Over the past century, the automotive industry has developed very dynamically. Each subsequent decade changed the industry, bringing something new beyond recognition. In our review, there are several "iconic" cars of the 1970s that have become real icons of the automotive industry.
1. Stutz Blackhawk
Far from the most recognizable car in Europe and almost unknown in Asian countries - Stutz Blackhawk, in the USA it became a real icon of the 70s. The car was introduced in 1968, and its production began in 1971 and continued until 1987. The car was positioned as a premium car.
2 Pontiac Firebird
The Pontiac Firebird, or rather the line of cars, has a very long and long history. The car series was produced by General Motors from 1967 to 2002. Despite this, the most recognizable Pontiac Firebird model was the one that was produced in the second half of the 70s.
3 Lamborghini Countach
The premium sports car Lamborghini Countach has overtaken not only many sports cars, but time itself. This car is known, perhaps, to everyone, at least for its appearance. The sports car was produced from 1974 to 1990. It is worth noting that only 1,997 cars were assembled for the entire time.
4 Ford Pinto
Another widely known, this time American car. Initially, the Ford Pinto was produced exclusively for the American market and was positioned as a super compact car. The car was named after the piebald color of the horse. The release of the Ford Pinto began in 1970 and continued through 1980.
5 Lancia Stratos
The Lancia Stratos HF is not just another "icon" of the 70s of the XX century. Today it is generally accepted that this car was the first car officially released specifically for participation in the rally. The first demonstration of the car took place at the Turin Motor Show in 1970. Subsequently, the car became so popular that it was even used in the cinema.
6.Fiat X1/9
It is impossible not to mention such a baby as the Fiat X1 / 9. The car was produced from 1972 to 1982. Later, its release was extended at another plant until 1989. The key feature of the Fiat X1/9 was its unusual bodywork.
7. Bricklin SV-1
Canadian sports car Bricklin SV-1 was released in 1974. The car was produced for only two years, after which its production was curtailed. As you might guess, one of the features of Bricklin was the seagull doors. Another less obvious feature was the carbon fiber bodywork.
8 BMW 2002 Turbo
Don't be fooled, the chubby old BMW 2002 Turbo could light up the best cars. However, a much more remarkable feature was that it was the first European car to use turbocharging technology.
9 Reliant Robin
The Reliant Robin is perhaps the funniest, most insecure and memorable car of the seventh decade of the 20th century. The car had three wheels, in view of which, in the UK, it was considered not even a car, but a three-wheeled motorcycle. As for the year of manufacture, the Reliant Robin has actually been produced since 1953.
In continuation, look at those that are guaranteed to surprise you.
The most noticeable features of this style were: an abundance of chrome parts in the body trim, panoramic windshields, huge wings-fins at the rear. By 1960, this flamboyant style had reached its highest point:
Already in the next year, 1961, the size of the fins decreased sharply, although the stopars were still mowed under rocket nozzles:
The architecture of the American car began to change before our eyes - its body turned into a huge flattened rectangle, the former streamlining and sophistication of lines began to gradually replace straightness and angularity.
On a Ford 62 years old, there was no trace of the fins left: 
Does this design remind you of anything? It was in 1962 that the first model of the body of the future GAZ-24 Volga car was created in the USSR, the refinement of which, as a result, dragged on beyond measure.
The graceful Imperial of 1962 still demonstrates many features of the continuity of the outgoing style: 
But the 1963 Buick is already quite similar to the classic American car that the whole world will see in countless films until the end of the 80s: 
In the early 60s, some of the old American car brands were still alive. Here, for example, the Studebaker model of 1963, only 3 years remain before the cessation of production of cars by this well-known company: 
In 1964, Imperial switched to a new style: 
And here is the symbol of the new design - the headlights protruding forward in a bracket-like manner on a 165 Pontiac: 
It is believed that this design made American cars ugly, but as they say, "there is no arguing about taste."
Pontiac-66: 
One of the last Studebakers of the 66th year looks completely un-American, something typically Italian: 
And this Studio of the final 66th looks like our Moskvich 408/412, isn't it? 
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But in America in the 60s, "mammals" died out, and automobile "dinosaurs" remained alive :-)
Imperial-68 - it’s not the headlights that protrude on the “muzzle”, but just some kind of brackets - the fashion is this: 
The same crocodile in profile: 
And Pontiac of the same 68 years came up with his own "chip" - a ram should perform! 
In the 70s. American auto-dinosaurs will reach their evolutionary peak.
Almost all cars created in the USSR were copies of foreign models. It all started with the first samples produced under license from Ford. As time went on, copying became a habit. The USSR Automotive Research Institute bought samples in the West for study and after a while produced a Soviet analogue. True, by the time of release, the original was no longer produced.
GAZ A (1932)
GAZ A - is the first mass passenger car of the USSR, is a licensed copy of the American Ford-A. The USSR bought equipment and documents for production from an American company in 1929, two years later the production of Ford-A was discontinued. A year later, in 1932, the first GAZ-A cars were produced. 
After 1936 the obsolete GAZ-A was banned. Car owners were ordered to hand over the car to the state and purchase a new GAZ-M1 with a surcharge.
GAZ-M-1 "Emka" (1936-1943)
GAZ-M1 was also a copy of one of the Ford models - Model B (Model 40A) of 1934.
When adapted to domestic operating conditions, the car was thoroughly redesigned by Soviet specialists. The model surpassed later Ford products in some positions.
L1 "Red Putilovets" (1933) and ZIS-101 (1936-1941)
The L1 was an experimental passenger car, an almost exact copy of the Buick-32-90, which by Western standards belonged to the upper-middle class.
Initially, the Krasny Putilovets plant produced Fordson tractors. As an experiment, 6 copies of the L1 were released in 1933. Most of the cars could not reach Moscow on their own and without breakdowns. Refinement L1 was transferred to the Moscow "ZiS".
Due to the fact that the Buick body no longer corresponded to the fashion of the mid-30s, it was redesigned at ZiS. The American body shop Budd Company, based on Soviet sketches, prepared a modern body sketch for those years. The work cost the country half a million dollars and took months.
KIM-10 (1940-1941)
The first Soviet small car, the Ford Prefect was taken as the basis for development.
Stamps were made in the USA and body drawings were developed according to the models of a Soviet designer. In 1940, the production of this model began. It was thought that the KIM-10 would become the first "people's" car of the USSR, but the Great Patriotic War prevented the plans of the USSR leadership.
"Moskvich" 400.401 (1946-1956)
It is unlikely that the American company liked such a creative development of its ideas in the design of the Soviet car, but there were no complaints from it in those years, especially since the production of "large" Packards was not resumed after the war.
GAZ-12 (GAZ-M-12, ZIM, ZIM-12) 1950-1959
A six-seven-seater passenger car of a large class with a "six-window long-wheelbase sedan" body was developed on the basis of the Buick Super, and was mass-produced at the Gorky Automobile Plant (Molotov Plant) from 1950 to 1959 (some modifications - until 1960.)
The plant was strongly recommended to completely copy the Buick of the 1948 model, but the engineers, based on the proposed model, designed a car that relies as much as possible on the units and technologies already mastered in production. "ZiM" was not a copy of any particular foreign car, neither in terms of design, nor, in particular, in the technical aspect - in the latter, the plant's designers even managed to some extent "say a new word" within the global automotive industry
"Volga" GAZ-21 (1956-1972)
The passenger car of the middle class was technically created by domestic engineers and designers from scratch, but outwardly copied mainly American models of the early 1950s. During the development, the designs of foreign cars were studied: Ford Mainline (1954), Chevrolet 210 (1953), Plymouth Savoy (1953), Henry J (Kaiser-Frazer) (1952), Standard Vanguard (1952) and Opel Kapitän (1951).
GAZ-21 was mass-produced at the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1956 to 1970. The factory model index is originally GAZ-M-21, later (since 1965) - GAZ-21.
By the time mass production began, by world standards, the design of the Volga had already become at least ordinary, and it no longer stood out against the background of serial foreign cars of those years. Already by 1960, the Volga was a car with a hopelessly outdated design.
"Volga" GAZ-24 (1969-1992)
The middle class passenger car became a hybrid of the North American Ford Falcon (1962) and Plymouth Valiant (1962).
Serially produced at the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1969 to 1992. The appearance and design of the car were quite standard for this direction, the technical characteristics were also approximately average. Most of the "Volga" was not intended for sale for personal use and operated in taxi companies and other government organizations).
"Seagull" GAZ-13 (1959-1981)
Executive passenger car of a large class, created under the clear influence of the latest models of the American company Packard, which in those years were just being studied at US (Packard Caribbean convertible and Packard Patrician sedan, both 1956 model years).
"The Seagull" was created with a clear focus on the trends of American style, like all GAZ products of those years, but was not a 100% "stylistic copy" or Packard's modernization.
The car was produced in a small series at the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1959 to 1981. A total of 3,189 cars of this model were manufactured.
"Seagulls" were used as a personal transport of the highest nomenclature (mainly ministers, first secretaries of regional committees), which was issued as part of the prescribed "package" of privileges.
Both sedans and convertibles "Chaika" were used in parades, served at meetings of foreign leaders, prominent figures and heroes, were used as escort vehicles. Also, "Seagulls" came to "Intourist", where, in turn, everyone could order them for use as wedding limousines.
ZIL-111 (1959-1967)
Copying the American design at various Soviet factories led to the fact that the appearance of the ZIL-111 car was created according to the same patterns as the Chaika. As a result, outwardly similar cars were simultaneously produced in the country. ZIL-111 is often mistaken for the more common "Seagull".
The high-end passenger car was stylistically a compilation of various elements of American middle and high-end cars of the first half of the 1950s - predominantly reminiscent of Cadillac, Packard and Buick. The exterior design of the ZIL-111, like the Seagulls, was based on the design of the models of the American company Packard in 1955-56. But compared to the Packard models, ZIL was larger in all dimensions, looked much stricter and “square”, with straightened lines, had a more complex and detailed decor.
From 1959 to 1967, only 112 copies of this car were assembled.
ZIL-114 (1967-1978)
A small-scale executive passenger car of the highest class with a limousine body. Despite the desire to move away from American automotive fashion, the ZIL-114, made from scratch, still partially copied the American Lincoln Lehmann-Peterson Limousine.
In total, 113 copies of the government limousine were assembled.
ZIL-115 (ZIL 4104) (1978-1983)
In 1978, the ZIL-114 was replaced by a new car under the factory index "115", which later received the official name ZIL-4104. The initiator of the development of the model was Leonid Brezhnev, who loved high-quality cars and was tired of the ten-year operation of the ZIL-114.
For creative rethinking, our designers were provided with a Cadillac Fleetwood 75, and the British from Carso helped domestic automakers in their work. As a result of the joint work of British and Soviet designers, ZIL 115 was born in 1978. According to the new GOSTs, it was classified as ZIL 4104.
The interior was created taking into account the intended use of cars - for high-ranking statesmen.
The end of the 70s is the height of the Cold War, which could not but affect the car transporting the first persons of the country. ZIL - 115 could become a shelter in case of a nuclear war. Of course, he would not have survived a direct hit, but there was protection on the car from a strong radiation background. In addition, it was possible to install hinged armor.
ZAZ-965 (1960-1969)
The main prototype of the minicar was the Fiat 600.
The car was designed by MZMA ("Moskvich") together with the NAMI Automobile Institute. The first samples received the designation "Moskvich-444", and already differed significantly from the Italian prototype. Later, the designation was changed to "Moskvich-560".
Already at the very early stage of design, the car differed from the Italian model by a completely different front suspension - as on the first Porsche sports cars and the Volkswagen Beetle.
ZAZ-966 (1966-1974)
The passenger car of an especially small class demonstrates a considerable similarity in design with the German subcompact NSU Prinz IV (Germany, 1961), which, in its own way, repeats the often copied American Chevrolet Corvair, introduced at the end of 1959.
VAZ-2101 (1970-1988)
VAZ-2101 "Zhiguli" - a rear-wheel drive passenger car with a sedan body is an analogue of the Fiat 124 model, which received the title "Car of the Year" in 1967.
By agreement between the Soviet Foreign Trade and Fiat, the Italians created the Volga Automobile Plant in Togliatti with a full production cycle. The concern was entrusted with the technological equipment of the plant, training of specialists.
VAZ-2101 has been subjected to major changes. In total, over 800 changes were made to the design of the Fiat 124, after which it received the name Fiat 124R. "Russification" of the Fiat 124 turned out to be extremely useful for the FIAT company itself, which has accumulated unique information about the reliability of its cars in extreme operating conditions.
VAZ-2103 (1972-1984)
Rear-wheel drive passenger car with a body type sedan. It was developed jointly with the Italian company Fiat on the basis of the Fiat 124 and Fiat 125 models.
Later, on the basis of the VAZ-2103, the "project 21031" was developed, later renamed the VAZ-2106.
If you have been reading us recently, then before diving into the abyss of sadness, we advise you to be inspired by previous publications from the history of muscle cars:
Causes of the tragedy
The beginning of the 70s was marked by the end of the golden era of American muscle cars and huge luxury road cruisers. The fuel crisis (although this is not the only thing), tightening environmental regulations, growing safety requirements, coupled with skyrocketing insurance premiums, could not but affect the American car market.
Buyers in the context of increased gasoline prices could no longer afford the operation of multi-liter voracious cars, and the new insurance rates completely put an end to their profitability.
Some models ceased to exist, and the product line that replaced the road monsters of yesteryear resembled only a dim shadow of the legends of the second half of the 60s.
There are several major trends in the decline of the American auto industry. The output of the engines was deliberately reduced by reducing the compression and installing less productive components (intake and exhaust manifolds, carburetors, cylinder head). New safety standards (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) required manufacturers to install more massive bumpers and strengthen the load-bearing body elements, which, due to increased weight, also had a negative effect on dynamics. Plus, highly accelerated cars of the second half of the 60s have established themselves as extremely unsafe vehicles, which inevitably affected the amount of insurance premiums.
Pictured: Plymouth Belvedere 1967
By 1972, the Big Three had switched completely to low-octane fuel. And in 1973, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) sharply reduced the volume of oil supplied to the United States, which caused a full-fledged energy crisis in the country. And then the population was no longer up to muscle cars. The final nail in the coffin of American power was a 1978 law that set limits on the maximum allowable average fuel consumption for production vehicles (CAFE).
Gone not to return
How did this directly affect the lineup of auto giants from Detroit? By 1975, most of the big blocks had disappeared from the scene, and such icons of yesteryear as the Buick GS, Chevrolet Chevelle SS, Dodge Charger R/T, Dodge Super Bee, Ford Torino Cobra, Mercury Cyclone Spoiler and Plymouth GTX were consigned to oblivion. The crisis did not spare the Pontiac GTO either: the legendary muscle car turned into a slightly more expensive package of the mid-size Pontiac Ventura, and later completely disappeared from the GM lineup. The 1975 Plymouth Road Runner came out very bland and had little in common with the 1968 road monster.
Survivors
In the ponic car segment after 1974, only the Chevrolet Camaro, the second generation Pontiac Firebird and the Ford Mustang remained. Between 1971 and 1973, the Mustang gained a lot of weight, and subsequently underwent a radical rebranding, sliding into the segment of economical compact cars with a touch of luxury. Ford tried to somehow remedy the situation with the help of the optional five-liter 302 engine, but this did not have the desired effect.
However, not everything was so deplorable in the mid-70s. Despite the depressing trends in the market, relatively powerful models with small blocks under the hood appeared. The output of these engines was not at all as impressive as before, but they were installed in cars that cost much less than they asked for mid-size muscle cars in the 60s.
For example, the Plymputh Duster 340 and the 1971-1973 Dodge Demon/Dart Sport 340 boasted 240 "mares" taken from 5.5-liter engines and a rather aggressive design.
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In the photo: Dodge Demon, Plymouth Duster, Dodge Dart Sport
Surprisingly, in 1973-1974, the Pontiac Firebird with the 400th engine (6.6 l) available in the top-end Trans Am configuration was sold very successfully against the backdrop of a raging crisis. In many ways, the lack of competition was the reason for success in the market, but this directly indicated that interest in "muscular" cars had not faded at all, especially if handling was not sacrificed for the sake of power. And the Trans Am was exactly that, which in itself was not very typical of the classic muscle cars of the past. This lesson was learned at GM as well as possible and in 1977 they revived the Chevrolet Camaro Z-28, which also emphasized not only the ability to accelerate in a straight line.
After the end of World War II, the engineers of the former German DKW plant in Zschopau, on the instructions of the Soviet military administration and with the participation of specialists from the MZMA plant, began to develop a whole family of small cars - the future Moskvich.
In addition to the traditional sedan (in German terminology - a limousine), several more different body modifications were designed - both purely passenger (for taxis) and cars for transporting passengers and goods. Two of them were cargo vans with "blind" walls, and two were six-door (!) station wagons.
Today, the use of wood as a material for both strength elements and exterior trim is pure exotic. And in the thirties, various types of wood, with appropriate processing, were actively used by "bodybuilders" - both bodywork studios and large automakers.
Since the German engineers did not have much experience in building metal bodies, options were developed using wooden elements.
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There was a good reason why the Soviet side seriously considered using wood and artificial leather for the manufacture of station wagons and vans. Alas, after the war in the country there was a catastrophic shortage of sheet steel for deep drawing, which, in addition, required special stamps.
Due to the technological features of the use of such materials, the appearance of future two-volume vehicles turned out to be specific - the sidewalls of the body became flat, and the windows in the rear had practically no slope. Nevertheless, the five-door bodies were designed according to all the canons of modern station wagons.
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The cargo van received the index 400-422, and the cargo-passenger version with glazing was designated as 400-421. Alas, unlike his “handyman” colleague, the version with a station wagon body did not go into series for a simple reason - at the end of the forties, officials involved in the automotive industry of the USSR did not fully understand why the consumer needed “neither nothing” - that is, not yet a full-fledged cargo van, but no longer a comfortable passenger car. But the usual Moskvich-400 simply didn’t have a trunk - it didn’t even have access from the outside to the cargo compartment behind the rear seats! Thus, the “four hundredth” Moskvich never became the first Soviet station wagon, giving this glory to the next generation of cars, also made at the Moscow plant of small cars.
fifties
Simultaneously with the creation of the usual Moskvich-402, MZMA also planned to create a cargo-and-passenger station wagon, moreover, a three-door one - that is, devoid of rear side doors, which was explained by unification with a “pure cargo van”. Such a machine was to be used by enterprises of the national economy and those industries that required regular transportation of compact and light loads.
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However, tests of prototypes showed that a three-door body with a rear seat is extremely inconvenient to use. That is why the next prototype, which had already received its own designation Moskvich-423, became a five-door, and the tailgate was made not lifting, and opening to the left side.
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The serial production of the first Soviet station wagon began in 1957, and the van unified with it under the index 432 went into series a year later.
It turned out that with modest external dimensions with the rear seats folded down behind the first row, a platform appeared for transporting goods measuring 1.5x1.2 m and weighing up to 250 kg! At that time, it was considered a real innovation to place the spare wheel in a specially provided niche under the boot floor, although for several decades this solution has been a kind of standard for cars with this type of body. In addition, the car has strengthened the springs.
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Practical operation revealed shortcomings inherent in both a station wagon body and a specific car manufactured by MZMA. First of all, the lack of any isolation of cargo from passengers adversely affected comfort, and when manipulating luggage in winter, the cabin quickly cooled down. Secondly, the threshold of the luggage compartment was almost at a height of 0.8 m, which forced a lot of effort to place a heavy load in the trunk.
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The Soviet consumer accepted the station wagon very favorably, quickly tasting the delights of such a vehicle for transporting both passengers and goods.
At that moment, the all-powerful state intervened in the market: despite the initial absence of a formal ban on the sale of station wagons to private hands, their owners were a meager number of ordinary motorists, and the bulk of the cars, of course, worked in the national economy and other industries that required the transportation of small and light loads .
A year later, in 1958, the model received the “letter” designation Moskvich-423N. Such a station wagon, with minimal external differences, used as a base not a model 402 sedan, but its successor with an index of 407, therefore, from a technical point of view, the car became more perfect - for example, instead of a three-speed gearbox, it received a “four-speed”.
sixties
Since 1961, the same Moskvich-423 began to be produced in a somewhat simplified form: the rear door frames became angular instead of semicircular, and the gutter became solid along the entire roof. However, the innovations in the Moscow station wagon pale in comparison with the main event of the sixties - the start of the production of a station wagon based on the prestigious and inaccessible Volga M-21!
Indeed, in 1962, the production of the GAZ-M-22, a cargo-passenger modification of the base sedan, began. Back in the summer of 1960, specialists from the Gorky Automobile Plant presented the GAZ-22 prototype. With the outward similarity of the front end with the base sedan, the power structure of its rear was completely different, and the roof panel with the rear doors was completely original. The carrying capacity of the station wagon compared to the usual "twenty-first" increased by 75 kg, and the car itself became heavier by 100 kg. Of course, this required the designers to increase the rigidity of the spring sheets, as well as the use of other tires with dimensions of 7.10-15 instead of the standard 6.5-16. Thus, with the rear seat folded down, the universal Volga could carry 400 kg of cargo.
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As in the case of the “four hundredth” Moskvich, the luggage compartment door on the Volga did not rise up, but ... was double-leaf. However, its halves did not open to the sides, but up and down, which made it possible to transport long lengths “on the open board” - for example, boards, pipes or a sofa.
The Volga with a station wagon body was also destined to become an ambulance, because after the ZIM GAZ-12B sanitary modification was discontinued, such cars simply were not produced in the country.
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A characteristic detail: GAZ-22, in principle, was not intended for sale in private hands, not being the so-called consumer goods. That is, just like that, it was impossible to “take and buy” the Volga station wagon in the USSR.
Due to the fact that in the case of the Volga, the capabilities of the station wagon were much higher than the usual sedan, the state once and for all closed the topic of acquiring such cars by ordinary Soviet citizens. However, ordinary residents of 1/6 of the land at that time dreamily looked through the windows of public transport even at the “twenty-first” sedan - what can we say about the station wagon ...
Why, then, in the USSR did they so stubbornly not want to sell station wagons to "private traders"? For a simple reason: in this case, the transportation of goods or small (and paid!) services using equipment that could be delivered “to the place of work” would cease to be a state monopoly.
That is why one of the few private owners of the GAZ-22 was Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin, who bought his station wagon in 1965 for 6,200 rubles. Only thanks to his fame, the universal favorite of the Soviet public was able to get a car with this type of body, the capabilities of which were simply irreplaceable, given the artist's constant travel on tour. In the spacious "hold" of the Volga station wagon were placed both personal items and all the props necessary for work during a performance in the circus.
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It's funny that contemporaries stubbornly called the GAZ-22 "the twenty-first station wagon", not considering it as a separate model.
Only after the “twenty-seconds” honestly worked out their own in state institutions, and the model itself was taken out of production, did “mere mortals” finally have the opportunity to legally purchase and register the Gorky station wagon, albeit in the form of pretty shabby time and machine service. However, "access to the body" of the passenger-and-freight Volga was usually only available to employees of enterprises and persons close to them, therefore, such cars never fell into the random hands of a potential buyer of Zaporozhets.
Let's return to Muscovites. In 1963, on the basis of a new sedan model with the Moskvich-403 index, the production of Moskvich-424 began, which differed from its predecessor in the steering, clutch and brake system units. As with the transition from the 423 to the 423H, the externally upgraded car differed only in some trim elements that the current generation of motorists would not have noticed at all.
