"Malaise" Era Cars

My first car was a '75 Nova (around '90). I learned a lot driving it and it didn't bite me for my stupidity. Never got to changing out the 250 six and three on the tree before I traded it back to the same friend I bought it from for a pair of Rock Shox.

I'm pretty sure I've told that story here before, but it seemed pertinent...

We also had a '77 Pinto wagon which I still think was more fun to drive than it had any right to be, even with the auto trans...

pinchvalve wrote:

Sex. What is it?

93EXCivic wrote:

pinchvalve wrote:

Sex. What is it?

Mirada/Magnum? I want one.

Ransom wrote: In reply to Appleseed: Is that truck wearing these shades? (as an aside, I don't recall ever seeing those shades in the '80s. I think they're part of the waves of stuff which has come out in caricature, more '80s than the '80s even were...)

They were around. I got several pairs at Circus Pizza back in the 80s

mndsm wrote:

93EXCivic wrote:

pinchvalve wrote:

Sex. What is it?

Mirada/Magnum? I want one.

'78-79 Dodge Magnum. Much cooler than the Mirada. I had a Mirada, wanted a Magnum.

I understand the era, but why the term "Malaise?"

Appleseed wrote: Its a good thing. Just you wait.

HAHA!!

mndsm, hoop, and myself were talking about the totally rad neon colors of the late 80s/early 90's.

My mom had an '89 Escort GT that was black. Her boyfriend at the time thought it would be awesome to put Fuchsia accents on it. It definitely got attention.

Going back to Malaise era cars, how many shades of the same color can you put on one car?

It seems most people here have the same idea of malaise as I do but sites for non-enthusiasts like Jalopnik piss me off with their lack of knowledge and outright flaming of 80s cars. Wrote something similar to this below there.

Strike_Zero wrote: Lately, smog era cars have been haunting around in my head. Sure, they may have sucked back in the day, but I think they would scratch my V8 RWD itch on the cheap + be a bit different Mustang II Fairmont Granada Mirada Monza Now only if I can find one from a not so over zealous seller wanting $3k for a rust bucket

I only consider malaise era like 1974-1983. Malaise era cars didn't suck if you bought the right car.

Datsun 240/260/280z, Datsun 510, BMW 2002, Toyota Celica, Triumph TR8, Fiat and Alfa roadsters, Fiat 124 coupe, Ford Capri, i wont go on, you get the idea

You just had to not buy.... american and if you did you had to be intent on modding. Depending what you did buy it may not be reliable but it wasn't malaise.

Generally lots of non malaise stuff before and after. Around the mid 80s most cars were as fast and had better handling than their 1960s equivalents if they were performance orientated aside from offerings from GM... specifically Camaro and Trans Am. Anyone saying a Fox mustang by the time SVO came out was malaise makes me LOL. Might as well call almost car before 1966 malaise if you do that.

heres some food for thought 1987 Ford Mustang GT 0-60 mph 6.4 Quarter mile 14.4 (Automobile April 87)

Malaise well over.

Cars in the 60s were not as fast as people always claim. They were equaled int he 80s aside from certain special edition cars. The malaise era was a very thin strip of years from the middle 70s to the early 80s. I suspect a lot has to do with the inflated horsepower numbers of that era. I would hazard a bet that 1987 302 would have more hp than the pre-malaise 302. 1987 Regal GN Performance 0-60 mph: 6.1 sec; quarter mile: 14.7 sec @ 95.1 mph, 60-0 mph: 149 ft (MT, August 1987). 1984 300ZX Turbo 0-60mph 7.1 (sec)
1/4 Mile 14.7. 1969 Boss 429 Mustang Standing 1/4 mi 14.09 @ 102.85 mph 0-60 7.1

Yeah, all those are in the 14s stock and that ford's most powerful engine from that year in a Mustang. So are they still malaise if they are 0.6 sec slower in a 1/4 mile than fords largest and most performance orientated engine in a mustang from 1969?

Appleseed wrote: I understand the era, but why the term "Malaise?"

Jimmy Carter.

some of you guys have a different idea of what a "malaise" car is than me... yeah, the smaller cars- Mustang 2, Chevette, Monza, etc- came from that era, but in my mind they aren't "malaise" cars... they were the car makers attempting to adjust to the new paradigm of smaller and more fuel efficient cars being increasingly in demand and were offered alongside the increasing girth of the old school behemoths that were the bread and butter of the domestic manufacturers at the time..

to me, a "malaise" car are the left over relics of the "bigger is better" trend that was going on in the late 60's and into the early 70's... cars like the 73-77 GM A bodies (Chevelle, Monte Carlo, etc), full size B bodies (Caprice, LeSabre, etc) up to 76, Ford Thunderbirds and LTD's that were sold up to 1979 or so that had curb weights up around 2.5 tons, Chrysler Cordobas and what not... they were all "bigger and better" chassis that got released to the public just as the gas crunch hit and emissions standards got crazy out of nowhere and as such were out of date the day they hit the showroom floor but they had to sell them because you don't just create all new smaller chassis over night...

i've seen things like Fox body Fairmonts and G body Malibus in this thread, and to me they really don't belong because they were the oem's hastily engineered replacements for the "malaise" dinosaurs. they still had horrible drivetrains when they first came out, but they were an excellent foundation for the technological advances that were coming over the next decade.

Back to Malaise era cars

It looks sooo good in black.

6.1 Hemi Mirada

kanaric wrote: It seems most people here have the same idea of malaise as I do but sites for non-enthusiasts like Jalopnik piss me off with their lack of knowledge and outright flaming of 80s cars. Wrote something similar to this below there.

Strike_Zero wrote: Lately, smog era cars have been haunting around in my head. Sure, they may have sucked back in the day, but I think they would scratch my V8 RWD itch on the cheap + be a bit different Mustang II Fairmont Granada Mirada Monza Now only if I can find one from a not so over zealous seller wanting $3k for a rust bucket

I only consider malaise era like 1974-1983. Malaise era cars didn't suck if you bought the right car. Datsun 240/260/280z, Datsun 510, BMW 2002, Toyota Celica, Triumph TR8, Fiat and Alfa roadsters, Fiat 124 coupe, Ford Capri, i wont go on, you get the idea You just had to not buy.... american and if you did you had to be intent on modding. Depending what you did buy it may not be reliable but it wasn't malaise. Generally lots of non malaise stuff before and after. Around the mid 80s most cars were as fast and had better handling than their 1960s equivalents if they were performance orientated aside from offerings from GM... specifically Camaro and Trans Am. Anyone saying a Fox mustang by the time SVO came out was malaise makes me LOL. Might as well call almost car before 1966 malaise if you do that. heres some food for thought 1987 Ford Mustang GT 0-60 mph 6.4 Quarter mile 14.4 (Automobile April 87) Malaise well over. Cars in the 60s were not as fast as people always claim. They were equaled int he 80s aside from certain special edition cars. The malaise era was a very thin strip of years from the middle 70s to the early 80s. I suspect a lot has to do with the inflated horsepower numbers of that era. I would hazard a bet that 1987 302 would have more hp than the pre-malaise 302. 1987 Regal GN Performance 0-60 mph: 6.1 sec; quarter mile: 14.7 sec @ 95.1 mph, 60-0 mph: 149 ft (MT, August 1987). 1984 300ZX Turbo 0-60mph 7.1 (sec) 1/4 Mile 14.7. 1969 Boss 429 Mustang Standing 1/4 mi 14.09 @ 102.85 mph 0-60 7.1 Yeah, all those are in the 14s stock and that ford's most powerful engine from that year in a Mustang. So are they still malaise if they are 0.6 sec slower in a 1/4 mile than fords largest and most performance orientated engine in a mustang from 1969?

Excellent post, I always get a chuckle when the older generation talks about how fast the cars of their day were with their massive big blocks etc etc. Granted I am sure there were some fast modified cars, but a modern V6 Honda Accord with give most of those cars a run for their money.

More on that Mustang II

Strike_Zero wrote: More on that Mustang II

So much car for 7 grand

Tell me about it!!

It was originally listed for $15k.

I HATE Mustang II's, but that one gave me wood.

volvoclearinghouse wrote: My personal favorite would be a '77 Cordoba. Year of Birth, 360 with gobs of torque, mechanicals are Chrysler parts bin simple and reliable. *insert Corinthian leather joke here* They're also just different enough to be interesting. Watch out for Malaise Mopars, though. They rust. Oh, boy, do they rust. My brother has a '75 Fury, 2 door, 318. Great car, but the rust monster is winning that battle, unfortunately.

Oh hell no. I drove a '78 for a while. It is the epitome of land barge, except if it hit an iceberg, it would shatter it into iceubes and keep on going. I once put out an engine electrical fire with sand and saltwater, then drive it for another few thousand miles before I got around to repairing the damage. The rear leaf spring mounts rusted through the trunk, and I didn't notice driving with the axles on the bump stops. TANK.

Huh?

Appleseed wrote: I understand the era, but why the term "Malaise?"

It means that designers and manufacturers just gave up. I mean, how else do you explain this:

"I finished the design back to the rear quarter windows, but I don't feel like doing any more. Screw it, I'm grabbing a beer. Let the night janitor finish it."

pinchvalve wrote: Huh?

What is this I don't even...

pinchvalve wrote:

Appleseed wrote: I understand the era, but why the term "Malaise?"

It means that designers and manufacturers just gave up. I mean, how else do you explain this: "I finished the design back to the rear quarter windows, but I don't feel like doing any more. Screw it, I'm grabbing a beer. Let the night janitor finish it."

I will see you and raise with the following:

ebonyandivory wrote:

Appleseed wrote: I understand the era, but why the term "Malaise?"

Jimmy Carter.

This.

It isn't an automotive term although we tend to use it the most

WIKI said: When the energy crisis set in, Carter was planning on delivering his fifth major speech on energy; however, he felt that the American people were no longer listening. Carter left for the presidential retreat of Camp David. "For more than a week, a veil of secrecy enveloped the proceedings. Dozens of prominent Democratic Party leaders—members of Congress, governors, labor leaders, academics and clergy—were summoned to the mountaintop retreat to confer with the beleaguered president." His pollster, Pat Caddell, told him that the American people simply faced a crisis of confidence because of the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.; the Vietnam War; and Watergate.[30] On July 15, 1979, Carter gave a nationally-televised address in which he identified what he believed to be a "crisis of confidence" among the American people. This came to be known as his "malaise" speech, although Carter never used the word in the speech

I too consider Malaise cars to be the hangovers of 50's and early 60's tech like the Granada which was pretty much a 1960 falcon underneath. The Dodge Diplomats and whatever else.

The pinto, m2, vega ect. were at least an attempt to make a more modern car.

Appleseed wrote: I understand the era, but why the term "Malaise?"

Read up http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/05/what-about-the-malaise-era-more-specifically-what-about-this-1979-ford-granada/

I think the below should illustrate pretty clearly what we are talking about here:

"Classic" Chevelle:

"Malaise" Chevelle:

"Classic" Charger:

"Malaise" Charger:

"Classic" Torino:

"Malaise" Torino (technically a Torino Elite):