Story of the Week
Posted: 08.04.2014
Remembering General Motors - Class of 1970
By: Robert Tate, Automotive Historian/ Researcher
Images: Courtesy of Robert Tate's collection The 1970's was a time for many changes within the automotive industry. 1970 was the year the “Big 3” introduced their new line of design vehicles for consumers everywhere. For General Motors, the 1970’s Buicks, Cadillacs, Chevrolets, Oldsmobiles, Opels, and Pontiac models provided a wider range of prices, models, colors and options than ever before. It was also a year of progress for safety features and new ideas within their automotive designs. In 1970, Chevrolet introduced the new Chevrolet Monte Carlo to the public, which would eventually become a huge success for the General Motors Corporation. The Monte Carlo proved to be a sales leader throughout the 70’s. It was a totally new personal luxury car from Chevrolet.
Mr. John Z. Delorean, General Motors Vice President and Chevrolet General Manager said, “Monte Carlo adds a new market dimensions by offering to the youthful, sophisticated buyer a superb blend of individual, high fashion styling and intermediate-size handling and performance”. The Monte Carlo was truly a remarkable great design and a classic automobile. General Motors introduced seven Chevrolet distinctive lines in its dealerships on announcement day, September 18, 1969. This release included the very popular Chevrolet Chevelle model which won the Scholastic Magazines “Teen Car of the Year” poll. The Chevelle was selected by a direct vote of student readers through ballots which appeared in Senior Scholastic, World Week and scholastic Voice magazines and other publications. In addition to that, the Chevelle captured 26.25% of the votes cast and held the rank as the most popular of the 12 vehicles nominated.
Today, 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle models are still very popular among youth and automotive enthusiasts internationally. Other great Chevrolet products for 1970 included the Chevrolet Camaro which featured a completely new design and improved handling for the driver and its passengers. The very popular Nova model showed substantial sales increases in 1969 and continued to be one of the industry's top selling small domestic family car models in the auto industry by 1970. Corvette models for 1970 still provided consumers with great power options with engines of up to 390 horsepower that consumers feeling exhilarated.
For Buick, the vehicles of 1970 offered great features. A few examples are the Buick Electra 225, LeSabre, Wildcat, the GS sport Coupe, the popular Riviera, and the GS-X models, all of which were great sales leaders. Buick also celebrated its 5-millionth car to roll off the lot in Doraville, Georgia. The model was a LeSabre Custom 455 4-door hardtop model and cost $3,477 dollars. The 1970 Buick models were found to be classical and elegant to General Motors customers.
Under the direction of Mr. Bill Mitchell's leadership at General Motors design studio, Cadillac offered innovative designs as well. For 1970, the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham was a brilliantly distinctive design from the Cadillac family. Their release also included the Eldorado, the popular De Ville, the Fleetwood seventy-Five, and the Calais models. The most popular Cadillac models were the Coupe and hardtop Sedan De Villes which generated a record 76,043 sold among Cadillac buyers. 1970, was also the last year that Cadillac manufactured a convertible in its full size series. However, the only convertible model that Cadillac would continue making was the Eldorado model until 1976. The 1970 Cadillac models captured the spirit of a new era of luxury in all Cadillac models many of which are still popular today.
For Pontiac, 1970 demonstrated the combination of performance and great design. Starting with the Grand Prix which offered a bench seat with a specially designed instrument panel as an option for consumers. New on all 1970 Pontiac models was a headlamp delay option. This feature allowed the driver to set the headlights so that they will stay on for 60 seconds after turning off the light switch. This feature became very popular among drivers. The most popular Pontiac models for 1970 were the Fire birds along with the GTO models which offered a great performance package. Also popular was the Judge with a new style front end and a standard 400 cubic inch V8 engine. New colors along with a redesigned instrument panels were combined with safety and comfort features. Another very rare Pontiac model was the HURST SSJ Grand Prix that was introduced to public for the first time at the New York Auto Show. This model offered a Fire Forst gold metallic paint job or was available in Starlight Black with a Fire Frost gold accent trim along with Rally wheels. It was described by Hurst as “The Ultimate Grand Prix” and it is still very rare today.
In 1970, Oldsmobile offered exciting new products for its line as well. All Oldsmobile models featured history making engineering advancements that were aimed at adding durability and further reducing the need for service. The newest model to join the Oldsmobile family was the elegant Cutlass Supreme Hardtop model coupe. It was a distinctive car that was designed to answer growing customer demand for a sporty luxury vehicle. The most popular Oldsmobile model were the 4-4-2 and Cutlass series which were fastback coupes that were very popular among the youth because of its styling and performance packages. The Oldsmobile 4-4-2 was also chosen as the Pace Car for the Indy 500 race in 1970. The Oldsmobile Toronado received extensive changes in appearance since its introduction in 1966. The 1970 Oldsmobile models offered a sleeker looking automobile, with a distinctive new shape, new front end designs, and a new grille and exposed headlamps. 1970 was a great year for General Motors and will always be a part of automotive history.
Posted: 08.04.2014
Remembering General Motors - Class of 1970
By: Robert Tate, Automotive Historian/ Researcher
Images: Courtesy of Robert Tate's collection The 1970's was a time for many changes within the automotive industry. 1970 was the year the “Big 3” introduced their new line of design vehicles for consumers everywhere. For General Motors, the 1970’s Buicks, Cadillacs, Chevrolets, Oldsmobiles, Opels, and Pontiac models provided a wider range of prices, models, colors and options than ever before. It was also a year of progress for safety features and new ideas within their automotive designs. In 1970, Chevrolet introduced the new Chevrolet Monte Carlo to the public, which would eventually become a huge success for the General Motors Corporation. The Monte Carlo proved to be a sales leader throughout the 70’s. It was a totally new personal luxury car from Chevrolet.
Mr. John Z. Delorean, General Motors Vice President and Chevrolet General Manager said, “Monte Carlo adds a new market dimensions by offering to the youthful, sophisticated buyer a superb blend of individual, high fashion styling and intermediate-size handling and performance”. The Monte Carlo was truly a remarkable great design and a classic automobile. General Motors introduced seven Chevrolet distinctive lines in its dealerships on announcement day, September 18, 1969. This release included the very popular Chevrolet Chevelle model which won the Scholastic Magazines “Teen Car of the Year” poll. The Chevelle was selected by a direct vote of student readers through ballots which appeared in Senior Scholastic, World Week and scholastic Voice magazines and other publications. In addition to that, the Chevelle captured 26.25% of the votes cast and held the rank as the most popular of the 12 vehicles nominated.
Today, 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle models are still very popular among youth and automotive enthusiasts internationally. Other great Chevrolet products for 1970 included the Chevrolet Camaro which featured a completely new design and improved handling for the driver and its passengers. The very popular Nova model showed substantial sales increases in 1969 and continued to be one of the industry's top selling small domestic family car models in the auto industry by 1970. Corvette models for 1970 still provided consumers with great power options with engines of up to 390 horsepower that consumers feeling exhilarated.
For Buick, the vehicles of 1970 offered great features. A few examples are the Buick Electra 225, LeSabre, Wildcat, the GS sport Coupe, the popular Riviera, and the GS-X models, all of which were great sales leaders. Buick also celebrated its 5-millionth car to roll off the lot in Doraville, Georgia. The model was a LeSabre Custom 455 4-door hardtop model and cost $3,477 dollars. The 1970 Buick models were found to be classical and elegant to General Motors customers.
Under the direction of Mr. Bill Mitchell's leadership at General Motors design studio, Cadillac offered innovative designs as well. For 1970, the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham was a brilliantly distinctive design from the Cadillac family. Their release also included the Eldorado, the popular De Ville, the Fleetwood seventy-Five, and the Calais models. The most popular Cadillac models were the Coupe and hardtop Sedan De Villes which generated a record 76,043 sold among Cadillac buyers. 1970, was also the last year that Cadillac manufactured a convertible in its full size series. However, the only convertible model that Cadillac would continue making was the Eldorado model until 1976. The 1970 Cadillac models captured the spirit of a new era of luxury in all Cadillac models many of which are still popular today.
For Pontiac, 1970 demonstrated the combination of performance and great design. Starting with the Grand Prix which offered a bench seat with a specially designed instrument panel as an option for consumers. New on all 1970 Pontiac models was a headlamp delay option. This feature allowed the driver to set the headlights so that they will stay on for 60 seconds after turning off the light switch. This feature became very popular among drivers. The most popular Pontiac models for 1970 were the Fire birds along with the GTO models which offered a great performance package. Also popular was the Judge with a new style front end and a standard 400 cubic inch V8 engine. New colors along with a redesigned instrument panels were combined with safety and comfort features. Another very rare Pontiac model was the HURST SSJ Grand Prix that was introduced to public for the first time at the New York Auto Show. This model offered a Fire Forst gold metallic paint job or was available in Starlight Black with a Fire Frost gold accent trim along with Rally wheels. It was described by Hurst as “The Ultimate Grand Prix” and it is still very rare today.
In 1970, Oldsmobile offered exciting new products for its line as well. All Oldsmobile models featured history making engineering advancements that were aimed at adding durability and further reducing the need for service. The newest model to join the Oldsmobile family was the elegant Cutlass Supreme Hardtop model coupe. It was a distinctive car that was designed to answer growing customer demand for a sporty luxury vehicle. The most popular Oldsmobile model were the 4-4-2 and Cutlass series which were fastback coupes that were very popular among the youth because of its styling and performance packages. The Oldsmobile 4-4-2 was also chosen as the Pace Car for the Indy 500 race in 1970. The Oldsmobile Toronado received extensive changes in appearance since its introduction in 1966. The 1970 Oldsmobile models offered a sleeker looking automobile, with a distinctive new shape, new front end designs, and a new grille and exposed headlamps. 1970 was a great year for General Motors and will always be a part of automotive history.