Showing posts with label B-body. Show all posts
Showing posts with label B-body. Show all posts

Monday, October 18, 2021

Sucking in the 70s: Three Cars from America's Most Tasteless Decade

Stop by 15th Ave West and Dravus, and you'll find the gas station where the 70s survived. Both cars pictured below were very successful. The Chrysler B-body coupe, pictured here as the 1976 Dodge Charger but also sold as the Chrysler Cordoba, Plymouth Fury and a bunch of other names, was a big hit at a time when the company was staggering toward bankruptcy. And the 1978 Mercury Cougar, which was the same car as that year's Ford Thunderbird, sold an unbelievable 565,000 copies for Ford and Mercury combined.







On the one hand, these cars are remembered as gas-guzzling land yachts from an era when Detroit was increasingly losing market share due to its inability to compete with smaller, more practical, higher quality and less garish-looking cars from Japan. On the other hand, at least these cars tried to add a little artistry to their design, unlike today's world of identical gray SUVs.











The 1974 Maverick pictured below is parked around the corner; I suspect it also belongs to the gas station. Love the vintage stereo receiver in the back seat!
















Monday, March 19, 2018

1966 Plymouth Belvedere II - the most reliable American car?

The details are a little sketchy, but someone at some point did an analysis of all the cars in American junk yards, compared them to production figures, and determined that the '66 Belvedere was the "least-junked car in America". This example certainly looks good, considering that it's been on the street 52 years.

New for 1965, the Chrysler "B-body" cars included such models as the original Dodge Charger, the Plymouth GTX and other muscle machines that are now some of the most valuable cars ever made.