick a fight with someone on one of the margins. Even the clearest rule always gets muddy and stupid when you start looking at it too closely. The alternative is to have someone vote on each and every car someone wants to bring into the group, which is equally dumb. I may quibble with their definition but it looks like they are trying to be as inclusive as they can and it is probably as good of an arbitrary definition as any.
Murilee Martin invented the term, and he says it’s ’73-’83. One of my favorite writers. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/05/what-about-the-malaise-era-more-specifically-what-about-this-1979-ford-granada/
Hard to argue with that really. Horsepower was back well before 1995.
The 1972 “small bumper” cars stood out to me in this group, as did the Viper. Other cars I could regard as “continuation” models when they aren’t substantially changed from the early 80s.
Thanks for the show coverage Brian, great to see the everyday cars being preserved and enjoyed. Plus the LTD LX’s look ‘normal’ to Australian eyes where fast four-doors are part of the landscape.
Yeah, I love the fast four-doors of Australia (as well as the Utes). I loved seeing all of them when I visited Sydney several years ago. When I was there I made sure our rental was something Aussie, I wasn’t about to fly half way aroudn the world to drive a Camry. Got a Falcon XR6, and I loved it. It wasn’t super powerful, but i loved how it drove.
Calling a 1994/1995 Panther or Caprice a Malaise era car but a 1996 model who’s only real change was a switch over to OBDII with zero changes in power is pure ignorance and 100% inaccurate. The real Malaise era ended after 1982 when manufacturers were once again allowed to make engines more powerful or larger etc and fuel prices/CAFE standards and the economy stabilized.
Fun – thank you! My 1972 Maverick LDO definitely qualified for malaise status.
I think that baby blue 1972 Ford Maverick might be a Mercury Comet – I’m seeing the Comet script on the left front fender and those are the Comet-style wheel covers for that year found on oldcarbrochures.
I looked at my high resolution version on my computer and you are correct, that is a Comet. I’ve updated the post to reflect that.
While the Charger is almost always though of as a powerful muscle car, it had a bit of an identity crisis in the early 70s. This is the new for 1972 SE package, which added a lot of brougham features to the mid-size coupe. I do love those hideaway headlamps.
Bullitt, The Dukes of Hazzard, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, and the modern day F&F franchise have certainly made made the Charger seem that way, but in reality, the Charger was from inception a pseudo personal luxury car, at the very least a personal car – keeping in mind this was Dodges roundabout answer to the Mustang(secretary models included). The 66 is loaded with Thunderbird like gimmicks through the interior, all of which were very much luxury by 1966 standards, before the more brougham trappings of the next decade came to define “luxury”, and while the 68-70 models came about at the pinnacle of the supercar era, with the hottest engines Chrysler had on tap until recently, there were always more plain 318s and 383s outnumbering them, and even the slant 6 was available. The Charger at the end of the day was a fancy Coronet(sort of like, say, a Monte Carlo was a fancy Chevelle)
Also, the SE package was introduced in 1969, with Leather seats, simulated wood grain, extra bits of trim, and extra interior lighting were part of the package. Powerful muscle car traits, eh? 😉 The unique aspect specific to the 72 SE was the quarter window blanks that gave the illusion of a formalized roofline(which looks better than the regular one IMO)
That ’72 Charger SE looks a lot like the car Doris Day drove in her short-lived television show around that time frame, except her’s was a one-off special order with some weird option combinations. It had A/C and a sunroof, but non-tinted glass. I guess the idea was it’d be easier to see her without the window tint.
That is indeed the Charger from The Dorris Day Show. The show actually ran for five seasons. Before the Charger she drove Barracuda convertibles, both the second and third generation models.
https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hcc/2009/09/Gone-Hollywood—1972-Dodge-Charger-SE/1921221.html
I’ll be darned. I thought Doris’ tv show started in the early seventies and her Charger had a white interior, not brown.
Nice! i’ve updated the post to reflect that this is Doris Day’s car.
I just gotta mention this, XR7Matt, now that you’ve dropped the name of the 1974 action movie DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY: The best way to watch this time capsule of ’70s-era Hot Pursuit is on a 1979 Magnetic Video Corporation VHS tape. I know it’s been released on DVD — and perhaps even Blu-Ray by now (I’m not sure) — but there’s nothing like holding a videocassette relic of the past that feels like a miniature brick! Drop this old and heavy tape from a 10th story balcony on to a dude standing on the sidewalk below and it’d probably knock him out.
Those old-tyme MAGNETIC VIDEO CORPORATION tape releases were very primitive. The video boxes didn’t even give a description of the movie. Just a ‘still’ and a rectangular cut-out ‘window’ on the box front. They were very distinctive.
While I don’t agree with the assessment that the Malaise Era ended in the mid 1990’s. I applause this group highlighting the cars from the 1970’s to mid 1990’s as there does not seem to be that much love for them in car shows. I think the K car has a good place in a car show. Without it, there would be no Viper or perhaps even Jeep as we know it now (Who knows how long AMC would have kept on and if the Jeep brand would have lived on?)
I am tired of going to car shows and seeing rows and rows of @#$#ing Mustang GTs or Camaro Z28s. I swear that future generations of car fans are going to believe that all the Mustangs made were GT models when only about 3 or 4 percent were made each year.
I have never heard of this group before but I have heard that there is two schools of thought about the length of the Malaise Era. One was that it ended in 1983 and the other that it ended in 1996.
I myself thought it ended in 1983 with the advent of cars with computerized fuel injection and the Ford EEC-IV on board computer system.
However if this group is using 1996 as the end date of the Malaise era to allow inclusion of more years of cars then I agree. I think history will look back on the 1980’s and 1990’s as the most important decades in the development of the automobile. Thanks to the tech development of that era, we now have 4 cylinder cars that are more powerful then 1960’s muscle cars but get great gas mileage.
I think an inclusive group within that year range of cars is great, but I object to the use of malaise as the word for them. The problem I have with it is two fold, it’s revisionist history, which will inevitably be parroted by people who don’t know any better(both by people who like and dislike cars from that timespan), and it puts everybody with an 83ish to 1996 car either on the defensive or on the outs as groupfillers, while the “real” malaise cars get the acccolades for actually living up to the name, like the Monaco wagon.
It’s just as absurd as labeling all R&B music made between 1972 and 1996 Disco.
While I have no hard and fast thoughts about when the malaise period ended, I do know that a Viper is no way a malaise car.
I’d go with the Malaise Era being 1972-83.
Now bring on a ’75 Ford Granada with the ‘250’ six or a ’76 Buick LeSabre with the ‘231’ perched inside.
Perhaps next season’s Malaise Era Auto Show will be ~more~ malaise-y. (Anyone still got a running Vega?).
I have an ’84 LTD Brougham with a gutless carb’ed Essex V6 that is most definitely Malaise 🙂 so maybe we need to do ’84 and later cars on a case-by-case basis.
Agreed, what a great group of cars.
Looking at the horrible hyperextended Volare “New Yorker”, I had only one thought:
’58 Packardbaker.
On the good side, these years forced Detroit to pay attention to interiors for the first time since 1953 when seats turned to knee-chopping hard plastic. They didn’t quite get all the way back to the coziness of the ’40s, but they did round off the edges a bit.
Your statement is confusing as:
The Volare was an F-body.
The New Yorker shown here was an R-body based upon the B-body.
So to “hyperextend” would mean the F-body was stretched. Which it wasn’t.
Thus the confusion.
In the late ’70s, my brother’s first wife had a 1973 Apollo with a 350 that looked just like the pictured car. She wanted to sell it to me, but I just couldn’t work up any enthusiasm for it. I bought a used Duster 360 instead.
By the way, in my opinion, the Malaise era started in 1972 (unleaded gas, dropped compression ratios) and ended in 1983 (improving economy, no gas worries, performance returning).
Awesome post, pictures and assortment of cars, Brian. Both Pacers are calling my name. About the white “X” coupe with the interior swap, I say bully for the owner who made the car that he or she wanted instead of keeping it stock. It looks flawless.
Amazing cars and pictures! You’re a fantastic photographer and photo editor Brian! This post truly shows off your talent!
That R-body New Yorker Fifth Avenue is an incredible find, among many other here!
Thank you. I’ve made contact with the R-body owner. I am wanting to do a dedicated photo shoot with that car.
I’m guessing that Taurus owner and I would become instant friends if we ever met in person. And he probably owns one of the last first gens that exist in such good condition. I’m a bit jealous.
Lots of very cool (and some not so cool) vehicles at this show.
But the coolest one OF ALL is the ’72 Ranchero!
I’ve liked them since a guy who worked at my dad’s store bought one in the same color as the one pictured. His had the Magnum 500 wheels and the solver/white/black GT stripes.
Nice photography and those cars bring back many memories. I owned a 1984 Olds Delta 88 2dr hardtop back then. What a slug of a family car. The dealer could never get the MIL to stay out (carburetor issue) and I just painted the dash panel lens black where the MIL was lit. It ran fine.
We drove it 180,000 miles and I sold it for $800 and 2nd gear didn’t work in the auto trans for maybe 100 K of those miles.
To me the automotive “malaise” era encompassed the roughly ten year period starting in 1973 (though I won’t quibble with this show’s 1972 cutoff, the year high-compression engines disappeared), and ending after about the 1982, maybe 1983 model year when cars like the Mustang 5.0, T-bird Turbo Coupe, Dodge Daytona, and other contemporary EFI/ECU-controlled high performance machines started to emerge from the fog (I know, the 5.0 didn’t get EFI until 1986).
We can all make good arguments one way or another, but by 1996 the malaise era was a bad memory fast receding in the rear view mirror. Evidently the show organizers wanted to maximize the numbers of cars. I mean, if a Viper qualifies as a malaise era car then I’m a millennial. Not.
Thanks for the great photos, though. Looks like a fun show!
I’ve always considered composite headlights as kind of the end of the malaise-era, as the cars that were designed in the malaise-era generally lost the sealed beams when they were either redesigned or refreshed in the mid-80’s. Granted that’s pretty arbitrary and some cars were still sporting sealed beams into the 90’s, but for the most part those were carry-overs from a previous era. Obviously there are a few cars that this won’t work for (I can think of several off the top of my head), but I can’t say I’ve ever considered a car with composite headlights as a malaise-era car.
I’m with you on the dates. There were quite a few interesting and entertaining cars showing up in the mid-80s.
1983 was also the year that GM made the larger 5.0 4BBL V8’s available in the G-body line, introduced HO versions of both the 307 for the Hurst OLDS and 305 referred to as the L69 that turned the Monte SS and F-body cars into tire burners. Then you had Buick perfecting their turbo 3.8 in these years which would turn into a Corvette beater a few years later. 1983 was for sure a year that power started to make a comeback for many of the Big 3 vehicles.
Great post and pics. Almost forgot about the LTD LX- that car was quite a breakthrough at the time.
The Eldorado isn’t a 1980; it’s at earliest 1983 given the blackout, de-chromed dashboard. I think the two-color seat trim and lengthwise sew pattern (rather than squares) also debuted late in this model’s run.
To me Eldorado looks like a 1985 Eldorado Commemorative Edition…
After some more sluething on the interwebs, I believe that you are correct that this is a 1985 Commemorative Edition. Post updated to reflect this.
Thanks for sharing. As a child of the Seventies, it is nice to see a little love for the cars we loved to hate at the time.
OMG – almost all of my 70s US car heros are assembled.
Had I been there, I´d probably have fainted.
That two tone beige / brown Caprice Classic is such a dreamboat.
Missing a Chevy Blazer and a 1st Cadillac Seville though…
That Pacer´s interior is immaculate.
I haven’t had time to examine them closely, but these are beautiful photos. Photographing cars in bright direct sunlight is pretty difficult. Nice job.
Count me in with one who disagrees with the groups definition of the Malaise era. I’d put the start no earlier than 1973 if not 1974 if for no other reason the phase in of the 5mph bumper regulations. The Ranchero/Torino front end is the poster child of the styling malaise caused by the bumper laws. Heck one could even make the case that it wasn’t in full effect until the change in emissions laws that drove most vehicles to use Catalytic Converters and the accompanying unleaded fuel.
As far as the beginning of the end I stand on 1982 with the bellwether being the Mustang GT that marked the reversal of shrinking engine sizes and specific power outputs. I’ve heard others use 1983 as the beginning of the end which brings us back to those bumper laws which were relaxed for the 1983 MY. 1984 would be another point that could mark the beginning of the end with the introduction of Ford’s EEC IV, It was a significant turning point in engine control. To meet the OBD-I requirements you only had to give a very broad code for a very limited set of conditions. So for example you might have a O2 code and that was all you got that the O2 readings were out of range. EEC-IV showed the way forward and what could be done with OBD-II by having several codes for any given component for example you now had codes that told you no O2 signal, O2 “stuck rich” or “stuck lean”. It also marked the convergence of the 5v VREF standard. Ford EEC III and the early Cadillac port fuel injection and I’m sure others, used a 9v VREF which gave the problem of a car with a healthy starter and a weak battery a crank no-start condition as the starter could crank the engine well enough but cause enough battery voltage sag to prevent the computer from booting and thus actually starting the car.
Of course whether you mark 82, 83, or 84 as the beginning of the end it was just that the beginning of the end and far from the absolute end of the Malaise era as it took several more years until widespread adoption of the possibilities of computer control were fully exploited across most mfgs and models as well as the stylists were able to take full advantage of the bumper law changes as new clean sheet models came to market.
Personally I can see the argument that 1996 marks the point in which no more Malaise vehicles were produced. Sure GM had the ability to read live date from their systems in the early 80’s and Ford had codes that actually pinpointed the problem, but many mfgs were still doing things like having a temp switch controlling a Fidle valve and cold start injector with no control of hot idle speed in the late 80s and early 90’s.
You make some good points, but one reason I used 1972 as a starting point for Malaise is the fact that some cars were already badly affected by the dropped compression ratios and new smog-control junk like air pumps. Dad bought a new new Mercury Marquis in 1972 and it sometimes stumbled when running, along with surging and some dieseling. I knew of other peoples’ ’72 cars had driveability issues that were hardly ever seen on ’71 and earlier cars. Even though the catalytic converters that came along a few years later required unleaded gas, they enabled automakers to remove some engine controls with the result that cars ran better.
I agree with you; I’d start the Malaise Era as model year 1972.
I very much like the idea of Malaise Era car shows, and I’d say that keeping what many regard as the depths of the domestic auto industry running in original condition quite a bit tougher than earlier vehicles unencumbered with Rube Goldberg emission control systems, as well as spotty quality control..
Excellent pictures, i love all these beauties as i grew up around most of them and actually saw them at the dealerships here in nyc. I will say that i cannot stand the term “malaise era” and it fills me with the actual meaning of the word everytime i hear or see it………..discomfort, uneasiness, pain, illness etc, these cars do not fill me with any of that crap and i find it insulting that the automotive era i grew up in is now known by that abhorrible term.
I’d have to agree that MALAISE cars were at least past 1988. I have a very nice ’88 IROC-Z 350, and while it “feels” fairly strong: NOT!
My 2016 Civic 1.5L T would run a 15.0 1/4, just like my IROC does, but at 40 mpg reg. not 14 mpg Prem…:( Despite all that and its totally NON-supportive seats (almost showroom new looking!).
Both cars tho have/had decent handling, altho the Civic had to much body roll.
The IROC, compared to several other malaise era cars I’ve owned-new-does “feel” and run light years better! :):) DFO
Very nice Camaro Dennis i find these to be one of the sexiest cars ever built(along with the Jaguar e type). If we are talking post 1988 as you said…………… then i have to agree with the term(with a few exceptions)
Damn that is one pretty IROC. A family friend had one, same color as yours. 12 year old me loved that car.
Is that malaise or is it just progress? There were big block muscle cars that ran 15.0 in the quarter, with 7 mpg on leaded gas BEFORE the start of the malaise era. Once it was no longer a burden for manufacturers to meet clean air laws and safety regulations, and produce cars that had similar or better power to weight ratios and net adjusted horsepower to the good old days, the period of malaise was over, and it happened in the 80s.
We live in a period now where nobody can call cars malaise from a performance perspective, but it’s because automakers have had a continued ability to increase power for every new power plant they have come out with since the early 1980s with new and improved technologies. True malaise was about strangling and freezing existing technology for compliance and compromise.
And just as a contention to the power levels we now have from 36 years of constant improvements, I would argue that are utterly wasted on us, and that average cars achieved perfection in the mid-1990s. Traffic density has only gotten worse, and more and more drivers are disinterested to the point of ride sharing. Meanwhile variety is being reduced due to the real or imagined demand for “active lifestyles”, necessitating space efficiency to the maximum degree for the vehicle’s footprint, all while safety advances have finally hit a point of diminishing returns as vehicle fatalities creep up, despite visibility impairing pillars and bullnose pedestrian friendly designs protect an ever distracted by their smartphones public at large.
I wouldn’t necessarily call a 15 second quarter mile F-body from 1988 Malaize. The fact that an average family sedan can run that same time now is more about progress than anything. The fact that a 1987 or 1988 F-body can run a 15 second 1/4 mile time is quite something considering that just 3 short years before the same cars could barely run a 17 second time. Malaise was also not only about how fast a car would run but many other things including poor build quality, poor running behavior, poor interior comfort, ugly massive bumpers compromising styling etc.
Thanks for all the comments on the photography. I love to share my craft with you, especially when i’m shooting cars such as these.
I like the debate about what years encompass the Malaise era. When I joined the group, I though the same thing regarding the 83-ish cutoff point. But I liked that the group encompassed more and looks at cars to the mid 90s, because I grew up around these cars and I love having the group that is dedicated to them.
Regarding the argument above about the 1995 vs 1996 Crown Victoria, where one is allowed and the other isn’t because of the cutoff year. You will have that for pretty much any year you try and cut it off, as many cars will straddle the cutoff point.
If 1983 were the cutoff, 1982 Dodge Aries is but 1983 isn’t (with no change). Same with the 1982 Dodge Diplomat vus the 1983 Diplomat. 1982 Cadillac Cimarron is, but 1983 isn’t?
The beginning is easier to nail down to a specific year since that was mainly driven by emissions and bumper laws, which sat specific deadlines that everyone had to comply with.
The end however is so much harder to define since while regulations changed because there wasn’t a mandate to make the bumpers weaker, or to increase HP with the newer faster processors and more affordable memory. So you have cars that straddle any cut off date unless you stick to the 1996 date where again regulations required a drop dead cutoff date to upgrade the computer system to the newer and faster processors to meet the regulations.
Same with the mandate year though, there were a handful of cars with OBD II before 1996 as well, so how can those be malaise if OBD II was the official end? There are always stragglers, and even though OBD II was mandated for 1996, it didn’t magically make cars that may have had a lingering odor of malaise in 1995 perfect in 1996 either. There have always been bad cars, there are now and there were in the 60s. The 73-82 period is specifically unique because the ratio of what most would constitute as bad was so high in comparison to other periods in time. You have to look at the average fleet, and I have a really hard time with that since a lot of automakers, such as Honda, were arguably in their golden era in the late 80s and early 90s, I’m not going to call those malaise because Lido kept the K-car going too long.
As for OBD II, it has advantages, but essentially none noticeable to the end user with all else being equal. Processor speeds and capability improved through OBD I as technology demanded and improved, just as it have continued to do through OBD II since 1996. In other words OBD II wasn’t an engineering breakthrough that made the previously impossible possible. It standardized what had been previously a bit of a Wild West in computer control, and made diagnostics easier and software a simple matter of flashing through the connector. Convenient and theoretically less hassle/cost for service and inspection, but not what I consider a point worthy of the end of malaise like I would give for the widespread adoption of EFI alone many years earlier.
My point is that while some mfgs took advantage of the faster processor speeds and more affordable memory by doing things like distributorless ignition some weren’t willing to spend the money to make their system more sophisticated and hung on to add on fixes. For example the cold start injector and temp switch didn’t disappear from the Toyota Pickup and 4Runner until 1996. The reason for the change of course was OBD II.
I’d also disagree that it didn’t have an advantage to the end user. Sure the computer system was transparent, when working properly, whether OBD I or OBD II. However when things weren’t working right it meant that a properly trained tech could diagnose and repair the vehicle quicker and thus at a lower cost. The mandated Failure and Effects Management Analysis mode also meant that driveability when there was a failure was greatly improved and could make the difference between a vehicle that is able to limp home and one that is dead on the side of the road. A good example of this are some late 80’s and early 90’s Chryslers that took the easy way out and allowed the O2 sensor way too much latitude in fuel control. A failing sensor could drive the fuel trim so rich that the vehicle would foul the spark plugs, die and not restart. Meanwhile it wouldn’t set a code because they didn’t have the processor capability to do a proper rationality check that ignored the erroneous readings and substitute an expected value to maintain the driveability and keep the emissions at least somewhat in check.
I mentioned those benefits, but like I said what OBD II really did was standardize the various ways brands dealt with situations like your Chrysler example, most OBD I Fords on the other hand weren’t nearly that crazy in contrast, they behave pretty much like OBD II except for the diagnostic process, where a technician needs a bit more critical thinking capability and a special scan tool to plug into the arbitrarily placed port, or “count the blinks”. But this freedom of execution existed prior to the malaise era, and I don’t feel that easier diagnostics signals the end of it. There was no standardized design of carburator, and tune up service was way more frequent before the advent of computer controlled fuel injection and electronic ignition, even if still distributer type.
Well my underlying point is not that many cars did not advance fully out of the stop gap and add on type engine controls until they were forced to by the OBD II mandate and for many of those mfgs the switch allowed them to boost specific outputs.
Look at that Toyota Pickup and its 2.4l 4cyl. 1995 was good for 116hp and 140 lb/ft and in 1996 with its 2.4l had 140hp and 160 lb/ft, the fuel economy also got a little boost from 23/27 to 23/28. Since dropping specific outputs is something many people consider a defining aspect of the malaise era and OBD II ushered in the era of increasing specific outputs. Therefore I can see many valid points with the argument that the OBD II mandate symbolizes the banishment of all of the characteristics of the Malaise era. However I maintain that the 1982 Mustang GT was the clear beginning of the end of the Malaise era.
I do believe that most cars had found their way out of the Malaise era by the late 80’s just not all.
@Scoutdude
Your might want to find a better example than those Toyota motors you reference, because you are trying to compare two completely different engine families. In the Pickup/Tacoma, 1995 was the old 22R-E, and 1996 was the all new 2RZ-FE. As for the 4Runner, it went from 22R-E to 3RZ-FE. OBD I vs. OBD II has nothing to do with the differences you mention.
I guess my only retort would be that multiport Fuel injection and overhead cam valvetrains played a far bigger and more important role in boosting specific outputs, and that manufacturers were going to do so with or without the OBD II mandate just to stay competitive.
To me what really defined the malaise era was that there were so few options to avoid malaise riddled cars during the uncontested period of ~72-82, but there were many afterwards, probably about as many good choices as there were before clean air, fuel crisis 1, and 5mph bumpers, I’d estimate . I don’t feel it fair to say the entire period between 83-96 retains the derisive label because a handful of cars and car companies couldn’t get their act together like everyone else, nor do I feel that OBD II magically cured every last car that wasn’t very good prior to the mandate – Plenty of cars with bad electronics and poorly engineered mechanicals still existed after OBD II, they just spit out a dozen fault codes and give the car a perpetual CEL through most of the ownership.
@ Cjiguy, no the Toyota makes the point perfectly. It meant that the old Malaise era 22r was finally put out to pasture because it couldn’t meet the new standards. What replaced it was an all new engine with higher specific output. Had OBD II regulations not taken effect chances are Toyota would have kept the old soldier around for longer as they hadn’t seen any good reason to update it significantly once it went EFI.
@ XR7, you are completely missing my point. I don’t disagree that there were a host of advancements made in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I’m just saying that the OBD II regulations marked a point where the last of the Malaise era engine control systems and strategies were finally gone from the US market. It also marked a point where many of the engines that had their roots in the Malaise era, or before, were finally put out to pasture, such as the Toyota R series.
Yes most of the Malaise was gone from most of the vehicles sold in the US by sometime in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
The Crown Vic is one example that exited the Malaise era with its 1992 make over that ushered in a new engine family, with a higher specific output from its new OHC engine, rear disc brakes as standard, better suspension tuning and a new much stiffer frame in the mechanical dept. In the styling dept they lost the availability of wire wheel covers, vinyl roof treatments, large chrome grille and less bright work in general. Ford’s EEC IV had the processing power and memory later mandated by the OBD II laws that allowed them to do SEFI distribtorless ignition, MSD, extensive FEMA strategies and numerous self testing capabilities when others were still doing TBI batch fire port injection, distributors and handful of codes and no self testing abilities other than spitting out stored codes.
Contrast that with the 1991 Caprice’s redesign which was still heavily rooted in the Malaise era with it’s 1950’s push rod engine wearing throttle body injection strapped to the frame from 1977 that was now a bit overwhelmed by weight gain. Yes the styling had left the Malaise era but it that was it.
Beginning of the end 1982, absolute end 1996 with most cars exiting somewhere between those two points.
I don’t feel I am. My point is just as you said, when Ford greenlit a new engine family, or distributerless ignition, or sequential fuel injection, they created the hardware like EEC IV to run it. They weren’t limited or hamstrung by regulation to pursue this stuff, which is literally the root of issue during the 72-82 era, as automakers had to scramble to meet the numerous safety, air quality and fuel economy targets, and the initial results made worse cars. Frankly the very fact that the OBD II mandate was adopted without any hiccups from anyone proves how far from the depths of hell they were. OBD II may then have been *proof* that the malaise era was over, but it was not the reason why it was over.
And I absolutely don’t feel that 1996 is the absolute end if the banishment of old technology is the crux of the argument. The Ford 5.0 and Chevy 350 both soldiered on into the 00s(and the LS engine that replaced it is still pushrod), distributors didn’t disappear from every last automaker overnight, and many transmissions were still 4 speed OD units derived from malaise era predecessors. Plus, define “roots”? The SBC and SBF had their roots in the 50s/60s, they’d be branches by the time they reached the malaise era 😛 , and wouldn’t engines that had roots in it be the engines that were conceived during it, or existing engine families that were cripplingly altered (like the short lived 255 variant of the SBF)? I’d have to do some homework to make my case on that, but I’m thinking many of the worst died off long before 1996 and the better ones well surpassed it.
Love these photo’s Brian! The red Torino is awesome and the interior of the Pacer gaspworthy.. gotta love the 70’s!!
Great bunch of cars and photos! I would love to attend this event.
I loved the ending because I saw that Dodge wagon in the background of other shots and I was worrying that it wouldn’t be profiled when it wasn’t in the Chrysler section. And that trophy is priceless.
I never noticed how busy the firewall is on those late C-bodies. Beautiful car, I love it!
I agree it might make more sense to cut it off at 1990 (last year carbureted engines sold in any U.S. cars).