Thirty-five years ago today, our country (well, at least the country of most of us that write for Hooniverse) celebrated its 200th birthday. And if you weren’t around then, let me tell you that Bicentennial Fever hit bigger than Peter Frampton (What’da mean, ‘Who?’ — Go look him up on that Walkie-talkiepedia thing).
There wasn’t a lot for car-loving ‘Mericans be happy about in 1976. The economy was in the toilet, the 55-MPH Federal speed limit was in effect, and the build quality of American cars was rather dismal compared to the foreign competition. But the Bicentennial gave people an excuse to party like it was 1776.
You could buy a Bicentennial Edition of nearly everything that year — Eldorado, Pinto, Dart, and no less than four different Chevys (El Camino, Nova, Impala, and Vega). You could even buy a Bicentennial Edition Kenworth truck, Harley-Davidson motorcycle and Monark bicycle.
Looking back, there still may not be much to love about the cars of 1976, but surely there’s one among the bunch that warms your heart. Regardless of whether it was available bedecked with red-white-and-blue stripes that year, what is your favorite American car of 1976?

[DISCLAIMER: Images are from my hard drive. Most were pulled off the web long enough ago that I have no idea where they came from, with the exception of this one from Clunkbucket. If one of the photos belongs to you and and you’re mad about it, contact us and we’ll remove it.]