I appreciate them. They were conceived during a time of Bigger Is Better, then emissions dictates and bumper laws (insurance lobby) were hastily applied using the existing technology & suppliers. Fine, we squeaked through the emissions testing but we only get 12 MPG. Enter October '73 oil embargo. While we're at it, lets throw a universally despised ignition-starter-interlock on for '74 (we didn't use it in Canada). I don't blame the carmakers, I blame the government's capricious 11th hour dictates for high-jacking car making as it existed.

As much as they were panned and maligned, there were some actual tough cars. Handling and braking was becoming more important (though there were also some real mush-mobiles back then). I'd love a '74 Malibu or Laguna S-3 454 4-speed. There were some unique Canadian versions, like the L48 350 without a smog pump (in '74!).

Concerning graphics, some cars were just way over the top (Cobra II), but today finding one is almost Kitsch . I remember a Mustang II King Cobra catching my attention, and yes, I know what real cars are.

To this day, many people fail to differentiate between gross & net horsepower ratings, and so they think that a 454 went from 365 to 245 horsepower overnight. It's just running on the dyno stripped and optimized vs. running it with normal parasitic losses (air cleaner, exhaust, accessories).

A '74 AMX or Javelin, anything Pontiac with a 4-barrel 400 or better, the last of the Stage 1 Buicks, 360 high-perf Road Runners & 'Cudas, the Z28, Ford's underrated CJ-351, any Mopar 440, all gave good account of themselves, all things considered. The SD-455 was total counter-culture by '74. Also the '78 L'il Red Truck was the hottest of '78.

It was at this point that European cars with their smaller displacement engines and use of fuel injection gave them a more appropriate solution for many. Meanwhile U.S. carmakers carried on with old paradigms combined with new laws, yech.