I remember my friend and I would drive around in his 1975 baby blue Pacer and we would hope no one would see us.  Now I look at this photo and think what a cool looking car.

The 70's was the pinnacle of car design IMO. And then something just went awfully wrong in the 80's...something terribly bland. Just look at the 70's Cortina Mark III for instance:





And compare it with the Cortina Mark V, introduced in the 80's:






It's gone downhill from there. I hate the generic looking soap-bar cars of today. They all look the same. I can barely tell them apart. 

That something that went awfully wrong in the 80's was called. . .ZUBAZ pants!

I had a 1977 nova in the 80s.  Yellow.  Those were my wheels for my teenage years in the 80s. Kinda ironic for this thread huh 

I took my test in one of these.
 

 
Whatever went wrong happened before the 80's...
 
Funnily enough I probably got more practical use out of that thing than I have out of pretty much anything since.

Jonbouy


I took my test in one of these.
 

 
Whatever went wrong happened before the 80's...
 
Funnily enough I probably got more practical use out of that thing than I have out of pretty much anything since.

That was my mother's first car when she passed her test in 1982. It was a red one, registration JRG 961P. We drove around France in it. Dashboard gear sticks FTW!

They were a great car...  If you were a fish.

drumstixkev


I remember my friend and I would drive around in his 1975 baby blue Pacer and we would hope no one would see us.  Now I look at this photo and think what a cool looking car.

I remember seeing one of those on my first trip to the US and thinking it was way cool ! I was 15 then, but truth is I still kinda like it. There was also a..2dr/2 seater small amercian coupe that I fell in love with, but can't for the life of me remember the name of it.

A friend of my came back from the Air Force and ordered one of these brand new:







It arrived with a factory equipped cracked engine block.




That is how incredibly awesome cars were made in the 1970's.


It was high point for the all time low.








best regards,
mike

I've owned some rubbish in me time..

Started out with this, which I loved (walnut dashboard, leather seats..starting handle..);





Then this heap, which caught fire at Heston Services;






Then this lumpen great thing, not even power steering;



Then the best one of the lot, said goodbye after 10 years and 265,000 miles;






Now I drive this;






Ah, the glamour of it all...