For car nuts, the Seventies were a dark time. Safety, emissions and fuel economy standards sapped the fun out of most cars sold during the era, as car makers seemingly couldn’t keep up with the times. Today, we look back at many of those rides and frequently decide, I’d rather walk.
The changing social climes of the ’70s may have robbed us of performance, but a lot of car makers tried to make up for that deficit by troweling on the luxury features. That way, even if we were stuck driving cars that were akin to trying to walk on a leg that has fallen asleep, at least we’d be cosseted in fine Corinthian leather or magic eye head lamps.
Now, the Queen Mary II may be today both the fastest and most luxurious ocean liner in the world, but with ’70s cars you can’t have your cake and eat it too. That’s why we’re sticking with the luxury side of things and are asking you today, what was the ultimate luxury car from the ’70s?
Image: The Mustang Source
Hooniverse Asks: What was the Ultimate Luxury Car of the '70s?
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96 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: What was the Ultimate Luxury Car of the '70s?”
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There can only be one king.
http://cartype.com/pics/1601/full/volvo_262c_bertone_coupe_crown_emblem_81.jpg
It is amazing though how prominent “the crown” as a symbol and name is in the car world. Maybe a future encyclopedia entry? -
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That is great, the Eldorado Superfly was for sale not too long ago …can not remember what for
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That front looks like it could also be a Dunham Coach Corvarado which was almost unbelievably C3 Corvette based. As seen in ‘Live and Let Die’
http://www.madle.org/duncorvo02.jpg
http://www.imcdb.org/i017906.jpg-
Les Dunham built the Super Fly car for an actual pimp, who loaned it to the film’s producers. The film’s title was taken from a comment another pimp made when he commissioned Dunham. Super Fly (the movie) helped popularize the pimpmobile trend and brought Dunham a lot of business, which led to Cotvado development.
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013/05/03/super-fly-cars-to-appear-in-aaca-museum-pop-culture-exhibit/
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633 csi
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clean 1979 in Atlanta, with alpina 5 speed ! https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/5423106341.html
dang I want this one.
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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3456/3890475879_8751a3aa8c.jpg
Nothing says over-the-top luxury like power t-tops. (Only one made from the factory with that option, many other retrofitted)
The Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz
http://automotivemileposts.com/eldorado/images/eldo1978custombiarritzclassicpostcard.jpg-
ASC did the T tops for Cadillac (and Olds), and there are 7 known to have been produced (not all were Biarritz trim, though).
http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=103948.0-
Ok, Maybe I misheard the “One truckload” at some point when one of the ASC Power T-Tops was being auctioned.
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Asking $5900 ( no T tops ) clean 1977 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz https://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/5407102282.html wow, here you go Joe
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Mark IV Cartier maybe
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Mark IV Diamond Jubilee with 7,200 miles in Tennessee http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/5393868611.html may as well turn this into a crapshoot
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You’d have to have an open parking slot on either side just to get in and out of it with those doors! My dad had a ’75 Monte Carlo Landau company car that was almost as bad. The interior door panels were white, and the driver’s door had a bunch of black scuff marks on it — my dad would use his foot to help push the door open when parked uphill!
http://classicchassis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Monte_Landau.jpg
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Sure, it might have been just a Pontiac underneath, but over $40k when disco was king!
http://www.mrstitch.com/_borders/Stutz_1975_Blackhawk_05.jpg-
1974 Stutz Black Hawk, 32 grand ouch http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/stutz/black-hawk/1795426.html bonus hood work that is a must see !!
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There may have been more expensive cars to purchase, but hardly more expensive cars to own…
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there is no way I can find one of these for sale local .
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I like that you’re linking to recent ads, that’s putting things into a certain perspective…
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Glad you like the links, on this Citroen, my buddy Jeff Lane has a few of these on the museum floor…. I need to get back over there soon. The garage below the display floor is a sight to behold. http://www.lanemotormuseum.org/
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I have seen one in my life, in the Western Development Museum in North Battleford, donated presumably because some impossible to find part broke.
It is impossibly gorgeous.
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I’m sorry, there’s no argument possible against this.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Aston_Martin_Lagonda_West_London.jpg-
I was trying to find one of these for sale & ran over an article about the electrics and electronics on these Lagondas – the space shuttle or run of the mill F15 Eagle had simple controls in comparison.
This was the car that sank the original company ? -
Came to say the same thing.
http://www.adclassix.com/images/77roadtrackcover_astonmarti.jpg-
That’s because it’s the correct answer.
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WHEN was the last time one of these were ever sold ( super answer by the way Rusted enemy ) the last sale, the last auction – where are they now for such a low production yet prestigious automobile ??
Not kidding If I was rolling down I-65 & seent a Lagonda, moving under its own power – it is pooh time-
i’ve actually seen three living Lagondas on the street. one in London, one in Chicago, and one in New York, all in the space of two years, oddly.
i don’t think anyone who lives where he needs a car would subject himself to a Lagonda.
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And now you can buy a new one. The Aston Martin Lagonda Taraf.
50 have been made so far with maybe another 250 to go. RHD or LHD and yours for the same amount of money that will also buy you at the a new Rolls Royce Phantom + New Bentley Mulsanne + Range Rover Autobiography V8 Supercharged. £685,000 at the factory ($997.000.00)
6.0 L V12 and Zf 8 stage auto.
http://images.cdn.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/styles/gallery_slide/public/images/car-reviews/first-drives/legacy/lagonda-taraf-2016-drive-667.jpg?itok=K7WlUq61
http://images.cdn.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/styles/gallery_slide/public/images/car-reviews/first-drives/legacy/lagonda-taraf-2016-drive-645.jpg?itok=gN1G4uM9
http://images.cdn.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/styles/gallery_slide/public/images/car-reviews/first-drives/legacy/lagonda-taraf-2016-drive-648.jpg?itok=QvGrpt6t
http://images.cdn.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/styles/gallery_slide/public/images/car-reviews/first-drives/legacy/lagonda-taraf-2016-drive-654.jpg?itok=6pxa61w0-
It’s beautiful – apart from the rear bumper underbite. The absolute opposite of the 6.9 with American bite just below.
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I still, very foolishly, want one of these.
I’ve seen one…ever. They’re a lot larger than most people would think.
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The ultimate luxury hot rod? Yes.
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What was the last year for the big body ragtop ?
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The W112 Cabriolet, or the R107?
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Thanks Kiefmo, 1967. A fine machine indeed. ( I did not know the proper model number, hell we never used to see this kind of hardware in the southeastern US )
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Funny you should mention the southeast and this car — I grew up in Columbus (GA), and a coworker of mine was willed a W112 Cabriolet by an old family friend. It had engine troubles, and though her husband was a mechanic, he refused to touch it unless he was swapping in an SBC. The local Merc dealer wanted big money to work on it, so it sat covered in their garage for a long time.
Eventually, it was back on the road. Unfortunately, it was with a SBC/TH350. They did keep the original engine tucked away in the garage, and maintained the character of the car by keeping the engine quiet (lots of mufflers and a shrouded/hosed air filter) and using an RV cam for big cruising torque. -
Cool story – hell here in Nashville now there is everything you can possibly imagine rolling down the road since this is the boomtown. ( no Aston Martin Lagondas so far ) Kiefmo, the LS will bee the 350/350TH swap for most everything soon enough as days go by, the changeover is here.
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We’re talking about cars without chauffeur, right?
The development of this car started in 1971, and was put on hold in the meanwhile due to the exercise of discipline among OPEC members, known as “oil crisis”. First iteration was presented in 1978. No frills distracting from the driving experience (ok ,I give you the Pascha interior), excellent road holding and workmanship, and a design far from fashion. Let me introduce the Porsche 928:
https://www.premierfinancialservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Porsche-928-Blue-Profile.jpg
Here’s a nomination that very well presents the darker sides of the seventies: the Rolls Royce Camargue.
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I liked it as a kid. Boy, photos were small and foggy back then.
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with this colour it’s hard to het them sharp
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my junky rat trap 71 Camero is almost that color.. ( and the door is about to fall off – damn GM hinge bushings) + 100 pound doors
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I actually like the colour. Beats another red or black one any day.
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Just as it was the ultimate in the 1960s…
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I waffled back and forth a bunch between the 600 and the 450SEL 6.9. In the end, I chose the 6.9 just because there’s a slim chance of finding one I could buy.
My first car (shared with my mom) was a 1978 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham. We bought it in 1988 for a thousand bucks.
The first time I drove, ever, I had a 45-mph blowout during Driving Lesson #1 in this 3-ton beast. That car was a mile long. It had a 440 under the hood and boy, if that was an emission-choked motor, then an uncorked version would’ve been unsafe for a teenager. It was geared so low that you couldn’t push it past 90. But it’d do 90 going up the steepest hill on earth with all six seatbelts occupied.
And those seats. . . The designers must’ve once sat in THE HAND OF GOD and then tried to replicate the experience with those seats.
I drove a hundred thousand miles in that car. I loved it. I miss it. And I’ve never sat in anything else as absurdly and overly luxurious as my old wingless jetliner.
/notmypic
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Grandmother had a 1972 hardtop, she wouldn’t let me lean on the door rests. If she drove over a large bump in the road, one of the back doors would try to open !
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I learned to drive in a 79 Fleetwood Brougham so that’s my choice. What a ride: big motor, power seats, cushy ride, eight track. Good times.
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8-Track! Yes! Finding a cassette/8-track adapter at a thrift store in Reno was one of the high points of my teenage years, but even better was getting a box of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart eights at a yard sale for one. single. dollar.
I miss those tapes almost as much as the car.-
Yep, good old eight tracks. I assembled a few from here and there — I think one of my sister’s boyfriends gave me a few like Styx, Bowie and the Eagles but my favorite, far and away, was Led Zeppelin II. I wore that thing out.
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You could find some pretty bizarre stuff on 8-track back in the day…
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Did you say EIGHT track?
http://assets.blog.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads//2014/02/1977CadillacEldorado_01_2000.jpg-
no way – this is not right – what ?
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I learned to drive in my mom’s ’73 Bonneville. Pillarless 4-door hardtops FTW!
http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Pontiac-Grandville-1973.jpg-
Damned straight! Warm days, four windows down. . . It’s like motorcycling without all the gear.
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I got one on one of the back 40 acres, take a photo and be back later gents.
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there is a family of puma’s in our area – if someone is going to get bit, Jeepster won’t be the last one.
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400 cid/400 turbo Catalina – I was saving this powertrain for a bird or T/A. Oh well, bought this one in 1985.
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Better get the parts before a tree grows through it. 🙂
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How’d it end up on its side in the woods?
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Back in 2007 when dragging that Camaro out of the woods, I used one of my tractors and front loader to push that Catalina out of the way. I turned it on the side and used it as a grader blade to clear out a path –
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Is that a John Deere -50 series?
We have a JD 2950, looks like the same front end sheet-metal, except ours doesn’t have a cab.
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real Close JD 2955
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My second car was a ’73 Pontiac Grand Ville, the top of the food chain in Pontac’s Catalina – Bonneville – Grand Ville scheme. I owned it when federal law demanded all leaded gasoline be sold off at $0.89 per gallon, so I was not shy about loading the car up with friends and giving the secondary barrels a good airing out. Neither the 8-track nor the cigarette lighter worked, but who cared?
This is Correct.
Our family conveyance for several years was a Newport of the same year. It was a wonderful British Racing Green, the only racy thing about it. A true living room on wheels; I’m certain it weighed more than quite a few of the currently in vogue tiny houses. It had a fairly hard cloth upholstery though (green, of course) – to get the full padded velvet experience you had to step up to the New Yorker, which my much more well-to-do uncle had a couple of. I think my cousin still has the second one. The first was a silver-blue and the second was a mahogany brown, both perfect colours for these beasts. Those were the days, when decadence was available to Everyman.
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I remember the BRG. It looked way better than the banana yellow.
Dang, I’d love to get one of these again.
Nothing says luxury like Rolls Royce. Nothing says 70s luxury like a car that looks like it’s from the ’50s, was produced from 1968-1990, and whose horsepower was listed as “adequate”. Nothing says ultimate luxury like a car the Queen of England herself prefers. I give you, the Rolls Royce Phantom VI.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Rolls-Royce_Phantom_VI_Limousine.jpg
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Will the more attractive of you please step forward?
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/79/133579-004-46CEEC96.jpg-
needs to watch sir Arthur again … good un
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If we’re talking American, then the Cadillac Fleetwood Talisman, built in ’74-’76:
The first picture is of one with the optional ACRS (Air Cushion Restraint System) – driver and passenger airbags.
http://carsenglobe.com/uploads/cadillac/cadillac-fleetwood-brougham-talisman/cadillac-fleetwood-brougham-talisman-06.jpg
https://notoriousluxury.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/1217.jpg?w=650
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/11/03/trio-of-talismans-showcase-how-cadillac-did-opulence-in-the-seventies/
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I thought the Talisman was always a 4 seater?
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Only the ’74 models have the rear console – in ’75 they switched to a fold-down armrest.
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There was also the Fleetwood Brougham d’Elegance in ’74-’76 (not quite as fancy as the Talisman), and a de Ville d’Elegance available for ’75 and ’76.
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Why must the philistines always win?
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USA USA USA….Jeepster, Nashville , TN
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http://i48.tinypic.com/118lte8.jpg
252 linear inches of GM’s finest steel went into the 1976 Cadillac Brougham Series 75. They put a 500 cubic inch motor into it that put out a thundering 190 horsepower.
Nothing says 70’s luxury quite like that.
Guys, what’s happening here. Why do I have to post this HOURS into the challenge?
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Because us uneducated redneck boys have no idea what de fret ( WTF ) that is yet ?
( like the jeepster – what is that ? )-
I’m going to say it’s a ZIL. Mostly because I, too, am surprised no one has posted a ZIL yet.
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Actually, it’s a ZIL 4104 prototype. The 4104 production model had a squarer rear side window without that little Hofmeister kink.
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Хорошо!
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yall uuropeans suk … There is no way we would figure that car out without Nixon’s head
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batshit ..maybe them Europeans will understand. SOON
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Funnily enough, the German, childish expression “mit voll Karacho” would mean “at full speed”. Language is a great toy, and free!
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it does look meaner than a Trotsky toting a Kalashnikov……………
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These cars are beyond rational. I read as a boy that the paint alone weighs 800kg, with a two digit number of primer, black and coat. The older I get, the less I believe it. But fairytale facts sit well with a car as rare and extreme as this.
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Steel and kevlar primers?
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+ a dash of intercontinental rocket dust.
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The Rolls Royce Corniche Convertible. Unlike the fifties and sixties, American cars weren’t often seen outside the USA but all over the world real wealth and luxury could be best experienced with one of Crewe’s finest. Nothing says tasteful indulgent luxury more than a big handmade four seat convertible with a big engine, 412 ci of alloy V8.
http://www.classicandperformancecar.com/uploads/image/101301_101400/rolls-royce-corniche-convertible-101340_186dcf358ca112bb_858X617.jpg
As most other options have been taken, I’ll go with the quiet, barely changing, subdued choice of the Toyota Century. http://img.favcars.com/toyota/century/images_toyota_century_1978_1.jpg
Obviously it’s a Granada. http://www.classiccarstodayonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Ford-1977-Granada-coupe-ad-250×200.jpg
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I was re -reading ” Winged Victory ” by Yeats – He mentions the fantastic Bristol F2b fighter plane several times. Cool car, never seen one.
All are good entries, and I’ve owned a ’73 Coupe DeVille…a two door sedan which was a bit longer than a ’90s Suburban.
Those doors could inflict injury, if you weren’t careful. I had a good-sized knot on my forehead when the door came back at me (was parked with quite a bit of road crown), cracked me in the head just as I looked up to get out.
However, were I to go back to this period in time, this:
http://car-from-uk.com/ebay/carphotos/full/ebay975655.jpg
1973 Imperial two door. Longest two door car ever in mass production. 232.something inches long.
Hidey headlamps, hardtop, fender skirts. That right there is the land yacht trifecta!
Fuselage…FTW!!!!!!!!
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