We all know the 1970’s offered lackluster cars, chocking emission regulations, and bumpers that rivaled guard rails in their size. It was also a time in which there were quite a number of Import Coupes catching on, and I discovered this little piece from the guys over at Car Lust.
The author of the piece, Chris Hafner, details what he described as an all-but-forgotten-class of vehicles, that was actually the for-bearers of the light, performance based driving machines that were offered only a few years later. The Eclipse, The Prelude, and others should be thankful for these cars, and so should you.
Read more about these cars at Car Lust. While your there, take a look at other Car Lust Face Off Challenges.
Hooniverse Weekend Edition: 1970's Super Coupes? Car Lust's Take on the 70's
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Proof that not everything was gloom and doom in the 1970s. The pretty Opel was styled by GM's Chuck Jordan, and it was a fine job. Even the Celica had a lot of character in its time, and the quality put most other sporty cars to shame. And who wouldn't love a pristine first-generation Scirocco? However, I bet the rarest one today is the RX-3 – if the poor longevity of these early rotaries wasn't enough, the Mazda bodies rusted with a vengeance. I knew someone in college with a '74 RX-3 and the car had a scary quirk – if you gave a long, hard blast on the throttle and suddenly let up on the gas, the car would backfire so loud it was like someone firing a 12-gauge right under the floorboards. Really heart-stopping if you weren't prepared for it. I'm amazed the exhaust system wasn't blown to pieces.
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Thanks for the memories these were the cars of my youth while the other kids were driving Detroit muscle we went after the better handling and to our eyes looking Euro imports and Japanese goodies. I had a I'd add the 510 and 99EMS to this list.
Back in the day I had a Kadett B and Opel GT but my little brother's Manta was better at just about everything. -
Although Euro cars are usually more more thing, I always wanted an RX-3 since building a model of one as a kid.
Always had a soft spot too for the Sunbeam Rapier H120. -
This list is incomplete without the Alfetta.
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