MotorTrend March 1975

Detroit: A Loss of Innocence? Here it is in a nutshell. There is at this writing a 7.8 percent unemployment factor. In numerical terms that is about six million people; and that is a lot. Compared to 1933, one of the worst years of the Great Depression, it is one-fourth as bad. But, this is not 1933. If you take that 7.8 unemployment figure and turn it around, 92.2 percent of our employable workers are working, in actual numbers, higher than at any other time in our history. So, you may ask, “Why are times so bad?” Why are we in a recession sliding into something worse? A fair question. A fair response would be: “In relation to what?” 1930? 1958? or 1973? If you say 1973, then you’ve put…

VOICE FROM THE GRAVE, MAYBE? We at the Old Cars office always get a big kick out of your Hall of Fame nominations. Without fail you come up with yet another funny error in historical accuracy. We’re pretty sure, for instance, that John Dillinger died under FBI guns in July, 1934. It would have been quite a problem for him to praise the 1936 Ford, unless he had an in with Henry and obtained a very early pre-production prototype—which is unlikely, much as Ford admired individualists. Maybe you meant Clyde Barrow. I hope not, he died in 1934, too. Granted, a lot of people did like the 1936 Fords. Franklin D. Roosvelt, for one. He had a specialty-equipped 1936 Phaeton on his estate which he drove himself. Terry BoyceOld Cars…

The Patient Lived, but the Operation Was a Failure Remember the ESV? The Experimental Safety Vehicle. The car you could drive into a wall at 50 miles an hour without mussing your hair. Did you ever wonder what happened to it (or, more properly, them)? Well, like old soldiers, they did not die, they just faded away. Millions of dollars were spent by the government and various auto manufacturers to build cars to satisfy criteria set down by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Department of Transportation. None of the cars were able to perform the functions that safety planners had projected, although they did prove that safe cars were not as easy to build as some had thought. They were all overweight, un-manueverable and, judging by the…

If your license plate appears on this page, you win $10. Here’s how it works: if your plate is shown here, just send a facimile of your car’s registration, verifying that the winning plate is yours. Mail by the last business day of the month of issue to: Lucky License Plates, Motor Trend. 8490 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069. We realize that some of the money in our monthly pots will go unclaimed. So, at the end of the year, the names of all past monthly winners will be thrown into a hat and one will be drawn at random to win the Lucky License Plate Bonus prized This could be as much as $3000 or $4000. Spread the word: The next plate you see may be your own.…

No Bottoming Out Don’t panic, don’t be misled and don’t sell your car. The bottom hasn’t dropped from the collector’s market despite some indications to the contrary. Many months ago we carefully disclosed the two different pricing structures for old cars. Dealers were reselling to dealers at prices far above and beyond those that true enthusiasts were paying. The dealers had field days at the various auctions held throughout the country. The cars changed hands frequently, going from dealer to dealer at speculative prices. As prices climbed, publicity spread and many potential collectors were disheartened. While all this was going on, collectors were still buying, selling, trading and swapping at collector prices, which amusingly enough, on certain models, were less than 25 percent of what the dealers were asking for…

A NICIE AND A FREEBIE We’ll go with the free item first. It is a booklet from Lear Jet stereo that explains. without any commercial plugs. How to Buy a Stereo For Your Car. It covers cartridges versus tapes. peak music power, maintenance. AM radio versus FM radio, et cetera. And after you read their booklet, you should at least look at their products. Like the A-90 indash cartridge tape unit with AM/FM Stereo. It has all necessary controls. 5 watts power channel and a well-finished faceplate. For the booklet or more information on the A-90. write Lear Jet Stereo Inc.. 6868 Plumer Ave.. Tuscon, AZ 85706. BUCKLE UP Here’s a chance to remember the Model T Ford every time you put your pants on. It is a solid bronze…