30 Most Iconic Cars of the 70s

[Duke Maddog]

Nice trip down memory lane. I had a 1980 Chevy Citation. That car brought me to California from Florida. What a trip that was!

[Gary Brantley]

This discussion has caused me to consider just what '70s vehicles I did own. I received a 1971 Toyota Celica for a high school graduation gift in August of that year. That was "year one" for Celicas. That little car was great fun and very reliable. Fill her up with Super Shell "ethyl" and she would run like the wind. My wife had a 1974 Mustang II when we married. It was a real dog, with a four-banger and a four speed. In fact, it was the car in which I really taught her to shift gears. Ironically, the transmission was the best thing it had going for it. I was so glad to trade it in for a brand new 4-door VW Rabbit in 1978. We were fairly newly wed and it was our first "new" car. Panama brown (burnt orange in reality) with a transverse 1.6 four and four speed transmission, that little car handled like a dream and lived on rpms. It was the only car I've ever owned designed by a famous Italian designer too. And the only Rabbit I ever will own too as that car was an electrical nightmare. It was one thing after another until, needing a larger car for our growing family, we traded the Rabbit in on a 1982 Volvo 244 sedan, but that brings us to the '80s and a whole 'nuther list of "iconic" rides...

Oooh, I'm leaving one out! I inherited a 1973 Datsun pickup (blue) in 1979, after my Dad passed away. He had bought it new and had worked that little truck like a borrowed mule out on our farm. It was a crude, basic truck with huge over-load springs on back. Once, Dad had some corn ground into feed and we drove 30 miles to pick up 14 100 pound bags of ground feed in the Datsun. Man, that 1400 pound load just barely caused the truck bed to ride level as those big springs held up the weight. Of course, we couldn't top 50 mph driving it back home! I finally sold the Datsun for $1000 around the mid-80s. I think of it every time I hear the BottleRockets' "Thousand dollar car"...

[LyleW]

Great stories! I had a 74 Pinto, liked that little guy a lot, Wife to be had one as well. I think she had a 70 Mustang that she wrecked coming back to Louisville from being at Georgetown (wonder why) for the weekend. It was never quite right after that. The local Ford dealer in G-town took months to fix it.

[Medicman71]

Ok although not a 70's vehicle, like Texgunner was saying, those Datsun/Nissan trucks can't be killed. I had a 95 Nissan pick up that refused to die. I bought it brand new and the only major thing I had to replace was the transmission. I had beaten the crap outta that truck going off road and mudding. It had 200K miles and had been flooded during Tropical Storm Allison here. It was still kicking and running fairly decently when I sold her.

[jeaton01]

I had a 1960 Datsun pickup which I bought for $250 in 1965 and drove for 3 years, sold it to a friend and I think it's still sitting out behind his farm. 50mph? That was flat out empty in mine, and it had the same springs I'm sure.

I also had a 1979 Rabbit, brown, a prophetic color it turned out. Same electrical issues. Every time it rained, it quit. Of course, that was always when my wife was driving it. It was because of a bad ground circuit and too many spade connectors going into a main electrical box which were too small for the load. I pulled the box out, enhanced the ground by soldering in a heavier wire. It worked better after that but not much later the heater core started leaking and it was a mess to get to so I sold it. I would have paid the person who bought it an equal amount to take it, but I needed the money so I took it.

[Duke Maddog]

Mike, that Nissan looks very much like my current ride, a 1993 Nissan pickup. I still drive that and just passed 250+=K+ miles so far. I had a little '86 Nissan Sentra car before that which I drove for 18 years: I had 697K miles on that before it quit. Those early Nissans sure lasted!

[Medicman71]

Mine was a 95 so yeah they're pretty much the same exact truck.

[Gary Brantley]

I would have paid the person who bought it an equal amount to take it, but I needed the money so I took it.

Man, that was a true "laugh out loud" comment John! Thanks so much, in light of current news and situations, I sure needed one too.

And I also learned something from that same post. I had no idea that Datsun had had a presence here in the U.S. as early as 1960. It's not surprising that California would get those considering the West Coast location though. I would love to see a pic of your truck; I'm imagining something close to those little Daihatsu trucks and their ilk.

[jeaton01]

Gary, this is exactly what mine looked like, except that someone has changed the rear view mirror which was attached to the 3 screws on the left windshield post. It was even the same color, which of course gained it the name "Brue Pickup".

[Gary Brantley]

Oh, now that is just too cool! What a neat lil' Datsun, and I see that those bed tie-downs were already present. Those things were handier than a pocket on a shirt and I could never understand why American truck makers never copied that concept. Thanks for the look at what the Brue Pickup must've looked like John! Hey, suddenly, I feel a lot smarter for learning about those trucks; like a new road to explore!! Many thanks