Last week, we took a look at another multi-marque ad from General Motors in 1974. This one focusses on GM’s smallest offerings from the X-Body, F-Body, H-Body and Opel lines.
It’s not as intriguing as GM’s personal cars ad from 1974. There are neither women matching their outfits to their cars nor cowboys, but there are still some observations to make. The Opel, for example, doesn’t seem to have an owner. Those silver-haired people in the bottom right look like the owners of the Apollo, which, despite its raised-letter tires and Buick rally wheels, looks rather more senior-friendly than the other cars. The [human] models in this ad just aren’t as interesting as in the other and just look like regular people in fairly unspectacular 1970s clothing, the exception being the handsome African-American guy and his rather gaudy jacket.
These pre-1975 X-Body clones are rather unexciting and the Opel looks lithe and exotic in comparison. The X-Body generally looked best as a Chevy, although that ’74 GTO is intriguing for its rarity and for the hatred it receives from many enthusiasts—it really would have been more respected if it hadn’t worn the GTO name!
Which of the pictured cars would you choose? Personally, I didn’t even have to think. Give me that ’74 Firebird Formula, even if it isn’t as pretty as a ’73 or a ’77.
No contest; I’ll take that Manta.
I’d really prefer to the 1900/Ascona (was it still available in the U.S. in 1974?), but the Manta is the best of the bunch here.
I looked it up, the sedans were dropped for ’74 but the two-door came back in ’75; the wagon was available for the entire run.
It was actually the 4 door that got dropped for 1974. You could still get a 2 door “Ascona” in 1974 according to my resources, but they were getting crazy expensive by then thanks to a very unfavorable exchange rate. $2,520 in 1973 jumped to $3,175 for 1974, then ballooned up to $3,645 for 1975. Maybe the 2 door sedan was dropped temporarily mid-year 1974?
The Ascona’s were imported into the U.S. until 1975.
I have never seen a 4-dr Ascona (1900) in The States ever. I don’t think they ever imported the 4-dr? In 1975 they fuel injected them. ’75 was the last year the Manta’s & Ascona’s were made, as well. My family had many Opels,i.e. Kadette’s, Manta’s, 1900’s (Ascona’s). Today, I have an extremely nice example of a 1975 Ascona that is far from stock. It has a 2.0L Euro engine, a new 32/36 Weber carb, a Getrag 5-speed, lowered, quick ratio steering box, custom stainless steel dual exhaust, Recaros, etc., etc. This is my 2nd Ascona & my 5th Opel.
Per a 4-page ad in 1975, there was no 4-dr 1900 (US spec Ascona)
Only the Manta, 2-dr ‘Sportwagon’, and 2-dr 1900
New for 1975 was fuel injection and larger front disc brakes, to handle the extra power of FI
A tach was standard on the wagon, not available in the others.
As kid on Long Island in the late 70s, besides our neighbor and a 20-something at church who had Mantas, I’d see an occasional Manta. But I can’t remember any 1900s. I also remember at least one ‘old Kadett (rusty small-bumper)
Ditto. My over-opinionatedness got me deleted last week, so I will leave things at this – of all of the GM offerings the only attractive one is the one that resembles a ⅞-scale Audi 100LS.
I almost could get into an Apollo, but I was stuck with Nova company cars for three years in a prior life…so, no thank you. Cramped foot wells (Vega)…bizarre, bolt-upright seating in the Camaro and Firebird…sorry.
I drove an Opel GT new in 1971 and my feet wouldn’t fit in the foot well…but, as in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, I tried a Manta and it was just right. I didn’t buy it then; but six years later in college, it was one of my many six-month cars I bought for $50-100 and wrung out the last bit of life they all had. The Opel Manta and the Packard Clipper were the most fun and the most interesting rides – and they got the most attention from the ladies, too. 🙂
The Firebird, even though it’s not a 400 or SD455.
The Opel is probably the best one.
I had a 74 Buick Skylark with the paint mixer 3.8 for many years, not very inspiring but relatively dependable for the 300k I put on it.
Regardless, I’m in for the Opel.
none of them – they were underpowered
Firebird. In fact, I bought a car in ’74 and it should have been a Firebird. Coulda gone full Rockford.
Garner in the Firebird was way cooler than Reynolds in the Bandit, hands down! Reynolds was cool in Deliverance but not since.
White Lightning
If I could buy any of the 1974 GM “compact” cars, I’d buy the Olds Omega, the Chevy Nova the Opel Manta, and the Pontiac Firebird.
Olds Omega with 350 Olds V8, 4 barrel carb, 4 speed manual and most handling focused suspension option I could order.
Add duals & a posi 3.42 and you’d have a pretty good mover!
Is it just me, or do we have some overlap with the personal car category here? Thinking of the x bodies and the Cutlass that is pictured (or maybe it’s just part of the pic and the Nova is really the target).
Think I’d go for the Apollo or Omega in 2 door hatchback form with the 350-4bbl and reluctantly the automatic (for whatever reason the only manual option seems to be a 3 speed). Fully optioned except leave out the vinyl roof.
Sorry, guess that is an omega. I just got new glasses too, so no excuse!
I read that you could get the GTO with a 4 speed, so hey, why not? Not really as far off the mark as some would think from the original philosophy ten years earlier, notwithstanding being hampered by newer regs.
The problem with the Ventura Goat is that, unlike the original 1964 GTO, there was now some stout competition in the Chrysler A-body compact musclecar. Surprisingly, the GTO was actually cheaper than the Duster 360. And with a rear sway bar, it probably handled better, too.
But it wasn’t cheaper by much, and the GTO only had a 200hp 350 while the Duster’s 360 made 245hp. And you could still get a 3.55 SureGrip rear axle with a 4-speed in the Duster. Sadly, not many people wanted a compact GTO that could easily be outrun by a Duster. A real shame since it really was a nice little package but, honestly, if it were 1974, I probably would have bought the Mopar, too.
Speaking of prices, man, did Chrysler jack up the price of the Duster quickly. It started out at $2547 in 1970, but a scant four years later, it was all the way up to $3288. That’s a 29% increase and, besides front disc brakes, I don’t think the 1974 car got all that much more in the way of standard equipment over the original.
For a time Chrysler was advertising the /6 Duster/Demon as a Pinto or Vega alternative “for just a little bit more”. Maybe Colt supplies were increasing by ’74?
The GTO suffers from its context. It’s a great package on paper, but in the metal it’s obviously an old Chevrolet design with tacked on Pontiac details, and in the Pontiac dealership it’s sitting next to an exciting looking car with many more performance options. It’s a really narrow market niche: “I’d buy a Firebird if it were a sedan and had a slightly more useful rear seat.”
Definitely the Manta
+1
they are timeless.
Camaro. Hands down. Or on the automatic floor shift.
The Opel Manta seems more like a true “compact” car than the “compacts” sold by Olds, Buick, Pontiac, or Buick.
The true compact (as in: small) car would be GM’s Opel Kadett C, as introduced in 1973.
I agree. The Kadett was the kompact car. 🙂
Opel Manta, absolutely. Sweet handling, fine looks and quite enough power with that cam in head 1.9 engine. In 1971 I wanted to pull the trigger on a Rallye 1900 and then put a set of Semperits on it, but my youthful finances dictated otherwise.
M-401 HiLife radials! I put them on the one new car I ever owned (a 1972 Corolla) and it was night-and-day from the bias-ply Bridgestones that came on the car. Good choice 🙂
Camaro. Best looking car of the group, even with the 5 mph bumpers and vinyl roof.
Black on black “GTO”,,,,, LOADED.
Optional bucket seats, console, Rally Gauge Cluster that included a tachometer set to the left of the speedometer, where the fuel gauge would normally be AND the “console” gauges on the tranny hump similar to those used on 1968-’69 Camaros …
Best looking inside and out of the group.
TACH
My ’73 Nova SS had this option, it was one of the things that convinced me to buy the car 🙂 I had not seen this option before in a Nova and have not seen one since.
Of the cars pictured here I would go for the Camaro. I never thought these looked as good as the split bumper models but they have grown on me over time.
At first glance I thought that tach was a rudimentary thermostat, the zeros look like degrees – 0 1° 2° 3° 4° 5° 6° 7°
I always thought the Nova/GTO pointer-and-scale tachometer in place of the fuel gauge was kind of weird. I would have thought it would have been cheaper and easier to leave that space for the fuel gauge, and used the clock space on the right for a normal, circular-face tach, with the clock going down into the gauge pod in front of the shifter. Not to mention that it would have been possible to get the tach without having to get the shifter gauge package.
Make it a hatchback and you’ll have the most versatile of the bunch plus good looks. Best looking of the bunch has to be the Firebird though.
Easy. The Camaro. The 350 with a 4 speed manual to help make it interesting. With the Rally wheels, white letter tires, and in dark blue if available (but no vinyl top).
My God, but those bumper regs really did screw up the styling of just about everything on the road in ’74. As much as I’m usually more a Pontiac fan I’d probably have to go with the Camaro. I even like the trim on the one pictured, in spite of the vinyl roof treatment. Even though the Firebird front end seems to integrate the 5MPH bumper better, I find that the chrome grille treatment, chrome bumper and light bezels on the Camaro seem to give it a very polished look. Make mine an LT with 350/THM, & rally wheels, in dark blue metallic with tan interior. A/C and Stereo 8 track, please. (Perusing oldcarbrochures.com I was disappointed to find that they didn’t offer a white vinyl interior in the Camaro for ’74. Damn)
The Formula. No contest.
+1.
with a Super Duty 455 in green with a tan interior
At the time, the ’74 Camaro looked modern and futuristic, since it was the first style change since 1970. But, now, all jump on the “eww big bumpers” band wagon. I still like them.
Id like a Firebird, Camaro, GTO, or Nova SS.
Personally I didn’t really care for the post-1973 Camaro even when they adopted the smooth Firebird style bumpers with the same basic front end treatment for 1978. I never liked those shovel scoop headlight bezels, don’t like the same year Vega’s similar treatment any better. The big bumpers are the icing on the cake for why I dislike them.
They’ve grown on me now though, I find myself preferring bumpers of any size to body colored plastic so played out today.
I’ve never been much into sports cars so I would probably have gone for a Pontiac Ventura or Buick Apollo. 4 drs, with a six or small V-8 and every comfort/convenience option available.
Ed, this one’s for us!
1974 Vega for sure, that’s what I learned to drive in. White with an orange stripe, just like Dad’s but unlike Dad I want a 4 speed.
Then when the original engine craps out I’ll put a 3.8l V6 and a 5-Speed in it.
Firebird. Its bumpers make the rest look like the railway sleepers ( ties) they are.
2nd pick: The Manta. Fit the European bumpers and halogen headlamps.
I’ll take the Firebird Formula but the Opel is very tempting.
Opel 1900 Sport Wagon with the fuel injection, in yellow.
Fuel injection did not happen until 1975, sadly, and then you were looking at a $3,972 base price. Not cheap. That was Cutlass Supreme money in 1975…
After I posted thought wait a minute the FI came out in ’75, Googled and yup ’75 but on my phone too late to edit. I think the Sportwagon (one word right?) was available in 74 and 75 so make mine a carbed ’74.
I’ve owned them all & still own a ’75 1900/Ascona .
My absolute favorite car is to bolt up a Manta nose to a 1900 Sportwagon.
Or a Manta nose to a 1900/Ascona.
This is my absolute dream car… a “Mancona”.
I checked its (Dutch) plate. Not only does it have a Manta nose, it’s also equipped with a 6 cylinder engine. Inline-6 Opel, I assume. First registration of the original car 12-12-1974.
Someone really put some work in an Opel Ascona Caravan !
In 1974, the 13 going on 14 year old me would’ve gone for the Nova, one of the few cars at the time that didn’t look hideous with the 5 mph bumpers. In fact, I kinda like the look in some weird way on that car.
But now? – Gotta go with this car that our fellow curbivore Aaron65 proudly owns:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/coal-capsule/coal-1974-pontiac-firebird-esprit-one-whip-antenna-from-paradise/
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/the-very-many-cars-of-my-life/coal-update-1974-pontiac-firebird-esprit-the-praise-of-fun/
I liked the Firebird back then too, as like many here, I was a also fan of the Rockford Files.
Firebird
Camaro
GTO
In that order
MMMMM 74 I was 16 and drove a 61 Velox, small GM was either a HC Viva or Holden Torana, both based around an Opel, I’ve driven them and owned similar cars from other years so I would have stayed with what I actually owned back then honestly.
Firebird
Camaro
Well I actually owned a 74 Ventura… a green 4-door that was so rusty, it broke in half. (I’ve been trying to attach a photo of it for way too long…) And my dad had several Vegas (I’m sure there was a 74 in there somewhere) so… I’ll have to say, anything OTHER than those two!
Finally…
I’d go with the ultra-rare Ventura GTO.
+1
Camaro. Make mine a Type LT. I love that the ’74 F-bodies combined the flat rear glass of the earlier cars with the front/aft restyle. It may have had larger, chrome bumpers than what came before, but said bumpers were tastefully sculpted and well-integrated.
I love how the brochure photo of the Vega and Camaro side-by-side makes the family resemblance so obvious.
It’s also in the little details. As contributor Jim Grey had written about in an excellent post from last year, I am also fascinated by typography. The ’74 had what I still consider to be my favorite Camaro emblem of all time. This font script seems both debonair and deliberately artful – qualities that speak to me.
74 firebird for 70s me
74 manta for me now.
Oh yeah, Manta. An orange one, please.
This post really speaks to me. I was 12 when all of these cars were released, far too young to drive, but plenty interested.
I really like the Ventura GTO, mostly because of it’s rarity. The Manta is calling me, too. And that Vega GT in 1970’s Safety Orange with a black vinyl roof no less! The F-bodies are a natural choice, too…
I think I’ve got to go with the Ventura GTO.
Like PrincipalDan, I’ll go with an Olds optioned up with the 350.
Opal Manta.
Out of the rest I drove several of these, mid-size, and large Chevy’s as the Drivers ed cars. I wanted to like the Vega, I hated all the midsize and up boats. The Nova was, to me, the best by far of a bad lot.
The 1974 GTO, on the X platform, provided one function. Saving face for Brooks & Dunn 30 years later when they sang about “my shackled-up GTO” in “Red Dirt Road”…
Even though the video indeed shows a more-iconic ’66-’67 model…which like all GM A-bodies, had coils all around. #itsthelittlethings
Oh, which one would I own? Spirit of America Nova…wife had one when we were dating back in 1981.
I’d probably drag my heels for a full model year and reap the benefits of the apparently much-improved ’75 X-bodies after being priced out of an Opel by the $/DM relationship.
So…’75 Nova, 350/350 unless the new B-W 4 speed had replaced the Muncie “rock crusher” as the manual, F41, LN interior if budget permitted, 4 door to keep opening rear windows.
I bought one in real life just over a year ago, so Firebird for me! I have the posted ad hanging in my car room, because it’s one of only a couple of ads featuring ’74 Firebirds.
Your Firebird is very nice, if I haven’t said so in the past. Definitely my favourite of your cars! I enjoy reading about it and your other cars.
I would take the Chevrolet Nova 4 door with the coochie-coo rear window treatment, drive it for a trip, and when the so-ugly-it’s-cute-rear-window novelty ran out, I’d trade it for a down payment on a proper subcompact like a 1974 Civic.
Firebird Formula for me, thank you very much. Opel Manta would be my second choice.
If they have to be as pictured, I’d go for the Formula no question. Make mine a SD-455 please. If I could get the Camaro in Z28 guise, I’d also consider it.
The ad with the Buick Apollo shod with white-letter tires on rally wheels kinda reminds me of seeing somebody’s polyester slacks-clad grandpa wearing a set of bright red Adidas…
Wow, this is a tough one. GM actually has a few decent choices in that car ad. After the Oil Embargo of October, ’73, better fuel mileage would be had by the sporty Manta. But fuel prices be damned, either a Firebird (a Rockford clone or a Formula) or the rarer Ventura Goat (not the hatchback, but the tighter coupe with a real trunk).
Really, though, for a small car, I’d skip GM, altogether, and go with a Duster, with the engine/options being entirely dependent on how much money I had to spend.
Firebird is the only one not completely screwed up by the bumper regulations. Make mine a 455 SD Trans AM, minus the screaming chicken hood decal option. Manual transmissions not available in California (yet were on Camaro), so Turbo Hydramatic it is.
If we are going by where we are in our current position and buying a car. I would be buying a used car.
The best I could do would probably be a chevy nova with no options
That doesn’t sound so bad. A new base model nova with a six cylinder and a manual transmission would be fine. Preference for a four door. and I would be just fine.
I don’t see Mr. Niedermeyer , adding his opinion yet, Paul if you HAD to pick an American “small” car from the general. What would you pick?
By “American”, you mean not the Opel Manta? Because that would be my pick of these. But if it has to be American, one of these GM cars, make it a….a….a…oh man, you’re making it hard on me…a…Firebird with the SD-455. Not exactly a “small car” in the usual sense,but it’s up there in the pictures. of course none of the X Body cars are all that small either (except on the inside).
The tenacious handling Opel all the way. Rallye version in yellow or the bright blue. Great cars.
Well, I owned a Vega (’73) and Firebird (’81) so now, I’d go for an Opel or a Nova/Apollo/Ventura hatchback with 4 speed.
Darn and here I am stuck with my 1975 Ventura coupe with a 400 Pontiac turbo 400 and a 1975 Grand Prix 455 turbo 400.
Any X-car 2 door with the 350 cubic inch V8, preferably a hatchback version so I can use it to go camping.
In ’74, I couldn’t afford any new car. But if I could, first choice would be the Manta.
3 years later, I actually bought a base-model ’68 Kadett 2 door sedan, for $150 at a garage-sale. The the tiny 1.1 push-rod mill and 4-speed probably gave the most fun for only 50 hp.
Back to new cars, – a distant second would be the GTO, as I didn’t care for the cramped interiors and slope-nose look on the ’74 Firebirds and Camaros.
Happy Motoring, Mark
Nova with the highest HP SB, handling option etc., 4 sp., LSD and aircon. Proceed to throw out the seats and fit Recaros, de-smog it/change cam/fit headers, done.
My first car was almost a 70s-ish Nova – complete stripper 4 door, 6 cylinder, dark green. It did have automatic and power steering and brakes but no carpet – only vinyl, like the seats, roll-up windows, and an AM radio. We had a pair of spinster sisters – both teachers – who lived down the road from us and the Nova was their go-to-work car – I think they had a nicer A-body Buick in the garage for church and vacations. I balked at the Nova since I was saving my summer job money for a 72 MG Midget I’d helped my buddy’s dad restore. Alas, all my money went to pay for another friends’ crappy Spitfire I rolled over an embankment…so no Midget and no Nova. Today I’d take either in the garage – though the Nova would probably be a better fit in today’s traffic than the MG!
Too bad that the 74 GTO didn’t have so many fans back in 74. If it had there might have been a 75.
Although I liked the Camaro, as a young post-secondary grad just starting my career I had to purchase something sensible in 1974. Gasoline was hovering around 50 cents an Imperial gallon. So I factory ordered a Vega GT. Enjoyed it a lot until I bought my Mustang in 1979.
Firebird all the way. Close second goes to a Nova coupe with buckets 350 and suspension/wheel upgrades. It is astounding how much collector interest the 68-74 Nova’s are garnering these days.
Opel, followed by the Firebird. the rest are just blah.
Firebird Esprit 350
Unless I could get an SD455 Firebird, I’d go for the GTO.
Probably the GTO or Manta [different ends of the spectrum].
I think both Buicks belong to the older couple. They are in front of an affluent looking home; he drives the Apollo, she the Opel! Its a classy small car for “her”
Yeesh…..I’d wait for the 2 door notch Pontiac Sunbird with the V6.
1974 was a dark year. Even my Dad said he’d never consider anything from 74. And he wasn’t a “car guy”, just a member of the buying public with friends who’d bought back then.
A low point for driveability and fuel economy.
Easily the Firebird, it was a fun car to drive, even in 1974 trim if equipped properly. The X cars were hard to get excited about – rather dated 1968 inspired styling and cramped for their size. It simply made more sense to spring for the mid-size car if you could swing the extra few bucks a month and pass on the X body. The H body quality problems were fairly evident by 1974, pass on those as well.
The Manta is interesting, but I have zero experience with them.
Manta for me, they were beautiful then, and still are.. And they seemed to be better built than most of their contemporaries, and they didnt rust badly. I wanted to drop some pics in here but had to post them at the cohort, bandwidth issues..or something. the Manta pics I posted are not quite Curbside Classic, but I couldnt resist. This car is based in the complex behind where I work and occasionally on quiet evenings when industry dies down she comes out for a bit of ‘exercise’ and the ground shivers, I run to the window to listen to the 383 Chev motor [I read the blurb on the cars windscreen]
I was in elementary school when the ad came out.
It’s interesting how many, including myself, would pick the Manta. Obviously, WE do not represent the market at the time.
My next pick would be a Firebird/Camaro.
I like the 75 Nova a lot more than the 73-74. My uncle had a 74 Ventura with the 6-cyl, dark green, not a bad car, but it looked a lot cheaper and more primitive than my dad’s 75 Ventura.
Earlier, some one commented on the Mopar 360 having a lot more power various GM 350s. I will say that, in HS, in the early 80s, a pal of mine had a 74 Nova 350, and if not THE quickest, it was one of the quickest cars I rode in.
The Manta was replaced by Isuzu products at Buick dealers because of the dollar/deutschmark exchange rate, not the merits of either car. Buick dealers continued selling imported small cars until the FWD X body came on line.
I owned a 1974 Opel Manta Luxus – was really fun to drive. I bought it in 1978.
If I could go back to 1974, and had these choices, I would buy the 455 SD Trans Am I looked at a relative’s dealership, long gone now.
None of the above…gimme a 360 Dart.
If it must be GM…Super Duty 455 Formula, please.
The only thing I didn’t like about GM cars was their lack of “proper” gauges. Except for the speedometer and fuel gauge, everything else were warning “idiot” lights.