you dont really notice how silly it is, until later. this is from 79 about the rx7...



"There's a whoosh from the exhaust and a whir from under the hood," they wrote, "but none of the cacophony you have to contend with in a 280Z squeezed for acceleration. Mazda's rotor motor feels like a speed vending machine. The longer you hold the right pedal down, the more you get. Heavy flywheel action damps the thrill of acceleration somewhat, but the engine keeps on winding higher and higher up a horsepower curve that seems straight-edge linear. The rush feels as though it will last forever, until the overrev alarm goes off at 6,500 rpm to remind you to pull the shift lever at the 7,000-rpm redline."



and the chassis was simply beloved. "Entering a turn," wrote Car and Driver, "you set the RX-7 loose with a light toss of the wheel, followed smartly by a heavy stomp on the gas. So prompted, the Mazda RX-7 starts sliding like a Porsche 935 running second. All you have to do is center the steering wheel, hang on until it's time to lift to straighten things out, and have fun….





29 years later, the same car doesnt quite feel like "a speed vending machine" it does have a linear power curve, but you rarely hear the buzzer cause it doesnt make power past 6k. heavy flywheel action is also true, the flywheel feels heavier than the rest of the car!



entering a turn is also fun, the car takes a set and turns in, then it takes a second set and turns in again, its odd feeling to say the least



they also dont mention the brakes at all, which is about right....



the 79 is fun, dont get me wrong, it is fun to drive, but they make it sound like its some streetable F1 car or something, which its not....



or maybe thats how bad cars were in the 70s?

 

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winnah!



70's cars sucked *****. I recall a certain '76 Olds Cutlass that I drove for a while. It was laughable. It was a two-ton sled floating on crazy soft springs that would bottom over even a fairly gentle dip. The 350 motor was rated for all of about 160 HP. It would spin tires at a stoplight, but once you got up to speed on the highway, it had nothing left. The 50-70 time would have to be measured in minutes. And it sucked gas to the tune of 17 mpg highway.



The 70's was a time of huge changes in the auto industry because of the "gas crisis" and it was the beginning of the end for Detroit, because the import manufacturers were able to make interesting cars that got good mileage, and Detroit simply wouldn't. Or couldn't. Detroit equated "Small" with "Cheap" and made sure all their fuel-efficient cars were boring shitboxes like the Pinto and Vega.

 

havent filled it up to check, but from my house up to stinson beach, and over the hills to san rafel, it got 25mpg, which is the best mpg ive had in the car!

 

http://www.illustratedgarage.com/bugeyesprite.html