Why 1970s American Cars are Awful | Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld | Top Gear 

Jeremy talking shit about the style of this car while wearing double denim and a permed mullet is hilarious

Fun Fact: This was the inspiration behind GTA IV's driving physics.

This was filmed in 1994. You can see a billboard for the movie Natural Born Killers in the background at 1:21. That movie came out in August of '94

Agreed, they stank. My dad, a WWII veteran, hated the Japanese and refused to buy anything made by them when we began looking for a new car in Fall 1977. After a long search, he was finally persuaded to enter a Honda dealership, where he inspected the then-new '78 Honda Accord hatchback. Dad, who was an engineer, was so impressed by the car's design, fit-and-and-finish (esp. as compared to the US competition he'd just surveyed) that he ordered one on the spot. We waited 3 months for delivery, but it was indeed an excellent car that lasted us for many years. The Japanese forgot nothing -- even the Owner's Manual was beautiful.

Jeremy actually does a pretty good hillbilly impression lol

These were the cars I learned to drive on. Big heavy boats that were always "tacking" to the left or right. My dad spent his life swearing to never buy a Japanese car, but then the 70s came along and Detroit lost a third of their customers... permanently.

When I was a very young boy, I remember my Grandfather buying these type of cars and remember this one is much smaller than the ones built in the 70's. The people that bought these new at the time were born from 1900 to maybe 1920 so they were far from driving enthusiasts. Now on to this generation chassis, my Dad had a LTD Ford Crown Victoria unmarked police package car in the late 80's that was actually a boatload of fun with the 5.0 small block and stuff cop suspension. It was grey with red vinyl interior. Very cool car.

"we just filled it up, look what it did to this petrol station" 😂 it's gold

70's muscle cars: 1. Sexy to look at. 2. 1.5 miles to the gallon.

The irony of using this Town Car as an example of a 70s barge, is that it first came out in 1981

Dang! a Detroit road without potholes?? What a time to be alive

What’s funny is these cars were actually pretty exceptional when it came to longevity. They are very simple to work on and tend to rust less than earlier 70s and 60s cars. The problem is they have the aerodynamic qualities of a brick and get 20mpg max lol though modern pickups aren’t much better…

I find it funny he is making fun of that car with a haircut like that.

1:17 GTA IV's driving physics in a nutshell

His description of sharing a waterbed with a baboon doused in itching powder was absolutely hilarious

The Brits making fun of American cars is rich, especially when everyone knows what unreliable junk cars the Brits made in the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s (I’m beginning to see a theme here), etc.

Had the "pleasure" of driving one of these a few years ago. Absolutely enormous, especially on english roads. To say that it handles like an 17th century frigate would be an understatement.

Cut to Richard Hammond: This car is brilliant! Whoever designed this knew what they were doing!

I'd drive one of those land yachts in a heartbeat. I grew up around car's like that. In the 70's & 80's if a family had money they had a large American car in the driveway. If not they had a Japanese or Korean car. Back in the 80's my Dad had a Ford LTD with a 351 that was built. That car could tow & lay rubber like nobody's business. Good childhood memories.

I remember the A/C of those cars when you turn it on was like very powerful and felt like below zero temperatures inside. I'm telling my friend back then to turn it down it was so cold. 🥶 😄👍

To be fair, there's a lot of legitimate reasons why the era from about 1974-1983 was called the Malaise era for American cars. Between emissions requirements, the pressure to build cars "cheaper" (like paint that you could buff through with a wet rag without much effort) and the horrific quality control, it's amazing that any US automaker survived.

If you ever absolutely need to drive a couch, the Lincoln Town Car was that couch. And it was bliss.

I had an 89 Town Car 🚘 , it was FABULOUS ✅

I remember watching this as a kid in the 90s and believing the suspension really was this bad and it wasn't just him wiggling the steering wheel as he drove and people off camera pushing the car up and down at 1:05.

In most Villages in England that would block the whole road

I love these big old cars, it's like a living room on wheels 😂

That car likely needs a suspension overhaul for a fair representation. It likely needs control arm bushings, sway bar bushings and shocks by the looks of it. Then it would ride reasonably well.

I have owned a 1972 Pontiac Grandville, a 1974 Ford LTD, and a 1976 Buick Electra; all of them monstrous and gigantic cars, and I loved it. There's nothing like gliding by someone in a smaller car while they nervously eye the sheer mass of your vehicle passing them. You can't beat the feeling of invincibility driving one of these cars as you glide along the expressway, feeling and hearing nothing. Never mind that maneuvering one of these is like steering the titanic, or that filling the tank could bankrupt you; these cars were made for one purpose, to provide status to the owner.

Oddly enough, I bet James May would love that car.

"Got me a car an it's as big as a whale, and we're about to set sail"

I had one of those Town Cars -- a 1983 model. I loved that car, I ran that thing until the electrical system was so messed up that it needed a complete new electrical harness. Since that job is tedious and expensive (and the car had over 250K miles on it) I finally replaced the car. The engine and transmission were still in excellent condition, if the electrical hadn't failed I would probably have put another 50K miles on it.

I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s so I have a fondness for cars of that era. What I really miss are the full size personal luxury cars: Thunderbird, Cougar, Continental, Cordoba, Coupe de Ville. By the late 70’s they were underpowered though.

You know the irony is, well besides that British cars of the 70's were also complete crap, was that Britain actually did make a car with a square wheel.

The Mullett really makes the Hillbilly impression sing.

So, my first car (given to me by my uncle) was a 1978 Chrysler LeBaron. This was a V-8, 455 (I think). The hood stuck out 7 feet from the front windshield. My mom tried driving it and hated it. Its gas mileage was so bad, that one day after driving it on the highway, I told my dad I thought there was a hole in the gas tank. He laughed, and said 'yeah, the one that the fuel line is connected to!' In idle (when starting it up, but before touching the gas pedal), I could switch it into Drive and get up to 40 mph in it.

I have had one of these (a 1987 model) as my daily driver for almost 7 years now and it has absolutely been the most amazing car I've ever owned. Slow, but reliable, comfortable, and a pleasure to drive

That's not a 70's Town Car though. More like a mid-80's model. A 79 Town Car was even bigger.

They were called “boats” for a reason...

one of my best friends (malice-risu) had a 1970 Lincoln Continental. I actually found a Faygo can from 1969 under the trunk, duct tape on the fuel line, and a notecard inside the rearview mirror.

That particular model was built between 1985 and 1989. It was also available as a stretch limousine. I dare you to find a more elegant looking car today.

It’s one of the cars Danny DeVito would try to sell in Matilda.

Fun fact: the square wheel ended up being made by the British for the austin allegro...

We traveled the country in our '78 Olds Ninety Eight... mom, dad, 4 kids. And we never complained about being squished or not having enough space to climb around and play... including in the back deck! Seatbelts were tucked securely into the seat crack so as not to be in our way as we rolled along at 90mph! Long live BIG CARS!

I love your stuff, but that is an eighties model Lincoln. 70's were much larger. Keep in mind, those big cars were designed for long highway cruising in the USA, bringing you the comfort of your living room, on the highway.

1970s engineer: "Damnit Myrtle I can't figure out how to make the wheel square... Round wheel ruins the whole car" Tesla engineer: "hold my beer"

I own a 1988 Lincoln Town Car and these are one of the best cars ever produced in America/Canada. The Panther platform was produced for over 30 years. They can run for 300k miles easily.

0:53 i got me a square dials i got me a square dash i got me a square body, BUT THE WHEEL IS CIRCULAR 💀

Jeremy: American cars are overweight and undersprung. Me: So am I.

My father had a thing for big 70's boats, I took my drivers test in a 77 Malibu Wagon, the great thing was you weren't all sitting on top of each other, and you didn't need a truck for everything, between that Malibu and 78 Mercury Marquis we hauled a lot of stuff and towed an 18 foot boat no problem.

My 88 Town Car never swayed like that. The body on this one is just riding on the coils.

"If you can imagine sharing a bed with a baboon doused in itching powder...." 😂

Even though it ended badly for his company, the build quality concerns Jeremy mentioned were among the many reasons John DeLorean left General Motors to found his own. He felt the two biggest investments in your life are your house and your car. The house should last your entire life and so should your car...but back then in the 70s domestically produced cars were barely lasting four years and that's when he felt like he didn't want to be a part of it anymore.

Me: Innocently watching a video. Jeremy Clarkson: "sharing a waterbed with a baboon doused in itching powder." ☠

Its funny how the brits call our cars bad when yet their cars are 100 times worse for reliability and build quality

Call me crazy but there's nothing I love more than cars from the 70s and 80s that had that crazy body roll

Most cars are designed to work for a specific area. In the 70s, alot of America was nothing but long roads with big cities hundreds of miles apart. So a nice comfortable car to sit in for those long rides was ideal.

"Dammit myrtle" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I had a 77 Lincoln continental, I'm 6' 4" and could lay on the hood and my heels just hit the end of the hood with the top of my head on the top trim, had a 7.5 L 460 cubic inch monster under that huge hood, got about 5 miles a gallon if I hit the gas hard, it was a monster

Strange because the just look so absolutely badass, I wish we made cars like this in the UK.

I miss when cars dont all look like eggs with no sharp edges

The great American manufacturers had mafioso, hustlers, pimps and all other entrepreneurial endeavors in mind. Style and plenty of trunk space.

My parents owned Town Cars, Fully loaded ones from Signature, Presidential and Executive Series. They had one even with a factory option cell phone in the center console.All the way back to the older body style then this. Were awesome cars. L earned to drive in one. They handled like a dream,and plenty of power. Wish I could come across one in that kind of shape again

1:17 GTA IV suspension physics be like

He should have a 78 Lincoln instead of an 86 if he's gonna be talking about 70s cars

"it's circular, it ruins the whole car" ahahahahahh

Buddy of mine purchased a 1988, or 89 (I cant remember tbh) a Crown Vic LTD, basically a dummied down version of this car in a way. It has the 5.0 liter motor out of the mustang, but its not geared the same way which would be expected. And it has the interior you'd expect; red maroon color fabric seating, and plastic wood grain interior paneling. It looks and feels cheap. But you know what? It was one of the most fun vehicles Ive ever been a passenger in, and I dont know why. He let me drive it for a few minutes, and the brakes of all things surprised me, it was as soft as pillows. As many sports and luxury cars Ive been in, this was the most fun ride Ive ever had, playing the song Stylo, in the Baltimore Beltway at 2am in the morning, seeing the city in the background

Not only were those Old cars Too Heavy, but they still had Carburetors and Distributors, insead of EFI paired with an Engine Control Unit. Nowadays, even the automatic transmission is usually computer controlled. Emission control further reduced efficiency and power-but is Crucial for the Environment. My Late Father wanted Mother and Me to learn to drive the Ford Fiesta (Manual) but we Both Wimped Out. I'm a Dude, and I had enough trouble in Driver's Ed with an automatic. The Fiesta, you see; was quite efficient for its' time. The Diesel Rabbit was stingy, Too, but those have Dirty exhaust fumes.

I'd love to drive my old 1975 Chevy Impala again. It was massive - a "boat" as many would call it - and seemed to just float on the highway. So comfortable. But so thirsty for gasoline.😌

🤷🏻 grew up in Canada, when I was growing up those things were everywhere, pretty comfortable, road nice, was powerful for its time. We called them boats. Lol

Away from the east coast, American roads were long and straight, with great distances to cover. Not a lot of corner carving, in other words, and very few obstacles or tight situations. Thus, an enormously spacious castle on wheels made perfect sense in light of the task being performed. It didnt transfer well to the Boston/NYC corridor however, or Europe. But those areas were not the customer base at that time.

There were a few exceptions, but he's generally right. I'll take a late '70s Cadillac Seville though.

I worked as a car mechanic in the late 1960's and 1970's and I have to say he is correct about 1970's cars. Especially General Motors products. I don't know what went on with GM but the 60's cars were cool and 70's GM cars were junk and ugly.

Titled "1970s American Cars" Shows a review on a 1980s Lincoln

As a new driver in the 1970s I used to wonder why Kojak's car used to bounce up and down long after he's stopped. I borrowed my uncle's Thunderbird in the early 1990s and had to stop twice for a cooling session when coming down a moderate but very long sloping zig-zag road because the brakes started to smell bad every time I came to a hairpin bend.

To be honest I like the waterbed feeling of the suspension. How many new cars are there today where you will start pizzing blood merely by going too fast over a manhole cover?

I actually love cars that look like that. And Jeremy making fun of people's hair with that monstrosity. 😂

If I’m honest, I actually like those cars.

Cars up thru the mid 80s were great not because the quality was very good, it wasn't, but they could be fixed and for low cost. Todays rolling computers leave you at the mercy of the stealership when they die, which they do too often. Old cars had carbs and distributors which would generally get you home if there was a problem. If not then sorting out the problem wasn't hard to do. Hooray for old cars, down with new cars.

That Lincoln is amazing. He's wrong about it.

You did not drive a Lincoln Town Car - you just pointed it. Drove like a tuna boat.

Back when Jeremy's hair was all one color.....

You think we didn't already know that? The 70's were a trainwreck for the American auto industry!

Went to college in 1979 with the 3-year-old Buick LeSabre. It was a fantastic and comfortable car. Who cares about the suspension? I was able to pile most of my dorm into the car for road trips. Never paid for gas at the time because I demanded my friend's chip in. Kept that car for 12 years. The beauty of that car was while it was dying at the end of its life span there were so many specialty products that could be bought in the Auto store that could keep it running just a little longer. Engine treatments, feelings, etc. Enough room to work on the engine with limited skills. It's sad that many teenagers and young men will never have that experience today because they're so obsessed with technology. What a joy to own a big American car and explore one's first taste of freedom.

This car would look so much better with the square steering wheel from the allegro!

Those huge cars were so much fun to drive and were great for "sleeping" in 😉

My dad used his lincoln to pull out a tree in our front yard. Crazy power, awesome car

Little do they know, that is a 1981 Lincoln Town Car they were driving, and dissed a GOOD car. Lol

0:46 - I like that ‘American’ accent :)

Ah yes, talk about American's hairs in the 70s when you yourself have an afro mullet.

The super soft suspension makes sense when you realize the speed limit when this car was designed and built was 55mph. There's no point in sacraficing ride comfort for performance under those conditions.

Cars before 1990 had such loose steering they were impossible to drive in a straight line down the highway without weaving from side to side and struggling to stay in your lane. But I loved how comfortable cars were back then and soft the suspensions were.

"Damn it, Myrtle!" LOL

That is not a late 70's town car. It is '85 or later, look at the tail lamps.

I had a 1975 Ford Econoline Van with the 351 Windsor engine, one of the best engines ever made and a solid van to this day. Regretted trading it for a Cadillac Seville with what turned out to be a bad alternator.

70’s American cars were stylish! 🎉 Too bad, American cars nowadays don’t have beautiful lines and curves, characters anymore and have forgotten their traditions… But profit first; quality and people last. 😢

I worked on a few cars like this now and again in Australia in the late 60's and the 70's. They were absolutely unbelievable, massive. We could hardly get them into the workshop. Drove like crap, stopped like crap, handled like crap. Having said that, I would love to get hold of one today, make a great project car to restore, a time machine.

Thumbnail for "Why '70s American cars were awful.." Shows an 80's car.

I only know these cars from old American TV shows I watched in the 80s. pure nostalgia for something I have never seen on European streets

Love how people say they will not purchse a japanese car, yet never do thney look at the sticker and see where the parts of their GM, Ford Dodge come from. assembled in the USA

"I bet the part in his hair was something to behold as well." Probably the best description of Ford's Vehicle Division President and Secretary of Defense under Kennedy Robert McNamara ever.