You laugh… but the ’70s were a golden era for car design. Scratch that—bold car design.
Everything felt heavier back then. The features were outrageously clunky, and the print ads made the average American look like they were either gearing up for a cruise around the world or a shootout with fugitives at a sketchy truck stop. And honestly, it was all so cool.
Why ’70s Cars Had So Much Personality
Wood Panel Station Wagon
READ MORE: Things You’d Find in Your Grandpa’s Garage
Maybe you were crammed into a Chevy wagon for a family road trip, zigzagging down Main Street in your Pinto, or dreaming of the day you’d pick up Marsha in your Camaro after band practice. Cars of the ’70s had a lot of attitude—and so did the print ads (the kind you’d find in your dad’s magazines hidden out in the woodshed).
1974 Ford Pinto Advertisement
READ MORE: Things You’d Find in Your Grandpa’s Garage
Back in the gritty ’70s, safety features were minimal at best, gas was relatively cheap, and the family car not only had wood paneling, but it also had no cup holders (that was what your little brother was for) and a back seat where only pesky Cousin Oliver was allowed to sit.
Sure, the vehicles of today may be sleeker, and even drive themselves (but they still don’t fly!), but not unlike your average McDonald’s, they’ve lost a little bit of that flair that made cars ’70s cars so, well, ’70s.
LOOK: The Best Car Ads of the 1970s in One Nostalgic Gallery
From the Pinto to the Civic, get ready to relive the days of manual windows and two-door wagons as we flip through some of the most iconic car print ads from 1970s magazines.
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
LOOKS: Things You’d Find in Your Grandpa’s Garage
Adventures were plentiful in the domain of your family’s patriarch who saw no use for rules – unless he was the one making them. From rusty tools to a stack of filthy magazines, Grandpa’s garage was a land of mystery and danger.
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
