1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass

I love slick sports coupes and sedans, and high-horsepower, high-testosterone muscle cars get my blood churning, so my fixation with seemingly mediocre 1970s American cars must seem a little strange. Sports coupes, sports sedans, and muscle cars all tend to combine style, power, and athleticism; in the popular eye, 1970s American cars bring only gauche style and flabby, anemic performance to the table.

Certainly, it was a dark time in the automotive world, with tightening emissions restrictions, an awful fuel shortage, plunging power levels, and an odd predilection towards baroque styling elements. But when people give me a hard time about my 1970s car infatuation, I point to cars like the 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass as examples of why I find them so compelling.

I find the '73 Cutlass particularly good-looking, with its scalloped fenders and delicate detailing. It's a distinctive look without crossing the line to busy. The Cutlass was also a sweetheart of a car mechanically--not a hot rod, but a comfortable, stylish cruiser with an plush ride and a torquey 350 V-8.

In a way, the Cutlass is a proud representative of a sweet spot in American car history. In the same way that Kleenex knows how to make facial tissue, Detroit just knew how to build large, V-8-powered, rear-wheel-drive cruisers. That knowledge was hard-coded into the DNA of every major American car company. The major disasters came when the Big Three had to step outside of that comfort zone to try something new.

The '73 Cutlass was more reliable, better-executed, and more satisfying to drive than the jumbled messes that came immediately after it when Detroit fumbled with small engines and front-wheel-drive. The Cutlass was a particularly good example of how good a typical American rear-wheel-drive car was before GM lost the playbook.

© Source: carlustblog
We need your comments below >>