To further complicate matters, I would propose the automotive era known as "malaise" be subdivided into 3 periods:
EARLY MALAISE: from the start of "SAE Net" HP ratings until about 1975. Still some performance, models largely based on pre-malaise designs, emissions and crash requirements just starting to take effect.
DEEP MALAISE: 1975 until 1980. Worst of the worst. Smog carburetors, single-digit compression, railroad-tie sized bumpers, and all the vinyl padding and opera windows they could fit. Giant, poofy, and slow. Only bright side is the widespread use of disc brakes and electronic ignition.
LATE MALAISE: birth of fuel injection and the attendant teething issues. Smaller, lighters cars prevail. 1980 until 1985 or so- the Grand National being the sign post marking "end of malaise".
volvoclearinghouse said:
To further complicate matters, I would propose the automotive era known as "malaise" be subdivided into 3 periods:
EARLY MALAISE: from the start of "SAE Net" HP ratings until about 1975. Still some performance, models largely based on pre-malaise designs, emissions and crash requirements just starting to take effect.
DEEP MALAISE: 1975 until 1980. Worst of the worst. Smog carburetors, single-digit compression, railroad-tie sized bumpers, and all the vinyl padding and opera windows they could fit. Giant, poofy, and slow. Only bright side is the widespread use of disc brakes and electronic ignition.
LATE MALAISE: birth of fuel injection and the attendant teething issues. Smaller, lighters cars prevail. 1980 until 1985 or so- the Grand National being the sign post marking "end of malaise".
Big bumpers started showing up in 1974. 1975 was the first year for wide use of catalytic converters, and they hadn't yet figured out how to make them work well yet. I think 1975 was about when they started putting seat belt interlocks and buzzers in cars too, so the older folks who were used to stuffing the belts behind the seat and never using them were upset. 
1977 was when GM downsized their full size cars, some of those were quite attractive. Around 1977 or 1978 was also when GM started to sneak different brand engines into cars (for instance, some Pontiacs had Olds or Buick engines).
In reply to stuart in mn :
My '74 Plymouth Satellite had the seat belt interlock "feature". I thought I'd disabled it, but every few months the car would just refuse to start for some reason, and I'd have to push this little red reset button under the hood.
Yes, the GM downsizing in '77, to me, marked the turning point in the malaise era. Ford's going to the Panther and Fox platforms around '79 or 80, and Chrysler finally abandoning it's full-size yachts, was it gaining steam.
Seems to me that the Camaro was one of the few who wore the "railroad tie" bumper well. I count the '74 - '77 as one of the better looking ones of all time. Yes, some say I'm weird.
In reply to A 401 CJ :
I'd tend to agree with you.
Back in the early 2000's when I had my '74 Satellite, I lived in an apartment complex. Another guy there had a '77 Camaro. Our cars were almost the exact same color- green on green- and we used to make sure they were parked next to each other in the complex parking lot. Many a Saturday we were both out there, cleaning or working on our malaise-mobiles, much to the chagrin of the apartment complex management.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
Let's see if that stands the Jaguar test. 71-74 V12's 4 carbs each with 1 &3/4 throats. Same for 6 cylinder except only 2 carbs each with 1 3/4 inch throats.
75-80 fuel injection.
80-85. Improved fuel injection high compression 11.5-1
In reply to frenchyd :
Malaise era applies generally to the US model cars. Cars were suffering from poorly engineered emissions and safety features by automakers whose attitude was primarily "Berk them, what are people going to do, buy Toyotas? Just make the cars bigger and add more fake leather" And then people proceeded to buy Toyotas...
volvoclearinghouse said:
To further complicate matters, I would propose the automotive era known as "malaise" be subdivided into 3 periods:
EARLY MALAISE: from the start of "SAE Net" HP ratings until about 1975. Still some performance, models largely based on pre-malaise designs, emissions and crash requirements just starting to take effect.
DEEP MALAISE: 1975 until 1980. Worst of the worst. Smog carburetors, single-digit compression, railroad-tie sized bumpers, and all the vinyl padding and opera windows they could fit. Giant, poofy, and slow. Only bright side is the widespread use of disc brakes and electronic ignition.
LATE MALAISE: birth of fuel injection and the attendant teething issues. Smaller, lighters cars prevail. 1980 until 1985 or so- the Grand National being the sign post marking "end of malaise".
Yes. This. I was coming here to talk about the late 70s/early 80s and even early 90s malaise.
Talk about disappearing acts. Where did these go? I understand they were abysmally awful, but given the sheer millions of examples that were around in the 80s/90s, I would expect to see at least a few on the road or even in junkyards.
I was just thinking about how G-body coupes and sedans (Buick Regal, Olds Cutlass Brougham, Chevy Malibu, etc.) were EVERYWHERE when I started driving in the late-'80s. They were the beige Camry of my college years.
I literally cannot remember the last time I saw one on the road. It's been at least a decade.
In reply to LanEvo :
Maybe its because they became "collectors."
I see them all the time in build threads, garages, and classified ads for 5 times what they're worth.
In reply to Curtis73 :
They all rusted and died.
I do see some rare early SHOs on occasion.
Knurled. said:
In reply to frenchyd :
Malaise era applies generally to the US model cars. Cars were suffering from poorly engineered emissions and safety features by automakers whose attitude was primarily "Berk them, what are people going to do, buy Toyotas? Just make the cars bigger and add more fake leather" And then people proceeded to buy Toyotas...
Sort of. Japanese and German cars of the 70's were pretty terrible, too, just less so than American cars. I had a 1980 Mercedes 450SL. That pig made like 160 HP out of a 4.5 liter V8, and barely got 14 mpg. And the maze of vacuum lines and other emissions related crap were a mainenance nightmare.
Japanese cars rusted back to the Earth before they had a chance to break down. But while they were still more steel than iron oxide, they were a glimmer of light.
In reply to Curtis73 :
A case could be made that the malaise era finally ended in 1996, when OBDII came out.
A neighbor had a Beretta up until last year. It was a "rare" GTU edition, and well kept. She finally sold it; it it hadn't been an automatic transmission car I might have bought it.
Vigo
MegaDork
1/15/20 10:25 a.m.
I will absolutely take a Corsica LTZ v6/5spd. It may not be a good car but it's right up my alley. I actually think the Corsica is a really good looking car in its era.
Or insert Beretta parts (which i thought was a less good car because of its doors and seatbelts):
noddaz said:
Those have not been affordable for quite some time. 
True - but in relative terms it would cost me 2 to 3 times what my 74 is worth to buy an earlier 'non-malaise' T/A in similar condition. I'll admit to preferring the look of the earlier cars too - but not enough to warrant the extra dollars. Plus I can actually drive my 'malaise' version without having to worry about putting miles on it, or getting the occasional stone chip or scratch.
In reply to pontiacstogo :
Maybe this is why the current youth all have $600+ phones and not cars.
In my late teens we had Hot rods and Sports cars that were 10-15 years old and we could sneer at our parents station wagons with the fake wood sides.
But Millenials only had the cost cutting cast offs with tepid performance at best.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
Looking at Jaguars of the era they actually were decent compared to everything else. 260 - 290 horsepower doesn't sound like much today but looking at the same era Corvette or anything else it was 100 horsepower more.
The complexity of the fuel injection was the same as VW rabbits ( only with 3 sets instead of one)
In reply to frenchyd :
Comparing Bostonians to Nikes. The XJS was twice the price of the Corvette in the late 70's.
frenchyd said:
In reply to pontiacstogo :
Maybe this is why the current youth all have $600+ phones and not cars.
In my late teens we had Hot rods and Sports cars that were 10-15 years old and we could sneer at our parents station wagons with the fake wood sides.
But Millenials only had the cost cutting cast offs with tepid performance at best.
Millenials had sport compacts. It is their kids who would rather have a smartphone. Or a brodozer.
Curtis73 said:
volvoclearinghouse said:
To further complicate matters, I would propose the automotive era known as "malaise" be subdivided into 3 periods:
EARLY MALAISE: from the start of "SAE Net" HP ratings until about 1975. Still some performance, models largely based on pre-malaise designs, emissions and crash requirements just starting to take effect.
DEEP MALAISE: 1975 until 1980. Worst of the worst. Smog carburetors, single-digit compression, railroad-tie sized bumpers, and all the vinyl padding and opera windows they could fit. Giant, poofy, and slow. Only bright side is the widespread use of disc brakes and electronic ignition.
LATE MALAISE: birth of fuel injection and the attendant teething issues. Smaller, lighters cars prevail. 1980 until 1985 or so- the Grand National being the sign post marking "end of malaise".
Yes. This. I was coming here to talk about the late 70s/early 80s and even early 90s malaise.
Talk about disappearing acts. Where did these go? I understand they were abysmally awful, but given the sheer millions of examples that were around in the 80s/90s, I would expect to see at least a few on the road or even in junkyards.
My parents only bought one new car that I can remember in my entire life. I do remember an 84ish Dodge truck that might've been new, but I just don't remember. The only new car I know for sure was an 88 Chevy Corsica like pictured above. I remember crawling all over that car as it seemed so much nicer than all the hand-me-down American boats we'd had before it. Also it was a 5-speed which I thought was super cool. I learned to drive on that car. I have fond memories of it, but man it was not a good car. If I remember right the 4 cylinder engine was pretty decent, but the rest of the car was sub-standard. Like so much so that I think my 74 Mazda truck has a much better build quality. I vividly remember the rear exterior door handles just pulling out of the door on several occasions. My parents are rough on cars, and do absolutely zero maintenance even to this day. The Corsica I remember them having for quite a while, but I think it was falling apart before the loan was up.
I’ve owned a Celebrity and a Corsica. While I liked my late-70’s GM cars more, I’d say the newer ones were far better daily drivers, and less prone to breaking down.
My first car was an 83 Celebrity. Suspension tune was somewhere between 62 Cadillac and a marshmellow. 2.8L V6 made 125hp.
Second car was a 91 Beretta GT. 3.1L made 140hp and the Getrag 5 speed wasn't awful. I really liked the lines and interior of that car.
Curtis73 said:
My first car was an 83 Celebrity. Suspension tune was somewhere between 62 Cadillac and a marshmellow. 2.8L V6 made 125hp.
Second car was a 91 Beretta GT. 3.1L made 140hp and the Getrag 5 speed wasn't awful. I really liked the lines and interior of that car.
My celebrity was an 88, so I suspect the ride was the same, but I had the fuel injected V6. The Corsica was a 90, so a 3.1, but still had the 3 speed automatic. Biggest issue with the Celebrity was the gearing, as it did not like doing 70+ on Oklahoma highways. Was definitely built for 55 MPH speed limits. The Corsica just had a tendency to eat wheel bearings, but since I was rallycrossing it at the time, I'm not going to put the blame on GM. Imports were still better. Heck, my parent's first year Ford Taurus was better.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
I think that Camaro hits the sweet spot. Old enough to be collectible, stylish enough to be popular, yet common enough to have virtually unlimited access to parts and, if desired, upgrades. It will never be worth less than it is now, as long as it is maintained in decent shape.
