What was it like to be a car guy during the Malaise Era?
Posted by daxelkurtz@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 135 comments
Hey oldheads! What was it like to be into cars during the 70s - the era of the reliable XJS, the powerful Granada, the fuel efficient Riviera, the sporty 200SX, the beautiful Pacer, the not at all gonna kill you Pinto? What did you look forward to from car news, what excited you, what kept your interest up?
^^no ^^this ^^is ^^not ^^referencing ^^anything ^^that's ^^going ^^on ^^now ^^why ^^do ^^you ^^ask
Slideways@reddit
If you were an enthusiast, the low factory engine output wasn't much of a roadblock because many of the engine families were holdovers from the muscle car era. Better heads, cams, intakes, and headers were readily available.
Smykster@reddit
Yeah it took me a long time to realize a 350sbc is a 350sbc. 1971 vette with a 350sbc made 300hp, a 1978 vette with a 350 made 200hp. Difference is heads, cam, exhaust (cats), intake.
Confident-Ad-6978@reddit
Forgetting that we went from SAE gross to SAE net Horsepower.
Smykster@reddit
Yeah I tried to factor that in. 1971 lt1 350 vette was rated at 330hp gross so I just called it 300hp. Could be even less though.
Barely_stupid@reddit
The LT1 of that era is a great example because it was basically unchanged in 1972 outside of going from a gross to a net HP rating. So, it went from 330HP on paper to 255HP.
The drop from 70 to 71 (370HP to 330HP) was due to the compression being dropped to support unleaded fuel.
Fast forward to 1978, the L82 was pretty similar to the LT1, but it had a hydraulic cam instead of solid (easier to maintain, quieter) plus the emissions stuff dropped it to 225HP. So, a 30HP drop from 1972.
Confident-Ad-6978@reddit
Ah yeah i think it was not quite 100 hp difference but it was a step down going into the mid 70s, think around 50 hp
wanakoworks@reddit
I just looked it up and yeah, goodness, a '78 Corvette only made 200HP! wow! lol.
Smykster@reddit
In 1975, the corvette with the L48 350 engine made 165hp. Ouch.
Gunslingermomo@reddit
I recall the change from leaded to unleaded gas was a big part of it too. They hadn't learned how to optimize it yet so you had 7.8L engines making 200hp in the 70s. And there was some exaggerating in the published horsepower numbers in the 60s so the difference was even bigger.
Delanorix@reddit
Yeah, I think theres a reason why you still find 350s in everything. They were just simple to work on, so if the factory sent it out running like dogshit, you just gave it a new nose and BAM!.
Back to 8MPG. lol
(I miss my 85 TA)
KnifeEdge@reddit
8mpg?!?!
Delanorix@reddit
Yeah, but it could almost do a wheelie. So that was a fine trade off for me.
daxelkurtz@reddit (OP)
This explains so much of tuner culture that i realize i didn't get, I feel like I just stumbled upon the Rosetta Stone. Thank you
daxelkurtz@reddit (OP)
This explains so much of tuner culture that i realize i didn't get, I feel like I just stumbled upon the Rosetta Stone. Thank you
AwardImmediate720@reddit
Engines coming from the factory well tuned and operating near their limits is a very recent phenomenon. For most of the history of the car tons of potential power was left on the floor in the name of cheaping out on parts. Recent focuses on fuel efficiency have required actually fully combusting fuel and that requires the same level of precision parts that performance did since both efficiency and performance are rooted in more fully combusting the fuel/air mix.
izwald88@reddit
I feel that. Aside from super cars, pretty much every car I liked as kid is now slower than most modern sedans.
su1ac0@reddit
Better cars were readily available. A minty, low mile '69 Hemi Charger was only ten years old and $500 away from being yours.
Ru4pigsizedelephants@reddit
A 440 6-pack was much more realistic and nearly as good.
Slideways@reddit
They made about 350 of them, it's not like they were ever easy to come by.
su1ac0@reddit
OK but they sold literally millions of all the rest and they were everywhere
TheNFSIdentity@reddit
How was the aftermarket for those like back then? Had I been alive then, those big V8s making sub-200 hp at best on those cars would've driven me nuts too.
Smash_4dams@reddit
Just "flip that filter lid" and it have 1970 type power, lol
\s
TheNFSIdentity@reddit
Ever since I saw that one 24h of Lemons car with the slant-6, I've loved finding ways to make power through unconventional means.
Slideways@reddit
Just looking at enthusiast magazines from that era, the aftermarket for cylinder heads was nothing like it is now, but Chevrolet produced some solid castings you could get at the dealership. There were plenty of intakes and cams to choose from, though.
bentnotbroken96@reddit
And most states didn't test emissions so deleting emissions systems reversed a lot of the low outputs.
Single_Hovercraft289@reddit
European cars, bruv
It was only malaise for US cars
daxelkurtz@reddit (OP)
...good point.
badpuffthaikitty@reddit
We had no choice. Even the best car had an underpowered and emission choked engine. We thought things weren’t going to get any better, especially American made cars. Iron Duke powered Firebird anyone?
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
"the best car" what? How many amazing cars from the 70's and 80's do you want me to list at every price point for your to take your statement back?
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
Go for it - very few, if any, weren’t hurt by US makers going the cheap route to reduce emissions
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
Every vehicle ever made that has had to conform to emissions has been "hurt by it". Whats your point.
Here, I'll even limit myself to cars that were available in the US.
* BMW M3
* BMW M5 (with the greatest sounding engine ever made)
* BMW 2002 (the car that saved BMW)
* Toyota Supra MK1
* Toyota Celica
* Volvo Turbo
* Ferrari F40, and every other amazing legendary From from this time like the Testarossa
* Arguably the most iconic Porsche ever made the 911 RS 2.7
* Or the most revolutionary Porsche that defines them today, the 959
* Lotus Esprit
* De Tomaso Pantera
* Legendary Lancia Stratos
* The literal birth of the hot hatch with the VW GTI
* The god damn Lamborghini Countach
I can keep going, its honestly my favorite era of cars in history.
boomerbill69@reddit
M3? M5? F40? 959? Malaise era?
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
Malaise era is the 70's to the 80's. You can find PLENTY of US malaise when the F40 was launched.
boomerbill69@reddit
The F40 came out in 87. The malaise era was over by then by any definition. Either way, not really sure hypercars are that relevant in this conversation.
There are a couple cars on your list that certainly sold within that period that are good examples.
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
Ok sure, but I would say my original point still stands, there were tons of amazing options for car enthusiasts in that era, just were not US brands. I can list more too as I said... even if we bring the definition back to 84 ish which is what I've seen it defined as.
The 70's alone are FULL of amazing cars.
badpuffthaikitty@reddit
How many of your dream cars were US legally imported during this era? Answer: Not many. Detuned if they made it across the pond.
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
The Testarossa isn't a dream car? The Porsche RS 2.7 isn't a dream car? The BMW M5 with the engine from the m1, the greatest straight six ever made isn't a dream car? The fantastic Lotus Esprit isn't a dream car? The god damn Countach wasn't a dream car? ....brother
These downvotes are fascinating.
Gunslingermomo@reddit
You're still listing cars from the mid 80s, even if the malaise era technically ended in 1984 it was on its way out. It was the early 70s to early 80s. And you're talking about low production supercars, Porsche and Ferrari weren't pumping out numbers back then like they do today. It's not in the spirit of the discussion for how did most enthusiasts deal with it.
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
The Porsche RS 2.7 is not from the mid 80s, they said "dream cars" ....I responded with "dream cars". Yes the M5 came out at the end of the malaise era but its still within that period and I provided tons of examples of cars both "dream" and easily bought like the GTI.
This has been the oddest discussion.
OP asked what cars were interesting for enthusiasts during the malaise era, and I pointed to a bunch of popular cars, whether they were lusted after or bought in great numbers... and I'm getting downvoted to hell. This is hilarious.
Not a single person has been able to provide a single reason why that I have not been able to refute.
frost-bite999@reddit
imagine being so confidently wrong that you made a whole list to embarrass yourself.. oh my
Squirtalert@reddit
Malaise era started at the end of 73 till 83/84ish. A lot of these cars listed (or the enthusiast versions of them) aren't considered malaise era cars. Car enthusiasts of the time also didn't have a lot of country origin overlap. Someone who would have been into American muscle cars probably didn't even know the Lancia Stratos existed. Remember, in addition to the shift towards emissions and safety requirements of the early 70s, a lot of American buying habits were still oriented towards three brands: GM, Ford and Mopar. Everything else was either a novelty or a threat (some version of Buy American bumper stickers were popular during this time).
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
Sure, I don't think that contradicts anything I said, though I see the downvotes growing.
I guess you could say being an American car enthusiast in the malaise era is when you started to realize maybe we were not making the best cars anymore. Its literally the era that defined and built the reputation of many other car brands because of how superior they were, in particular Japanese brands.
ducky21@reddit
The topic you replied to is "what was the era like contemporaneously"
The posts you are making are "here is what the best of the best was with the benefit of hindsight and no lived experience dealing with having the best of the best in that time"
You're getting downvoted because no user of /r/cars needs to be reminded the E30 M3 existed, we're here to ask "what was it like being 27 in 1983 and being into cars?
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
You would buy a car like the GTI, or the BMW 2002 which were both very popular, so popular they invented segments or saved their companies, and you would look at Testarossas in magazines. Whats wrong with my examples?
The M3 was a HUGE hit, and you don't need hindsight to see it. It literally created the M brand it was so much more popular than BMW thought it was. As it as originally just a race homologation car.
Every example I gave was hugely popular whether you could afford to buy one or not.
Whats the issue.
badpuffthaikitty@reddit
Are you talking about the limited edition 4 cylinder M3? The homologation car that only 16,947 cars built?
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
"only" it was never meant to sell that well, it was as you say a race homologation which usually only sells in the hundreds... not tens of thousands. Its unexpected popularity literally created the M brand as we know it.
Titan0917@reddit
Again the M3 and GTI weren’t malaise era cars. You’re getting downvotes because you’re talking about cars that aren’t apart of the era being asked about.
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
what part of the GTI coming out in 1976 isn't malaise?
yes there are a couple examples like the M3 where I was wrong, and I admit that. Almost every example I gave however was correct.
That doesn't explain the downvotes.
Titan0917@reddit
The malaise era is about cars from American manufacturers, secondly the Rabbit GTI came to America in 1983 and was weaker than its European counterpart due to US emissions regulations.
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
Yes, it is, but you don't have to buy a malaise American car, I gave examples of the countless cars available during that time to buy... they just are not American.
If anything malaise American cars is what made Americans finally admit to how well made Japanese cars are, and is a period of MASSIVE growth for them.
ducky21@reddit
I am not trying to convince you of anything except that I understand why people are downvoting you hard better than you seem to.
From this reply, it seems like you are more interested in convincing me You Are Correct, Actually than understanding why everyone seems to disagree with you.
I know I said I wasn't trying to argue anything, but this sentence in particular struck me as painfully out of touch.
Back here in 2025, I don't give a shit what a Koenigsegg or Lamborghini or McLaren drive like. I can afford Hondas, Toyotas, etc. Again, the topic is not about "what were poster hero cars," we all know what the poster hero cars were, the question was "what were you actually driving?"
If this reply doesn't help you understand, absolutely nothing will.
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
You mentioned hindsight and I showed how that had nothing to do with it.
About half of the cars I listed were all attainable cars for normal people, and were very popular.
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
Also “imports” required specialty mechanics that simply didn’t exist in lots of places across America. My dad had a Tercel in the 80s and the nearest mechanic who would work on it was half an hour away. The nearest European mechanic was an hour.
badpuffthaikitty@reddit
You forgot the Lil’ Red Express pickup truck from Dodge. The fastest production vehicle produced in 1978.
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
How have I never heard of this awesome truck! love it!
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
You originally said we "had no choice" I was responding to that, you then moved the goal posts that OP never included by adding US to it. Yes the Stratos might be wrong but I don't think any of the rest are or maybe one or two at best.... try again.
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
I never said we had no choice, someone else did, and I moved nothing. “Malaise era” specifically refers to US manufacturing, per Murilee Martin who coined it. Also: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaise_era
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
Yeah, and that is literally what I responded to. Why would you respond in this comment thread if you were ignoring literally the premise I was responding to?
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
Why would you respond to a malaise era discussion without a single domestic car?
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
Because its a discussion about what it was like to be a car enthusiast in that era. Just because there were no really good or few good US options at the time doesn't mean you have to buy US cars. Being an enthusiast in that era in the US, was the time when people started to realize that maybe our cars were not the best. Its when brands like Toyota earned their reputations and became the goliaths they are today.
Drzhivago138@reddit
You pretty much did if you lived anywhere away from the coasts.
Specialist-Size9368@reddit
Kinda weird that you point to an article that is US centric, but then uses a Mercedes to illustrate one of the issues.
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
Weird that I point to the Wikipedia entry on the topic at hand? Or weird that I note the person who coined the term? Seems pretty relevant either way.
Specialist-Size9368@reddit
Weird that the article claims it is US centric, but uses a European vehicle to highlight one of the issues.
It is also weird to call it a us centric term. It glosses over that all European cars had to meet the standards in the US, but not in Europe. This leads to all sorts of weird kludges. British cars were especially bad about this. Things like the triumph spitfire adding blocks to the suspension to raise the car height to pass bumper height regulations. All sorts of weird, heavy bumpers added to European cars to pass impact standards. Bumpers that unbalanced the cars and ruined the styling. European cars also getting US only engine variants that had different measures to pass emissions. All of which reduced horsepower and many which increased unreliability. It also ignores that some European cars were never federalized. Cars that were designed with the US market in mind never made it to our shores.
US cars were badly made during the era, but the market as a whole took a nose dive. The only ones to benefit from the new regulations were the Japanese because they were startups.
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
Maybe you should it up with the car journalist who coined the term? Maybe ask why they wrote an article about American automotive manufacturing during that era? I didn’t coin it, I didn’t write that article, and I didn’t write the Wikipedia entry, but I DID use the term when I worked in automotive data and when I wrote a piece for Automotive News. I am following the definition as it currently exists. The definition is the definition, feel free to coin your own term and make it popular enough to merit a Wikipedia entry defining it.
Specialist-Size9368@reddit
You are getting bent out of shape because a Wikipedia article covering a term coined on a third rate website isn't being taken as gospel.
How about you take it down a notch or two there cowboy.
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
Sure thing! I'll do that while you stop blaming me for the well-accepted definition of a phrase not meeting your personal wishes.
Specialist-Size9368@reddit
I questioned you for using a source that says it was american manufacturer centric, but used a german made car. Then you turned into a pompous whiner who had to throw in they once wrote an article that used a phrase that came from such a lofty place as Jalopnik.
Poster child for delusions of grandeur man. Guess that is why you spend your days writing inane comments on reddit. Only place anyone might read it.
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
Yeah, Wikipedia is such an obscure site I really shouldn’t use it
Specialist-Size9368@reddit
Grey market imports were not restricted until Mercedes complained about their sales. A US buyer could have gotten one if they wanted, so it was an option unlike the later 959.
Delanorix@reddit
Not a single domestic on that list lmao
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
hence the term malaise era for US cars hehe
Titan0917@reddit
The BMW M cars aren’t from the malaise era, the F40 and 959 aren’t malaise era, the GTI came after, and I am sure I could go on for the rest of the list.
None of those are US made cars from the early 1970s-1985 which is the malaise era.
Astandsforataxia69@reddit
>How many amazing cars from the 70's and 80's
All of them rusted thru
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
What doesn't rust when its exposed to salt fields of the rust belt. Go a bit south or west... or any other country, and its fine. Whats your point? And what does it have to do with what OP was talking about or what I said in response?
krombopulousnathan@reddit
Lmao you had no choice? Like I don’t think they put all the 60’s cars in the crusher! And plus swapping out parts would not have been that hard on those old simple cars
badpuffthaikitty@reddit
No. The tin worm got them. And imagine if gas went to $8.00 per gallon overnight today. You still driving your high compression 454 to work every day?
krombopulousnathan@reddit
Hell yea brother
News_without_Words@reddit
There were good cars with engines that dealt well with emissions, but they were drastically smaller. Honda CVCc and BMW 2002 come to mind
Teach-@reddit
You know what, I had a 1983 Datsun 200sx and it was actually great... Way ahead of anything American at the time.
badpuffthaikitty@reddit
Did it talk to you?
Teach-@reddit
Yep! Positively futuristic. It got old fast.
badpuffthaikitty@reddit
The fade out interior lighting always got me.
Teach-@reddit
How about the voice telling you to buckle up at a time when seatbelts were not compulsory...
daxelkurtz@reddit (OP)
I stand corrected! I was going off of some internet lists of bad cars, I confess have never driven anything older than the millennium
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
Yup. Malaise era specifically refers to US auto manufacturing in that period.
Teach-@reddit
I had to say it cause he specifically said 200sx up there.
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
Ah, fair. And honestly the 200sx WAS pretty great.
TempleSquare@reddit
I was born in the mid ’80s. So I also can't speak for the 1970s...
BUT my first car was my mom's old 1978 Chevy Nova. It was built like a tank, and it broke down all the time like a tank.
Never anything major. But the carburetor needed adjusting several times a year. The choke never worked right on cold mornings, so I couldn't get it started. It would "diesel" (idle after shutoff) on hot summer days. Ping and knock going up hills. Need new distributor caps and wires constantly. Belts would squeal. Exhaust would backfire and blow a home in the muffler. And 8 mpg city as icing on the cake.
But the engine and transmission themselves were tanks. Chevy 350 engine and "350“ three-speed automatic.
I can see how people survived the era. The products had the capability to be good, but GM cheaped the crap out of 'em. I can see how Datsuns and Toyotas must have felt like stepping into the future.
SignificantCelery594@reddit
My brothers, sisters and I inherited grandma’s strippo ‘76 Nova. Ran it until the frame literally rusted away (floorboards were plywood and road signs by then) One time it overheated from radiator leak, and I filled it with ditch water from the side of the road and drove home. Engine block was glowing dark red when I shut it off. Bars Leak the next day and good to go for several more years.
TurboSalsa@reddit
It's weird to remember that there was once a whole industry of tune-up shops that would perform this light mechanical work for the less handy.
In addition to the oil (which had to be changed more frequently), fluids, filters, wiper blades, tires, etc. that modern cars have, you may have had to take your car to one of these places a couple of times a year just to get it to run right.
strongmanass@reddit
It's easy to take the convenience afforded by modern technology for granted. I can't imagine having to perform repairs twice a week to a car. That sounds like such a huge time sink and annoyance. Today that twice a week is just standing next to a fuel pump while you scroll your social media app of choice. Even in the most unreliable cars by reputation you mostly get in them and just go.
If lithium ion batteries had been commercially available for cars in the 70s internal combustion would've died a swift death.
TurboSalsa@reddit
Cars are definitely heavier, way more expensive, and have annoying software glitches compared to cars 40 years ago, but I doubt anyone misses spraying starting fluid into the carb on a 0 degree morning to get to work, or the car overheating on the highway in the summer just because. Or getting 10 mpg in a car that takes 12 seconds to go 0-60.
juwyro@reddit
Muscle cars were cheap then, and the aftermarket could still get you an engine that could make power. Factory performance was down, but the aftermarket kept growing.
RandolphCarter2112@reddit
While it was happening, my friends and I wanted Bandit's Trans Am, the General Lee, or Magnum's Ferrari 308.
We were in grade school/middle school.
Once we started getting our licenses (1985-87) the reality of what cars were available really sunk in.
It's 1986. If you're lucky, you have $1000 to spend on a car. You're probably going to buy a car that's 5 to 10 years old. That's why the parking lot at my high school was full of Ford Fairmonts and Dodge Diplomats and AMC Concords and Chevy Malibus. Cars like that are why we all knew how to jump start or push start these heaps. Or had to park very carefully because our car didn't have:
a transmission with reverse A driver side door that opened An intact, non leaking fuel filler neckThe 'budget minded enthusiast' market segment in the mid 80s was cars like the GTi, RX7, 280z, and CRX. Or Porsche 924/BMW 3 series if you wanted to spend more money. The turbo Dodge Daytona was the first American made car in a long time to be a viable option.
large-farva@reddit
I just realized that this closely resembles the millennial experience and technology. We had to navigate DOS and reset BIOS configs because the technology was so bad and unreliable, we had no other choice but to learn it
badpuffthaikitty@reddit
In 88 I bought a new Plymouth Colt Turbo. That car had the powerband like my 2-stroke motocross bikes. Nothing then everything. 45 hp or 105 hp? It happened in a blink of an eye.
KnifeEdge@reddit
I wasn't alive then but from looking at how those cars evolved it must have felt so good
Especially during the 80s-90s-early00s era
There is noticeable improvements that actually made a difference in all areas. Safety, efficiency, utility, performance, etc.
Buying a new car and trading in a 5 year old car must have felt like jumping into a spaceship.
Nowadays there's almost no new car that interests me more than it's directly predecessor. Maybe the MX5 but that's because the ND is almost 10 years old now and the NC looks like it was designed using finger paint.
Thick_Pineapple8782@reddit
Well, personally, I bought a Japanese car.
panzerhund2384@reddit
'74 Mustang Grande...the horror, the horror...
Slideways@reddit
The Grande was gone by '74.
panzerhund2384@reddit
Not for the Mustang II, 4 cylinders of pure garbage, the Grande had the 1/2 vinyl roof...sadly, I owned one!
Slideways@reddit
That was the Ghia.
panzerhund2384@reddit
You are indeed correct! Thanks for helping my fading memory...
Individual-Tonight27@reddit
Actually, the thing I miss the most is choices. There were so many different brands /designs/functionality. Mild or wild it was all there paint jobs too . Oh well.
I_dig_fe@reddit
From the stories I've heard, great. Muscle cars could be had for scrap price. Other than not being able to put gas in it it doesn't sound so bad
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
Sure, but the malaise era cars themselves were largely awful
I_dig_fe@reddit
Then don't buy them
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
I've had many in the past and have several now. Let's not pretend they weren't hugely impacted by the manufacturers trying to meet govt requirements on the cheap.
Also - you have an 83 Riviera? Cool! I had an '83 Regal T-Type and even then was a little envious of a buddy with a Riviera convertible. Mine would smoke his, but naturally everyone wanted to ride in the convertible.
I_dig_fe@reddit
I found a t type Riviera in a junkyard once. It was stripped before I got there unfortunately. I think I'd take your regal lol
fiddlythingsATX@reddit
I was an idiot kid with his late grandfather's car, I had no idea what I had at the time and I destroyed it. I just knew it was damn fast and needed sandbags in the trunk to keep traction on the wet. Tons of regrets.
I_dig_fe@reddit
We're all young and dumb once. I have a similar story with a Somerset
caterham09@reddit
I wasn't alive during the mid 70s or early 80s, but I assume it's similar to where we're at right now, where the really desirable vehicles are on the used market from about 10 years ago.
Right now we're looking into the past for a car that you could still find with a manual and driver inputs that weren't completely numb. Whereas during that era I imagine people were looking for cars that could make more than 180hp out of their 5.7L v8's.
MaroonIsBestColor@reddit
However, it didn’t take much to modify a smog car to make power back then especially if you lived in an area without emissions testing. My step father had a Suburban back then and just took off all the emissions stuff and got better power and mileage doing that.
Ostentatious-Osprey@reddit
I had a great grandpa that actually made a partial living off doing that for a few years. People bought cars new, then took them to him to take their emissions stuff off. He said he made a killing off bypassing seat belt interlocks the year they were mandatory.
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
There are TONS of fantastic cars from the 70's and 80s, most of them are not from the US. I don't understand the problem.
BMW 2002, the car that saved BMW.... the fucking M3, the M5. The first VW GTI. The Peugeot 205 GTI. The Renault 5 turbo, both the mid engine homologation and the regular one. The gorgeous brick of the Volvo 240. Any Mercedes... absolutely legendary Porsche 911 2.7 RS. Ferrari F40 for fucks sake. I could fill a damn book with a list of fantastic enthusiast cars from this era.
Most of my favorite cars are from these times.
Like how do you not know about the endless amounts of absolutely fantastic cars from the 70's and 80's? OP you win, this is the most baffling question I've seen on this subreddit.
RallyVincentCZ75@reddit
Roadsters I feel really came into their own, too. If American muscle wasn't satisfying you could look for performance in the form of the suspension and steering kn Euro Roadsters. MG, Triumph, Alfa Romeo. Which of course would later directly lead to the Miata being born in the late '80s.
In some ways I'd say being a car guy during the American Malaise era was great as long as you were willing to buy an import. Which, admittedly at the time, was a proposition some people couldn't bring themselves to do. But it was the best option for car guys who weren't into hot rodding.
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
agreed, cheers! Its nice out, go enjoy your little Alfa!
RallyVincentCZ75@reddit
With luck maybe this summer. Needs some work, heh. I'll jump on my bike instead later today, if the sun comes out as promised. Cheers!
boomerbill69@reddit
You understand the term "malaise era" refers to the US automobile industry specifically, right?
Pattern_Is_Movement@reddit
OP even included cars from other countries, just because you're "in the malaise era" doesn't mean you are forced to buy malaise cars from the US.
OP asked what it was like, and the answer I guess is simply to not have bought American cars, because there are tons of options from other countries.
Smykster@reddit
From what I understand talking to the old heads at car meets, you'd buy a car with a emission choked 350, or Ford/Mopar equivalent, and do heads, cam, exhaust, intake. Cars also got lighter and handled better year after year.
ghunt81@reddit
60's-early 70's muscle cars were dirt cheap during that time, just keep that in mind. But yeah factory stuff was underwhelming, however the US still produced a lot of RWD V8 cars even though most barely produced 150 hp.
Smash_4dams@reddit
Yeah, its like how giant Ford Excursions became dirt cheap following Katrina. Now theyre back up in crazytown
1988rx7T2@reddit
They were cheap in part because gas was expensive, inflation was high And later there was high unemployment.
avoidhugeships@reddit
It was great to be young because the old cars were better. We have entered that phase again where all the nannies and regulation it taking the fun away.
WeAreAllFooked@reddit
If you were young you bought used 60s muscle car with a small block V8 like a Nova, Mustang, Camaro, Firebird, Dart, Challenger, Charger, GTO, Chevelle, etc. If you couldn't afford that you bought a 50s car and modified accordingly.
If you were lucky you bought an early 70's muscle car before they neutered their power and swapped out the factory performance parts with aftermarket ones from the 60s. A lot of people also became truck guys in the 80s because the emissions laws weren't as strict for trucks.
RallyVincentCZ75@reddit
Given how many were sold, I'm guessing car guys moved to all the little Euro Roadsters and traded muscle for sport. Wasn't much muscle to be found, so in came the Triumphs, MGs, Alfas, Fiats and so on.
TheGrandMasterFox@reddit
I grew up in Illinois and only trucks had to go through inspection so we would delete all the smog dog bullshit on the mid seventies sedans.
MrBleah@reddit
I grew up in Hawaii on Oahu in the 70s and 80s. It was generally terrible to be a car guy during that time, but there were bright spots, but even those bright spots were slow compared to what we have today. Hawaii gives a different perspective in some respects, because we had much more of an import market from Japan than you would have found probably in some areas of the continental USA. You also get a lot of salt air and sun. The salt air rusted everything, but especially Chrysler stuff. People were buying K-cars and they came home with rust on them and disintegrated in a few years time.
Because my friend's Dad drove g-body cars as a cop out there, I became enamored of GM g-body cars like the turbo Buicks and ended up owning a 1987 Grand National for a few years in the 90s. Fastest production car in the 1/4 mile in 1987, but that was 14 seconds on average.
I was lucky enough to have a 5 speed BMW E21 320i that was fun to tool around in. My Dad gave it to me to drive as he switched to an automatic Volvo due to traffic being heavy on his commute. The 320i was not fast, but it was fun.
They had turbo Volvos back then as well, but Dad didn't opt into one of those. I remember driving a turbo brick with a manual that he was using as a loaner and going, "Why don't we have this one?!" That little zip the turbo added was great.
I always hoped he would spring for a BMW 6 series of the era, like a 635csi, but that never happened.
Other bright spots, the Honda CR-X Si. Lightness. Every other person had a Civic of some vintage. The Civic Wagon was definitively 80s.
Nissan Z cars of the time were all over the place on Oahu.
On the high end, the Porsche stuff from that era was and is pretty cool. Things like the 914, 944, 928 even the 924 to some extent.
The Lamborghini Countach was a product of the 70s and despite its deficiencies was and is still a classic. At least one made it to the islands that I saw.
Then the Ferrari 308 was always a favorite. We would see them filming the original Magnum P.I. around the island with that car and the Robin 1 plate on it.
Looking back, you could still have fun, but the sort of power and handling you get now out of current cars that cost very little is light years ahead of what we had back then. A Subaru BRZ can knock out a 14.0 second 1/4 mile and it's not even considered powerful.
Drzhivago138@reddit
Nobody was asking...?
kyuvaxx@reddit
I had a forest green granada, it was straight, got it as a hand me down from Grampa Gunderson, it didn't have a scratch on it, but my kids hated it because the nagahide seats burned their legs
bw4064@reddit
My dad and his friends continued to hot rod 50s and 60s cars. There were plenty of catalogs and classified ads to buy performance parts.
Illustrious-Monk9227@reddit
Karma