"Malaise" Era Cars

SEADave wrote: "Malaise" Torino (technically a Torino Elite):

Judging by the Torino Elite's bumper, though it may have been the nadir of many things, it may also have been the pinnacle of heavy gauge sheetmetal drawing/stamping...

Our '75 LTD Landau had what I believe to be the same bumper. Good God. When I took it off it was almost too heavy for me to lift. And I'm the one who carries cast iron Volvo engine blocks around the shop in my arms.

Pretty sure that bumper could be considered a lethal weapon in some of your more liberal states. I guess this is a benefit of driving Malaise cars- plenty of frontal protection.

I'm through this whole thread (which is excellent, btw) and I have to say, I've never heard this era referred to as the "malaise era". Perfect term, though.

I think plenty of interesting stuff could be done with these cars. I look forward to seeing it develop as a trend. I'd LOVE to see a pro touring Cordoba.

Ransom wrote:

SEADave wrote: "Malaise" Torino (technically a Torino Elite):

Judging by the Torino Elite's bumper, though it may have been the nadir of many things, it may also have been the pinnacle of heavy gauge sheetmetal drawing/stamping...

Just imagine the press needed to form that heavy gage steel into that shape

Ransom wrote:

SEADave wrote: "Malaise" Torino (technically a Torino Elite):

Judging by the Torino Elite's bumper, though it may have been the nadir of many things, it may also have been the pinnacle of heavy gauge sheetmetal drawing/stamping...

i had a 78 Ford LTD2, which was what the Torino became for the last few years of it's production when it shared a platform with Thunderbirds..

it was a tank- 4400 pounds on a grain scale. also, notice how tiny and cute those 16X8 wheels from a mid 90's Mustang look on it... that same set of wheels looks properly badass on my friends 89 Mustang notchback..

the frame was fully boxed front to rear, and stamped out of 1/8" steel.. you could jack it up NASCAR style under the doors and none of the door, hood, or trunk gaps moved at all... it was probably the best riding car that i've ever owned, and it actually handled pretty well thanks to my particular car being the rare "S" version that had stiffer lowering springs and a tighter ratio Saginaw steering box in it... the factory bumper mounts were sections of 4" or so C channel welded into a bumper mount shape- one of the rear mounts was almost totally rusted away but i could jump up and down on the rear bumper and it didn't move.. the 351W under the hood was gloriously underpowered and got horrible gas mileage, but it was one hell of a cruiser- which is what a proper Malaise era car was like..

Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise. - Pink Floyd, Dogs, 1977

Sorry Dogs has been looping through my head with the thread title.

Before "malaise era" caught on, we used to refer to these cars as smog era cars. Typically the domestic '73-79 chassis that had their roots in the later '60's cars and had to be fitted with 5MPH crash bumpers and the early emissions controls tossed in with the gas crisis, 55 MPH limits, etc.

The '78-up GM intermediates were an improvement, but they were dogs compared to the cars from 10 years earlier. My '78 Malibu's owner's manual had instructions and illustrations on how much space it would take to pass a car at highway speed. I can't remember what it said now, but it seemed a crazy amount of distance.

The '80's ushered in a different batch of cars. Some, like the GM's above, started production in the late '70's as the manufacturers adapted to the market at the time.

No automotive "era" really has defined cutoffs from one to the next. The transition is a blend. However the fluorescent colors and geometric graphics belong in the '80's Miami Vice era. You cant have fluorescent malaise.

My brother was always a big Trans Am fan, but I liked these better...in black, with gold snowflakes:

http://eastidaho.craigslist.org/cto/4200265165.html

Dad had a black 76 chrysler newport 4 door with the 440....i believe it had a four barrel. lots of 4's....anywho, it was an interesting vehicle until it caught fire. After blowing up my grandfather's granda, I blew up my $800 79 olds. My coolest maliase car was a 73 Galaxie 500. Car was huge but had a roofline that made it look like someone chopped the top. Geez, I could never get that car to run. Really, it never ran. I got it from my cousin, he couldn't get it to run either. it was fun car to push around the driveway.

Storz wrote: Excellent post, I always get a chuckle when the older generation talks about how fast the cars of their day were with their massive big blocks etc etc. Granted I am sure there were some fast modified cars, but a modern V6 Honda Accord with give most of those cars a run for their money.

I think your missing a huge part of the picture if you don't take into account that back in the day these cars were being driven around on some truly terrible rubber. I mean take your average muscle car, figure a healthy 375hp 380 ft-lbs of torque, which would be fairly easy to achieve, on Goodyear polyglass rubber. Now come out of a tight right hander and put the hammer down. Your going to be sawing at the wheel and pedaling the throttle like crazy trying to get it to hook up. The sense of power in that scenario is huge. On modern rubber and I'm not even talking about r-comps just figure a modern high performance radial, you'd likely need 500-600 hp to get the same sense of power IMO. And I know I would rather be driving any malaise era car vs. any v6 Accord.

I think another issue at hand is: do you like the car? Ok, so your '77 Monte Carlo or LTD is 18' long, is kinda slow for the cubic inches under the hood, weighs well over two tons and corners like Captain Stubing's Pacific Princess...

Who cares as long as you like it? Whether its purely nostalgia (who doesn't miss Jimmy Carter and gas shortages, right?) or you like the design.

To me it's if you like the thing, not if it fares well in a slalom against a new Toyota Sienna (it won't).

I grew up with those types of cars and they are what drove me (no pun intended) to imports. I simply can't forget how bad they were.

Rob_Mopar wrote: However the fluorescent colors and geometric graphics belong in the '80's Miami Vice era. You cant have fluorescent malaise.

No, Malaise was more of a brownish, yellowish, orangish hue...

In reply to volvoclearinghouse:

Yep malaise is more earth tones, like fall leaves. And rust.

I just parted ways with my Malaise-y Cadillac. It was actually a very nice car. You just have to understand that regardless of there being 7 liters under the hood, power was NOT the main concern for manufacturers during that era. It still melted that left rear tire with total impunity and looked very nice while doing it. It was a hell of a car for $1500. The friend who bought it has dreams of twin turbos. He's crazy enough to do it. This pleases me.

Rob_Mopar wrote: In reply to volvoclearinghouse: Yep malaise is more earth tones, like fall leaves. And rust.

I think the colors you guys are looking for are "goldenrod", "avocado", and was it "pumpkin"?

In reply to Powar:

I had a bit of a fascination with Sedan DeVilles (is that what that is?) for a while a similar way to how I wanted an ex-cop car. I think it was inspired by a Bauhaus video, and this vague notion that a Caprice is either someone's grandparents or the police, while a DeVille is grandparents or something much more sinister than the police...

Ransom wrote: In reply to Powar: I had a bit of a fascination with Sedan DeVilles (is that what that is?) for a while a similar way to how I wanted an ex-cop car. I think it was inspired by a Bauhaus video, and this vague notion that a Caprice is either someone's grandparents or the police, while a DeVille is grandparents or something much more sinister than the police...

The one above was a Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance.

My favorite of the malaise era GMs is my old '76 Pontiac grand LeMans. I'd love to find another like this, though the black velour interior is exceedingly hard to find (I havent' found one yet):

Such a comfy cruiser and with the built 400, a plenty fast car.

Chris_V wrote: My favorite of the malaise era GMs is my old '76 Pontiac grand LeMans. I'd love to find another like this, though the black velour interior is exceedingly hard to find (I havent' found one yet): Such a comfy cruiser and with the built 400, a plenty fast car.

I love this picture.

Hmmm . . . Think I may have found something. A little more than want to spend, but what the hell it's Criffmuff . . .

Awaiting response from seller.

I maintain the the 77 Cutlass was pinnacle of smog era styling.

In reply to Appleseed:

I'd respectfully disagree. That gawdawful Mopar with the stacked rectangular headlights beat that...

you can't totally hate an era that spawned a car so big, it was banned from demo derbies for being too badass.

In reply to mndsm:

That's not malaise, malaise starts with 5mph bumpers.

I once had a 1977 Buick Regal, the last 'big' Regal.

Found out every piece that would bolt onto a 1968-72 Chevelle would also fit a Regal, so I attached: Speedway racing springs, SCP sway bars, Hurst Airheart disc brakes, carrera shocks, an aftermarket aluminum radiator, and the 327 out of the local Sportsman stock car track champion's car, complete with Brownfield aluminum heads.

One of the best 'sleepers' I have ever owned.