What became the troubled Triumph Stag started off as a simple request from Giovanni Michelotti to Triumph design chief Harry Webster. Michelotti had strong links to Triumph and wanted a donor car for use in…
Posts tagged Cars of the 1970s
Lotus’ New Looks: 1976 Lotus Eclat
In early 1973, the Lotus lineup was familiar – Elan, Elan +2, Europa, Seven. By the time of the Paris Motor Show in October, 1975, it was unrecognizable. For some months, Lotus’ only production car…
Solid Gold: SA22C Mazda RX-7 LS
“An enthusiast’s dream come true,” said one review, and in many ways, Mazda’s original SA22C (later “FB”) RX-7 was exactly that. It was affordable, fast, good looking, well made, and earned praise from all quarters…
O.G. G-Wagen: Mercedes 460-Series Geländewagen
Nobody would have predicted that the military surplus Mercedes Geländewagen would end up a coveted luxury item, but that’s what it’s best known as today. This particularly true in the USA, where the truck’s best-ever…
The 17-year “Stopgap”: Citroën Ami 8
In the late 1950s Citroën sold just two basic designs – the large DS (and its slightly more basic companion, the ID) and the tiny, bare-bones 2CV. The chasm between the two had been the…
Oh What a Feeling!
1981 Toyota Corona
Before Camry, there was Corona. Of course, after Camry, there was still Corona – indeed, the name continued into 2001, but you couldn’t get those later Coronas in the USA. In the early 1970s multiple…
AMC Ambassador: The Unlikely Land Yacht
In hindsight, AMC probably shouldn’t have developed the Circa-1967 Ambassador, but once it arrived, the company kept selling it and made due with it until 1974. The Ambassador continued a name and tradition that originated…
The Lipstick Lincoln: 1976 Continental MkIV
The Lee Iaccoca-created Lincoln Continental MkIII was a smash hit for the brand – it repeatedly bested Cadillac’s Eldorado from 1969-71, and 79,381 MKIIIs were made in all. During the 1969-70 model years, Lincoln’s staff…
California Connection: 1981 Toyota Celica
The original A20 Toyota Celica was a break-out car for Toyota; introducing hundreds of thousands of new customers to a brand they might not otherwise have given a second thought. The Celica, a scaled down…
Rough and Rare: 1979 Ford Ranchero Squire
Ford’s Ranchero was the first modern North American “coupe utility,” but it never sold as well as anticipated – rarely more than 23K units a year through its early variations until it was tied to…
From the Forest to the Ranch: Subaru BRAT Mk1
Datsun and Toyota’s small trucks were selling like air conditioners in a heat wave. Ford and GM were getting in on the action with rebadged Isuzus and Mazdas (also sold under their own labels). Though…
Panther Lima: The NeoClassic that Could
Robert Jankel had always been a car enthusiast and restorer, but he was a fashion designer by trade until, on a trip to Spain, he was offered a princely sum for a Rolls-Royce he’d restored….