If YOU Had To Buy A Classic American Car From The 70's Or 80's, WHICH Would It Be? And You CAN'T Choose A Corvette

Well the 1980's Corvettes were trash dumpsters on wheels. Would not choose one. Although, almost any American car in the 1970's -1980's was a trash heap when new.

I guess I would choose a Buick Regal GNX

You took my 80's pick!

A Plymouth barracuda wins for my 70's pick though.

Definately a 1970 Hemicuda

70, 71 Z/28, 70 Boss 302, 71 Boss 351, 73, 74 SD 455, 70 Hemi Cuda, 70 Chevelle LS6 454 or...if we can count it ... a 71 Pantera!

1970 Cadillac Coupe De Ville Convertible.

2nd place: 71 Olds 442

3rd place: Tie: 1979 Jeep CJ-7 Golden Eagle/Cherokee Golden Eagle

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80's would be the Buick Grand National GNX, 70's is a tough one. I'd probably say a Chevelle 454ss from the top of my head.

I'd buy a 1982 Chrysler Imperial, tube chassis it, put a E85 burning twin turbocharged 500 inch HEMI in it with a liberty trans and turn 5 second quarters @ 230mph...admit it, it would be cool.

What a stupid, loaded question. First of all, I don't buy into the preference of everything being so "bad", and I wouldn't doubt that 75%+ of the people who will respond couldn't do anything more than soil a diaper in the 70s/80s, so your responses will either be a re-hash of the opinions of others, or judgments made on vehicles that are between 20-40 years old and still in service.

Here's a better question: What European or Asian car from the 70s/80s would you like to own? Qualifier: It must have been comparable in price to an American competitor.

In other words, you can't say "I'd like to buy a 1975 Mercedes because they're way better than the 1975 Chevy Nova my Nana owned." Yup... And they also cost one hell of a lot more, and they certainly weren't being cross-shopped.

So if you feel compelled to state "A Ford Maverick was a shitty car", you should be willing to follow it with, "...that's why I'd spend my $2500 on a Mazda RX-3" (in all of its oil-burning glory).

Having said that, here is my list. (Self-imposed rule of 1973 and up, since the early 70s cars had more in common with the more fondly rememebered late 60s.)

Sub-Compact: Anything used from the 60s, spending the savings on gas. I'd never subject myself to a British-built Plymouth Cricket, Mitsu Dodge Colt, Chevy Vega or Ford Fiesta. I'd work a second job to avoid a VW bug, or rot-box Japanese car of the era.

Compact: Pretty much any Chrysler A-body, with any drivetrian offered. Can't go wrong with a /6, 318's also run forever, and a 360 is basically the same thing with more HP. Some years looked better than others, but in terms of refinement, I suppose the '75-'76 models had the best interiors. A Nova isn't a bad choice either.

Mid-Size Sedan: Dodge Monaco/Plymouth Fury. Civilian version of the cop cars seen on dozens of period TV shows. Since all the police HD, performance and handling packages were available to the public if you checked the right order boxes, this is basically a nice, tight and durable cop car with a vinyl top and nicer carpet. Second choice to a Pontiac Grand Am (sedan) of the era... Good handling package and HP in a uniquely styled car.

Luxury Full-size: '74 Chrysler Imperial. 440, 4-wheel disc brakes, and a better suspension than any Cad/Linc. More leather than two Mercedes of the era, and the same climate control system (which MB bought from Chrysler). Make mine the bittersweet-copper color with parchment interior/vinyl top. Closest runner up is probably a Cadillac Seville. Owned a mint '71 Lincoln Mark III... Very nice styling/materials/power, but abysmal handling.

I'll take one that I actually did own back then. 1970 Buick GS455 Stage One. This was a car that you could pull the trick of taping money to the dash and telling your passenger they could have it it they could reach it. Then hit the gas! That car would pin them in the seat. I owned one about 1975.

Was a lot of fun, but not much in the fuel economy range! I remember about 10 MPG no matter how I drove it. Sure, premium was about .60 per gallon, but I only made $4 per hour, too!

Camaro Berlinetta / IROC Z28

Yenko Stage II Turbo Z28. Bad ass.

Buick grand national

A bicycle.

89 5.0 notchback mustang

I think the picture above is of a 76 Cadillac Eldorado Convertable. That would be my choice.

There is only one car from the 70's and 80's to own...the classic 1970 Chevelle SS454...YEEHAW!!!!!!

1984 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz

Lincoln Mark iV or V with opera windows, white vinyl roof and powder blue paint, and wire wheel covers. Though I do also like 1984 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz.