The 1970s was not a great time for cars, although no one knew the double whammy that was coming in the ‘60s as the muscle car makers ran amok with horsepower. But with too much power, came a thirst for gas and when the Middle East conflict choked off the gas supply, the oil crisis spilled over and turned former muscle cars into flaccid versions of themselves. To top it, the feds thundered down on automakers and introduced strict emission controls, noticing that the thirstier the car got, the more smoke and emissions it bellowed, thus choking people of air.
We agree, the ‘70s were definitely good for the environment, and the switch to unleaded gas has been a boon. But the cars in the ‘70s suffered, and with that, the car buyers from that era also ended up with lemons.
But there were a few gems in between as well, even some cool ‘70s muscle cars, largely overlooked because the whole decade got a bad rap. So here go 10 gorgeous ‘70s classic cars the world has all forgotten about.
10 Ford Maverick: The Import Killer
The Ford Maverick may have been a cheap classic, but it came with some really gorgeous looks, the kind that gave you aesthetic power even if it did not give you muscle power. While there was a single V8 option, mostly the Maverick came with inline-six options.
It was reliable and sipped gas where others guzzled and came swift enough to tackle the front-drive imports from Japan. And yet, the Maverick failed to make a mark back then and has failed to become a popular classic. More’s the pity.
9 Pontiac Astre: A Better Vega
Everyone remembers the Chevy Vega, right? It steamed and huffed and threw enough tantrums through its life for even the junkyard owners to recognize it for the heap of junk it was. But there was another re-badged version of the Vega, and it was the Pontiac Astre.
Since it came later and GM has already ironed out the kinks in the Vega by the time, the Astre was not as bad a car although being a Pontiac it did come pricier. That said, since it looked like the Vega, people decided to give it a wide berth, and today, it’s a largely forgotten car.
8 Buick Century/Oldsmobile Cutlass Aeroback: No Sales
By the end of the ‘70s, carmakers were in a tizzy. European and Japanese imports were challenging the already down sales even more. So what did desperate car makers do? In the case of Buick and Oldsmobile, as in GM, they decided smaller cars with a European-inspired hatchback was the answer.
And so the Buick Century and the Oldsmobile Cutlass came with Aeroback body styling. Frankly, these were good-looking and nippy but the Americans wanted nothing to do with them and sales only went up in 1980, when the sedans arrived.
7 Mercury Bobcat: Gussied Up Pinto
In 1975, badge engineering had not really picked up all that much, but Ford tried to slip a neat one under the door, by taking a Ford Pinto and making it look prettier with a boxy hood, a bolder grille, and an extra set of taillights.
This was the Mercury Bobcat and yes, by 1975, things had been fixed up enough so that the Bobcat was not as flammable as the Pinto. But the Pinto had sold in the millions while the Mercury Bobcat remained eschewed.
6 The Triumph TR8: Wedgy Future
The TR8 debuted in 1978 as an answer to the power questions raised about the TR7 and came powered by the very respectable 3.5-liter Rover V8. This little sports car managed 133 horses and 168 lb-ft torque with dual carbs, making it great fun to drive. Some even called it the “English Corvette”.
While some claimed it needed better looks, the Triumph TR8 was actually a rather good-looking car, underappreciated for its time, but definitely gaining grounds as a classic, considering only 3,000 or so of these were made.
5 AMC Javelin: The Little-Known Pony
American Motors was never as big as the Detroit Three with the Ford Mustang and the Chevy Camaro leading the muscle car wars, amongst the others. But the Javelin did hold its own especially after getting redesigned in 1971, with bigger and better wheel arches and Coke-bottle styling.
Engines ranged from 5.0-liter to 6.5-liter V8s, and the Javelin remained powerful enough to win the Trans-Am in 1971 and 1972, and 1976 as well. But sales remained mediocre back then and even now, this is not a best-selling classic.
4 The Ford Torino: Soldiering The ‘70s
The Ford Torino and its spiffier sibling, the Gran Torino, picked up all the slack left by Ford’s muscle cars and came in many different avatars. So while there were muscle car versions of it, there were woody stations wagons, and genteel sedans to suit all needs and pockets.
Made from 1972 to 1977, the Torino was a permanent fixture on American streets for a long time. It came pretty, reliable, and sipped at the all-precious gas. As a classic though, it remains largely forgotten and mostly ignored.
3 AMC Hornet: Sting & Style
You’d be hard-pressed to find the AMC Hornet. It was a funky “sedan”, a compact that came at a time America did not know that it would be needing smaller cars later, because of packed roads. And while the Hornet did not sell all that well and did not last long, it was later reborn as the 1978 Concord.
Then they also turned it into the AMC Eagle and added in some four-wheel-drive parts to it to make the world’s first crossover SUV, not that they knew this at the time. Either way, the Hornet, Concorde, and the Eagle did remain overlooked for all their lives.
2 Opel GT: Aerodynamic Fun
The Opel GT remains a largely forgotten gem, and while the first production versions came in 1968, it took a while for it to reach the US, where it was sold through Buick dealerships. It was one of the most aerodynamic cars of its time, with wind-tunnel testing at the University of Stuttgart making it zippy.
The 1.9-liter engine jet 102 horsepower may not have rocked everyone’s world, but it was awesome fun to drive, even if not many remember it today. Plus it is a gorgeous classic.
1 Volkswagen 411/412: Slow Luxury
Volkswagen made a killing in the US with Hitler’s dream car, the Beetle, and then the Bus also did well enough for them to offer another model, the 411/412, their idea of an American luxury car.
It was modern, blunt-nosed, rather gorgeous in looks, and wore a MacPherson strut front suspension along with automatic transmission. Sadly for the car, what it lacked was acceleration and power, as the 80 odd horses did not make it luxurious enough, despite the carpeting. Hardly anyone remembers it today…
Sources: Hemmings, DeutscheWelle