Some cars and trucks just age better than others, and I don’t mean that strictly in terms of their durability alone. I didn’t exactly pick these; they presented themselves to me. But if I had to pick two cars; well, two American cars from that year, these would be on the short list. What about yours?
1974 is a hard year for American Cars. Jesus.
1) 1974 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Convertible, cause… obviously, I’m an Oldsmobile Man, but I only really like the styling of the 1973 Colonnade Cutlasses… Dunno if I’d splurge for the 455 tho. 1974 was such a performance hell year, would have a 455 88 Convertible even have cleared 0-60 in 11 seconds? When according to those Car & Track videos on Youtube a ’71 Sedan could clear it in 8.8….
2) an Avanti II… because it’s enough of an anomaly from the early 1960s you could get in 1974.
In reality I would have been a snob and most likely would have went for an Audi 100 over those other two, disintegrating motor mounts be damned…
err… 1975 I meant… that still wouldn’t move my choices much. I don’t think I’d fall back into an American car I’d really like until the 1977 GM b bodies shrank, or the Ford Fairmont (Wagon, 302).
There are just so, so few cars from 1975 that I actually give a crap about.
That CC about the Imperial of the year prior did make me a fan. Baroque and overgrown? Of course, but compare it to the Cadillac or Lincoln of the same vintage and the Chrysler has aged far better, at least to my eye.
If you had said ’76, the answer would have been one and done with the Seville, but ’75, god, what a cesspool.
The BMW 6-whatever coupe from this timeframe was pretty sweet.
One 1975 model I’d have kept,would have been a Ford Bronco,302 V-8, A/T, P/S, P/B and A/C.I really can’t think of another ’75 model worthy of redemption,so could I have another Bronco?
1975 eLDORADO cONVERTIBLE in Purple or Magenta
1975 Continental Mark 4 Aqua Group
1975 Thunderbird
1975 Buick Riviera
1975 Olds Toronado XRS
The Riviera would be RED With White Vinyl & Moonroof. Leather if Available.
The Thunderbird Looks Great in Black with Red Leather IMO. or Lt LIME Green with White Top. Or is it Lite Jade Im never Sure I Like AQUA BEST. Mom Had a 73Black/white LEAther
XRS? Im Not sure What The Top Toronado was in 1975, but that one in Silver? Again AQUA Would be Fine. RED Leather is Nice.
1. Pontiac Trans Am
2. One I hope Paul finds someday to feature
1975 Grand Am
http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS395US395&q=1975+grand+am&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&sa=X&ei=K32MTZfkBIbZgQfYrJW7DQ&ved=0CCsQsAQ&biw=1259&bih=550
Trans Am with the 455V8. Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser with the… 455V8.
I would have to go wih the J truck hiding out back there. Or if I had a choice a 75 Wagoneer.
(I had a 79 Z28, and it’s just not practical for daily use..)
My loyalties would be divided between GM and Ford.
If I were feeling the GM love that day, I’d go with a 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon coupe (with either the 350 or 455) and a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, primarily because nothing like those cars is being made today.
If it were a Blue Oval Day, I’d go with a Ford Gran Torino Brougham with every option on the books and the biggest engine possible, along with a Lincoln Continental sedan.
A Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird were shadows of themselves by that time, and a new Accord can pretty much put the most powerful versions of them to shame, so I wouldn’t even bother.
http://www.torinocobra.com/production_numbers.htm
As you can see here, the 1975 Gran Torino Brougham is quite rare-Once the Elite came out and decimated it.
It’s January 1st 1975, so I have my choice of leftover 74 models or a newly introduced ride for 1975…
1) 1974 Gran Torino Sport with the Q code 351 CJ 4V / 4-speed manual.
2) 1975 Volkswagen Scirocco with sunroof.
1) 1st generation Honda Civic Wagon for everyday hauling.
2) BMW 2002 for fun.
I would probably just keep the two in the photo. I love both both of those body styles of jeep pick ups & camaro’s
I’m sorry, but this question, to me, is like telling me there’s two dump trucks outside my house…one filled with doggie-doo and the other filled with horsey-doo. You want me to pick…
I’m such a snot, I look at that Camaro and think…”parts car for a ’70-’73”. I’d even take a ’78-’81 after they facelifted the bumpers and made’ em part of the body. I even admire Hot Rod Magazine for building a ’76 Camaro recently. But since I’d be longing for a ’70-’73 if I owned one of the cow-catcher models, I’d rather save the extra $$ for what I really want.
BTW didn’t the wrap-around rear window – as shown in the Camaro above – debut in ’76?
The brochure for the 1975 Camaro shows it with the wrap-around rear window. I had trouble remembering when it debuted, too. Maybe because, if I recall correctly, Camaro sales for 1976 jumped as the economy came out of the 1974-75 recession, and everyone who wanted a real ponycar had to go with the GM offerings. By 1976, the Mustang was now the Mustang II, the Cougar had morphed into a mini-Mark IV, while the Javelin, Challenger and Barracuda were all dead.
In 1975, all of the attention was still on the Monza and Mustang II, but within a year, the bloom was off of that rose, and people who wanted a sporty coupe “rediscovered” the Camaro/Firebird.
I just thought of two 1975 cars I would own…Monte Carlo or Monza. Actually I had the Monza. 262 V8 and a 4-speed…Got three speeding tickets the first month I owned it. For either one today…swap in an GM Gen III V8 and a six speed…I could go for that…
I was 12ish in 1975, and I’m having a hard time remembering what all was available back in the day.
I kind of like larsupremes choice of the Avanti, only because of the ‘get-it-while-you-can’ factor. But I grew up in a Ford family back then, and we had a garden variety Mercury Montego at that time. But the 70’s baroque cruiser from Ford would have either been the Elite or the Cougar. I got my first ride in a Porsche back then, a 914 and an Audi Fox and a Fiat X/1-9, too. Those were big events for a small town Ohio kid back at that time, that was fairly exotic stuff! The more likely things I would see on the streets were the domestic intermediates and compacts from that time, at least in my steel town neighborhood. Even at that time, you were doing very well if you rolled in our neighborhood in a Cadillac. The people who did well in our neighborhood had Buicks, or Chryslers, maybe Lincolns. Caddys were still rara avis.
Having said that here it is: An AMC Hornet Sportabout SST (wagon) with a 304 V8, and a Mercury Cougar XR-7 with 351 V8. (Never know what will happen with gas prices… sound familiar?)
Ask me again in 20 minutes, and I will have an entirely different answer. 😉
1975 is a tough year. I do like those second generation Camaros and one could easily wake the motor up cheaply but I’ve already had one. American wise I’d probably go with a 1975 AMC Matador just because it is so unique. Foreign wise something like a Triumph Spitfire would be a nice choice as it would be rather easy to back date the bumpers by removing the rubber tits.
You mean Like a BARCELONA or Matador X Brogham Coupe ? Go All the way. SST . My Dad and I were always Rooting AMC To overtake…the hurdles.
Indeed. I think there was a designer version named after some fashion designer – Oleg Cassini. Not sure on the year though.
Lincoln Continental Mark IV
…. without a doubt, all the way….
Wow. Seeing how I am a 1975 model, I’d hate to think what you all would do with me!
But anyways…This has nothing to do with Cutlass week, or by perceived bias, but I would have to go with a 1975 Cutlass Supreme. My uncle had one when I was about five years old, and remember it being a beautiful car.
I always like the Salon version from 1973-75, with the reclining buckets upholstered in corduroy.
If I had to pick a car from 1975, I’d have one, and only one choice for myself:
A new Volvo 240, complete with the old OHV B20 engine. The greatest car ever made.
Aside from the 2nd-gen Camaros, I can’t remember the last time I’ve actually seen any of the other suggestions on the road around here.
My choice, for something that would still be running, a 1975 Dodge Dart 4-door post with the slant six and column shift manual. Plenty of those still plying the roads.
I Would also like a 1975 Pontiac Firebird Espirit Blue Maxed out! Was there a Bluebird Model in 75? Formulas Were nice. I Dont need the screaming Firebird./Banchee on the hood.
1. 75 SAAB 99 coupe not the wagon (hatch) back
http://www.adclassix.com/a3/75saab99coupe.html
2. 1975 Opel Manta Rallye
3. 1975 Capri 2800
http://jalopnik.com/#!328896/what-to-drive-in-75-manta-or-capri
What a dilemma, American passenger cars from that year were such crap. If they can’t be trucks, I’ll put a pair of GM compacts in my 1975 garage, a Nova and Seville. Im not a fan of GM F-bodies from that era that a lot of people seem to like. The crash bumpers destroyed the clean look and I just got tired of looking at them back then.
If trucks/SUV’s are allowed, we had a Jeep CJ with AMC engine and Mopar driveline back then and it was great.
If “captive” imports were allowed, a pair off the LM showroom floor would me much more entertaining, a Pantera and Capri.
good point about the captive imports, Perhaps I should have left off the SAAB and gone with the Mercury Capri and Buick Manta!
I just can’t think of any american 75’s that I could live with. I obtained my drivers license in ’76 and my head was stuck in the 60’s My first car was a ’64 Malibu SS Convertible 🙂
’75 Imperial 2-door, like the white one featured back at TTAC. Make mine red.
’75 Road Runner if I can drop in a 440 and update the gauges to the ’76 style, including a 140-mph certified cop speedometer.
I’d take a Volvo 164E in silver blue metallic and a red over white Pontiac Grand Ville Brougham convertible.
Although it was no longer available as a separate model, in 1975 it was still possible to get the 360 engine in a Plymouth Duster or Dodge Dart Sport. That’d be my first choice.
Other cool 1975 cars would be any of the last full-size GM converbles (Caprice, Grand Ville, or Le Sabre).
A ‘Bluesmobile’ strippo 440 Dodge Monaco would be okay, too (but only because of the movie).
I briefly owned a 1975 Dart Sport in 1980, from about September to November. It had about 40,000 miles on it when I bought it. It was a powder blue and had a white interior. A really nice car. I was young and crazy back then, I added some air shocks to the back, put on some huge mags and tires and went speeding everywhere. Karma caught up to me, as I was crossing a bridge one snowy November morning, the back end got out, and I did a number of rapid, harsh spins between the guardrails of the bridge. I went from nice car to sh*t car in about 30 seconds. I managed to smash every panel on the car, with the exception of the roof. I took it to one of my Dad’s friends who ran a body shop, it would cost far more than the car was worth to repair it. He gave me something like $1700 for the car, which I promptly put as a down payment on a POS Mercury Capri RS Turbo. The Dart was a good runner, but I wish I would have had more time to drive it, I’m sure I would have loved it.
1. Cadillac Seville
2. Trans Am 455
Buick Century Sedan. Dark green as I remember.
Ford Granada 4-door with 200 cid (3.3L) inline 6 and 4 speed manual
Mercury Capri with 2.8L V6 and 4 speed manual
I’d probably have been looking in the classifieds for an old Ford pickup like mine that I bought in ’78, and not been looking at new anything. Actually, I knew a kid who back then said his neighbor let them drive his 2 Model A Fords, (un-restored pickup and car) around in the fields. In ’78, when I got serious about looking for my first rig, I called him up and he said his neighbor had sold them for 200 bucks each. I was sad! I looked at a few old pickups, one being around a ’49 GMC with a Visegrip on one rear brake line. I kept looking and remembered some friends who’s Uncle had a “52 Ford pickup for sale. I called him and he said come and talk. I did and ended up buying it for 200 bucks. Still wished I’d have connected with that kids neighbor, bet I’d still have a Model A pickup.
Pontiac Grandville convertible and a Cougar XR-7 , loaded of course, with a 460.
I love cars of the ’70s and have had a number of them (recently, not then — I was a kid), but never a ’75 anything. To me it was kind of a transitional year and I like ’76 better overall, especially for GM which is my favorite US make. But for fun here, how about a Grand Prix SJ and a Seville if it counts (were some ’75s or were they all ’76?) If that doesn’t count, I would take an Oldsmobile 98 Regency Coupe.