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Here is my personal example of how vehicles have improved. Admittedly, these all were SUV's, not cars, but the I think cars would parallel my experience. All were American manufactured from the Big Three domestic auto manufacturers. All were meticulously maintained.
My 1970's model was complete junk. It got about 14 mpg on the highway on a good day, and suffered constant "rough running" problems from poorly engineered emission controls. It had numerous design flaws, and suffered so many major mechanical failures that I traded it at 47,000 miles.
My mid-1980's model had several significant design flaws that had to be corrected by aftermarket additions. It suffered occasional rough-running problems from emission controls. Overall, it was fairly reliable, but I sold it at 80,000 miles after a significant mechanical failure. It got around 18 mpg on the highway, but was not especially powerful.
My early 90's model had only one significant design flaw--undersized brakes that needed relatively frequent replacement. When I sold it at around 150,000 miles, it was still running well and had suffered no significant major mechanical failures. It got around 19 mpg on the highway, but ran significantly better than the 1980's model, with considerably more power.
My late 90's model had no real significant design flaws, has run without any major mechanical failure to date at well over 110,000 miles. It gets well over 20 mpg on the highway, with no rough running issues and plenty of power.
About 2000, it seemed that domestic vehicle quality seemed to plateau. The new models since then have seen some improvement in braking, safety, and electronic systems, but with those have come additional complexity and maintenance headaches. Fuel economy has not improved much, though the newer vehicles often do have more power.
All of that said, any of the newer model vehicles are SO superior to the junk that the American manufacturers put out in the 1970's that any comparison is pretty silly. A trip down memory lane is about the only thing those 1970's dogs are good for.
Depends what you want. For smaller cars Ford and GM Opel/Vauxhall built cars competitive with the Japanese and Germans from the supermini/subcompact right upto Camry class stuff. Far better than British, French and Italian cars, at least. I guess a lot of it were electrics though, hardly any Ford or GM europe cars had stuff like air conditioning or electric windows in the 70s/80s
all LOOKED well built (even Chrysler Corp around 1975 had improved the workmanship of the big Mopars) but i've seen the downsized mid sized GM cars like the Century referred to here as "junk"
I liked the downsized full sized GM cars that came out in 1977 and after, but the downsized 78 GM mid sizers looked too bland. Ditto for Fords and Mercs. The 1979 Mopars like the Dodge St Regis were also bland
1975 was when the catalytic converters were introduced and gave a bit better gas mileage on the big boats. of course downsizing improved gas mileage
I have yet to ever see a car from the 70's that that convertor was removed from not get better mpg. The brush fire starters the cat. convertors) were a waste of money added to the price of the car, and a big mpg and power robber as they are today.
This doesn't include trucks. Did Ford, Chrysler, and GM make a well built car during this time period? What cars I remember from the time squeaked, rattled, rolled (when making a turn quickly), prone to quick rusting, slow (even the sports cars), and thirsty. Vehicle speed and efficiency improved in the 80s but still slow and thirsty by today's standards.
Having owned several full size 75-76 gm big Pontiacs and buicks, along with a few 73-77 mid size gm "A-body" cars, yes they built some really good cars then also. The biggest thing against those vehicles were the smaller engines with no compression and no power as mandated by the fraud of frauds dept of the US Government called the e.p.a.
Here is my personal example of how vehicles have improved. Admittedly, these all were SUV's, not cars, but the I think cars would parallel my experience. All were American manufactured from the Big Three domestic auto manufacturers. All were meticulously maintained.
My 1970's model was complete junk. It got about 14 mpg on the highway on a good day, and suffered constant "rough running" problems from poorly engineered emission controls. It had numerous design flaws, and suffered so many major mechanical failures that I traded it at 47,000 miles.
My mid-1980's model had several significant design flaws that had to be corrected by aftermarket additions. It suffered occasional rough-running problems from emission controls. Overall, it was fairly reliable, but I sold it at 80,000 miles after a significant mechanical failure. It got around 18 mpg on the highway, but was not especially powerful.
My early 90's model had only one significant design flaw--undersized brakes that needed relatively frequent replacement. When I sold it at around 150,000 miles, it was still running well and had suffered no significant major mechanical failures. It got around 19 mpg on the highway, but ran significantly better than the 1980's model, with considerably more power.
My late 90's model had no real significant design flaws, has run without any major mechanical failure to date at well over 110,000 miles. It gets well over 20 mpg on the highway, with no rough running issues and plenty of power.
About 2000, it seemed that domestic vehicle quality seemed to plateau. The new models since then have seen some improvement in braking, safety, and electronic systems, but with those have come additional complexity and maintenance headaches. Fuel economy has not improved much, though the newer vehicles often do have more power.
All of that said, any of the newer model vehicles are SO superior to the junk that the American manufacturers put out in the 1970's that any comparison is pretty silly. A trip down memory lane is about the only thing those 1970's dogs are good for.
I'd disagree that the 70's cars are only good for a trip down memory lane. Ride better than todays rough riding junk! And with the optional police suspensions, handle with todays avg. cars too. My '77 Can Am LeMans still runs with the new stuff in autocross competition.
Location: Democratic Peoples Republic of Redneckistan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sailordave
This doesn't include trucks. Did Ford, Chrysler, and GM make a well built car during this time period? What cars I remember from the time squeaked, rattled, rolled (when making a turn quickly), prone to quick rusting, slow (even the sports cars), and thirsty. Vehicle speed and efficiency improved in the 80s but still slow and thirsty by today's standards.
IMHO about the only good cars produced during that era was the old workhorse Chevy Impala/Caprice and the Ford LTD...Mopar was total worthless junk by then and just about everything else that Ford or GM put out then had its share of problems.
I have yet to ever see a car from the 70's that that convertor was removed from not get better mpg. The brush fire starters the cat. convertors) were a waste of money added to the price of the car, and a big mpg and power robber as they are today.
not any more. Today's converters are not the exhaust bottleneck as they once were..
I drove several cars made by 3 of the 4 domestic manufacturers during that time period (all but AMC) and from my experience I don't think they were any better or worse mechanically than those of any other era. Most of the quality issues that come to mind were cosmetic: sagging headliners, velour seats worn through to the foam at 80K miles, glued-on body moldings falling off, chrome peeling off the plastic interior trim, etc.
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