It’s 1976, and you’re looking for a compact station wagon. Which one would you pick?
by Key_Budget9267
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Cars
It’s 1976, and you’re looking for a compact station wagon. Which one would you pick?
It’s 1976, and you’re looking for a compact station wagon. Which one would you pick?
by Key_Budget9267
20 Comments
We had #8 when I was really young. It seemed like it was great in the winter! The back door did pop open a couple times in a curve, though… 🤔
going with that civic
May have ridden on the sedan equivalent of those Corollas of that period, so familiarity tells me that it’s gotta be that one for me
My ex girlfriend’s grandfather had an old civic wagon like that with over 400,000 miles on it. This was 20 years ago. I remember him saying Honda headquarters wanted to buy it back from him if he ever wanted to sell it, so they could study it. No problems with it. He took it to the same dealer for routine maintenance since it was brand new. Amazing vehicle.
I expected to see my mom’s 1978 Datsun 210 wagon.
That Ford wagon is my jam.
I remember the first Subaru I saw. AWD. Hmm. Thought only Audi had that.
I’ve owned a bunch of each since that day.
The Mazda because I like the looks. The Vega for a V8 swap.
AMC Pacer was a station wagon?
My dad had a pinto just like that and it was great! I’d take a pacer though because they’re hilariously large for what they are.
Corolla or that Vega
Leone, just look at it. It’s got its little muck boots on, all ready to hit the trails. How can you not love that?
my guy. in 1976 japanese cars were seen as chinese cars are today. the opinion that an average american would have of that 76 corolla wasn’t “reliable” it was. weird overseas commie piece of junk that isn’t shit against their trusty ol mopar
Pacer or RX-3
The Subaru, I’d even take it today. We had the Pinto and we named it Bucky because it would back fire like a SOB and man it hated moving from stopped through to second gear.
Pinto or Mazda. The pinto hate is mostly an urban legend. While I admit that they could explode when rear ended and Ford did admit that, it was extremely rare and was mostly blown up (no pun intended) by the papers. They were really very reliable little cars and extremely well selling.
Are we purchasing the car in 1976 with knowledge from that era, or do we know then what we know now?
Looking back I say I would buy the Honda or Toyota — I’ve driven similar models from that era and aside from rust, they would have lasted me a while.
Realistically though I would have been pressured to get the Pinto or Vega. I had an uncle who was a mechanic, and two other family members who were union laborers. Chances are I would have been pressured/scared into buying American, as well as knowing I’d get no mechanical assistance if I had as much as a flat tire because, ‘See, I told you so, it’s all garbage.”
That is a motor head fantasy if you are talking about cars so bad they are good. In that light, I’ll take the Pacer.
Civic
Tangental, but: why were catalytic converters a “feature”? Like – I prefer that all cars have one, but as an optional extra in a world where you don’t necessarily care about other people as an average person in a world of super inefficient V8s and such, why’s it better *for yourself* to have a cat?