Last week's fun thread was the bad foreign cars of the 1980s; the week before that was the good foreign cars of the 1980s. Continuing our march backwards in time, I figured this week's list would contain the good foreign cars (available in the USA) of the 1970s.
1. Datsun 240ZX - With a straight six producing 151 horsepower in a supremely light body, the 240ZX drove a stake through the heart of the British monopoly of lightweight roadsters. It was affordable, reliable, and, most important of all, fun to drive; a welcome change of heart from the "no replacement for displacement" mantra of the early 1970s cubic inch wars out of Detroit.
2. 1972 Toyota Celica - The first generation Celica; this was the prototypical rice rocket. A 2.0L inline four cylinder engine mated to a five speed transmission and rear wheel drive meant a small, light car that could powerslide around corners (but be picked up and carried by two strong men if you went off the road, but I digress...).
3. 1970 Honda N600 - this was the first Honda imported into the US for sale. All the Civics, Accords, CR-Vs, and Odysseys we drive every day started with this little tin shoebox... A two-cylinder, air-cooled engine making some 1300 CCs powered this car to the amusement of other American drivers everywhere who kept waiting for the clowns to start pouring out...
4. MGB - A good friend of mine growing up owned nothing but MGs all through high school and college. He even raced one in autocross competitions, which unfortunately he couldn't turn off when driving on the street - I have not-so-fond memories of taking a sharp corner in an MG and looking down over the passenger door to see that the passenger side of the car was off the ground a good six inches...
5. 1971 Mercedes 280 SEL - I don't care who you are, this car is gorgeous. Classic Mercedes lines, distinctive Mercedes grill and that oh-so-sought-after hood ornament, drop-top, and retro-50s styling leads to a timeless classic. This is probably the heaviest car on the list; and undoubtedly the safest - a friend of my dad's was hit in his sedan version by a pickup traveling well in excess of the 40 MPH speed limit, and while the truck needed the jaws of life to extract the driver, my dad's friend walked away literally unscathed...
6. BMW 2002 - One of BMW's most famous models, the 2002 made BMW a household name. The emphasis on performance, coupled with world-renowned German engineering, helped upstart BMW claw American market share away from Mercedes, starting a rivalry that continues today.
7. 1977 VW Super Beetle - Arguably the most iconic and best-loved automobile ever produced, the German "People's Car" saw its last American sale in 1977. Considering that the marque was introduced in the 1930s, it had a good run. I have fond memories of, at age 15, helping a buddy of mine remove the engine from his Beetle for some repair work. The two of us unbolted the engine and removed it by hand - just the two of us... I remember being amazed at how simple that engine was...
8. Porsche 914 - sure, it was a Volkswagen at heart, but the 914 did something no other Porsche model since has done: It provided a model that I could actually afford. Now, I never owned one, but I came perilously close to buying one when I graduated from college. Thinking about speeding tickets and foreign-auto repair bills steered me away.
9. Ferrari Daytona - The car of choice for Sonny Crockett in "Miami Vice". 'Nuff said. Plus it's a screamin' red 2-seater that is guaranteed to get you noticed even if you don't look like Don Johnson. Plus, no list of awesome foreign cars is complete unless it has at least one exotic Italian sports car. Sorry, but that's the rule...
10. Saab 96 - I'll have to claim nostalgia for this model. It wasn't particularly exciting, but it is the first automobile I have memories of riding in. My folks both had 96s in the late 1960s and early 1970s, long before Saab became trendy and expensive. My mom wanted a VW Beetle in the worst way, but my dad, ever the practical one, saw too many rolled over as a State cop and persuaded mom to get the Saab instead. They fell in love with the good gas mileage and front wheel drive capability (dad drove home from Logan airport smack dab in the middle of the blizzard of 1978 in the 96!), and owned one or two for over a decade.
Thus concludes another automotive list of excellence. Please feel free to add to the list, critique the choices, or just drool over the pretty pictures...
That is all.
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9 comments:
Good choice with the 240Z. I love those cars.
I'd add the 1st gen 69-72 Nissan Skyline to that list as well. Cool little cars.
Jay,
A college classmate of mine had a tricked out 914. He let me drive the thing a couple times. I was the ONLY person to not grind the gears when shifting from first into second. Back in the day I had a 1977 Accord Hatchback with a slowly dying synchro on 3rd gear. In that honda, shifting from 2nd to third was just like shifting from first to second on the 914. Yeah, that 914 was a fun ride.
Mike,
Was the Skyline ever for sale in the US? I was trying to leave it at cars that were imported for sale. Otherwise the Skyline would definitely have made the cut...
Brad,
I did come perilously close to buying a 914 out of college. There were three cars in contention:
1987 Mustang GT with T-tops
1980 Pontiac Trans Am with 455 CI V8
1974 Porsche 914.
I wound up buying a 1986 GTI as the least of the evils - figured the body and engine were in the best shape, plus the front wheel drive would be better in the snow...
Boy was that a fun car!
Jay - I'm not sure if they were ever officially imported. I'm guessing not. They can however be imported now, since they're over 25yrs old.
The newer Skylines can be imported as well, but it's a "gray area" as far as the legality of that. (Motorex used to do it with the R32,R33, and R34 Skylines but they no longer exist)
As is usual with the Feds there was a fiasco of sorts with the Feds originally allowing Motorex to import them and then deciding to "amend" their rules.
Fairlady Z :-) talk about POWER! and actually the premier 2002 was the Tii, just hope and pray you never got hit in the ass, as it turned into a fireball!
In high school I dated two guys, both of whom drove Javelins. I'm not sure what that says about either my common sense or my taste.
Probably nothing good for either.
My first car was a 240Z. Later I picked up an older siblings Barracuda which I kept for years, and then sold back to him for $$$$$.
Jay, man... you left out the Mazda RX-2. Remember the commercials? "Piston engine goes boing, boing, boing, but a Mazda goes hmmmmmm"?
Back around '80 or so I picked up a used - VERY WELL-used! - '73 RX-2.
I loved that car... it handled like no one's business (once I replaced those miserable Bridgestones on it, that is), would lay rubber in at least the first three gears, and was a total sleeper - it looked like a Datsun B210.
110 BHP in a car that weighed 1800 lbs. Two rotors in the motor, two distributors, THREE sets of points (one distributor had two sets in it)... It was a PITA to work on, and I did a LOT of work on it, but oh, lord... it was a wet dream to drive. Got a few tickets in it, too. Had it up to 120 on the Jersey Turnpike once, with plenty of pedal still left under my right foot - I was running out of ROAD, though, so I never did find it's top end.
If I could find another one today, I'd grab it.
I've really enjoyed having a look around your blog today, keep up the good work!
It's great when you are just surfing the web and find something wonderful like this!
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