1970s Economy car

1973 chevrolet vega gt hatchback



1972 ford pinto sedan



1971 amc gremlin x



1977 chevrolet chevette hatchback

the 1973 oil crisis (and again in 1979), emphasised importance of fuel economy worldwide, increasing proportion of cost of vehicle operation. had particular impact in united states greater distances, arguably nation hardest hit because of prevalence of large, fuel-thirsty cars. @ same time, new emissions , safety regulations being implemented requiring major , costly changes vehicle design , construction u.s. market. sales of imported economy cars had continued rise 1960s. first response domestic american car makers included u.s. produced, fr layout cars, amc gremlin, chevrolet vega, , ford pinto, along captive imports.

amc determined have first subcompact offering , 1970 amc gremlin sales began 6 months ahead of all-new 1971 models gm , ford. gremlin used amc hornet s existing design shortened wheelbase , chopped tail, , had important low-price advantage.

the chevrolet vega, featuring attractive miniaturised camaro styling, introduced in september 1970, gm s first subcompact, economy car. 2 million sold on seven-year production run, due in part low price , fuel economy. 1974, vega among top 10 best-selling american-made cars, aluminum-block engine developed questionable reputation. chevrolet increased engine warranty 50,000 miles (80,000 km) vega owners, proved costly chevrolet. 1976 vega had extensive engine , body durability improvements , five-year/60,000 mi (97,000 km) engine warranty. after three-year sales decline, vega , aluminium engine discontinued @ end of 1977 model year.

pontiac s lowest-priced car re-badged vega variant exclusively available in canada 1973-74 model years, , introduced in u.s. following year. final 1977 models featured first use of pontiac s iron duke inline-4 engine. lower priced versions of chevrolet monza introduced 1978 , rebadged variants of discontinued vega added monza line - monza wagon using vega kammback body sold 1978-79 model years, , monza s hatchback, price leader model using vega hatchback body, offered 1978 model year.

the ford pinto introduced 1 day after vega. small, economical, , top seller. however, had key safety design fault - position of fuel tank meant crushed in rear-end collision, creating major fire risk. ford company memos presented evidence during civil trials revealed these remedies discussed, conclusion shut down production , retool expensive. official memos published in mother jones detailed cost analysis of corporate liability in event of having compensate crash victims. ford pinto memo ruthlessly calculated cost of reinforcing rear end ($121 million) versus potential payout victims (us$50 million). ford pinto engine though successful in european fords twenty years, in successive mid , large european sized mainstay models of the; uk ford cortina, german ford taunus, ford sierra, , ford granada amongst others.

nissan cherry



1976-77 honda civic hatchback

by 1970, nissan released first front-wheel-drive car developed prince motor company had merged nissan in 1966. introduced in 1970 datsun/nissan cherry. in 1973, energy crisis started, made small fuel efficient cars more desirable, , north american driver began exchanging large cars smaller, imported compacts cost less fill , inexpensive maintain. toyota corona, datsun 510, mitsubishi galant (a captive import chrysler sold dodge colt), subaru dl, , later honda accord gave buyers increased passenger space , luxury amenities, such air conditioning, power steering, am-fm radios, , power windows , central locking without increasing price of vehicle. in 1972, honda civic launched, cvcc (compound vortex controlled combustion) stratified charge engine debuted in 1975 , offered alongside standard civic engine. cvcc engine had head design promoted cleaner, more efficient combustion, eliminating need use catalytic converter new california emission standards - every other u.s. market car year needed exhausts catalytic converters. japanese, had competed on price, equipment , reliability conservative designs, starting make advanced, globally competitive cars.

ford had sold 2 million escorts across europe 1974, year mk2 launched squarer flatter panel body re-style. successful market uk. escort s success helped numerous rallying successes in 1970s, , performance versions escort mexico , rs2000 traded on success, , provided halo effect lesser models.

the chevrolet chevette introduced in september 1975 , produced through 1987. successful , americanized version of gm t platform (1973) world car developed opel, gm s german subsidiary , isuzu motors of japan.

chrysler having taken control of simca (and hillman in uk) in 1960s, part of expansion plans match gm , ford, turned french subsidiary, when needed launch american made sub-compact, comply federal corporate average fuel economy (cafe) regulations being introduced starting 1978 model year cars. replacement simca 1100, c2 project, became (simca) talbot horizon won european car of year 1978, , more 3 million sold in united states dodge omni , plymouth horizon 1978 1990. had been re-engineered federal emission vw golf 1.7l engine , macpherson strut suspension u.s. market. chrysler europe sold peugeot in 1978, due mounting operating losses in europe , u.s. required u.s. government bailout.

captive imports other response u.s. car makers increase in popularity of imported economy cars in 1970s , 1980s. these cars bought overseas subsidiaries or companies in held significant shareholding. gm, ford, , chrysler sold imports u.s. market. buick opel, ford cortina, mercury capri, ford festiva, , dodge colt examples.

volkswagen golf 1976 mk1 (australia)

technologies developed during post-war era, such disc brakes, overhead-cam engines , radial tires, had become cheap enough used in economy cars @ time (radials began adopted in 1950s , 1960s, , front disc brakes in 1960s, towards bottom of market in europe). led cars such 1974 mk 1 volkswagen golf designed giorgetto giugiaro, fiat 128 , 1972 honda civic. exotic technology, electronic fuel injection, became affordable, allowed production of high-performance hot hatch sport compacts 1976 volkswagen golf gti. car combined economy of use , practical hatchback body, performance , driving fun kicked off hot hatchback boom. introduced in 1976, 1.5 l vw golf diesel—the first small diesel hatchback. used new bosch rotary mechanical diesel injection pump technology. in year, ford of europe (produced merging of ford national operations in europe) launched first front-wheel-drive small car, ford fiesta, having gained experience ford of germany 1960s european midsized ford taunus p4 , ford of brazil ford corcel.