Mid Sized cars of the Late 1970s

[@davidallen5776]

I would always gravitate toward the Chevelle and Cutlass during those years!

[@thehopelesscarguy]

The Cutlass might be the best looking, perhaps explaining its sales success.

[@toddbonin6926]

Dear HCG, thank you for your diligence and excellent research. I’m learning so much from your channel. This really is excellent!!!!

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Glad to hear it.

[@billolsen4360]

You gotta be the most exhaustive researcher on the net for classic automobiles. You even include Italian models that never saw North America unless some serviceman hauled one back home from base housing in either northern Italy or from West Germany! 17:47 I recall when 4-Door Honda Accords hit the streets in the US. People treated it like manna from heaven.

[@DavidHall-ge6nn]

I click the second I see a new post from you. I am never disappointed. Thanks for putting this together!

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Always glad to see you are still hang'n around.

[@rogergoodman8665]

I love your channel, keep going brother!!!

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Thanks.

[@denislandry7577]

Well done , could you do a video on mini trucks? Like the Mazda ford courier , Chevy luv, dodge d-50 …. + more , I would love to see that , cause with a lot of work , you do so well ❤

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Thanks. I have touched on mini-trucks from time to time and I'm sure something more in depth will be coming along at some point.

[@jamesdaniels3699]

Dad had Buick century special, I loved that car.Blue and white top.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Cool.

[@JimmyShields-z2h]

You miss Holden Commodore VB in 78, Ford Falcon XD in 79 n Australian Leyland P76 in 73.

[@OLDS98]

Thank you for the excellent video. Thank you for putting this together with the photos. Thank you for showing the world. The interesting thing about the Ford and GM midsized cars, that became the full sized cars staring in the late 1970's when they downsized. It is interesting how the definition keeps changing. When midsized cars got smaller in the 1980's, GM went smaller with the full sized cars and made a mistake and had to upsize in the late 1980's and early 1990's. The funny thing is the B Bodies at GM got larger in the 1990's. The last Charger and Chrysler 300 were considered large cars when clearly they are midsized cars. It is interesting in 2024 a midsized Honda Accord is considered large today and it is long as a downsized 1985-1991 GM H or C Body car. We do not have any American sedans in the United States anymore other than Dodge Charger. That is the sad part. Thank you for sharing Holden and Ford Australia.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

I think this was a very awkward time for cars in the U.S.. Sizes were peaking at both ends of the spectrum and prices were climbing faster than buyers could keep track, but still sales were high.

[@OLDS98]

@@thehopelesscarguy There was a lot of change because the fuel issues and policy changes. It was an adjustment in the late 1970's. I know GM did downsizing in 1977-1979. They refined the styling in 1980-1981. Ford downsized in 1979-1980. They refined in 1982-1985. Chrysler really went down after the R Bodies were dropped. The midsized M bodies became their full size. They sold a lot of cars indeed. They did in the late 1970's and then that recession in the early 1980 and things started getting back on track in 1982. The biggest victim of downsizing? Pontiac Bonneville. It went from B Body to G Body in 1982.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@OLDS98 Not to mention all the shuffling. Car like the Granada and Diplomat and Seville sort of ignored size conventions when introduced and the market downsized around them.

[@OLDS98]

@@thehopelesscarguy That is so very true. Like the example I gave about Pontiac Bonneville. It was a full sized B body in 1981. It went to midsized G Body in 1982-1986, then back up to full-sized downsized H Body in 1987. The funny thing is the 1982-1986 G Body was longer than the downsized 1987-1991 H Body and the G Body had a bigger trunk also. So in reality the downsized C, H, and E bodies during the downsized era at GM were technically midsized and not full-sized. You are not joking about all the shuffling. The Seville 1992-1997 was longer than the H Body full-sized cars. They were 200-202 inches long. Seville which was supposed to be midsized was 204 inches long and on a longer wheelbase. There are so many examples of what you stated. That M Body Diplomat/Gran Fury/Fifth Avenue were classified a midsized and by the early 1980's were called full-sized. I know the Fifth Avenue was called Le Baron Fifth Avenue and and became New Yorker Fifth Avenue. I recall back in the day when they thought the full sized car was dying in the early 1980's. GM already had plans to do that big downsizing they did. That started in the very late 70's. The G Bodies were supposed to become the large rear drive cars. That is why Pontiac switch Bonneville to G Body and the car we know as the four door Cutlass Supreme was supposed to become the Eighty-Eight. None of that happened as the switched to front wheel drive. The same thing happened at Ford too. Those Fox Body LTD and Marquis were supposed to replace Grand Marquis and LTD. That is why the LTD became LTD Crown Victoria. As we know, that did not happen and Taurus and Sable replaced them as midsized cars. That was supposed to be the large car. The Continental in 1988 that was based on Taurus was supposed to replace Town Car. As we know it did not. It became Continental. Yes, what you said is indeed true.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@OLDS98 And the G body Century became the Regal sedan, and the Parisienne brought back the bigger car and so one. Reminds me of the "bungee boss", quick change everything before someone else is put in charge.

[@woxyroxme]

I had a 1978 Plymouth Fury when I got my drivers license in 1979, car got 12 MPG with a 318 and gas was $1.35/gallon, $20 got you half a tank and I rarely drove anywhere further than the drive in movie theater in my town

[@bparksiii6171]

Thanks for showing the cars from my late teenage young adult years. Had to compare the Isuzu Florian to the Chevy LUV, the car front doors and windshield are the same as the truck and i assume they used the same dash, interior pieces and drive train and car front half. Drove a Chevy LUV for a company truck, it was a fun to drive truck.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Earlier Florians even had the same front styling. I'm really glad that facelift didn't carry over to the truck.

[@courtneypuzzo2502]

some of these are pretty well known amongst those of us that are classic/antique car aficionados.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

I would think so.

[@Scottj2011]

I think some of those Dodge monacos or Plymouth satellites from about 1975 were the cop cars on the dukes of Hazzard

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Many were, which might explain what happened to many of them.

[@woxyroxme]

They were all 1977 or 1978 Dodge Monacos

[@Scottj2011]

@@woxyroxme they did have the AMC a little bit early on

[@HershelSchneider]

Found it hard considering them mid size back then. They looked full size to me.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Until you parked next to an actual full size.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@bradkay For comparison.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@bradkay And yet people did.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@bradkay Do you think that people that purchased foreign cars for the first time did so without considering the market they had previously purchased from? Not that it matters, as many viewers appreciated the inclusion of all the cars and not including them for the few that found stopping when they lost interest too complicated, is not how I choose to run my channel.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@bradkay Loosing crybabies it don't get their way is no loss.

[@pdennis93]

3:21 What we're dealin' with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.

[@youtubecarspottersguide1]

give me a dioblo sandwich and doctor pepper

[@pdennis93]

@@youtubecarspottersguide1 hushpuppies daddy!

[@calvincrews3885]

Couldn’t choose between the Chrysler B body Midsize Ford or GM A body models even AMC and Jaguar as well

[@youtubecarspottersguide1]

ford granada / mercury monarch was mid size 75-79

[@LlyleHunter]

They were classified as compacts based on their interior dimensions

[@joellamoureux7914]

A sprint for 9500 pounds? That sounds wrong

[@thehopelesscarguy]

That is supposedly the high end, but it does seem like a lot.

[@petertornabeni602]

Leave it to Ford to have the style and big underpowered V8 . . Those were good engines but dammit - they were choked out by a sumo-wrestler. No power !!

[@youtubecarspottersguide1]

smog and heavy front and rear bumpers

[@MikeV-t7o]

These midsize cars could tow 5000 lbs were stylish but not fuel ⛽ efficient Now they could make them better in both respects instead we have heavy Crossovers that can't tow 6000 lb electric alternatives or Behemoth SUV's that get similar horrible gas ⛽ mileage

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Yep.