Here are two vintage shots from about 1975, each with a GMC 9500 doing the hard work. There’s a decent array of Chevrolet offerings in the first image, with a couple of Buicks thrown in for a bit of variety. (Update: A couple of Pontiacs as well).
If given a choice, I was originally going to pick the wagon as the one to own in my dream world. If I’m going ’70s vintage, I’ll take the least-loved one, thank you. However, on closer inspection I believe there’s a Monza in there? If so, forget what I said. I rarely ever saw one and would like a chance to get better acquainted.
The second shot is loaded with trucks, mostly Chevys and at least one GMC. Lots of colors, and a neat arrangement of short and long beds.
I believe the lead car over the cab in the 1st photo is a Pontiac Ventura. I wonder if any of these survived. The stories they could tell.
The image has not enough definition to crop the rear lights and side markers, so it could be a Ventura. I’d think it’s a Nova, though.
It’s got Pontiac wheels, so I also think it’s a Ventura.
Quite an assortment on that first carrier! No Oldsmobiles .. maybe Lansing was feeling bourgie that day.
Also note the Ventura is a hatchback – there’s a callout badge on the C pillar, otherwise they look the same in profile as the regular coupes.
Have we identified the other Nova/clone at the back of the truck? Wheels look more Chevy-ish to me, but I don’t remember how the Olds or Buick wheels look. Landau roof with opera window means that one is not a hatchback.
The blue one is definitely a Nova, from the Chevy wheels and what I can see of the shape of the headlight surround. Maybe the “Nova Cabriolet” (which was actually a thing)?
It’s really funny to see a bunch of people (including myself, of course) trying to identify two identical cars from probably 100 ft, for the fun of it. I love this place.
The Blue one is definitely a Buick Skylark from 1975..
If you really zoom in, the red car at the front has a slight slope to the front-end, so that’s making me think Ventura, although the Pontiac Rally 2 wheels are probably the obvious giveaway.
What year did the Nova Concours come out? That blue Nova in the back, with the thickly padded landau roof, makes me think of one of those. I know they had the LN before the Concours, but I don’t remember those having the thickly padded roof.
The first car is definitely a Pontiac Venture due to the Pontiac sport wheels and the yellow car at the bottom is a Vega but if the photo was taken in 1978 it could be a Monza because Chevrolet discontinued the Vega in 1977 and just renamed all the left over Vegas for the 78′ model year..
I’ll take the Regal Colonnade (I think that’s what it is, as it’s pointing to the road at the end of the truck). Or the Caprice at the lower front. That is, if you didn’t take the wagon. And I think it’s not a Monza, but a Vega.
The red car over the yellow Vega is a Monza Towne Coupe.
The Vega is surely the least-loved car here, not the Chevelle wagon which would be my choice from this group.
The Vega isn’t a Vega; it’s a much rarer Pontiac Astre.
Wow, I forgot all about the Astre, but yeah I think there’s a Pontiac split grille on it. Are the wheels different from the Vega’s too?
Correct. Those are the turbine-type wheel covers that never appeared on Vegas. Plenty of Monzas (and other H-bodies) got them, though.
We had a Century wagon. The bed panels rattled and the cowl shuddered. Then there were the dark green vinyl seats. I’m still embarrassed I helped my dad choose it–but I was twelve. Mom decided the Estate Wagon was too big for her and the clam shell too complex. At least the ’75 wouldn’t have the ’73’s awful emission controls, which led us to trade it in 4 years.
I’ll take the red Nova over the truck cab, thanks, as well as the rust colored shorty over the cab on the second load. The truck drivers are not going to be happy with me, making them unload almost everything to get at the ones I want.
Practically a full rainbow of colors. Only missing the far violet end of the spectrum. Not that there were a lot of purple cars. Or were there?
Two mighty GMC’s probably sporting 6-71’s maybe 8-71’s. The ubiquitous Luberfiner oil filter hanging off the frame rail behind the front fender.
Interesting mix of vehicles on the first one. The second is interesting, your not likely to see a truck load of std cabs today. I did delivery inspections for awhile, paint quality was not the best, sags and runs, being a GMC dealer always on the lookout for any Chevy trim, grills, tailgates, badges and the occasional steering wheel.
Willing to wager they are both 8V-71’s, they have the high tilt hoods. Love the short blue 4X4 in the second shot. Convoy Co. rigs. They ran an LNT-1000 Dodge around L.A. up into the late 80’s. Always had a lot of these GMC’s.
I’d agree on the 8V71’s. Those west coast trucks (stinger steered) were 10 feet longer than the east coast trucks and could haul two more vehicles. The east coast trucks (GMC/Chevy) that I drove were 6-71 inline sixes.
In 1988, we (Anchor Motor Freight) went to the stinger steered 65 footers on the east coast. Ours used the turbocharged 6-71 inline sixes.
i Love the sound of those big old screaming jimmys!
I have a soft spot for them, so I feel like I’d be drawn to that red Monza Town Coupe. In my mind I can already hear the distinctly annoying sound of the seatbelt buzzer, just putting the key into the ignition in any of these. There’s an irritating blast from the past.
Oh man let me at those shortys!
Looks like the first red one is a Poncho while the last blue one is a Nova, based on wheels alone-
For the first few years of my existence my Mom’s car was like the brown Regal coupe in the middle, but darker brown with white interior and white partial vinyl roof. Thankfully it did have the sweet chrome Buick ‘road wheels’. I’d love to have that car today, but the color would need to change…..
I believe that’s a Century coupe rather than a Regal – I think I can make out the Century’s larger triangular rear side window. The Regal had a small opera window and a more upright roofline.
The “sweepspear” contour on the doors identify this car (and the photo) as a ’75; the other cars didn’t change much for ’76 but the Century and Regal coupes had a new, simpler door design that was shared with the Cutlass coupes which also were revised in 1976.
I inspected cars coming off the trucks in the late 70’s at GM dealership. Strange that the wheel covers where installed! Build quality improved through the 80’s with newer designs.
I’ll take any of the squarebodies in the lower picture. On top, the Ventura, Chevelle wagon, and Camaro all work for me. I also like Vegas, Astres, Monzas, etc., so those would be good. Heck, just bring ’em all over and I’ll test drive them.
Oh, you are right! I felt the car to be larger than it really is. That’s why I didn’t see it as a Vega-sized..
That Rally Sport Camaro, I’m in love.
That caught my attention as well, I’ve only ever seen that package for this model year in glamour shots
I think the Impala needs some love. OK to drop it off at my house, and any one of the two-tone trucks to go with it.
Great shots. I’ll take the red Pontiac and blue Chevy wagon in the first photo.
I’ll take either of the 9500s assuming they are DD powered. Such variety in the second pic, it would be full of black crew cabs today.
The blue Nova is interesting, fully loaded for sure. Either an LN or Concours model.
It also points to the “Cabriolet roof” being introduced very late in the 1975 model year. Paraphrasing my comments on this pic on Dick Copello (PA Car Hauler)’s Flickr, it doesn’t appear in any division’s 1975 brochure or the January 1975 revision of the Nova one on oldcarbrochures.org but was featured heavily across the Nova, Apollo-Skylark, Ventura and Omega brochures starting with the ’76s.
Back then I would have taken the copper short bed.
Look at all the paint colors. Not like today…
Yup. But it is improving slowly. I was looking at Mavericks (dealers all asking $10-$15k over list, so NFW) and the most popular color is a greenish blue (blue-ish green?) called “Area 51”; they also come in blue and a slightly maroon metallic red as well as the usual assortment of black, white, silver, grey.
That load of square-body pickups gets me. I was an East Arkansas farm kid in the 70s and early 80s and these trucks were everywhere, including our driveway!
I like the Camaro. That would be my pick, or the big wagon.
If taken care of, I’m sure one of the pickups is still running.
Can’t say the same for the cars!!
My post update.
The yellow car is definitely a left over 77′ Vega or Astre which were both discontinued and rebadged as a Monza in for 1978 due to the Monza wheels shown on it in addition to the restyled grill. Also, The white Camaro is a 1978 due to the new 2-tone paint scheme and grafics Chevrolet came out with that year for the Camaro in addition to the 2-tone paint and grafics used for the 1978 Corvette Indy pace car limited edition.
This was in 1975. The full-sized Chevrolet (Impala or Bel Air?) front side-marker light was only on that year. The Nova and Ventura coupes were restyled that year, the Camaro Rally Sport (with the two-toned paint) and the Astre and Monza Towne Coupe were new models for 1975 (the Monza TC in late 1975). The Chevrolet wagon and two Buick intermediates were also offered in 1975.
As for the survivability of these particular cars, I would guess that the Astre and Monza had their engines blow themselves to pieces weeks after the warranty expired; the Camaro either “survives” somewhere in a weedy pasture (half-complete, not having been driven in decades) or died after a tenure as a dirt-track car; the Impala (and possibly the Chevelle wagon) ended its life in a demolition derby arena, and the intermediates and compacts all became automotive beer cans–someone bought them, sucked everything they could out of them, and threw them away.
Notice all the pickups were single bench seat 2 door cabs, these days the vast majority are 4 door cabs, and and ride like a car, with plush interiors