As a man of a certain age and having spent my youth and came of age during the Malaise period, I have innumerable malaise-era memories. Harvest Gold shag carpets, avocado dishes on the table, foil wallpaper in the baths! What a time to be alive!
The stuff on the road and how it was sold has become most memorable I grow older. The fabulous mid-century showrooms along Stevens Creek Boulevard and the El Camino Real. The glamourous auto palaces along the Auto Row that was Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. The smaller pre-and immediate post-war showrooms on Santa Rosa Avenue. All filled with colorful dreams in steel.
Were they the dream cars on the streets that they appeared to be under the carefully planned showroom lighting? Did they meet every promise that the advertising posters and commercials made to the consumer? Did they run longer and better and use less gas and make less smog?
Time has told us that, in many cases, that expectations drawn from the ads did not survive the trip from dreamland to the reality of wakefulness.
I clearly recall the weekend my dad bought our 1977 Ford Country Squire to be used as the family hauler and travel car. It was gorgeous. Dove Grey exterior, acres of faux wood and the deep red Landau Luxury Group interior. Very plush with 50/50 seats and power everything. It LOOKED great.
As we lived in California, we had a strangled and rough running 400 V8 with a two-barrel carb which led to hard starting, poor idle quality and stumbling when pulling away from a stop under most every climatic and driving condition.
Was that a pain? Sure, it was! But it sure looked great and it swallowed everything you could shovel into its cargo hold. It was supremely comfortable with great seating and a very good driving position. The appointments were top drawer, the paint finish and build quality were very, very good and it was as quiet as our 1972 Marquis Brougham on the road.
It was surprisingly reliable for a car of that era. We did lose a transmission on a Canada trip one summer. At year 8-the radio tuner knob failed and we were stuck with pre-sets. Thankfully we had the fantastic 8-track player to use! Needless to say, it didn’t corner very well, but the ride was good, especially when loaded.