The first car I owned was a 1977 Toyota Corolla Sedan. I was riding my brother’s motorcycle while he was in the army, and my mother begged me to stop riding it and buy a car instead after I wiped out on some pea gravel. I was trying to save money for college, so I told her I would buy a car if she would pay for the insurance. Incredibly, she said yes. It turns out insuring a 20-year-old male for a year cost more than I paid for the car, so I made out there.
It was 10 years old and completely bare bones, with no options and few creature comforts. 4 speed stick, AM radio, no power steering or brakes, Manual choke, which took forever to warm up in a Minnesota winter, underpowered, with the 3KC 1200cc engine. The heater was anemic. Still, it ran, and I loved that car. My friends and I dubbed it “Ted the Wonder Car.” I learned some basic maintenance and drove it for several years.
My first car was a VW Beetle. I took great care of the car and it took care of me. At one point my sister had some cash and offered to buy the car. I needed the money more than I needed the car, so I sold it.
She treated the car like shit and destroyed it in less than a year.
'89 Dodge Shadow. Fun little car; bought it off the original owner for less than a grand and practically drove it into the ground. With a repair bill more than the car was worth, we donated it to – IIRC – the Salvation Army, who fixed it up and gave it to a needy couple. Who neglected to put the title in their name.
That doesn’t sound like a lot by modern standards, but it was way more than something like an MGB GT, which would have been one of its main competitors in the 1970s. IMO that’s why the 204Z was so successful. It offered better performance that other “affordable” sports cars of the time (like the MGB and Fiat Spider), but was more affordable that something like a Corvette or Jaguar.
It was really about the whole package - power, handling, weight, looks. There were cars with more horsepower at the same price. For example, a Mercury Comet had a standard 220hp engine. This was just at the start of the 70’s emissions crackdown, and there were still lots of 200-350 Hp cars around. Of course just a few years later cars, including the Z cars, got much heavier and slower due to bumper, crash standards and new emission laws. By the mid 70’s, even the Corvette had only 165 HP.
But as you say, a 240-Z could run rings around an MGB, and was faster than a Jaguar E-type. And it handled way better than muscle cars that could beat it in a straight line. There really was nothing else like it at the time: a car that was faster and handled better than ‘classic’ sports cars, for $3500. It also had Japanese reliability, while the parts falling off an MGB represented fine British manufacturing. It was a revelation, and they sold zillions of them.
Of course, that car would be crushed on a road course by a typical family sedan like an Accord or Ford Fusion today. But it would be more fun to drive.
