1975 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible

The 1975 model year would feature Chevrolet's last convertible Corvette for over a decade. Only twelve percent of the 'Vettes sold that year were ordered as droptops.

This year saw the introduction of the new HEI ignition system and catalytic convertors, and the base 350 cubic inch V-8 only made 165 SAE net horsepower at 3,800 RPM, a new low for the C3 Corvette. 

The big blocks were gone and the only optional motor was the L82 350 small block. Even with different heads, bigger valves, a hotter cam, and forged crank, among other performance boosts, the L82 only put out 204 ponies.

The base motor could be paired with a four-speed manual or a Turbo Hydra-matic gearbox, and the L82 offered the option of a close-ratio four-speed.

The photo of the Classic White specimen above was taken with an iPhone 7 Plus in July of 2020.

1988 Nissan 300ZX 2+2

The Z31 generation of Nissan's 300ZX got a light styling refresh for the 1987 model year, slightly softening the creased lines of the original.

The 300ZX continued the evolution from sports car to grand tourer that the 280ZX had first really leaned into. For 1988 the US version of the 3.0L SOHC VG30E V-6 was rated at 165 SAE net horsepower, but since it was the Turbo version that was expected to carry the performance banner, this was more than enough to compete with the lower-spec V-8s in cars like the Camaro RS.

This immaculate Platinum Mist example was photographed in October of 2025 using an Olympus PEN E-P5 and an M. Zuiko Digital 12-45mm f/4 PRO zoom lens. 

1975 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Landau

By 1975 the Malaise Era was well under way in Detroit. The first Oil Crisis had come and gone, new cars all had lower-compression engines to accommodate low-octane unleaded fuel that would be compatible with catalytic converters. Chevy advertising touted the economy and environmental benefits of its new HEI high energy ignition system. Also new for '75 was an optional "Econominder" gauge package, which was just a vacuum gauge in the dash whose needle swung between the poles of Minimum and Maximum.

The Monte Carlo was on the third model year of its second generation. Gone were the earlier SS and S models, with only the base coupe and the Landau coupe with its quarter-vinyl roof, like the Orange Metallic example in the photo.

Base engine in 49-state cars was the 350 cubic inch small block V-8 with a two-barrel carb, rated at 145 SAE net horsepower, while California (and only California) got the 155 horsepower four-barrel 350.

Optional motors included a 400cid four-barrel small block, making 175 ponies, and as long as you didn't live in Cali, the 454 big block with a four-barrel was on the menu, still putting out 215 horsepower. The 350 cube motors could be had with three- or four-speed manual gearboxes, while the Turbo Hydra-matic was mandatory with the 400 and 454.

Period testing of a 350-powered car with the automatic returned a zero-to-sixty time of 10.1 seconds and a 17.1 quarter.

This one was photographed in October of 2024 utilizing an Olympus OM-D E-M1X and an M. Zuiko Digital 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens.

1970 Mercury Cougar

Spotted this Deep Gold Metallic 1970 Mercury Cougar on Crawfordsville Road while headed home from the range on a springtime afternoon. I was in the passenger seat of a friend's car and all I had was a 50mm-equivalent lens, so the photo's through a windshield and pretty heavily cropped. Sorry 'bout that.

1970 was the last year of the first generation of Cougars, which started in the '68 model year. These early ones were basically "luxury pony cars"; plusher equivalents of the Mustang, riding on a 111" wheelbase, a three inch stretch over the original pony car. There was the base Cougar, like the one in the photo, as well as the XR7 and the snarly Eliminator.

The base motor was the 351 Windsor V-8 with a 2-barrel carb, rated at 250 SAE gross bhp, with an optional 351 Cleveland 4-bbl. The latter was a decidedly high-performance motor, with an 11.0:1 compression ratio and rated conservatively at 300 gross horsepower. Ordering the "Eliminator" package unlocked the optional 290bhp Boss 302 and the big-block 335bhp 428 Cobra Jet.

After 1970, the Cougar remained on the Mustang platform for the '71-'73 model years. Bulkier than the earlier pony car versions, the Cougar leaned into the size increase and started sliding toward the "Personal Luxury Coupe" mien of cars like the Cutlass Supreme and Chevy Monte Carlo.

This one was photographed in April of 2023 using a Nikon 1 V2 and a 1 Nikkor 18.5mm f/1.8 lens.

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1989 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am GTA

Here's a 1987-1990 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am GTA in Flame Red Metallic.

1985 had seen a mild styling refresh for the 3rd Gen Firebirds, the most notable part of which was that the aero effects became better blended with the car rather than an add-on. Pontiac hadn't yet fully succumbed to the scoops-and-ribbed-cladding virus, so the cars were busier-looking than the sleek original '83-'84 T/A's, but nothing like the swollen grotesqueries that would follow in the Nineties.

The new-for-'87 Trans Am GTA (Gran Turismo Americano, according to Pontiac) came standard with the WS6 suspension package and the 215-horse L98 Tuned-Port Injection 350cid V-8, which was only available with an automatic transmission, since the Borg Warner T-5 manual used in the F-bodies wouldn't handle the torque from the 5.7L motor. (You could get a 205 horsepower TPI 305 and a five-speed as a three hundred dollar credit delete.) 1988 saw the L98's output bumped to 225 horsepower.

Unfortunately the GTA was also larded up with every luxo option in the GM catalog and it needed every one of those ponies...and still got sand kicked in its face by 5.0L Mustang LX's and kids in strippo Firebird Formulas with 5.0 TPI mills and manual transmissions.

Sorry for the potato-quality photo, but I drive by this car frequently and I'd been meaning to get a pic of it for yoinks and the day I finally got around to it in October of 2023 I had the Nikon 1 V2 & 1 Nikkor 18.5mm f/1.8, which has the equivalent to a 50mm field of view and I was snapping the pic out the rolled-down window of my Mustang, so the photo has the bejeezus cropped out of it.

1971 Fiat 124 Sport Spider

The Fiat Spider is a hard car to date at a glance. Barring detail changes like side marker lights and bumpers it was sold in the US with its appearance largely unchanged from 1968 through 1985.

How do I know this is a '71? Via the clever detective technique of yelling "Nice car! What year is it?"

These older ones were imported with a 1.6L DOHC and a five-speed manual gearbox which was still pretty exotic stuff in the late Sixties. With twin carbs it put out a bit over a hundred horsepower and could manage a zero-to-sixty time a few ticks under ten seconds, before emissions and the weight of post-'73 bumpers took their toll.

This one was photographed in May of 2017 using a Leica D-LUX 3.

1960 Chevrolet Bel Air

Starting in the 1959 model year, the Bel Air was demoted from its top spot in the Chevrolet lineup by the Impala. The old hierarchy of "150, 210, Bel Air" was replaced with "Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala", which were most easily distinguished by how elaborate the external chrome decor was. The longitudinal spears on the rear fenders quickly distinguish this faded Royal Blue 1960 Bel Air from its plebeian Biscayne sibling.

For 1960 the Bel Air could be had as a hardtop Sport Sedan or Sport Coupe, as well as a pillared sedan and coupe. The base motor was the Turbo-Fire 283 cubic inch V-8 with a two-barrel carb and 8.25:1 compression ratio, rated at 170 horsepower. You could also opt for the Hi-Thrift inline six, as well as more high-performance options like a Super Turbo-Fire 283 making 230 ponies and two versions of the 348 cubic inch Turbo-Thrust big block, putting out either 250 or 280 horsepower. Three- and four-speed manual gearboxes were on offer, as well as the Turboglide or Powerglide automatics.

The one in the picture was snapped with a Nikon D1X and 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens in July of 2015.

1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Sedan

We've had a 1956 Chevy sedan on these pages before, but it was a Chevrolet 210 pillared sedan. Pillarless hardtop styling was becoming all the rage in Detroit in the Fifties, though.

For 1955 you could get a hardtop Sport Coupe, at least in Bel Air form, but all the four door variants had B-pillars. That changed in 1956 when a pillarless Sport Sedan became available for both the mid-market 210 and the top-of-the-range Bel Air.

The Onyx Black 1956 Bel Air Sport Sedan in the photo was snapped in May of 2017 using a Leica D-LUX 3.

1959 Cadillac Sedan de Ville (Six Window)

The styling on the 1959 Cadillacs is eye-catching, iconic, and instantly recognizable with its enormous rakish tail fins, each tipped by dual bullet-shaped taillight lamps.

New for '59, the deVille line was no longer a trim level on the Series 62 but was moved to its own series, the Series 6300. It was available as a Coupe as well as Four Window and Six Window Sedans, with the Ebony example in the photo being an example of the latter.

These were large cars, riding on a 130" wheelbase with an overall length of 225". Under the hood was the new 390 cubic inch version of Cadillac's 331 Series overhead valve V-8, with a single four-barrel carburetor and a 10.5:1 compression ratio, rated at 325 gross horsepower. The Hydra-Matic was the only transmission offered.

Base price in 1959 was $5,498, which works out to $60,800-ish in current dollars.

This one was photographed in November of 2016 using a Nikon Coolpix P7000.

1970 Dodge Super Bee

The Super Bee was Dodge's budget priced muscle car in the late Sixties and early Seventies. Essentially a stripped-down version of the Coronet R/T, it was a slightly more upscale answer to Plymouth's Road Runner. The name was derived from the fact that, like the Coronet R/T and Charger, it was based on Mopar's midsize B-body platform.

While the Coronet R/T came with the four-barrel 440 Magnum as the standard engine, the cheaper Super Bee's base powerplant was the 383 Magnum. The hood badges on the Plum Crazy 1970 model in the photos indicate it has the 383, which had a 9.5:1 compression ratio and was rated at 335 gross horsepower. Transmission choices were the four-speed A833 manual or a Torqueflite 727 three-speed auto.

Car and Driver tested a 1969 Super Bee with a 383 Magnum, Torqueflite slushbox, and 3.55:1 limited slip rear end and recorded a 5.6 second zero-to-sixty blast, while a trip down the quarter mile took 14.04 seconds at 99.55 miles per hour. Price as tested was $3,858 on the fairly well-optioned test car (in addition to the limited slip rear and automatic, it had power front discs, power steering, styled steel wheels, and more), which is almost $34k in current dollars.

The one in the picture was photographed with a Hasselblad Lunar and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens outside of Trinidad, Colorado in October of 2016.