Car and Driver's 60th Anniversary: The 1970s - Car and Driver (blog)
Every trip from the desk to the driver's seat took 45 minutes. We were the car boys of One Park Avenue. Revisionists call the 1970s the Malaise Era for car enthusiasm. Car and Driver thrived in the day when a quick zero-to-60 was anything less than 10 seconds, and did so by spiking the lemons that car companies served us to make our lemonade. When rising insurance rates throttled muscle cars and government regs killed them off, that void was quickly filled. Japan rose to the cause with the Datsun 240Z, Mazda RX-2/3/4, and the first Honda Civics and Accords. Germany shipped us Opels, BMWs ranging from the first 3-series to the M1, and Porsche 911 Turbos and 928s. Aging classic Ferraris and Lambos were replaced by a mid-engine tsunamithe De Tomaso Pantera, Fiat X1/9, Ferrari 308 and Berlinetta Boxer,... For every tired MG or Triumph that nodded off, there was a fresh Jag or Jensen. Malcolm Bricklin, Colin Chapman, John DeLorean, Enzo Ferrari, and Henry Ford II were still around to thwart the evil intentions of Joan Claybrook, Edmund Muskie, and Ralph Nader. The arrival of EFI, ABS, catalytic converters, radial tires, and electronic ignition improved power, drivability, and mileage. We attended driving schools, tested the eligible cars, and determined what tires stuck best. Source: www.caranddriver.com
