For reasons not worth getting into, the First Malaise Invitational Car Show’s venue is back to the original location at Silvan Ridge Winery. That actually sounds a bit less…malaise than the parking lot of a parts store, and Stephanie said she wants to come, as a consequence.
See you there!
How thrilled I am to see an example of the only car I ever bought new (custom ordered, yet) first and foremost in the illustration– A Pontiac Phoenix!
However, I never thought of it as particularly “ma-LAI-sy!” (Use Jerry Lewis voice). In it’s day, it was considered fresh and full of new thinking, and there was nary a padded roof or opera window to be seen. On the other hand, if a required characteristic of the malaise-era car is exceptionally low build quality and early mechanical failures, bingo!
Enjoy the day, Paul, and invite us all to the slide show!
Tragic, when such well-conceived and well-received cars, have fatal flaws. Perhaps more than any other car, they represented the dawn of the 80s. And optimism for the domestic industry, during that moment in time.
I find one of the best ways to appreciate malaise cars in their natural habitat, is with crisp, colour corrected period photography. Finding good sources on the web can be a challenge. It’s possible to spot long forgotten idiosyncrasies about specific cars. The Volare Premier wagon in this collage was already a decade old in this photo, and driving quite low. I remember the torsion bars and leaf springs on these, had a bad habit of sagging with time. A common sight. The Accord looks so modern in comparison.
I thought the FWD Phoenix was a better looking car than the Citation. But Pontiac put all that tacky chrome around the windows. With wire wheel covers, etc. When they should have promoted their handling package, blackwall tires, and sportier appearance options. Looks like termites got to the LTD.
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That ’71 Ford should spark some interest on here.
It has everything you used to see in full-sized RWD drive cars in Canada. Missing body parts, unwashed, Canadian Tire-sourced mudflaps, and snow tires with no snow in sight. 🙂
I’m thinking of the ’76 Oldsmobile the boys took for a several-years-pre-license spin in the original Degrassi Junior High, roughly a 10 year old car at the time (emphasis on rough).
Probably chosen partly for that reason – being worth basically nothing would help when setting up insurance (“you want to film 14-year-olds doing WHAT!?!”), along with the ability to accommodate three in the front seat helping with camera setup and angles, and (spoiler alert) preexisting body damage being important to the story’s resolution.
This will be awesome. I’m putting the 2nd annual on my bucket list for 2023…