When I get bored with whatever’s on TV, I’ll often go on a YouTube binge and hunt for neat stuff on there. That’s when I found this gem, a compilation of still shots.
The fun starts at the .55 mark, where the viewer is treated is the sight of all sorts of vintage iron prowling the streets, back alleys, and expressways of The Big Apple. One look at any of the individual snapshots shows just how different the automotive landscape was back then. Big 3 iron dominates, with only a small smattering of imports- mostly Toyotas, Datsuns, and the ubiquitous air cooled VW. There’s even a couple of sightings of the notorious Audi 100LS- Germany’s answer to the Vega, but for all the wrong reasons. Small wonder they’ve all disappeared.
At 2:17 there’s a truly heartbreaking sight- an early 2nd-gen split bumper Camaro that’s apparently been stolen, stripped, and then torched to destroy any forensic evidence. Sad. There’s some other pretty cool shots, though. Some of my favorites include:
3:00- A ’71 / ’72 Cadillac Fleetwood wearing knobby snow tires, parked defiantly next to a fire hydrant.
3:10- A truckload of brand new ’73 Oldsmobiles
4:53- A ’66 Impala convertible and a chrome-bumper C3 Corvette cruising side by side on the expressway
6:40- A well-dressed old man smoking and contentedly lounging in the passenger seat of a ’71 / ’72 Mercury Marquis driven by some hulking brute dressed in all black, wearing a big gold chain.
Mafia, maybe?
8:58- A shiny ’73 Cadillac DeVille parked at the end of a grimy, nearly deserted back street with the Brooklyn Bridge looming overhead in the background.
10:13- A nice international assortment.
What’s especially striking is how GM products appear to completely rule the road. In every one of those pics, 7 out of every 10 cars on the road seems to be some sort of GM vehicle- mainly big B-bodies or the massive C-bodies. Especially Cadillacs.
While viewing those images, I can’t help but wonder how many, if any at all, of those cars have survived to the present day. In all likelihood, probably none. New York’s harsh winters, rough streets, and a thriving Mob-controlled ( back then ) underground car theft industry don’t exactly lend themselves to the preservation of old iron. Still, I’d like to believe that there’s at least a handful of survivors still doing their duty on New York’s mean streets, even if it’s only to the Friday night cruise-in.
Bittersweet watching this, as a teenager growing up in the 70’s, a lot of us from outside the USA, myself included, wished we could be part of the Big Apple. The video reminds me of how imperfect a perfect dream can be. Even so, my adult self still wants to dive back into that crazy mix of opportunity and chaos.
Googled the Joy Fong, got this: http://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2009/12/joy-fong-and-memories-of-chinese-food.html
Great reading, including the links!
Hoping to see a shot of Kojak in his Buick Century.
Happy Motoring, Mark
Here’s one more vintage drive in New York to enjoy, this one from the 1980s.
There’s a part 2 as well
Wow a flashback to my teens I
Started working in NYC in 1977
Bring back many memories mostly good
Paul I thought for sure you would comment on 3:38
On what? The bus? I just ran into a New Look bus yesterday a few blocks from my house. Stay tuned.
Oooohhhh!
Wow, the pavements of Christopher St and 7th Ave (where Village Cigars still is) were bricks that recently! Kind of charming. Bring ’em back!
“What’s especially striking is how GM products appear to completely rule the road. In every one of those pics, 7 out of every 10 cars on the road seems to be some sort of GM vehicle- mainly big B-bodies or the massive C-bodies. Especially Cadillacs.”
Except in for the livery/taxi service- I don’t think I have ever seen so many ’70’s Dodge Coronets and Plymouth Satellites. BTW, really nice job of putting this together along with the very appropriate music track.
Looks like at least one of those guys leaning on the Valiant went to see Black Sabbath in ’78.
“Notorious” Audi 100LS?
My mom owned one, after we sold our eight-year-old 1965 Ambassador 990 4DR. After 178,000 miles she thought the Rambler was worn out, despite its pristine condition. Traded it for a ’71 100LS in 1973. She missed that Rambler, but loved the Audi as well…despite the $700 brake job she had to have done because the front disc brake rotors and pads were inboard, just off the transmission housing. Who knew?
I took it on a 300-mile round trip when I was in college in 1975. That little sucker would cruise all afternoon at 90MPH once it got moving, rather like my dad’s 1990 Brick that my wife drives now. (That’s a Volvo 240, for the uninitiated.) The Audi’s A/C was adequate for New England, the fuel mileage was about the same as the Rambler’s 287 V8 – i never figured that one out! – and people frequently mistook is for a Mercedes-Benz.
Maybe that’s why Mom wanted one…