The First Malaise Invitational took place on a hot Sunday afternoon this past weekend, and there was plenty of malaise-inducing goodness to go around. I’m going open the post wiht these two X-Bodies, a Pontiac Phoenix and Chevy Citation along with their proud owner and the organizer of the show, Daniel Lombardo, on a color-coordinated outfit. The Citation arrived just that very morning from Alaska, still wearing its snow tires. More on them later.
Please note: the application of term “malaise” and the dates of the cars shown (1972-1995) are not worth debating. The term is just a way of categorizing cars from this general time period, those that would not been seen (or perhaps made to feel welcome) at the rather very traditional car shows in this area, which is a bit heavy on the usual suspects (hot rods, hot pony cars, muscle cars). This is a show for the mostly mundane cars that were everywhere during this period, and the average age of participants suggests that they grew up with these kinds of cars.
We started the tour on the right side, with this bright red Explorer.
It represents the late part of this era as well as anything, given its massive popularity.
This Daihatsu Mira falls a bit outside the age brackets, but who would throw this cute little kei car out?
It doesn’t get more malaise than this Chrysler Fifth Avenue.
Rich Corinthian leather.
A 280 ZX for those lovers of sporty malaise.
This GMC van with NY license plates brought along some recreational gear.
And it sported genuine NY rust; gobs of it.
Chevy pickup.
It wouldn’t be complete without a Gremlin.
The gremlins got to his wiper knob.
As I said, Daniel’s 1980 Citation had just arrived that morning, and there’s at least two exceptional things about it. It was a very early build, and sent to Hertz Rent a Car some time before the Citation formally hit the market, presumably to get some feedback on issues. One wonders how long that list was. And it’s got very rare rear window louvers, sometimes seen on the 2-door X-11, but not typically on brown four doors. It came from a Citation collector in Alaska that had ten of them.
It’s got the 2.8 V6 and automatic.
Daniel’s Phoenix arrived a bit later, and by its fruity exhaust, there was no doubt that it had an Iron Duke.
But we had made sure to confirm that.
That upholstery is a bit malaise-inducing.
I always wondered who designed these…
This Mazda 626/Capella was of special interest, as it’s like the one I bought for my son Ed as his first car, for $400 from the Saint Vinnies car lot. This is a stellar example.
That brings back memories; good and bad.
The badging is of course not US-market correct.
Something from the other end of the spectrum, a 1985 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, and in superb condition.
It was parked next to an equally fine Fleetwood Brougham D’Elegance.
The end of the row was taken up by a very original F100 Explorer.
Starting up the other side, a yellow Volvo 244 certainly represents the era well.
This Buick coupe has been the beneficiary of some performance mods.
And a homemade console out of genuine wood.
It’s easy to forget just how much room is in front of these V6s, even in a relatively short downsized 108″ wb car.
As we moved to the next car, a blue Prizm, its owner held out something very vintage too: a Sony Mavica, the first digital camera that recorded unto a floppy disc. And this camera still worked.
As we were talking, he suddenly said: “You’re Paul Niedermeyer, aren’t you?”. It turns out this was Mike Hayes, one of our oldest Cohort posters, whose great shots from his home northeast of Seattle I’ve used many a time.
If I’d looked at the sign on his Prizm, I would have instantly recognized Betsy, as Mike did a write-up on this car here. He helped his mom buy it in 1992, and then inherited it after she passed on a dozen years later. It’s been his only car since.
Mike also displayed a collection of miniatures and a few other things.
Betsy still looks terrific. I invited Mike over for dinner, and we had a lovely evening.
An AWD Ford Aerostar that’s been modified for the popular Gambler 500.
Next up was a real gem; a 1972 Maverick with the LDO (Luxury Decor Option). I always associated ’73 as the first year for that package, but here it is, in full splendor.
Next to it was its polar opposite; a Toyota MR2.
A fine gen1 prelude.
A Corolla SR5 coupe from about 1971-1972 r so. I don’t remember these particular tail lights on the US version; maybe this was imported from? Not Japan, as it’s LHD. Or maybe my memory is failing me again.
I’m quite familiar with this fine Celica coupe, as I’ve shot it twice now in the past few months but haven’t gotten around to writing it up.
A superb condition Plymouth Reliant. Suddenly it’s 1988!
It’s got 63,000 miles, and very pampered ones, at that.
A Toyota Cressida that’s sporting some extra zip under the hood.
A turbocharged and intercooled engine out of a Supra, IIRC.
A Suzuki Cappuccino.
Sadly, it’s vulnerable front hood has some damage. Not sure why it’s white either.
Mercedes 190 2.3
Oh my…swoon. A Cadillac Fleetwood Coupe.
This Chevy LUV caught my attention, especially when I saw its interior and looked under the hood.
Stephanie loved this.
The Isuzu gas four sported a Weber carb and Hooker headers, recently added. Who would have thought that they would still be available?
Still my beating heart! A genuine Pinto Cruising Wagon!
And it’s sporting a turbo 2.3 out of an ’88 Turbo Coupe that’s bee tweaked to some 250 hp.
Shagadelic!
I’ve never looked inside one of these; it’s still got the original shag carpet on the side walls.
I’ve seen this Silhouette around for some time, but never so close and intimate.
There were some late additions, so we’ll get them in too:
The hot dogs were good, and the water was cold. It was a fun way to spend a few hours on the first hot Sunday of the summer. I experience no sensations of malaise whatsoever.
Daniel emailed me pictures of the winners in the various categories:
Most Brown: Daniel “Bones”- 1980 Citation.
Rustiest in show: Annukai – 1993 GMC Vandura
Best in Show: Jeffery Brown – 1985 Cadillac Eldorado
Best 80s: Tom Sarpola – 1988 Plymouth Reliant
Traveled Furthest: Mike Hayes – 1992 Geo Prizm
Best 70s: Mike Ignatius – 1972 Ford Maverick
Best Asian: Skye Bergstrom – 1986 Toyota Cressida
Most Malaise: John Di Grazia – 1988 Chrysler Fifth Avenue
Cutest Car: Duncan Nodarse – 1996 Daihatsu Mira
Best 90s: Eric Stapelfeld – 1992 Ford Explorer
Best European & Best Malaise Accessory: Mike Reed – 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit Sportruck
Best American: Michael DeMattia – 1988 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z
Longest in Show: Kienda Valbracht – 1989 Ford Econoline Fiesta Camper
Most Unusual: Alex Gross – 1988 Mitsubishi Delica
That wasn’t a real snake on the dashboard, was it?
That’s the vindshield viper.
Good one.
Veddy, veddy good.
I wish I could have been there, though I don’t know if I could have handled all that brown. Maybe next year! The one vehicle that really stands out as “least malaise” is the white Chevy truck. There are so many around, lots of them still working hard, that I don’t really associate them with the same era as the Reliant or Fifth Avenue, for example.
I would not have included any of the Japanese models as ” malaise” .The Mazda 626 was a great Accord beater and tbe 280ZX, come on.
The F series pick ups and GM vans are better than todays models. Looks a great day out if you have had an enough of Amelia Island n the like.
Not to debate the Show’s definition but I think a better term for this show would be Malaise and Friends Or Malaise and Malaise Adjacent, as some cars definitely took an earlier exit from the Malaise Highway.
Regarding the 626 though it does have one of the hallmarks of the Malaise Era, battering ram style bumpers with filler panels, rubber accordions or end caps as the cheap, expedient way to meet the standards.
I’d say the 280ZX belongs, the interior and amenities were more PLC like and less Sports Car and the Z’s that came before it. It is the fat Elvis, heavier, slower, softer and with more bling.
“I would not have included any of the Japanese models as ” malaise” .”
Haaaa
It’s most melancholy, but what a terrific show that really highlights how bad the domestic auto industry could be during the malaise years. Some really popular examples of the era but I would have liked to seen a mid-seventies Cordoba and Gran Torino, too. Maybe a Monza, Chevette, Omnirizon, or Cavalier thrown in for good measure.
One of the few (very few) bright spots may have been that Geo Prizm sedan. Those NUMMI cars were a great buy for the cognoscenti since most thought they were just typical Detroit junk (especially the ones that had well-known Detroit names). I personally had a strippo NUMMI Nova sedan at one time and it was one of the best-built cars I ever owned. This makes sense, since it was essentially a Toyota Corolla built in Fremont, CA, the very same place that now spits out Tesla vehicles.
Oh God, it looks like my farm.
A lot of the entries look quite good. The Cadillac, Camaro and Ford vans would definitely be welcome around here.
Props to the owner of the Cadillac Fleetwood coupe for grabbing MLAISE license plates, and also for being confident enough to drive a car of that pinkish/purple shade (did it have a name?) A lot of men wouldn’t. I’m not even sure I remember seeing it on a Cadillac at the time. They can’t have sold many.
A friend had one of those Geo Prizms in his family fleet until very recently. Mike chose well!
rolifast: I was selling Cadillac’s back in those years. That color (Fleetwood coupe) is actually in the brown color pallet. It’s kind of a bronze color with a touch of orange to it. For the life of me, I can’t recall the name of that color, but I can say it was not very popular even in that day.
Ah, okay, thanks. It can be hard to discern some colors in photographs.
I admire how well it has been kept.
Light Rosewood. Grandmama had an ‘82 Pontiac coupe in a near identical shade and it was just as outré then on that car as it is/was on this Cadillac.
I found the Sony Mavica the most interesting thing there. That was the first big (expensive) non-book online purchase I made from Amazon in the late 1990s. It took stills and short videos, many nof which are still somewhere around here in my home. I recall copying the photos/videos to my HP computer and then clearing out the disks so they could be reused.
It was rough on batteries, which often died right in the middle of friend’s weddings I was shooting and I always carried around many extra floppies. Many people were shocked to see the images instantly displayed on the back screen as digital cameras were somewhat new back then.
I’ve always considered the 1978 Datsun 280-Z to be non-malaise and [all-of-a sudden] the 1979 280-ZX to be malaise. But today, I’d love the opportunity to drive either one. The ZX in the post looks really nice.
Yeah, back when I got that Mavica camera, it was definitely a novelty! A typical comment would be “Wow, is that a DIGITAL camera?” It’s basically the camera that got me in the habit of photographing cars. Nowadays, it’s a novelty for a different reason… Still works perfectly, and a full charge will give over an hour of battery life. Not bad for a battery old enough to buy beer.
I guess when a battery buys beer it can charge it. 🙂
My wife and I got married in July 1998. The photographer’s big selling point was he had already made the transition to digital photography.
What he had and how well batteries lasted I do not know. I was rather distracted at the time.
Outstanding documentation, of a great event. The odd genuinely hard core malaise here. But most of these cars have enough charm and qualities, I wouldn’t associate them too heavily with the depressing automotive experiences we often associate with the malaise era. With the exception of the Citation and Phoenix. Tremendous credit to Daniel for being able to live with that sad pair. I thought the Citation looked like a large insert as a teen, and I still do. Lovely interior, specifically the seats, on that LDO Maverick. That F-100 Explorer brings back many memories of a neighbour who owned one. Thank you for this!
sp: “thought the Citation looked like a large insect as a teen…”
Wonderful photos! I’m really glad I made the 600+ mile trip (965 clicks for you metric-minded folks). So many great cars and so many fun people! Yep, worth the trip. The photo of Paul and myself standing next to my car is hilarious! I’ve got a typically goofy expression on my face. They photographer saw into my very soul…
and… after over ten years of reading this website and contributing to the Flikr Cohort, it was wonderful to hang out after the show with Paul, Stephanie and Paul’s nephew Eric. (And Paul makes a darn good hamburger.)
I said it before and I’ll say it again, thanks for coming, Mike! I wish we could’ve talked more, but your Geo was and is amazing!
I’d love to come to this. But way too far from Michigan. Best I can do is the 80s show in Minnesota, which is also 600 miles for me.
So beautiful, so terrible. Great photo set.
Thinking back at one point there were K cars everywhere, and then they all left.
My pick is the Gremlin, anything with the mighty AMC 6 gets points from me, and it’s one of those cars you regularly see WANTED ads for, along with 58 Plymouths and 1974 Dodge Monacos.
Nice touch by Michael DeMattia, wearing the Montreal Expos cap. “Team of the 1980s”
Wow. I’ve been to a lot of car shows and did some judging within the club I belonged to back in Illinois before I moved to California. Our club was certainly not a high end club with lots of trailer queens, but most of the cars were well kept original or restorations. When we held out annual car show, we would get the trailer queens, hot rods and seldom driven cars that you see at every car show and that win trophies nearly every time. From your article and the pics, this was not one of those shows and boy is that refreshing! I truly enjoy that these cars are loved by their owners just as much as those trailer queens I referred to, but they are driven and enjoyed in such a different way.
Being a Cadillac nut, my eyes were of course fixed on those three cars. But I love the 5th Avenue, the Reliant and the Cressida a lot. But when there’s a car show with an Olds van and a Buick Century Wagon, that’s when my mind said this was a true winning car show. Great job.
Looks like a fun time. Much better than the oh so repetetive usual suspects at most car shows. The tackometer must have been pegged at some points of the show.
I’d say the Kei cars are pretty much the polar opposite of Malaise, high specific engine output, great space efficiency, non existent overhangs, clean simple lines with no extra fluff.
The Pinto has undergone a bumper tuck, which does improve the looks.
Nice variety of cars from the not-so-distant past. You can tell it’s the malaise era from all that brown and tan! Love the MR2 and hopped-up Cressida.
I didn’t recall that the 626/Capella’s hood opened the “wrong way.”
My girlfriend/later wife had a 1975 Corolla hardtop coupe (not an SR5) in brown. It did have the 5-speed manual, the first one I ever drove, and a/c.
(Oh yes, both my cars have reverse-opening hoods. It’s quite epic.)
With all these cars at this location, who was left to defend the town? Nice to see that it wasn’t so exclusive that other cars of interest were excluded. Not any duplication either, everyone seemed to have the best example that day of whatever they were representing.
The 626 is a true survivor, I’ve yet to come across one in the junkyards, and my ’79 coupe likely didn’t make it out of the 90s. That the rear seat fabric wasn’t disintegrated is astounding, or it was redone at some point, mine was literally ribbons of fabric draped across the foam.
And of course finally being able to see a Citation and a Phoenix literally next to each other and compare the little differences such as the side window kickup at the bottom edge is great. Such a stupid point of difference to waste money on when the rest of the car is so the same, so GM of the day.
Mazda Capella owner here! My seats survived for the simple fact that they are, in fact, vinyl. Which is why I have sheepskin up front. Because vinyl is brutal.
However, the car’s survival has more to do with the original owner babying it for 35 years, at which time it barely had 100K miles. I’ve probably been a little more cruel to it since then (by actually driving it… now approaching 170K) but I keep it tidy. I’ve yet to see another one in person (even at a junk yard) since I acquired mine in 2015.
So the shag carpet in the Pinto Cruising Wagon wasn’t a custom thing? That was how they came from the factory?
The shag on the side walls is original. The one on the floor is not, and I don’t know what was originally there.
I’m drooling over the LDO Maverick. The 72 was the sweet spot with the small bumpers.
The K car was great too, though the Phoenix brought back some memories of one owned by a friend’s mom.
In case anyone wondered about the current health of the CC Effect, I got a load of this when I was on the road earlier today.
I’ll add my own contribution to the Malaise CC Effect — I saw this brown Granada sitting out in a field today. A brown Granada was hard to pass by without photographing, so I took photo of it from afar.
Great to see cars that are never featured in most shows. The ’70s and ’80s were a lot of peoples era of growing up, much like the ’50s. Tired of attending shows with endless ’50s Pop music.
Three out of three mid 80s Cadillacs without wire wheel covers!
This is the kind of vintage cars shows we desperately need more of. Not the inevitable, overdone Camaro/Mustang/Challenger-fests, but examples of what people actually drove back in the day. Unfortunately, these are the kind of cars that takes real dedication to keep in service, because you’re eventually going to spend more than the car will ever sell for.
These are the vintage car collectors that I have the most respect for. After all, anyone can save another Mustang Mach I.
Looks like a fun show! Thank you for posting every car. You know how it is when you see photos of a car show and you’re more interested in the car in the background with no other pictures of it.
A few highlights for me:
The 1996 Daihatsu Mira may not fit the definition of Malaise, but its performance is probably fully in the spirit…whereas the 80’s Regal fully fits in the definition, but its performance certainly no longer does.
The Phoenix is probably the formerly common U.S. car that I haven’t seen in the longest time, personally. And it’s in really fine condition. I remember riding in our neighbor’s circa 1980 and thinking it looked really modern to my 9 year old eyes, but I don’t recall finding it particularly attractive.
“It came from a Citation collector in Alaska that had ten of them.” Proof positive that it takes all kinds to make the world go ’round.
The (1989?) Fleetwood coupe. A fine example, and a reminder of just how ridiculous some of GM’s products were then. Did you catch the appropriate license plate? Somehow the (1990?) Brougham was more archaic at the time but seemed less out-of-touch. The Best Of Show Eldorado was one of the few vehicles there that could straddle both worlds and would fit in well at a traditional car show, too.
I never realized that the Reliant K could be had with an optional grossly asymmetrical center console. I don’t know why I hate that so much, but I do.
The Olds Sihoutte (as the owner spells it, that word would probably stump me in a spelling bee, too) actually looks pretty darn comfy. As do the Maverick’s special optional luxury seats. If I read the partial sign in the Olds’ window correctly, the owner was inviting people to sit inside? That really embodies the spirit of the event, as an alternative to the traditional “look, don’t touch” car show.
I wondered the same thing about that sign in the Oldsmobile. Very refreshing if that’s the case, given the “Touch my car and I’ll end you” vibe some shows give off. Not that I blame them, given the amount of time, effort, and money they put into their vehicles. It’s just nice to see a car you can actually experience from the inside.
Every participant was given the option to have a “touch” or “touch and sit” sign.
That’s very cool. I’m liking this show more and more.
Not sure what you mean by grossly asymmetrical center console. Bucket seat floor shift is good in my book.
Look at how much the console is offset to the right. The intrusion into the passenger leg space looks significant. Why did they feel the need to widen the forward section so much? Why would they think the passenger wouldn’t care? Was it targeted strictly for the solo driver? So many questions.
I don’t have a problem with floor shift/buckets generally, even though I mourn the demise of bench seats. The execution of this just seems too inscrutable. And a reminder of how narrow K cars were inside. Also, it you’re going to make a center console, why not make it more useful by having an armrest?
Really cool car, though. And the rare buckets in the sedan is a bonus, historically speaking.
It’s asymmetric because the radio and hvac controls in these cars aren’t centered in the dash:
Relax Jon; there’s plenty of room for the passenger’s legs. You’re looking at an image taken at an angle that exaggerates the effect. The right edge intrudes slightly into the area of the left bolster of that seat, but not the main center section where people’s butts and legs actually are.
And the K cars were not particularly narrow for their time; rather the opposite in relation to their length.
Anyway, it’s kind of a moot point some 35 years later.
That 2JZ swapped Cressida is NICE!!! A lot of the guys who tinker with cheaper old 80’s/90s Japanese cars start their build with a ROUGH car, gut the interior, rollbar, race seat, etc. You dont usually see a CLEAN and original looking car with a motor swap.
The pinkish bronze Fleetwood coupe is just beyond silly and awesome, I really wonder if they spiked the water coolers at Cadillac HQ around that time. Or if they were all literally out to lunch swigging 4 martinis every day like some episode of Mad Men. Cant think of another brand that suffered such nasty self inflicted wounds than Cadillac in the 80s.
Also suprised there wasnt a single Ranger, S10, Nissan hardbody, or Toyota minitruck. Those 4 were EVERYWHERE when I was a kid in the late 80s/90s. The LUV and Ford Courier must have had pretty short shelf lives cause I dont recall ever seeing them.
Wow, some really great memory-inducing time pieces here.. The Mazda 626 reminds me a lot of my Westy from the same period. I have the same faux sheepskin seats, and a very similar dash cover. In my van, there’s shag carpeting on just about everything. I though the boombox in the back seat was a nice touch, too. I put a period-correct tape player into my van, and I’ve fixed and restored a couple of vintage boomboxes from the late 70s and early 80s.
The Cadillac Brougham d’Elegance brings back some memories, too. I had a friend with an older father (Silent Generation) who was a successful doctor and drove the clone of this car, a 1990, in that royal blue. It was the last of the full-size Caddys, and it cut quite the presence. It seemed really old-fashioned then, but befitting of the classy and dapper doctor. We were teens and he was probably about 60 or so at the time. The generational differences between us felt incredibly vast.
Those two cars are the ones that attracted most of my attention along with the Reliant. Couldn’t be more Jekyll and Hyde with a small Japanese compact along with massive full size American luxury. I love ’em!
Mazda Capella owner here! Those are real sheepskin; put ’em in years ago. Because the vinyl underneath is brutal in any semblance of sunshine.
The boombox is something I found at my new house when I moved in. It’s for educational purposes, near as I can tell, and has double cassettes and an 8-track player. The cassette decks don’t work. The 8-track does. o.0
I’m glad to see pictures of this event — I’d love to attend one of these shows!
All of these cars are great to look at, but the Reliant probably impresses me the most. I didn’t think that such a well-preserved K-car still existing… and it has bucket seats too!
The Olds Silhouette would be a close runner-up for me.
We brought the Reliant to a Walter P. Chrysler national meet back in 2017 and did very well. Many nice comments and offers to buy it!
I wonder how many Malaise-era owners get offers to buy their cars these days.
A neighbor of mine recently inherited an ‘82 Camaro, and has received offers to buy it that have simply astonished him. Seems like this era of car is attracting attention that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
Looks like a fun show. Nice to see cars that are not over represented in most car shows. Like another commenter said above, would have liked to see a Chevette, Monza, Omni or an 80’s Grand Am. Nice to see the Buick A body.
I found this one for sale not long ago. I saved it’s picture because I hadn’t seen one in forever.
That Explorer is B E A U T I F U L. The last first gen I saw that clean was parked in front of the entrance to the Glass House in June of 2003 sporting double digit miles.
I liked several of the others, they’re all interesting! Floor shift in a plain old Reliant, pretty rare. Love the copper Prelude. Oh man, some great cars. Glad you guys had fun. With I could’ve been there!
Geeze, that looks like great fun. If only I still had my ’91 Spirit…
Thanks for taking such a shine to my lil 1980 Mazda Capella! I’ve had it since 2015 and have yet to see another one in person. I wish you had waited until I had deployed all my props and brochures (from the world over) to get shots of the interior, but I was running around like a madman running a good percentage of the show and it took me a few hours to get around to that. The GTVA package is something I invented. It’s a complex reference to a video game from the 1990s (note I have a ton of other nerdy sci-fi references implying I worked at and got parking permits for a fair few evil corporations).
Car-wise, so far the GTVA package includes sheepskin seats, RX7 front suspension with ventilated disc brakes, and smog delete. It’ll probably mean more as time goes on.
And I did trick you just a little. I’m dismayed you didn’t get a shot of my Buick Electra Park Avenue Ultra’s interior because **that** bit was designed by Giugiaro. Also, both my cars’ hoods open in reverse! They look epic together!
Thanks for coming out and doing such a badass article about our little show. We hope to see you next year!!
Ah; of course; I forgot about that interior by design by Giugiaro.
Look forward to next year!
Some of these vehicles bring back memories of the parking lot at my college in the mid-80s. I’m wondering if the the guy with the blue van drove from NY with his animals in the carriers strapped to the boat.
When my son was young I took him to some local car shows. We saw some cool vehicles, and I respect the amount of time and effort it took to get them in show condition, but the unapproachability of the vehicles was a bit of a turn-off for him. I thought that it would be nice to have a kid-friendly show of unrestored touchable and/or sittable vehicles that gave a more accurate representation of what was on the road at a certain time.
I drove a Pacer at one point in my life (in retrospect not a high point) and wished it was a Gremlin, or perhaps a Maverick. The vice-grip is a nice touch; it’s a knob, and a built-in multipurpose tool for the next thing that breaks. My sister’s Chevette had needle-nose pliers in place of the windshield wiper stalk.
The boom-box in the back seat is a wonderful period touch. That was an easy and economical make-do for cars without tape players or FM radios, especially when driving the parent’s car. Sudden stops could be a problem. The alternative may have been a crudely installed el-cheapo tape deck. Sudden stops might still be a problem.
Murlee Martin defined ‘malaise’ first, and it does not go to the 90’s! So, yes, it is worth debating, since younger car fans get lots of misinformation from web. Hoping this definition dies off.
Since we’re speaking of misinformation on the web, the self-proclaimed writer you name probably wasn’t the first to define the term, despite a fanboy-written Wikipedia article (or perhaps it’s a self-written one).
I agree, it seems like a fun show with interesting cars and good people I’d attend in a heartbeat if I could have. My 1994 car still isn’t malaise though.
Here’s my problem with that, call the 72-95 era whatever you want, but what then exactly is the post-1996 period called? was the proliferation of sport sedans, tippy gas guzzler SUVs, the elimination of virtually all 2-doors, convertibles and numerous decades old models, a severely culled color palates a post-malaise renaissance? Really?
Maybe one can argue that in the most immediate recent years since Tesla, super high powered muscle cars and all the infotainment and electronic nanny crap has elevated cars to a new level, but 96-10 wasn’t exactly an era of very memorable and endearing cars. That a 1994 Toyota Supra is malaise because it uses OBD I and a 2004 Solara is not malaise because it does have OBD II is absolutely absurd. Which car commands more value now, in our post-malaise society of perfected automobiles?
Nice show, great pictures and of course, I love all the comments .
I’m unclear on how an American made VW pickup truck got the European award but whatever, I don’t see many Rabbit pickups these days .
So many of once popular vehicles now al gone even in rust free California .
How you ever found an unrusted Chevy LUV is beyond me .
-Nate
What-no Chevrolet Caprice or Ford LTD!!? To me these vehicles especially in the era from about 1970-80 always epitomized the malaise era with their tacky overstuffed interiors and K-Mart grade fake wood paneling along with gutless engines and floaty handling. Maybe one will show up at the next Malaise Invatational!
“obtained from a Citation collector that has ten of them”
Let that sink in. . .