GM printed two different multi-marque magazine advertisements in 1974, and one of them was this advertisement plugging their wide range of “personal cars” — not just personal luxury coupes — for 1974.
It’s not just the cars that are interesting about this ad, its also the people and their glorious 1970s fashions. Take a look at that young Agnes Moorehead lookalike with her Toronado and ornate dress. Or the perky blonde who has matched her ensemble to her Chevelle. The Eldorado driver looks a bit young for her ride, while the Grand Am driver isn’t quite who I’d be expecting to drive Pontiac’s Euro-inspired intermediate. The gorgeous girl draping herself over the Riviera looks like she would be more at home with something a bit more youthful, while the Corvette driver looks like what I imagine a 1974 Corvette driver would look like.
GM’s 1974 personal cars ran the gamut from sporty (Corvette, Chevelle Laguna Type S-3, Century Gran Sport), European-inspired sport-luxury (Cutlass Salon, Grand Am), to traditional luxury (Monte Carlo, Riviera, Toronado, Eldorado, Grand Prix). This wasn’t even the full extent of their “personal” range as you could also purchase the new, personal luxury Buick Century Regal and Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, as well as relatively plush editions of the Chevrolet Camaro (Type LT) and Pontiac Firebird (Esprit). Then there were your traditional luxury two-doors like the Cadillac Coupe de Ville, and also up-level editions of intermediates such as the Chevrolet Malibu Classic and Pontiac Luxury Le Mans.
But let’s keep it simple here. Which of the pictured cars would you choose? Frankly, the two most expensive when new — the Cadillac and the Corvette — are the least appealing to me. I’d take the Grand Am first, of course, but the Century Gran Sport would be a close runner-up. You can also count me as a fan of the widely-disliked 1974 Riviera.
One of the few times my answer wouldn’t just automatically be “Riviera.” 74-78 was a real low point for the model in my opinion.
I think I’d have to take the Cutlass Salon because of the sport-luxury thing. Plus it’s better looking than the Grand Am.
Me? now at the mellow age of 63, If I could actually pick now what ’74 GMobile I could buy. Would be the Riviera, the EL Dorado, or the Corvette.
The 21 year old me (circa 1974) would have been the Corvette, The Corvette, and, another Corvette, thank you!
Believe it or not, this is a choice I have never considered before. Mid 1970s GM is not my sandbox, but let’s see. I think that the Grand Am may have the inside track.
Second choice (and it’s not a very close second) would probably be a tie between the Toronado the Riviera and the Cutlass Supreme. The Eldorado and Corvette had both already jumped the shark in my book (and the Riv and Toronado were close) and none of the other A bodies have ever lit my fire.
Edit – CJC just pointed out that the Cutlass is the Salon and not the Supreme. And the Riviera is a decidedly “meh” choice. Maybe the big 455 Toro has to be the runner up.
Pontiac Grand Am, of course! The sharpest of the bunch.
That was an easy one.
Buick GS, with 455 Stage 1 motor. ’74 was the last year for this engine.
Grand Prix. Would have had more trouble with the decision had they been 73s
Pontiac Grand Prix. 1969 would’ve been better, but …
William, I am definitely with you in choosing the Pontiac Grand Am, and with the Buick Century Gran Sport as runner up. I most liked a previous year Grand Prix, and the next generation Chevelle Laguna Type S-3. And, admittedly, the Olds Cutlass was often a very popular choice and a pretty good car, too.
Awfully slim pickin’s here. Looking back , all seem like losers. Worse yet , even in the year 1974 they didn’t , in my mind, make me want to sign up for a 3 or 4 year loan. The Grand Prix , The Riv. Seem most appealing IMO.
Darn it, Tomcatt360 beat me to the punch. From this litter, the Buick GS has it all day long. Second choice? I would say the Olds Cutlass as long as it wasn’t red. Two different guys in high school had ’74 Cutlasses and the one, in particular, smelled of the same weed as Cheech & Chong used.
Cutlass S “Fastback” – no vinyl top – swivel buckets and console. I had a buddy in high school who bought our English teacher’s 74 or 75 (memory fails me as to which) optioned just like that along with ralleye wheels, Olds 350/350TH, posi rear end, A/C, cruise, and I think a JBL stereo. Not the rarest or fastest or funkiest car in the school parking lot in 1978 but it sure was the sweetest! Chicks really did dig Dave’s Cutlass!
1) Cutlass Salon
2) Grand Prix
3) Century Gran Sport
4) Chevelle Laguna
5) Grand Am
6) Monte Carlo
7) Corvette
8) Eldorado
9) Riviera
10) Toronado
No Buick Regal on that list? Definitely a better looking car than the Century Gran Sport. Never did like the roofs on the 2 door Chevelle, Century, and LeMans. The formal roofline on the Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Regal looked a lot better.
+1!
+1
I’m going with the Chevy Laguna S3. I remember the ’73 Monte Carlo winning Car of the Year and MT going on and on about the great handing which played to what I already knew about the Z28 and Trans Am.
Back then you were reminded daily about GM’s extra-effort in this area because their rear sway bars were massive and plainly visible from the rear of the car, almost as if by design. Not just on the Grand Am, you saw them on the “luxury” Monte Carlos all the time.
I can attest that the rear bars on these cars don’t do much to control body sway, but do loads to control lateral stability like a panhard rod does. Really does make these cars feel so much more planted in corners even if its not a massive bar.
These cars rely heavily on stiff springs and a big front bar to handle more authoritatively. (they aren’t bad stock, just floppy and prone to crashing to the bumpstops)
Yes the lateral stability and planted in the turns feeling improves greatly with a rear bar even a pencil-sized one like on my car. I drove FWBs without and there is a big difference. If you go too large in back the ride can get stiff when one wheel hits a bump.
Never a fan of any smog choked ’74 model, but I’d pick the white Chevelle – if for no other reason than it features the most stylish model (not the car either). Funny thing, until seeing this photo, I never noticed how much the front of this car resembles the Mustang II – or do I need new glasses again?
I thought the same thing.
Me II.
Ditto.
Your eyes are fine!
Has a little of the Charlie’s Angels vibe going on there.
You don’t need glasses. Here’s a white MII shot from a similar angle. The grille is a little taller on the Ford, and the Chevy is obviously a much bigger car. But headlamps, bumper, turn signals inset in the grill are uncannily similar.
None of ’em..i’d would have bought my Grandma’s 74 Impala Sport Coupe…optioned slightly different though…or I would have bought a top of the line LTD.
super duty 455 pony car. white blue.
I would begrudgingly say the Monte Carlo, as that’s the least offensive looking to me. Honestly, 1974 was not peak styling for many American cars, everything looked overstyled, and ugly as sin. There’s nothing here I would buy, I would just wait later for 76 or 77 to buy the cars pictured here.
Or (assuming we’re in 1974) pick up a 3-5 year old second hand anything.
The other thought that springs to mind when looking at this ad is the breadth of style on offer, based on just a few main platforms: A-Body and E-Body, plus Corvette. This was GM doing what it did best–cost savings underpinning cars with unique styling, powertrains and personalities (with just a bit of GM family resemblance) where customers could be dazzled by the differences.
Imagine this shot 12 years later, with downsized, look-alike E-Bodies and N-Bodies and A-Bodies plus dated G-Specials–the best pick for ’86 would have been the Corvette… Such a shot would have made for an unconvincing ad and a clear snapshot of why/how GM suffered such a precipitous collapse in the 1980s.
Here is a (very hastily) assembled version. It’s surprisingly hard to find shots of the newer cars at similar angles to the ad!
(Went with all front-drivers in this case, so move it up a couple years)
For reasons unknown, the only picture I see is of the Eldorado.
My answer, though, would be “None of the above.” They were all big boats with strangled engines, and there were too many reports of poor driveability. And being a college student at the time, fuel mileage was a concern. Granted, I would have liked something better than my poor old worn-out 1962 Plymouth Valiant, but at least it got me through college. I just couldn’t generate any love for GM’s big boats with their inefficient packaging.
I can only see the Eldo also. There’s no link to click on to see the rest of them – so, I guess since I’m limited to cars that are “pictured”, it’s the Eldorado for me.
Me 3. Only the Eldorado shows up.
I’d get a 74 Chevelle Laguna with the 454 and HD suspension, with A/C and full gauges, either light blue, or green with green/white interior.
Had it been 73, I’d go for the Laguna sedan, or SS wagon.
Put me down for the Cutlass also!
The Century is probably the cleanest of the A-body coupes, but as a result it lacks a certain presence. I’d have to say Grand Prix. I love the rubber ducky nose on the Grand Am, but those swoopy Le Mans body sides are just too much…. something.
A toss-up between the Gran Sport and Grand Prix would be my choices, as well. It’s a little perplexing to think that the GP would have more ‘presence’ than the GS as Buick was further up the Sloan ladder than Pontiac. Even the Riviera was behind the Pontiac. Although performance was all but dead by the mid-seventies, the Grand Prix managed to keep the Pontiac allure going strong, at least until the downsized 1978 car.
The fact is, even though the colonnades (and any of the GM personal luxury offerings) were worse than previous year, non-bumper intermediates, for the time, they were still the top of the heap, ahead of Ford and Chrysler products of the same period.
The only one I really don’t like is the Cutlass. The early colonnade Oldsmobile simply doesn’t cut it (although they were able to clean it up for the ’76 refresh).
I’ll take the Laguna, 350/4-speed but I must have the guys outfit from the Vette photo to wear while driving it.
In ’74 the 4 speed manual was only available with the 454 engine, no more for the 350 – ’73 was the last year for that. Sorry!
Fine. I don’t want any of them then, I’ll just take a Vega.
Sounds strange from me, but none of them, actually.
The 1974 Cadillac design does not do it for me. My favourite Cadillacs of the 1970’s full size cars are 1973 and 1975.
I miss the Buick LeSabre Convertible here, which would have been a great alternative to the Cadillac Eldorado Convertible.
I also miss my beloved Chevrolet Caprice Classic – had to be the coupe in this subject – which in my opinion is the best designed full size Caprice ever.
Please ignore the awfull exhaust in this 1985 picture.
It was put on by the previous owner and removed by my school friend who bought it from me and brought it back to the new car condition it is today.
Never mind the exhaust..those SHORTS. (said with a smile)
He wears short shorts.
Hehehe
Mark had nice legs back in the day. Having said that, I would probably have gone for the Buick Regal, not on the list. Then probably the Grand Prix.
Indeed!
Well, this is a global website, which gives insight in not only how cars are driven, used, and taken care of around the world, but also in what invironment.
It reminds me of an incident, while a Danish friend of mine was the chairman of the local Packard Club. He is “old money”, why it was natural for him to wear a bow tie, but whilst having a summer meet with the Swedish Packard Club, it caused quite a stir amongst the Swedish members, and they completely lost focus.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s is was quite common to see i.e. high school and college teachers wearing bow ties.
Personally we have a thing going with our California friends, who have a hard time believing that it ever gets hot here. Especially after we moved to a town called Kolding.
I therefore thought is would be in place with a rare shot op me in other than my usual college attire. 🙂
The car soon after returned to more suitable thin white wall tires.
They’re called Daisy Dukes 😮
Yes, if they have left hand zippers 🙂
If they have right hand zippers they are Don Dukes.
Same green as my 74 Impala.
Here tis…
Remember when you could actually sit on bumpers! Great period photo.
Or leave your wallet there, while you were pumping gas, and it was still there, when you got home 🙂
I actually had that happen to me back in 06 on the rear bumper of my 79 Lincoln. Drove 20 miles at 70 mph and it was there when I parked. Was shocked.
I’ve always liked this 1st-series Grand Am, so that’s an easy choice for me. Option it with the 455 please and thank you. Second place might stay with Pontiac for the Grand Prix, as I rather like those too.
Riviera would be 3rd place–still a desirable car but it really lost something with the 5 MPH bumper standards (the Mark IV suffered the same fate). If the Riv on offer was a ’72 rather than a ’74, it just might take the whole thing.
If this were 1972, I’d go for the last chrome bumper (front & back) festooned Corvette or a boat tailed Riv.
But playing by the rules (1974), I’ll pick the two cars I posted a comment about earlier today here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/car-show-classic-1973-pontiac-grand-am-meeting-your-heroes/
1) The Grand Am
2) The Laguna S-3
The latter of which I saw being assembled as a boy here in Baltimore in 1972 or 73.
*These.* Definitely these.
Good choice. I remember being excited in middle school when these 2 models came out – like GM had gone through some type of renaissance. My 3rd choice would be the Cutlass.
Grand Prix for me, and the color pictured would be fine.
I’d take the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon. I believe that for 1974, Oldsmobile expanded the Salon range to include a formal coupe.
I could say “none of the above” but that wouldn’t be in the spirit of things. Therefore, I’ll pick a Grand Prix in SJ trim.
Grand am. No better handler. No chrome bumper..a nuch sexier front end that stands out..great rear..low coefficient of brougham. Available full gauge.
I’d take the Corvette because…well, it’s a Corvette.
Cutlass Salon for me, with the Monte Carlo in second place so long as it has the swinging bucket seats.
Something from the Pontiac stable, probably a Grand Am.
Had a ’74 Century Luxus coupe many years back, loved it, so I’m going with the GS for sure. Second… Grand Prix/Grand Am, they’re pretty interchangeable to me. Pass on the rest, thanks. Especially the Riv… blech!
This is scary: the top image of all the cars is simply not appearing on my screen. Is it reading my mind?
So I went upstairs to check it on my desk-top PC. The top image is also missing.
Is anyone else having the same issue?
Weird. I’ve tried on my work PC and on my phone and it appears. I’ve never encountered this issue before…
Odd. Maybe for the best; it would have been a hard question for me to answer. 🙂
Oh Paul, you couldn’t be tempted by a Grand Am? Perhaps in sedan form? Or a Cutlass Salon with corduroy bucket seats?
I can’t imagine you in a Corvette or one of those gigantic E-Bodies though.
I think my next QOTD will have something more up your alley…
Actually I was pretty amazed by the Grand Am when it came out. A bit over the top, and a bit wide for my taste, but it was highly memorable.
In fact, I went with a friend to check them out, and we brought home several brochures and did scissor-photoshop on them. I still have some of them (below). It’s a LeMans, though, and not one of our better ones!! Hey, it was 1972.
I just launched another browser (Chrome), and it doesn’t show up in it either! Hmm.
It appeared normally on my iPad running Safari with Javascript turned OFF. I could also display the image itself by either clicking on it or by opening a new browser tab with it.
It did NOT appear at all on my PC (Windows 7-Firefox) until I turned AdBlocker ON, then excepted Curbside Classic.
When I first looked at this using Firefox with an ad blocker, the top image is missing. So I opened a different Chrome and it shows up. It also shows up in Opera. ???
Tough to decide between a Grand Am or a Cutlass Salon, but either way it would absolutely HAVE to be the 4-door since the Colonnade sedan roofline’s been one of my favorites since I first became aware of cars as a preschooler. So, that would vault it out of the “personal car” bracket.
Yes, in ’74 Personal Coupes Were Hot, but in 2017 Crossover Vehicles Are Hot and my current “might-seriously-buy” list is all subcompact/compact hatchbacks in their “low”, pure-car form so…
Chevelle Laguna in a different color or the Vette
Interesting that the ad copy specifically touts the availability of convertibles, which would be completely gone from the GM line-up within three years.
I wonder if Corvette guy regrets that choice of pants (if he is still around)?
May as well be something I could have got I’ll take a 74 Monaro LS with optional 350 V8 and four speed thank you very much dark green metallic hold the vinyl top.
The Laguna with a 4-speed would be satisfying. Tough call between that and a silver/red interior Grand Am with its best suspension and the 400.
1974? Tough one.
It’d be a toss up between the Laguna with a 454/M21 (and a 1973 Grille swap) or a Monte Carlo Landau 454/T400.
Grand Am, followed closely by Grand Prix. Love the interiors in both of those.
Love the Grand Am, the Toronado and the Century GS.
Grand Am 2-door, with 4-speed manual transmission. I actually thought about buying one of these in ’74 or ’75.
Definitely the Grand Am. If given the choice I’d take the 4-door over the two. But then it wouldn’t be a personal coupe.
Ugh. This is like trying to choose between lima beans and brussel sprouts.
1974 is peak malaise, and I was never a fan of any of the cars pictured, but here goes.
1) Corvette. A red one. 1974 at least had matching front and rear body colored bumpers.
2) Laguna S-3. I always liked the front end, and you could get them with those snazzy swiveling seats.
The good thing about 1974 is that the V8 cars had yet to suffer the fate of flat camshafts and fragile 200C transmissions.
Brussels sprouts are delicious if you cook them correctly (i.e. roast them). Or make them into a nice crispy hash with bacon.
Limas? I’m with you on those.
I DID buy a 75 Cutlass Salon. I couldn’t afford the Toronado.
Funny we just had an article about the Grand Am, so that’s fresh in my mind but I think it still would have been my choice. Like the idea of the sedan for the extra wheelbase and probably legroom in back, but as Eric says above, then it wouldn’t be a personal coupe (though I guess it does say personal car).
Optioned with the glass moonroof and the 400 4bbl 4 speed, this would have been a keeper for many years. From what I read, Pontiac was ahead of it’s time with this version of the Colonnade in terms of the handing, and the instrument panel and interior I think were better than the other division’s offerings. The Endura front end just topped it off (given lemons, they made lemonade).
I like certain years of the Toronado and especially the Riviera but in the mid 70’s they are not at their best. I like the Cutlass, but always thought it looked better with the square headlamps and the later grill. The F-bodies were probably at their low point. Would love to see a Monte from then without the massive bumpers front and back.
My mom had a green ’74 Grand Prix with the 400-4bbl when I was growing up and it was a solid and classy ride. Yes, would rather the ’69 or ’72, but since we are stuck with this year, the Grand Am is my pick – not sure what colour combo though….any suggestions?
“Personal Luxury” never did it for me so out of 74 GM I’d go Corvette, Camaro/Firebird and K5 Blazer, preferably a Chalet camper. Or a GM motorhome
For 1974…none, gimme a Road Runner.
If it must be GM, though…base Chevelle Deluxe, with 454/4-speed. Vinyl taxicab interior, HD suspension with radials and rear swaybar, no other options except A/C and cruise control.
If the Chevy dealer won’t do it, then a Pontiac Grand Am, dark green over charcoal, with 455 engine and 4-speed. (Grand Prix is auto-only for 74, so is the 4-4-2.) Only options being A/C, tilt, cruise, Radial Tuned Suspension, and AM/FM.
The Grand Am couldn’t be had with the 455 and 4-speed. Only the 400 came with the 4-speed.
Yep, otherwise that would have been my choice.
Unfortunately, 1974 was not a very good year:
– the second year of the big bumpers
– struggles with emission controls like my Dad’s ’74 Comet
– the only year of the infamous “interlock” system
– horrid quality control and assembly
Most anything from ’70 to ’72 would be fine and ’77 thru ’80 is better. But 74 thru 76 was a bad vintage for GM and Detroit in general.
Totally agree with your assessment – 1974 was not a good year for cars in general and GM in particular. 1973, or 1975, I could come up with several choices. 1974… only one, and that would be the Pontiac Trans Am SD.
Definitely the corvette but only if it came with those pants. I had the 74 Monte Carlo in medium blue. 350 dual exhaust. That was the high performance 350. I could not imagine any other engine choice having any less power.
I feel extremely blessed that we do not have to live through this again.
The Riviera. I’ve always thought the ’74-76 were underappreciated. Nice clean design with rock solid, proven mechanicals.
Because only the Riv/Eldo/Toro group started offering optional front airbag passive restraints that year (and only for 3 years), I’d get one of those – probably the Toro, because you could still have it hardtop-style with no opera windows. What abysmal mileage it would get, with the pre-catalyst pollution controls, I can only imagine.
Eldo, without question. Second, the Toro.
I would’ve gone for either the 1974 Chevy Monte Carlo or the 1974 Pontiac Grand Prix with the sport mirrors and swivel bucket seats, I’m not really big on vehicles built in that time frame
If I couldn’t have gotten a Chevelle Malibu, I’d have taken the Laguna. The Malibu would have to have had the 350 in it, it also came with a 250 CID 6. Second choice would be the Cutlass if not the Cutlass Supreme. My buddy had a 73 Supreme, nice car. Third, a Le Mans, passing on the Grand Am. I had a Le Mans to drive at work at it held the road nicely.Finally a Monte Carlo. My friend’s dad had one of those and I got to drive it a couple of times, very enjoyable ride.
Corvette. With a manual.
Almost complete disinterest in any other others. If forced to pick a second I’d go Pontiac Grand Am or Chevrolet Laguna.
Pontiac Trans Am, please. 455/4spd. Bonus points if I could score a rare Super Duty version. They made 943 SD’s that year.
This was one car that escaped the Malaise era. Brutally fast, great looking, and decent-handling for ’74. An instant collectible.
A #1 example sold at Barrett Jackson last year for $111,000.
Grand Am. Black with a red interior and a 400/4 speed.
2nd choice would be an Olds 442
I have liked Corvettes since sometime in the mid 1970s, from about the time I was old enough to pronounce “Corvette.” And, oddly, I like the mid-1970’s rubber bumper cars. So a ’74 ‘Vette is an easy choice in this list. Manual transmission…gotta be a manual. And, while thirsty, I may have to go for the 454 in its swan song year.
If I had to pick something other than the Corvette I would choose the Buick Century Gran Sport. The idea of a sporty Buick appeals to me, maybe simply for the juxtaposition of a Buick being sporty.
Chevelle S-3 Laguna w/350, just enough engine and handling without sacrificing sofa-like comfort. Also arguably one of the prettiest colonnades with the 1973 Regal.
If I didn’t have to stick to the ones shown ( I can’t see anything but the Eldo either) I would pick the Firebird Espirit since I am a huge Rockford Files fan. However, I like to play by the rules. Since I once owned and loved a ’75 El Camino ( and wish I still had it or the ’73 Ranchero I had before that) I will have to pick the Chevelle Laguna. It would have to be black with red trim and interior with a 454 and 4 speed. I don’t know if the F41 suspension was available, but I would like that too.
I still have the mustache I had back then, so all I need is a mullet haircut and wide lapels and I am ready to go!
74 Cutlass Salon. Round 2 of the same car I owned for two years of college.
Wow, Tough one. At the time, these cars would not be on my shopping list at all. They were so big and cumbersome. If forced, I would go for the Cutlass’ nose; those twin waterfall grilles were always attractive to me. But the rest of the car can’t decide whether it wants to be curvy or straight. Back then, I found the Grand Prix the most different of them, and wanted to like it until a friend who had one and named it the Iron Flounder.
I was 22 years of age in 1974 and I bought my first new car. I never even considered a GM car at the time, if I’d bought American, it would’ve been a Dodge van with one of those seedy painted graphics on the side, lol. As it was, in June of ’74, I sold my ’68 Nova (307, 4 speed, bench seat) to one of my buddies and used that cash as a down payment on a new Fiat X1/9. Once I saw one of them, I knew I had to have one. Many good memories and much fun!
I agree William. You didn’t claim this to be a vintage year, just what – given the opportunity or the need – would we choose if we were faced with the prospect of buying one of these models in 1974. That’s what makes these questions thought provoking.
Exactly. And I also wanted to share with Curbsiders what I believe to be a very intriguing and visually interesting print advertisement.
That being said, as a kooky Curbsider I would sooner buy a used Colonnade than a ’68-72 A-Body. I make no apologies for that. If I was a new car buyer in 1974, though, I’m not sure what I would have bought…
1974 was just about the low point for American auto performance, but a 500 cubic inch Eldo sounds intriguing.
Pontiac Grand Prix. I just like its looks the best.
BTDT. My first car (look up the COAL) was a ’74 Malibu Classic coupe. Too much weight, with neither enough chassis nor power.
If you’re forcing me, I’ll take the Corvette.
Power Windows (A31)
Air Conditioning (C60)
Gymkhana suspension (FE7)
Power Brakes (J50)
350CI engine (L82)
4-speed manual transmission (M21)
Power Steering (N41)
Paint it bright orange.
First choice-Grand-Am-My heart chooses this one
Second choice-Cutlass Salon-My head chooses this one
(popularity equals resale value)
Third choice-Grand Prix-If the salesperson gives me a
screaming deal, and there’s no Grand Ams
in stock.
Pontiac Grand-Am 4 door.
Always loved the shape of these
Grand-Am or Laguna – the others were totally uglified with those 5MPH bumpers.
Grand Am.
Buick Grand Sport, Cutlass Salon and the Laguna S3 if I’m allowed alternates.
I just like that the guy with the Buick is wearing a Michigan sweatshirt – perhaps as an homage to U of M’s Flint campus, which was also where Buick was HQ’d back then.
I owned both ’73 and ’76 Cutlasses, and thought both represented the best detailing of the ’73-’77 era Colonnade Cutlasses – and I was a predictable demographic for the Cutlass coupes. Like others have mentioned, the details on many ’74 cars were not very good – the early evolution of Federalized bumpers was tough on a lot of cars. Maybe I’d pick a Grand Prix for ’74.
I suppose if I could go back and pick any car now, I’d go with an Eldorado convertible – just because it is so over the top. I rather like the fender skirts on the early versions of this generation Eldorado. If there was ever a factory parade float, these Eldorado convertibles were it.
You missed it by just one year – 1973 was the Indy Pace Car, and there were lots and lots of these used in parades. 🙂
They all look great to me, compared to what we are being served as new cars. Not a fan of many of the new things. Too many angles and creases and boomerang shapes. Look like science fiction or transformers or robots. But of the picks given, in no particular order – The Grand Am, Grand Prix, Eldo, or Century GS. The others are about even for bottom rated for me. I had a 73 Grand Prix as my first car in 83. $300. And yes, I would like to have another one. I think that’s a given, considering how much time I spend on CC each day and that I am posting up here.
Make mine a Cutlass Salon coupe or a Grand Am or Grand Prix SJ with Snowflake alloys in that order.
To me, most of these are over-weight, under-powered, bean-counter quality icons of the malaise-era!
But if I had to choose – the Chevy Laguna.
Happy Motoring, Mark
I’d buy a Grand Prix, given the choice. Just plain old nostalgia…
Those quad headlamps must have been really expensive. They’re only on the three priciest models.
Only the Eldorado shows up, and no visible link to the rest. After riding in my neighbors mid 70s Eldo all I can say is none of the above. I was sneaking out and driving my dads SAAB in 75 and just could never understand why anyone would choose to drive the domestic barges on offer.
Maybe it’s me, but as far as looks go, something seems to have happened happened to GMs styling after the mid/late 60s. From some real eye candy they morphed to bloated blocks of ugh in the 70s.
I’d have to narrow my choices between the following:
1974 Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna S-3 with a 454
1974 Buick Century Gran Sport with 455 Stage 1
1974 Corvette LS4 454 or maybe a L82 350, but MUST have a 4-speed.
None of these is even remotely my kind of car. I’d rather take the bus.
This was the lowest point of GM styling, the Vette was too impractical and I had tired of the body style by then, so it would be the Chevy Chevelle, but only because it just wasn’t as ugly as the rest of them. I thought the Colonade cars, regardless of how well they sold, were just awful looking. My sister was forced to hand me down her 2 year old ’71 Cutlass in 1973 and get a new ’73 Cutlass. As always with her, her color choice, bronze, was awful, and that car would go down as the worst car she ever had. It won that honor by a nose over her next, and last Cutlass, a shit brown over lighter shit brown ’79. She’s been on a Nissan kick lately, even though her last Sentra was a POS, she got another one. I don’t know what color it is, but I would bet $100 it’s bad. Not boring, like silver/grey, but bad, like green or some odd pink or something. She had a Mazda years ago that I saw when I visited her and I cracked up laughing when I saw it, and said, “I knew it was going to be some awful damn color!”. Sometimes I think she’s color blind.
Can I have my 1974 GM personal coupe with four doors? If so, make mine a ’74 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham Talisman…….still only seats four passengers!
Hell, Yeah, If you’re going big….Go BIG!
Would make it a CC with record breaking entry to the back seat. 🙂
I was born in 1958 (supposedly a bad year for cars, recession year) and got my license in 1974 (16 years later…another bad year for cars..and the first full year of the gas crisis)…I guess the years in between and the ones after made up for it, as I somehow stuck it out as a car guy (though not so enamoured with modern cars).
I was taking driver’s ed around this time, and the cars donated to our high school were the typical behemoths shown here, mostly GM (Chevrolet Monte Carlos which were hard to see out of when backing up, Impalas, etc).
I ended up with a 1974 Datsun 710 sedan (not a very common car even in its day). Disabled the seatbelt interlock after several times the car didn’t start and you’d have to lift the hood a press a reset button. But it got good gas mileage and got me through 4 years of college up in Vermont, always parked outside, no block heater or other heat (though I did have to get a ride from my Father during the Blizzard of ’78 for about a week when the car refused to start). In a way, my current car (2000 Golf) isn’t all that different, sizewise, it even has the 2 litre engine, but of course FWD has dominated since that time, and it is a hatchback (the 710 was the last/only sedan I’ve owned).
One of my co-workers at the time had a Malibu, though I wasn’t a fan of the post-73 GM midsize cars, it was probably the one I objected to least…didn’t care for the Ford Torino, nor Elite, Mopar was “OK” but I preferred earlier models.
We had a gas shortage 3 weeks ago when Harvey came through, it is over in my area now, but prices went up about 50 cents (25% increase) in a day or so…one local news show touting consumer protection was doing a story on motels and rental cars agencies which were taking advantage of the shortages, but no mention of increased fuel prices (which persist)…some of the refinery capacity was affected, but still it seems like a convenient way to increase prices due to “Mother Nature”.
FYI: this month’s Hemmings Classic Car has a 2-page spread of vintage-1974 Pontiac advertising.