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• 1974 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia [Down On The Street]

  Welcome to Down On The Street , where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. When we had the quasi-abandoned '70 Karmann Ghia last month, I got a flood of emails from rusty-state readers who were aghast that such a rare car would be allowed to go to The Crusher. Thing is, Karmann Ghias aren't at all rare around here; I've been passing today's car- which is located just a few blocks from my house- for months and months, figuring I'd get around to shooting it one of these days. And here it is! This one might not be a '74, but the bumpers place it somewhere in the Malaise Era. It's a Beetle under the skin, but for some crazy reason the sporty Karmann Ghia actually weighs more than the utilitarian Beetle: 1,919 versus 1,831 pounds. Both cars got the 46-horsepower 1600 engine. Yes, US emission-control regulations were tough on the air-cooled VW. The price tag on the Karmann Ghia was pretty nice for a... Posted Nov 18 2008, 01:00 AM by Jalopnik Filed under: Alameda, Down On The Street, Volkswagen, Vw, malaise, 1974, Karmann Ghia, 1970s, Malaise Era, Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, 1974 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

• 1974 Buick LeSabre Luxus Convertible, With Bonus Convertible Poll [Down On The Street]

  Welcome to Down On The Street , where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. After seeing some kind of weird foreign wagon yesterday, we're going to return to good ol' vintage Detroit iron today. Yes, before The General got all innovative with electron-powered machinery, he was building two-ton cruisers that didn't just park- they dropped anchor. This one is a '74 Buick LeSabre, a car that told OPEC it didn't give a damn about the 1973 Oil Crisis ! I found this car on the same block as the Studebaker Avanti , '69 Buick , and the '65 Ranchero . The Luxus was the high-end LeSabre for '74, and it came standard with a snazzy steering wheel, special hubcaps, and a vinyl notchback seat. The convertible sold for $4,696, about 50 bucks less than the '74 Caprice Classic convertible. Yes, the big Chevy convertible cost more than the big Buick convertible! This example is in great shape, either a low... Posted Sep 18 2008, 02:00 AM by Jalopnik Filed under: Alameda, Down On The Street, malaise, 1974, Buick, Convertible, LeSabre, Malaise Era, 1974 Buick LeSabre, Le Sabre

• 1974 Chevrolet Nova [Down On The Street]

  Welcome to Down On The Street , where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Today's car is a model that you'd expect to find on the island in large numbers, given the sheer quantities sold, but that's not the case. In fact, this is only the fifth Chevy Nova (we've had a '63 , a '70 , a '74 , and a '77 so far) in this series. Why so many more Dodge Darts then Chevy Novas? I think the answer lies partly in the incredible durability of the Slant Six and partly in the simple equation [Nova + Junkyard Small-Block + Cheap Beer = Oblivion] . Yes, when you have a car that takes the engine with the best power-to-money ratio in the world as a bolt-in, you figure there won't be many left in a hoon-friendly area like the East Bay after a few decades. Still, this refrigerator-white '74 (which lives just around the corner from the '69 Volvo P1800 ) has beaten the odds, looking like it just rolled... Posted Sep 12 2008, 02:00 AM by Jalopnik Filed under: Chevrolet, Alameda, Down On The Street, malaise, 1974, 1970s, Nova, Malaise Era, 1974 Chevrolet Nova, 1974 Chevy Nova

• 1974 BMW 3.0 CS, With Bonus BMW Poll [Down On The Street]

  We saw a somewhat rough E9 BMW last fall, and now we're going to look at one that's a bit nicer. I've seen this '74 3.0 CS moving around under its own power pretty regularly, while the '73 3.0 CSi seems to be more a work in progress. The 2002s seem to get a lot more love than the big 6-cylinder cars of this era, but we'll see who fares best in the poll after the jump. Looking at the past BMWs in this series, I'm realizing that I ought to go photograph one of the late-70s/early-80s 5- and 7-series cars I see around town. They're DOTS-worthy, yes? This car lives quite close to the 1972 Fury , which can be seen in the background of this photo. Same era, totally different philosophy. The price tags on the two cars differed quite markedly as well. The '74 3.0 CSi coupe sold for $10,634, while the '72 Fury III 4-door hardtop listed at $3,813. You got a 150-horse 318 V8 standard in the Plymouth, while the BMW cranked out 170 horses from its 3-liter six ... Posted Jun 19 2008, 02:00 AM by Jalopnik Filed under: Alameda, Down On The Street, malaise, 1974, Bmw, 1970s, E9, Malaise Era, BMW E9, 1974 BMW 3.0 CS

• 1974 Volkswagen Thing [Down On The Street]

  The VW Thing was only sold in North America for the 1973 and 1974 model years; we've already seen a '73 , which means we're due for a '74 (there's no telling what manner of VW the Very Low Thing really is). Alameda has at least two more Things parked on the street (that I know about), and this one appears to be the nicest one. It definitely gets driven regularly, although the Low Thing is the one I see driving most frequently . It's got a rollbar, the doors have been removed, and perhaps the engine has been upgraded from the original 46 horsepower. This Thing is ready for some serious off-road action... which it won't find in the utterly flat and quite urban terrain of Alameda. The Beetle's interior seems pretty luxurious next to the Thing's, but you can see the family resemblance in the steering wheel, speedometer, shifter, etc. I hope the owner hasn't lost the doors, which can be removed without tools. The rainy winters here tend to promote rust... Posted May 30 2008, 02:00 AM by Jalopnik Filed under: Alameda, Down On The Street, Volkswagen, Vw, malaise, 1974, 1970s, Malaise Era, Volkswagen 181, thing, Type 181, 1974 Volkswagen Thing

• 1974 Chevrolet Camaro [Down On The Street]

  57% of answered in the negative when asked whether third-gen Camaros belong in this series , which means that it's been well over half a year since our most recent DOTSworthy Camaro (though if I can find the right '82 I'll go ahead and shoot it). Second-gen F-bodies are fairly plentiful on Alameda's streets, so it was no sweat finding a good example of an Early Malaise machine for today's post. I ran across this '74 in the vicinity of the '50 Dodge pickup and at least a half-dozen other DOTS vehicles; truly, this car's neighborhood is a rich vein of street-parked classic iron. The Camaro for '74 hadn't quite reached the overwhelming level of Malaise tape-stripe/plastic-snout overdecoration it would achieve a few years later, but you could see it coming. The 5MPH crash bumpers weren't quite as tragic on this car as on many of its peers, but the 145-horse 350 engine (185 horses if you went for the optional dual-exhaust powerplant) moved the car's... Posted Apr 18 2008, 02:00 AM by Jalopnik Filed under: Chevrolet, Alameda, Down On The Street, malaise, 1974, 1970s, chevrolet camaro, Camaro, 1974 Chevrolet Camaro

• 1974 Datsun Pickup Truck [Down On The Street]

  We don't want to forget the Japanese pickups on DOTS Truck Monday, and it's been quite a while since we looked at the '79 Datsun pickup (the '74 Courier was more recent, of course, but it has a Detroit nameplate). Here's a solid '74, with faded paint but otherwise in pretty nice shape. Will these trucks start getting obsessively restored someday, or simply driven to death? Why the owner of this truck hauls around a bunch of rusty bedsprings is a puzzler. Maybe it's for passenger comfort when he takes it out on street-sign-shooting expeditions. Got to love that Malaise Japan grille treatment. For the millionth time, why can't we buy truly small pickups any more? That sure looks like an automatic shifter. Acceleration is probably on the leisurely side with that setup. galleryPost('DOTS74DatsunTruck', 12, '1974 Datsun Pickup Down On The Street'); First 150 DOTS Cars Posted Feb 11 2008, 01:30 AM by Jalopnik Filed under: Down On The Street, pickup truck, Nissan, malaise, 1974, Datsun, 1970s, Truck

• What's Your Favorite Import Malaise Car? [Down On The Street]

  So we had our Favorite Detroit Malaise Car poll last week, from which the '78 Cadillac Eldorado emerged triumphant (the combo of a 500 cubic-inch engine and T-tops proved unbeatable). But what about Malaisemobiles from across the waters? This poll includes the rebadged imports sold by Detroit as part of their "if you can't beat 'em, put your name on 'em" strategy of the era, in addition to straight-out imports. Jump like a UH-1 leaving the roof of the US Embassy in Saigon to see the contestants! Note: Since we've got two apiece '74 Porsche 911s and '77 Toyota Celicas, I'm choosing one apiece (yes, we have two '78 Colts, but one is a sedan and the other is a wagon). Now on with the Malaise! 1973 BMW 3.0CSi 1973 Capri 1973 Datsun 610 1973 Ford Courier 1973 Volkswagen Thing 1973 Volkswagen Squareback 1974 Porsche 911 Targa 1975 Datsun B210 1976 Honda Civic 1977 Toyota Celica 1978 Dodge Colt 1978 Dodge Colt Wagon 1978 Honda Civic 1978 Jaguar XJ... Posted Jan 22 2008, 05:00 AM by Jalopnik Filed under: Alameda, Down On The Street, malaise, 1975, 1974, 1976, 1973, 1979, 1978, 1977, 1983, 1982, 1980, 1981

• What's Your Favorite Detroit Malaise DOTS Car? [Down On The Street]

  With the Malaisetastic '80 Plymouth Fire Arrow that we saw yesterday on my mind, I got to thinking about the meaning of the Malaise Era, specifically about the American-built vehicles sold during that period. Not captive imports like the Fire Arrow or quasi-domestics like the Capri, but real Detroit (or Kenosha) machinery. And, yes, I know that Jimmy Carter never actually uttered the word "Malaise" in his so-called Crisis of Confidence speech in 1979; what started as a joke term for the cars of the 1973-1983 period has now hardwired itself into my brain). Then I realized that I've forgotten the quasi-tradition of having a Friday poll for the readers to vote on their favorite DOTS machine of the week, so I owe you some DOTS poll action. That means it's time to jump like the late-70s inflation rate to pick your favorite of Alameda's Malaisewagons! Looking at these cars, I realize that I've been remiss in not photographing early-80s Detroit iron on Alameda's... Posted Jan 16 2008, 03:00 AM by Jalopnik Filed under: Alameda, Down On The Street, malaise, 1975, 1974, 1976, 1973, 1979, 1978, 1970s, 1977, 1983, 1982, 1980, 1981, Polls

• 1974 Ford Maverick [Down On The Street]

  Here's another type of car that used to be everywhere , but that seemed to suddenly disappear from the road at some point during the 1990s. I found this example parked just down the street from the red '61 Plymouth Valiant , and it's in decent shape and a 2-door to boot. galleryPost('DOTS74Maverick1', 10, '1974 Ford Maverick Down On The Street'); The Maverick (and its Comet siblings) sold in huge numbers during the first half of the 1970s- it was fairly small, got decent gas mileage (for its time), and shared tons of parts with other Fords and was thus easy to get fixed. A 200-cube six was the standard Maverick powerplant in '74, but you could get the 250 for an extra 42 bucks, or a 140-horse 302 for $122. Huge 5MPH crash bumpers were also standard. Much as millions of passenger pigeons once darkened the skies, millions of Mavericks once swarmed the American road. Now just a handful survive, and most of those are destined for garage coddling and the occasional... Posted Dec 27 2007, 01:00 AM by Jalopnik Filed under: Ford, Alameda, Down On The Street, malaise, 1974, 1970s, Maverick

• 1974 Porsche 911 [Down On The Street]

  With the appearance of a Porsche 914 and 928 not long ago, the fact that we haven't seen a 911 since September becomes an issue. You see, this island has vintage 911s all over the place, and I need to break out some of the photos I've stockpiled. This '74 lives in the wealthy Gold Coast neighborhood, home of the mansion built by the 20 Mule Team Borax guy and, more importantly, the car with the best hood ornament ever . galleryPost('DOTS74911Top', 6, '1974 Porsche 911 Down On The Street, Part 1'); This car parks on the street every day- no worries about rust, though sun damage to the interior might be a long-term issue. It's got some nicks and dings, no doubt sufficient flaws to cause a purist to cringe, but overall this is a nice solid car in good driving condition. The 911 coupe was the cheapest 911 you could get in '74, with a list price of just $9,950. That's about $42,419 in 2007 dollars- not a bad deal at all, considering the Malaise-ridden... Posted Dec 20 2007, 01:00 AM by Jalopnik Filed under: 911, Alameda, Down On The Street, Porsche, malaise, 1974

• Down On The Street: 1974 Ford Torino

  Today we're going to try a sort of gallery hybrid, with a few hi-res photos available below the "traditional" DOTS stuff. You'll definitely want to get a nice close look at this fine piece of Early Malaise Era hardware from the folks at Dearborn. I used... Posted Sep 05 2007, 02:30 AM by Jalopnik Filed under: Ford, Alameda, Down On The Street, malaise, torino, 1974