Motoring entered an era of glitz and glamour on both sides of Atlantic Ocean in the heady 1960s, while Japan was emerging as a car making nation with a serious intent.
With frugality relegated to the past, American cars had some of the largest and most powerful engines anywhere, while sports cars from Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Jaguar, Porsche and others were in a race to offer the sleekest, fastest, most advanced cars released on public roads.
The upstart Italian marque Lamborghini captured people’s imagination in 1966 when it displayed a breathtakingly exotic car called a Miura. In one stroke, this launched the brand to the cutting edge of desirability. More in a separate entry.
Ford launched a sporty car called Mustang in 1964. There was phenomenal response, causing rivals caught unawares to launch their competing models ASAP, that is, in 1967/68. Ford Mustang nameplate has endured fuel crises, Clean Air Act, Impact Absorbing Bumpers, and more to survive for last 56 years. I will write in detail on it separately.
The rivals for Ford Mustang were Chevrolet Camaro / Pontiac Firebird twins, Plymouth Barracuda, Dodge Challenger and AMC Javelin.
The decade from 1964 to 1974 saw some of the most awesome cars produced, with performance (acceleration and top speed were paramount, braking and cornering less so) being priority #1.
The decadent decade came to an end with Oct-1973 Yom Kippur war between Arabs and Israel. Arabs embargoed oil supply to the countries supporting Israel, raising the oil price from US$3/barrel to US$12/barrel. This changed the world irreversibly. That deserves a separate narrative.
motorworld 