“Wild man’s world is crying in pain,
What you gonna do when everybody’s insane?”
That lyric from a “classic” rock tune from the 1970s seems appropriate today. Does anyone know what song it is? It is only very recently that I have realized how much I like it. No, its identity is not revealed here or here.
******************
By this time in 1971, which was already the 1972 model year for automobiles, cars had begun to be de-tuned. Horsepower was given as a net and not gross figure, which exacerbated the perception that cars were becoming less powerful, although that perception was truth, unlike many other instances. Of course, emissions standards and the dictates of insurance companies were the drivers (no pun intended) for these changes.
For example, the most powerful big-block Corvette engine was rated at 425 HP for model year 1971. The next year, that figure dropped to 270 HP. Again, much of the difference was simply a change in the way horsepower was reported, but not all of it.
The 1972 Corvette was also the last of the C3 generation with chrome bumpers front and rear. Less well known is that it was also the last C3 to feature a removable rear window. The picture below is (I hope) a 1972 Corvette convertible:
In 1981, the only engine available in the Corvette was rated at 190 HP/280 LB-FT of torque. That was the last year in which every Corvette sold was rated at under 200 HP. I doubt anyone could have foreseen a day when Corvettes would be available with 600+ HP off the showroom floor that also made much better gas mileage and had fewer emissions than their ancestors. For the nth time, history is replete with examples of the folly of human beings trying to predict the future.
******************
This passage about 1970 from The Genuine Corvette Black Book has long intrigued me:
“An LS7 rated at 460 HP (or 465 HP) was planned and appeared in order guides. It was the big-block version of the LT1, including aluminum heads. A ZR2 package with the LS7 was also planned…The LS7 and ZR2 were cancelled and it is thought none were delivered to retail customers.”
The LS6 option in the 1970 Chevelle was a 454 cubic-inch engine rated at 450 HP, the highest “official” HP rating from any American manufacturer during the original muscle car era (1964-1971). Does anyone know anything else about the LS7? This brief piece discusses the engine, but doesn’t provide too much information.
These automotive “almosts” are very interesting to me. Once again, whatever actually happens is not the only thing that could have happened.
#ThrowbackThursday
#1972ChevroletCorvette
#1970LS7
#LifeIsAMonteCarloSimulation
#somanycarsjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.
Disaffected Musings 
Crazy on you by Heart..(that knowledge, plus $2.50, will get me a coffee at Dunkin). They were pretty good for a “pop” band even if they claimed to have hard rock roots.
I think most auto manufacturers saw the hand writing on the wall in 1970. It was pretty much the last gasp for the big engine muscle cars so no sense spending more money on a dying breed. And the downfall was far faster than the rise. By the mid 70’s muscle was gone except for rare occasions of an “end run”, IE; the Dodge Lil Red Express pickup.
LikeLike
Five points for DDM…your line about the knowledge getting you a coffee at Dunkin as long as you have the $2.50 is very similar to what I write/say about the review of my third book in The Wall Street Journal. The paper called my book without a doubt the best book of its kind ever written. I have often remarked that the review will get me breakfast at McDonald’s as long as I also have six dollars.
As for Crazy On You, the guitar riff under Ann Wilson singing “Crazy On You” at the beginning of each refrain is one of the best such combos in history, in my opinion.
LikeLike
That is a good riff, simple but fits well with the lyrics. Two pickers that always stood out to me, for their knack of the right riff at the right time, are Mark Knopfler and John “J” Geils. While there are others who hit the right lick on occasion, those two seemed to have the talent to do it nearly every time.
Two of my favorite tunes are Telegraph Road by Dire Straits and One Last Kiss by the J Geils band. Good lyrics but even better musicianship.
LikeLike
Thanks, DDM.
LikeLike
I am a fan of that group and like the song, but I admit to not recognizing the lines. Crazy on me, I guess. 😊
LikeLike
LOL!
LikeLike