1973 Dodge Charger

The Charger began in 1966 as a sporty specialty vehicle at Dodge that was intended to split the difference between Ford's compact-based Mustang and the Thunderbird personal luxury coupe. It was a swoopy-looking four seat fastback coupe based on the midsize Coronet (so as not to steal sales from the Plymouth Barracuda) available with a wide range of performance and luxury options.

The second generation Chargers that appeared for 1968 put a heavier emphasis on sporty and toned down the plushness, but the third generation 1971 Chargers, with their bold new "fuselage" styling, veered back toward plushness and toned down the performance message, with lower emissions and greater safety and fuel economy becoming increasingly important. 

The third generation of Chargers received a mid-cycle refresh for the '73 model year, becoming wider and slightly taller. Long gone were performance models like the R/T and 500, as well as fire-breathing Street Hemis and Six-Packs. You could get a base Charger in regular coupe or hardtop form like the one in the picture. There was also the plush Charger SE and the slightly sportier Charger Rallye. One notable difference from the previous year is that in 1973 hidden headlights were no longer available, even as an option.

Base Chargers had either the 105-horsepower 225 cubic inch Slant Six or the 150hp 318 two-barrel LA V-8 as the standard engine, backed with either a three-speed manual or Torqueflite automatic transmission. Order a Rallye or SE and the 318 was the smallest engine available.

Optionally, buyers could order the 340 four-barrel small block, now de-tuned with 8.5:1 compression ratio and smaller valves, but still rated at 240 SAE net horsepower. There were also two- and four-barrel versions of the 400 cubic inch big block V-8, making 175 and 260 horses, or the 440 cubic inch four-barrel that put out 275 ponies. The '73 440 Magnum RB block was a shadow of its former glory, but it was about as badass a motor as you could get out of Detroit in the closing months of the Muscle Car Era.

Speed & Supercar magazine tested a 440-cube '73 Charger and managed a 14.8 quarter at 92mph, while Consumer Guide reported a 10.0 second zero-to-sixty time from a Charger test car with the two-barrel, single-exhaust 175 horsepower 400.

The hardtop in the picture has been repainted and has an aftermarket hood, so it may have begun life as a Rallye, but who knows? It was photographed with a Nikon D7100 and a 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR zoom lens in June of 2022.

2015 Mercedes-Benz SL400

The 2013 model year saw the launch of the sixth generation of Mercedes-Benz's SL-class of two seat sporting luxo convertibles. (Well, most were convertibles. And most were 2-seaters, although the R107 could be had with a sort of vestigial back seat-ette which could accommodate pets, small children, double lower-extremity amputees, Peter Dinklage, or people you hated.)

Styling-wise, the new R231 was a little less overwrought than the outgoing refreshed R230, which had gotten a little carried away in the vents and strakes department.

Structure-wise, it featured extensive use of aluminum alloy, which helped counter the increasing weight bloat of all the bling expected in a $100k+ luxury sporter. Still, the SL400 in the photo would have tipped the scales at less than a couple hundred pounds shy of two tons.

The SL400 was the junior partner to the SL550. Instead of the latter's V-8, the SL400 had the first six-cylinder motor offered in an SL on the North American market since importation of the R129 SL320 stopped after the 1998 model year. Instead of the classic inline six of the 320, though, the 400 sported a DOHC twin-turbo 3.0L V-6, rated at 329 horsepower.

In a test by Car and Driver, the 2015 SL400 sprinted to sixty in 4.6 seconds and blistered the quarter in 13.1 seconds at 109mph. Price for the well-optioned test car was $106,335 in 2015 dollars, or $144,221 in current bucks.

This one was photographed in July of 2025 using a Canon EOS R and an RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS zoom lens.

1971 Dodge Demon

A 1971 Dodge Demon in Hemi Orange, featuring one of the great giant-slayer small blocks of the Muscle Car Era, Mopar's 340cid V-8.

The 340 was designed to be a drag strip terror from the jump off. Chrysler engineers started with the 318 cubic inch LA-series small block and bored the cylinders out to 4.04", which made it pretty over square relative to the 3.31" stroke. They gave it heads with enormous valves and ports, forged aluminum pistons, a shot-peened forged steel crank, and a racy cam. The single-4bbl version of the 340 had a 10.5:1 compression ratio and was ridiculously underrated at a claimed 275bhp SAE Gross horsepower.

How do we know it was underrated? Well, there are two big clues.

First of all, when you stuck it in one of these little A-body coupes and didn't weigh it down with a bunch of options, they were capable of flirting with legit high thirteen quarter mile times off the showroom floor...on bias ply street tires. That was normally the province of the more wild-eyed big blocks.

The other way we know that it was underrated was that in 1972 they went to heads with smaller ports and a lower 8.5:1 compression ratio for emissions and fuel economy reasons, and switched to SAE net horsepower ratings. Somehow this only resulted in a drop to 240 SAE net, indicating that the "275" number had probably been closer to the net output all along.

This one was photographed with a Nikon D800 and 24-120mm f/4 VR zoom lens in October of 2023.

1973 Pontiac Bonneville

By my personal reckoning, 1973 was the last year of the Muscle Car Era. Engines were advertised in SAE net horsepower, compression was down, and 5mph front bumpers had showed up. It was the last year for the first generation of Mustangs, the Street Hemi had left the scene after '71, and the big block 'Vette only had one more year to run.

For 1974 the Bonneville nameplate remained the middle tier of full-size Pontiacs, nestled between the basic Catalina and the premium Grand Ville. It could be had as a hardtop coupe or a hardtop or pillared four-door. While the Grand Ville emphasized plushness, the Bonneville carried the sporty flag for full-size Ponchos, with the ad copy emphasizing its "wide-track" heritage.

The base motor in the Bonnie was a two-barrel version of Pontiac's small-journal 400, rated at 170 SAE net horsepower.Optionally, the buyer could spring for a 200 horsepower four-barrel 400, or the large-journal 455 V-8 making 215 ponies. Spring for the optional dual exhaust package and the numbers jumped to 185, 230, and 250, respectively. An array of rear axle ratio choices were available between 2.73:1 and 3.23:1. You could get any transmission you wanted so long as it was a 3-speed Turbo-Hydramatic 400.

The stance, tires, array of gauges, and the big Sun tach strapped to the steering column of this nice, straight Buccaneer Red example would seem to indicate that the owner is down to party.

It was photographed in June of 2023 using a Nikon D7100 and a 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR zoom lens.

1977 Cadillac Coupe deVille

While Cadillac had already sent a smaller car to market in the form of the 1975 Seville, the 1977 model year saw the first downsizing of full-size Caddies in response to the seismic shock of the 1973 fuel crisis.

Of course, "downsized" is a relative term. The wheelbase was shortened by eight and a half inches, to 121.5", while the overall length dropped from 230.7" to 221.2". Cadillac engineers whittled off nearly a half ton of curb weight from the Coupe deVille, bringing it down to 4,360 pounds and making the big two-door the second lightest car on the Cadillac dealer's lot, only about sixty pounds heavier than the small Seville.

A chunk of that weight savings happened under the hood. Cadillac took the previous year's 500 cubic inch 472-series V-8 and redesigned the block. The new 425-series V-8 used the same bore centers and had the same stroke, but a smaller 4.082" bore and displaced, as the name might suggest, 425 cubic inches (or "7.0 Litres" in the Cadillac advertising of the time.) The motor was a hundred pounds lighter than its predecessor and available in 4-barrel carbureted L33 or the electronic multi-port fuel injected L35, with the former making 180 SAE net horsepower and the latter, 195 ponies.

Car and Driver tested a '78 Coupe deVille with the L33 motor, essentially the same car as the '77 but with a different grille, and recorded a 10.6 second zero-to-sixty time and an 18.2 second quarter mile run at 79mph. Top speed was a mere 108, but it did get around a skidpad at 0.79g, which was not bad for a car big enough that the hood ornament and spare tire are frequently in different ZIP codes. Full-size Caddies, other than the Fleetwood Brougham, still had not been bestowed with the blessings of four-wheel discs, so the stop from seventy took 208 feet.

The well optioned test car cost $13,375 in 1978 dollars, which is the next thing to $66k in current money.

The one in the photo was photographed in May of 2025 using a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens.

1990 Nissan 300ZX

For the 1990 model year, the 300ZX sports car from Nissan received a ground-up redo, with the Z31 generation that had debuted for 1984 being replaced with the all-new Z32 series.

Like its predecessor, the new 300ZX was available as a two-seater or a 2+2, in both normally aspirated and turbocharged form. For the North American market you could get the t-top roof in either base or Twin Turbo form, but the slick roof was only available in non-turbo cars.

Under the hood of the base car was a VG30DE 3.0L V-6, developed from the motor in the earlier car, but now sporting DOHC heads with four valves per cylinder and Nissan's N-VCT variable valve timing. This bumped the output from 165 to 222 SAE net horsepower.

This gave the normally-aspirated base Z-car a zero-to-sixty time of 6.7 seconds and let it dispose of the quarter mile in 15 seconds flat at 93mph, according to a period test from Car and Driver, and it ran all the way up to 143 on the top end. For the first time in half a decade you didn't need to spring for the turbocharged version to hold your head up at the traffic light against V-8 pony cars.

This Cherry Red Pearl car is a 1990 model, going by its lack of a badge and the spot on the fascia where the "NISSAN" sticker used to be. If it were optioned like C/D's test car, it would have cost $30,160, which comes to about $74k in current dollars.

This one was photographed in September of 2021 using a Nikon D2X and a 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens.

1981 Triumph TR8

In 1975 the TR6, a classically styled British roadster, was joined by (and eventually replaced with) the TR7, featuring wedge-shaped styling that was very modern and up-to-date for the Seventies. What was also up-to-date for the Seventies was the lump under the hood: a 2.0L SOHC inline four with a pair of SU carbs that wheezed out 92 horsepower in EPA-compliant trim. It was very Malaise Era.

For the 1980 model year, though, it received that classic automotive heart transplant: a V-8 swap.

Buick's 215 cubic inch all-aluminum V-8 had been designed to power their first compacts in the early Sixties (and was also used in the original Olds and Pontiac compacts) but it had been expensive to produce and was dropped after 1963. The design was purchased by Rover in 1965 and had shown up in MGs and Rovers since and eventually it found its way into Triumph's wedge.

While a few hundred hardtops (or "fixed-head coupes" in Brit-speak) were produced, nearly all TR8s were convertibles like the tatty Pendelican White one in the photos. While 1980 imports in the US mostly were carbureted cars making 133 SAE net horsepower, California cars... and all 1981 models ...got Bosch-Lucas L-Jetronic fuel injection and made 148 ponies, a respectable total at the time for a 2,620-pound roadster.

Other than decals, the only real giveaway that it wasn't a TR7 were the dual exhaust outlets out back. This was a view a lot of cars would see, though. Car and Driver's '81 test car managed an 8.1 zero-to-sixty time and a 16.2 quarter at 87mph, which would handily show its taillights to a 280ZX or 924 or any other car in its price class that wasn't a Corvette. Top speed was 117 miles per hour and the only really disappointing part of the performance envelope was the braking, because the tiny un-vented front discs and rear drums took 228 feet to haul the car down from seventy.

Price as tested was $12,325 in 1981 disco-bucks, which is $43,600 in 2025 dollars.

This one was photographed with a Canon EOS R and an RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS zoom lens in July of 2025.

1993 Lincoln Mark VIII

The 1993 model year was the debut of the all-new Lincoln Mark VIII personal luxury coupe. The previous Mark VII, which had been around since 1983, rode on the Fox Platform, originally developed for the midsize Ford Fairmont sedan.

With its live rear axle and pushrod motors, the Fox Platform was getting increasingly hard to pass off as a premium ride in the last decade of the previous century and Ford spent a wad engineering the new MN12 platform for the replacement. The MN12 had a proper independent rear suspension with upper and lower control arms and debuted with the 1988 Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar.

Lincoln's version of the platform, the FN10, appeared with the Mark VIII for 1993 and paired the independent rear suspension with the Intech 4.6L DOHC 32V V-8, part of Ford's new Modular engine family.

The car had 16" wheels, anti-lock brakes, self-leveling air suspension that automatically lowered ride height by nearly an inch at speed, and speed-sensitive power steering that dialed back the assistance at higher speeds for better feel.

The Intech V-8 was rated at 280 SAE net horsepower, enough to launch Car and Driver's 3,811-pound test ride to sixty in only 6.8 seconds, which was pretty brawny for the era. The quarter was dispatched in 15.3 seconds at 94 miles per hour, and the governor didn't shut off the fun until the speedo read a buck thirty. It even circled the skidpad at an un-Lincoln-like 0.79g.

All this fun went for a base price of $38,850, which is about $86,500 in current dollars.

Incidentally, the MN12 platform was considered for the Mustang, but it would have resulted in a car that would have been too heavy and expensive, so the Mustang would gallop into the next millennium with a live rear axle.

The Light Mocha Pearlescent paint marks the one in the photo as a 1993 model, and it was photographed in July of 2025 using an Olympus PEN E-P5 and an M. Zuiko Digital 12-45mm f/4 PRO zoom lens.

1976 Ford Courier

For the 1972 model year, Ford revived the Courier nameplate, last used on late 1950s sedan delivery vehicles, and slapped it on a rebadged Mazda B1600 pickup truck.

Since the Ranchero had moved from the compact Falcon platform to the midsize Torino, Ford had been without a small and economical open bed cargo vehicle. Since light truck imports were subjected to the 25% "Chicken Tax" tariff, the Courier was imported without a bed in the chassis cab configuration and final assembly was performed domestically.

Under the hood was Mazda's 1800cc SOHC four-cylinder, making 75 horsepower, backed with either a four-speed manual or a three-speed automatic. With the increasing emphasis on fuel economy, they proved popular in the Seventies.

1976 model year Couriers, like this Clair Orange example, were the last year of the first generation trucks and can be distinguished at a glance by the cab aft of the windows, which had received a three inch stretch over the original vehicles.

This one was photographed with a Canon EOS 5DS and an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens in Martinsville, Indiana back in September of 2020.

1991 Honda Prelude Si

The third generation of Honda's sporty Prelude coupe debuted for '88 and received a light styling refresh for the 1990 model year.

With Acura split off into its own division, the Prelude was the performance and technology flagship at Honda dealerships and the third gen cars did not disappoint. The cars could be optioned with antilock brakes and active four-wheel steering, which were both still very novel in 1990.

For 1990, you could still get a carbureted 2.0S, but that was dropped for the 1991 model year. The Phoenix Red '91 Prelude Si in the photo would have been powered by Honda's B21A1 inline four, a 2.1L DOHC unit with Honda's PGM-Fi programmed fuel injection.

Making 140 horsepower, it didn't exactly make the 2,689 pound Prelude a bolt of lighting, with zero-to-sixty times in the mid eight second range, but it was widely praised for its polished manners and handling.

This one was photographed with a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens in June of 2023.

1949 Cadillac Series Sixty-One Coupe

Cadillac styling for the 1948 model year had been all-new and strikingly modern, introducing tail fins allegedly inspired by the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter of World War Two fame. Under the hood, however, had been the same old 346 cubic inch "Monobloc" flathead V-8 that had been powering Caddies since the late Thirties.

For 1949, however, the all-new postwar styling was joined by an all-new postwar motor. This new overhead valve V-8, dubbed the 331 Series after its displacement in cubic inches, was billed as "America's Newest, Finest Motor Car Engine". It was an oversquare design with a 3.81" bore and a 3.625" stroke and sported hydraulic lifters, a two-barrel Carter carburetor, aluminum pistons, a 7.5:1 compression ratio, and made a claimed 160 SAE gross horsepower at 3,800 RPM.

The Series Sixty-One was the entry-level Cadillac and had previously ridden on a shorter chassis, but for the '48 model year it had been moved to share the same full size C-body chassis as the Series Sixty-Two, so the big differences were in trim and appointments.

The slick lines of the '48-'49 Caddies make them popular starting points for classic hot rod builds, like this striking purple example photographed with a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens in September of 2022.