The seventies were a bit of a challenging decade in regard to big cars, and I’m still struggling with my choice. Will it be this purple ’78 Marquis, or a ’71 LTD?
So I’m going to have to let you go first, otherwise this soul-searching might go on way too long.
I kind of think the 70’s should be broken into 2 categories. 1970-1975 and 76-79. The early 70’s cars still had some power, a few of them making the most power they ever had, even in sedan and wagon form. The tail end of the muscle car era, it would be hard to chose any brougham sled over a true performer, yet I have an unexplainable attraction to some of the worst malaise mid to late 70’s sedans. To me there is a huge contrast in the American car from 1970-1979. I suppose my picks would be the Monaco police package for an early 70’s car and a 1976 Buick wagon before they were downsized. I do like the 77 wagons also, but for this discussion, bigger is better!
I’ll skip the obvious GM B-body and go with Brendan’s choice, one of the last C-body Mopars and THE last four-door hardtop 1978 Chrysler (fun fact: the pared-down line of Chrysler-brand-only C-bodies for the final year included 4-door hardtops but no post sedans).
I’ve always been a small-car guy, though, and I’d be mightily tempted by the Horizon sitting in the showroom next to it, possibly enough to put in a special order for one with manual everything, high-series broughamy interior, whatever sporty-handling options were on the table – and fender-tip turn signal indicators! Yes, you could get them on an early Omnirizon, and never mind the view of the RH one is probably blocked by the wiper, I want ’em!
I think jonco up above picked the winner, if I can’t have a Mopar B body. 2-door hardtop ‘70 Fury with a big block, slicktop, RWLs, rallyes, no fender skirts, and true-to-era metallic avocado green paint. Black naugahyde buckets with floor shift.
A ‘small’ Caprice bent window coupe in a similar non-broughamed ‘I really want a muscle car’ look and all the motor/suspension I can get isn’t a bad sled either.
Waitaminnit…
I want this. EXACTLY this: http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/plymouth/316070-1970-plymouth-fury-440-convertible-executive-special-order-factory-black-loaded.html
A 1976 Landau model in this colour with the swivel seats and the 400 V-8
Any 1977 thru 1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88 or 98. GM hit a home run with the downsizing of the B and C frame cars in the mid 70’s. My sister had a blue 88 sedan with the crushed velour seat. Very classy car.
Large sized American car for the ’70’s?
There is no way in hell I could ever get that desperate.
I’ll stick with my ’73 Raleigh Sports 3-speed. If I absolutely need motorized, there was always my ’72 Honda CB350.
Syke, there may be an exception made for you, perhaps it can be a large American motorcycle from the 70’s… 🙂
My first motorcycle was a new ’75 Kawasaki 100 street bike, which I outgrew within six weeks and picked up that Honda from a college prof. My first big motorcycle (by the standards of the time) was a new ’79 Triumph Bonneville 750. And, from there, it took off.
Bottom line is that I was never a fan of what became the big American car. The last ‘full size’ (mainly because it was the only size) car I ever really liked was the ’58 Chevrolet. I kinda liked the ’61, but by then my head was already turned by the Corvair, and that’s where my style has been ever since.
And my love of Raleigh 3-speeds has never gone away. My daily errand running transportation for short errands is a ’73 Raleigh Tourist – a bike identical to those ridden in the village scenes in Downton Abbey, rod brakes and all.
Paul, I found your ride. I know you’ve been looking for an excuse to get back to Arizona, here you go: https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/d/1974-ford-gran-torino-elite/6868024773.html
“Does not currently run”. I wouldn’t pay $6250 for a non running vehicle!
No question that Ford did brougham and malaise better than anyone else at the time. No thanks, I’ll pass!
Had my eye on a new 1970 Monte Carlo with 3 on the tree and a bench seat back then. Wound up with a Volvo 242. I’d go back for the Monte this time. I think they had something similar to that “Panty Cloth” upholstery Ford used to have. Too bad it won’t come with my gf though. Also, I want to keep the Grand Prix, the Studebaker and Packard from prior decades. Hope I didn’t miss something in the rules that would prevent this.
I’ll cheat a little here and more or less duplicate the ‘78 Pontiac Bonneville 2-door owned by a friend’s mom. I’d make mine dark blue with blue velour interior instead of her white with burgundy vinyl. Gas mileage is a concern, so I might try the 301 Pontiac mill instead of her 350 Buick one. If the 301 was too weak kneed, then give me a Pontiac 400, if possible. Otherwise, the 403 Olds.
1970-72 Mercury Marquis Brougham 4 door
1975-78 Mercury Grand Marquis (must have the 460ci V8)
1971-72 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight 4 door
1977-79 Chevrolet Caprice Classic (must have the Chevrolet 350ci V8)
1971-72 Buick Electra 4 door
1970-71 Chrysler New Yorker
1977-79 Buick Electra
1972 Lincoln Continental 4 door
1971-72 Ford LTD
1971-72 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale
1971-72 Buick Centurion 2 door
I like the early 1970’s vehicles a lot better than the late 1970’s vehicles
Excellent choices, DD!
I also liked the early 1970’s better.
I liked the pre-Malaise era automobiles (1970-72) the best because they had much better drivability and performance since they weren’t fully smogged out with 5mph bumpers, Emission Control Devices and Smog pumps
Before we were married, my wife had a 1977 Olds Delta 88 Holiday with the 403/4bbl, FE3 suspension, posi traction and HD cooling system (it was set up for trailer towing). It was a sweet ride and I never should have convinced her to trade it away on that POS Mercury Capri.
I love all of those B bodies, but the only other one I would want is a 1977 Bonneville four door, with the 400 Pontiac and all the other options our Delta 88 had. In dark blue, with a dark blue vinyl roof and a blue velour interior.
I’m initially tempted to say a very-carefully-specced ’78 or ’79 GM B-body 4-door, either a Caprice or an 88.
But If we’re going really big, let’s make it a ’72 Imperial 4-doir, top-of-the-line, as de luxe as possible.
I’m still trying to get my head around why anybody would paint that poor Marquis in matt lilac. Anybody want to hazard a guess at what car that colour belongs on – if any?
A Pepto-bismol bottle?
For contentment I’ll take an early 70’s Chrysler New Yorker. Had a Newport coupe and it was a fine car, would take a few upgrades.
For real use I’ll take an 88 with the 350 diesel. I’m aware that these had a bad rep, but the simple solution was to take them to a GMC dealer for service, they knew what to do with them. The Impala issued to my dad by his company lasted nicely through its service period, while other reps had theirs perish under the care of various Chevy dealers who likely thought a wall job was sufficient for PM’s. And it drove well enough.
What’s a “wall job”? A “pm”?
They parked the car out by a wall instead of actually servicing it.
PM=preventative maintenance
I would take that time machine 10 years forward and get something from the 1980’s
The 1970’s is the decade of bad taste(except for music) and a lot of blah
The 1970s and “BIG”?
There is no other choice.
The 1979 Lincoln Continental Collector’s Series sedan.
If I ever find a ’77 Coupe Deville with steel roof it won’t be my daily driver, but it will be my special one
In the 1970s I started noticing cars, and the one car that always stood out to me was the Ford Elite, Silver with a burgundy landau top. At 10 I was caught up in the great “brougham epoch”.
Not my first pick but deserves honorable mention. The 77 and 78 Olds Toronado XS. GM’S forgotten bent wire glass coupe.
1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V
Eh, the 70s aren’t really my bag, but if I had to choose one, it would the 1971 Buick Rivera. I’m more of a Forward Look nut, and the Riviera still has plenty of style.
I am going to nominate two that I did own and used them as DDs.:
1977 Lincoln Continental Mk V Emilio Pucci edition
1978 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz
And one that I would like to own:
1975/76 CAdillac Fleetwood Brougham Talisman
First off, I’m philosophically opposed to the 5mph bumpers, so it’ll have to be something from the earlier part of the dreaded ’70s, the decade that taste forgot.
I was going to say ’71 Riviera, but then I thought I could do better.
Why not go all out and get the biggest land yacht with the wagon body style? I’m torn between a Fuselage Mopar and a GM Clamshell.
Probably a ’72 Olds Custom Cruiser, then. Not quite as ugly as the Pontiac equivalent, but more personality than the Buick. Hold the woodgrain, though.
Other cars I forgot to mention on here are
1970-71 Ford Thunderbird 2 door
1970 Cadillac Eldorado
1973-74 Pontiac Grand Prix w/swivel bucket seats
1970 Cadillac Deville/Fleetwood
Well, if I have to trade in the Merc I previously picked, I would go for a 76-78 Chrysler NYer hardtop sedan in any color with the glove soft leather gut and 440. (I had one and stupidly let it get away) I would even consider an Imp from 74-75 as they are really similar. Brougham all the way with a little Bowie in the 8-track and a full tank of gas.
Honorable mentions:
77-79 Continental Williamsburg Town Car
71-71 Chev Biscayne sedan with 454/Turbo 400
75-76 Buick Estate Wagon (loaded please and with Buick rally wheels)
77-79 Oldsy Holiday 88 with the prerequisite buckets/console and 403.
71 Matador coupe with the seldom seen “Machine” package and 401.
72-73 Dodge Monaco wagon, loaded with a 440.
For the decade of excess mixed with malaise, nothing less than a ’74 Fleetwood Talisman will do.
More seriously, a ’70 Chrysler 300 convertible. What a great taillight design!
One like this with the police suspension, the emissions crap ditched and about 400 hp on the 360 if I were living in the US…
…or the car on the left for Europe.
As someone mentioned earlier, I would love to have a Cadillac Fleetwood Talisman, too.
Remember, it’s a “Fleetwood Talisman”, NOT a Fleetwood “Brougham” Talisman, as selecting the Talisman package elevated you above the plebian ranks of the common “Brougham” title.
ANYONE commoner can have a “Fleetwood Brougham”. YOU have a “Fleetwood TALISMAN”!!
Make ours a 1974 model, please, as the ’74 edition added the ultra exclusive rear seat console which was not included on the ’75/’76 versions.
Also, the ’74 was available with leather seating. This, too, was dropped for ’75/’76.
A stunning ’76 model:
And, to those who don’t believe in fairytales…
Here’s an interior picture of a ’74 Fleetwood Talisman with the leather seating option…
The historic antecedent to the ultra-luxury four passenger armchair interior was found in the full-custom coach-built bodies on luxury car chassis in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The Duesenberg J Arlington by Rollston, known as the “Twenty Grand” is one of the finest examples.
I had the opportunity to ride in a ’74 Fleetwood Talisman twenty-five years ago, it was indeed special.
Glad i’m not alone in understanding what an amazing luxury car this Cadillac Fleetwood (i stand corrected)Talisman really was!!!
My choice: 77 Pontiac Bonneville 2 door with 400cid engine, no vinyl top, rally II wheels and other carefully selected options. Might have to go with the 350 for practicality.
Runner ups:
70 Buick Estate Wagon, or Wildcat convertible
77-79 Buick Estate Wagon (400cid)
71 or 72 Riviera
76 Eldorado convertible
Equal opportunity choices:
Any year Lincoln Mk V
70 or 71 Chrysler Town and Country. But really almost any 70-77 Mopar C body
Full sized cars of the 1970s were so bad – I wouldn’t want any of them, regardless of their cost, perceived luxuries or ability to buy any of them.
I drove them.
They were horrible. No road feel, wallowing listlessly down roads, tires squealing at curves if you went too fast, tippy crapmobiles.
Remember those cop shows popular back then? Watching the “Streets of San Francisco” as Malden and Douglas careened in car chases, losing hubcaps? The bloated Ford products slowly drift around corners like elephants chasing a peanut?
No full sizers for me until 1992 or so.
BTW – Midsized luxury cars like the Monte Carlo, Cutlass or Cordoba are NOT full sized cars – no cheating.
Your memory is spot on! Big wallowing land yachts–even the GM ones until 1977
1974-75 Imperial/1976-78 Chrysler New Yorker 4-door , black, vinyl top delete, either burgundy or black leather interior. 440-equipped, of course….
I could make a long list of cars from the seventies that I’d enjoy.
But for me, my 71 Ford Custom with 302 V8 and AM radio would be grand. Good basic transportation. Mine was also most like the one pictured and even took me and buddy to California and back. A police scanner under the dash helped me as a young radio reporter to stay on top of breaking news stories!
Did Dirty Harry drive one of those?
A 1972 Imperial GT would also be nice. I have heard that a racing prep. Porsche 911 could give the Imp GT a match…
Late to the exercise but have mine which are full size cars of the 70s. Tough call as there are quite a few I like and quite a few of them I drove back in the days. I tend towards the early half of the decade before engines are choked
1970 Oldsmobile 98 with 455 in Aegean Aqua Poly
1971 Marquis Brougham 429 coupe in Maroon
1972 Lincoln Continental 460 4dr in Dark Blue Poly
1977 Caprice 9C1
1978 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham 440 4dr in Silver with red pinstripes and Road Wheels. ATC I and no Lean Burn.
These cars can cruise US 5 or any of the Nevada highways effortlessly which is what they would be for me as they were never practical for around town errands given the size. Need to go smaller for that purpose.
Not sure if full size would encompass wagons but there has to be one.
1970 Ford LTD Country Squire 429 Medium Blue Poly
Nobody even so much as mentioned the post-Abernathy AMC Ambassador, that which first offered air conditioning as standard? Oh well…
See Jon’s comment above.
For me , it would all be cars I remember from my childhood owned by older relatives.
First, a 72-73 Pontiac Grandville 4-door hardtop. My grandfather owned one in the early 80’s. It was a metallic brown with a white vinyl top and white interior. The car was sort of a mystery to me, as I know the history of all the other cars he owned, except the Grandville. I remember a return trip from a family vacation that included my parents, brother, a cousin, and my grandparents to Jekyll Island, GA. I rode back with my grandparents, probable because I was tired of being harassed by my older brother and cousin. I can still remember cruising on some south Georgia highway with all the windows down, in the summer. I never felt like I was burning up or had my hair blowing around too much. We could still carry on a conversation too! Something you can’t do in a newer car!
Next, a 1972 Plymouth Fury Sport Suburban. It was the first car my parents had after they got married. It was yellow with fake wood on the side. I was about 5 or 6 when they traded it on a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass wagon, I hated the Cutlass! Even though my dad is still a dedicated GM man he still says that Plymouth was the best car they ever owned. My mom hated the Plymouth, apparently my dad traded her ’68 Firebird in on it without her consent!
Last, a 1977 Monte Carlo! My uncle owned one for a brief time in the mid-late 80’s. Sadly, it was probably one of the nicer cars he ever owned! Just before he sold it, he painted the Monte a beautiful metallic blue! To this day that generation of Monte is still my favorite.
I consider 1970 to be the end of the peak era for automobiles, 1971-72 to be a transition period from the high compression V8 era to the Smog/Malaise era and 1973 to be the beginning of the Smog/Malaise era which lasted until around 1985.
A toss up between two that I actually owned at one point:. ’72 Plymouth Fury II 2 door hardtop and a ’71 AMC Ambassador Brougham 4 door sedan. Both were great road cars and not horrible on gas.
Since I have one: 1975 Oldsmobile 98 Regency. Recently drove it from New York to Florida and back. Truly a great long distance cruiser, although the 12 mpg (premium) at a steady 75 mph was a bit hard to take (improves to 13.8 at a steady 65, it’s almost not worth speeding). But the rented MKT I took on the same trip last year was not as comfortable or nearly as pleasant to push down 1200 miles of highway. There’s something about those really big cars.
That said, the 75-77 Continental is a tempting alternative as is the 75-78 Imperial/New Yorker. Both are a bit better looking with those great bladed fenders.
`71 Continental mk.lll
`77 New Yorker coupe
So many choices. Torn between 70 Cadillac Fleetwood, 77 town car, 73 imperial. Or perhaps a mark v.
Of all the 70s cars I owned, my favorite was a 78 Ford Ltd landau.
1979 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. White on White, Leather and Blue undertones inside (carpet).
Before downsizing took hold in latter years of the decade, this was the era of some of the biggest, plushest and bloated land barges in auto history. So, let’s go all the way here. An early ‘70’s Eldorado. 5,200 lbs. and 222 inches of overstuffed luxury, with a standard 500 cubic inch V-8, rated at 400 HP in 1970.
Sorry, but I think I’ll stay in the 60s. See yaz!
This is a tough choice for me, only because there are dozens of cars from the ’70s I like. But I have to choose just one, per the rules. It has to serve me until the ’80s, so it has to be good, reliable, comfortable, and stylish. I think I have my answer…
The 1977 Lincoln Continental Town Car. Why the ’77 specifically? First, it was the final year for both the fender skirts and the proper Lincoln instrument panel. They switched over to a Mercury Marquis shell with Lincoln instruments and trim for ’78, which I felt was a convoluted attempt at de-contenting. It was the first year of the beautiful Mark V style grille shell, which I thought gave the big Continental even more class and presence. The 1977 would still have the 460 4V at least as an option, and still put out a decent amount of power to move 5000 pounds plus of American iron. It’s plush, it’s comfortable, and it makes a statement, but not too loud or bold the way a blingy and less reliable Cadillac would. Turbine spoke wheels would be a must.
1975 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Regency
1978-1979 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Regency
1975-1976 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser
1975-1976 Oldsmobile Toronado
1975 Pontiac Grand Ville
1976 Pontiac Bonneville Brougham
1977 Pontiac Grand Prix
1979 Pontiac Trans Am
1975-1978 Cadillac Eldorado
1977-1979 Lincoln Mark V
1977-1979 Mercury Cougar XR7
1976-1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
1975-1978 Mercury Grand Marquis
1975-1978 Chrysler Imperial and New Yorker
1976 Chevrolet Caprice Classic
1977-1979 Lincoln Town Car
I can’t believe I forgot to mention the 1970 Buick Electra and the Oldsmobile Ninety Eight, I always felt 1970 was more of a leftover year of the 1960’s when it comes to automobiles.
I started driving in ’75 so I got a lot of driver’s seat time in cars of that era. I tended to keep cars only a couple of years back then and sometimes had more than one at a time so I went through several “big” cars during that decade. I grew up in a Chevy family and back then brand loyalty still mattered to me, so my preference in the ’70s was and still would be for the full-sized Chevys. However, I wasn’t fanatical about it.
Leaving out the cars I had in the ’70s that weren’t considered “big” or full-size back then, I had a ’71 Impala Sports Coupe 350, a ’72 Fury 360, a ’74 Impala 350, and a sweet, almost new plain Jane blue ex-NJSP supervisor’s unit ’76 Gran Fury 440 Interceptor that invariably picked up the nickname “The Bluesmobile” from my friends.
Last, although it falls just outside the ’70s, I liked the downsize B-body Chevys starting in ’77 and the tightening up they did on the styling in ’80, my second-ever brand new car was a beautiful ’81 Caprice V8.
Tough choice. If I have to trade in the ’67 Continental, can’t find the love for it’s ’70 counterpart. I’ll go for a ’70 Buick Electra 225 2 door.