1977 Isuzu 117

In the late 70s, Detroit was about to get crushed by Japanese cars but hadn't realized it yet. And not just because Americans were shifting to smaller cars. The technology in this Isuzu makes American cars built at the same time look positively Stone Age. As early as 1970, the 117 was available with a DOHC 4-cylinder engine; by 1977 it produced 135 hp. Compare that to a Ford 302 V-8 made that same year which eked out a meager 122 hp.

Observations:
* The 117 looks like an Italian car because it is, being designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro.
* That logo on the grill is a lion.
* Looking at the interior, I love the huge metal ashtray mounted on the door sill.
* Unlike most of the vintage right-hand Japanese cars I've seen, this 117 has an automatic transmission.

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1979 Peugeot 504

A very popular car in many parts of the world, the 504 offered an efficient fuel-injected engine as early as 1968. At that time of course Americans couldn't have cared less about fuel-efficiency, but by the late '70s this kind of car had more appeal on this side of the Atlantic. And the 504 cost only $7,500 (about $28,000 in 2018) compared to the similar Mercedes 240 which cost $19,000 (about $70,000 in 2018).

    

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1974 Ford Maverick

If you had visited my high school parking lot in 1989, you would have seen half a dozen copies each of two old Fords:
1. First generation Mustangs. I had two classmates who drove restored '65s. And I knew three other kids who, like myself, drove '67s; not restored and of dubious reliability.
2. Mavericks.

Of course there was a difference between the young Mustang driver and the Maverick driver. A Mustang said, "I have a cool car I like." By contrast, the Maverick said, "This is the only car to which I have access; it's better than walking." One friend of mine had a Maverick with a three-speed column shifter that he boasted had 200K miles on it. His grandfather and uncle had overhauled the engine themselves. Maverick wasn't the car you wanted, but it was hard to kill.

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1969 Plymouth Road Runner convertible

The Road Runner is the purest muscle car ever made. Chrysler dropped the finest engines and transmissions ever made up to that time... into what was otherwise the cheapest car they could build.

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1956 Packard Four Hundred

"It's better to burn out than to fade away." - Neil Young

The last cars to roll off the line for a car company that's about to go about of business are usually pretty sad. The 1954 Hudson, the 1966 Studebaker, the 1987 AMC Eagle - these were all models that were long out of date because the companies that built them were out of money.

Packard Motors of Detroit, Michigan built its last car in 1956. A car of superb quality that was better looking than rival Cadillac, the final Packards built 1955-6 featured a new V-8 engine, power steering, power brakes, air conditioning, and power windows.

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1989 Buick Skylark

What do people remember about General Motors' small cars from the 80s? Not much that's good. Most conversations about GM cars of that era take the form of, "Here's another car that made more Americans switch to imports and never look back." This Skylark is not remembered as a particularly bad car. By the time it was introduced GM has cured most of the faults common to its early front-wheel drive vehicles. I'm more curious as to why this car is still enjoying regular use in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood. What person living in a area where the homes are over $1 million would be seen driving this car?

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1966 Ford Mustang convertible

Ah, the miracle of west coast living. You can drive a car and park it outdoors for decades and it still looks great. The original owner of this Mustang ordered automatic transmission and the center console, but was content with the straight-6 motor. Here's another pristine '66 Mustang photographed nearby.

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