A 1974 Honda Civic. (Photo courtesy of Subcompact Culture.)
Here's a car trend that's not likely to be embraced by your average Flintoid anytime soon. Richard S. Chang of The New York Times reports:
When Japanese cars and trucks began arriving in the United States in earnest during the 1970s, they were widely seen as disposable.Reliable, maybe. Future classics? Not likely.
But in the past decade, those bargain-price models from the ’70s and ’80s have been revisited by a generation of enthusiasts who grew up riding in the back seats.
“For many like myself, it’s nostalgic,” said Jun Imai, a 36-year-old designer at the Hot Wheels division of Mattel, where he directed the styling for die-cast models of two 1970s-vintage Nissans released last year.
One thing is for certain, that car is not from Flint. A friend had one of those and after about two years it was nothing but a rust bucket. Although Honda got their act together later, their paint still sucks.
ReplyDeleteMake mine a early 70's Malibu SS.
Being a rust bucket wasn't just a 74 Honda phenomenon. My wife's 1979 Citation and my own 1979 Chevette, both purchased locally at Summerfield Chevrolet in the good old hometown, also turned into rust buckets after about 5 years of use. I guess that the ol' hometown GMC technology had developed to a point where two of their most forgettable products were still capable of rusting out 5 years beyond when Honda experienced the same problem in 74. Happily, due to the advanced GM know-how in those days, they was able to add on 3 years of rusting to our 2 cars before they fell apart. This was 150% better than anonymous's friend got just two years into their Honda. A wonderful Chevrolet experience from my early days that turned me into a life-long Subaru owner. My motto is and will always be "Chevy Rusts Deep".
DeleteAmerican made will always be better, if you don't like Chevrolet then buy Chrysler.
DeleteNkVt.