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My dad sold gas in 1973. His pumps only registered up to $9.99 . We couldn’t believe it when prices rose to the point that some cars held more than that, and the pumps started over at $0.00 again. Some cars took $12.00 to fill up! Today 12.00 barely moves the needle

I worked at gas stations in early 70,s and remember regular going for 20 cents a gallon and we checked under the hood, aired up tires,washed your windshield and gave you trading stamps. it was a fun job and met alot of nice people. those were great times.

There was NOT a gas "Shortage". It was merely being delayed. I worked at a "Company" Union76 station in early 1974. We were told what hours we could sell gas. Usually it was after people had to be at work. I.E. we sold between 10am and 4pm. Outside those hours we had to put out the "Out of Gas" signs. My friend that worked at the Shell station across the street said that they were told the same thing. The hours were always changing so you could not plan to fill your tank. I was required to check the tank levels 2-3 times a day and phone the results to a company number. Soon after a truck would show up and top up the tanks. They were ALWAYS full even though we had the NO GAS signs out! A TV news chopper with an Infra red camera flew near the Richmond, Ca. Chevron refinery and found that all the holding tanks were full. And there were tanker ships sitting out past the Golden Gate bridge waiting to un-load their oil. There was no shortage, It was merely a way to increase the prices. 🐂💩🐂💩

I owned a 1973 Olds Toronado in the early 1990's. I kept a detailed log book for fuel mileage and averaged about 12.8 mpg. On long highway trips I could get up to 17 mpg with the cruise control @ 65 mph.

My late Dad started to make a little bit of money at his job in the early 70s and bought himself a 1974 Cadillac Coupe de Ville that year. Beautiful car. Medium blue with a white leather interior. I was 16 at the time and it was my job to take that boat to the gas station twice a week for a gas fill up. That baby drank gas like a Southerner drinks sweet tea on a July day. Wow

I owned a 1965 Cadillac Coupe de Ville during the 1973 gas crisis. It got around 12 mph, but gas was about $0.52 per gallon and I worked at a gas station that was receiving 9000 gallons (3 trucks) of gas per day. BTW, I was put on an island that only serviced fleet vehicles (my friend was the night manager). For the drivers it meant no long line. Every driver tipped me at least a buck. I was making more than my father.

HA HA HA ! ! ! On March 8, 1973 weeks, yes weeks before the oil embargo I purchased a brand new 1973 5 speed Toyota Corolla (S5 sport model) ! ! ! Got over 35+ MPG regular gas ! ! ! While everyone else was pissing and moaning waiting in gas lines, I was cruising down the roads. Friends in their Mustangs, Camaros and Firebirds were trying to coax more mileage out of their guzzlers I was driving along in my new ride. One of, if not THE BEST purchases I ever made ! ! ! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

I owned a 1973 Lincoln Continental Mark IV. It never saw a gas station it didn't like. But I didn't drive much back then. I truly loved this car.

Gas mileage be damned. I would rather have any one of cars, than anything on the road today.

What I remember most about the gas crisis was odd/even rationing based on your license plate. My Mother would send me to the gas station to wait in line and gas up the car before taking me to school. The fact that I wasn't legally old enough to drive never was an issue.

I KNEW the Toronado would be on this list! Growing up, my parents had a few cars but I remember our 1975 Toronado along with our 1973 Impala, as being tremendous guzzlers. But man, that Toronado was beautiful. Later, in 1990, I personally owned a 1978 Continental and that too was a gas hog and I recall 8 to 10 mpg as being typical. I do miss those old car though.

My dad had a 73' Cadillac Eldorado. The thing was a monster, a true beast. Described as a "land yacht", that is exactly how it handled. Huge, slow and sluggish to respond to any driver inputs, it had one redeeming quality. It "floated" down the road like you were flying on a pillow. Just don't try to swerve out of the way of anything - not happening. Unless you had a couple of nautical miles in which to make your course correction, lol.

I remember about '75, riding in my friend's Lincoln Continental from what is now called Silicrap Valley to Lake Tahoe. No traffic, no cops, just open highway and blue skies. So it was thirsty. Ran smooth as silk and gas was 44 cents a gallon. That car and it's 460, C6 tranny and 9" rear are still on the road today. Original running gear with 320k miles on it. Now there's a traffic jam from Lake Tahoe to Auburn, Cal. Better times!

My dad bought my mom a Cadillac Sedan De’ Ville in 1974. It had a 472 V8 Big block with a 4 barrel carburetor. The power and torque were delivered to the rear wheels through a 3spd automatic transmission. While coming home from vacation in 1977, my dad set the cruise control at 100mph and that Cadillac still got 16mpg. My sister and I used to race all the Big cars in, such as the Ford LTDs, Oldsmobiles, Buicks, other Cadillacs, Lincoln’s, T-Bird’s and we would blow the doors off everyone else. Stacy and I had a LOT of fun with that car.

My parents bought their first brand new car in October 1973, the day the OPEC embargo started. A 1974 Chevy Impala that got 8.5MPG. They drove it home from the dealership, parked it in the driveway, and watched the evening news in terror as gas went from $0.33/gal to $0.58/gal overnight!

I had a 1973 Eldorado convertible that got 8 miles per gallon from what I remember. This was the car given to me when I started college in 1975. My first car when I turned 15 and got a drivers license was a 1970 Olds Cutlass Supreme which had the 455 ci engine. It also got around 8 miles per gallon. I think gas was in the neighborhood of 25 cents a gallon in southwest Louisiana in the early to mid 70’s. These cars were fast and a lot of fun to drive! 😎

Dad had a '68 Cadilac De Ville. He used to tell people it could pass anything on the road, except a gas station.

I drove a 1973 Cadillac Coupé de Ville triple white with white leather and green carpets and dash from 1986-1995 in Denmark. Absolutely loved that car. Only reason I sold it was some business investments going wrong. Another 1973 car I still love is the Ford Thunderbird. Never got one, but I have driven a 1975 Continental Mark IV since 2002. It is currently being renovated to last my life time.

I had a 1973 Lincoln Continental “coo-pay”😅 that I bought in 1992. I can confirm completely that it got 7mpg. It was an epic car to own tho. Nothing I’ve driven since even comes close to how luxurious and smooth the ride was. The 460 may have been only 212 hp, but the torque it had could easily boil the rear tires. Mine was that metallic split pea green with dark green vinyl top and leather interior to match the top. Sure do miss that car.

As a kid in High School, my parents gave me the old family station wagon when they got a new one. A 1976 Chevy Caprice Classic, it got 4.5 - 6 MPG and ate up all my part time job earnings 😱

In high school in 1995 I drove a black 1971 Cadillac Fleetwood factory stretch limousine with a 472 cubic inch engine the electric passenger compartment windows flip down 3rd row seats and bulletproof doors and window glass that had to weigh over 7K and got maybe 5mpg, I bought Dayton chrome wire wheels with white wall tires. I’ll never forget how floated like a dream on the interstate and wanted to be run at 105 mph while changing lanes steering with my pinky finger, years later my little brother worked at a car customization shop and a few times we discussed how it should be slammed low on the ground with air bags and fantasized about chopping the roof off the limo and turning it into a long convertible with 3 rows of seats under a long extended Carson top, and that would’ve been really bad assed, yet ultimately I traded it off for a rust free 1970 Monte Carlo with a 402 and a 4 speed and posi traction, and now fast forward to today my old 800 dollar Cadillac limo pimp mobile boat funeral car is like a $40-50K car now!…8\

I worked at a full service gas station during both gas crises. As soon the tanker came in a line would form. The lines stretched about a quarter mile. We would pump continuously for about an hour and the gas would run out. The guy who was the next in line when we ran out would really get pissed.

I was with my parents when they purchased a 1974 Buick Estate Wagon. I remember seeing the Rivera on visits to the dealership. I learned to drive in the family wagon and when I took my driver's test the instructor could not find a parking space large enough for me to parallel park it. Awesome memories!

I've gotta say I always loved this boat tail Buick Riviera. It really had great style unlike pretty much every car built nowadays. One thing that resulted from this was that the U.S. managed to figure out how to extract good amounts of oil from fracking oil shale. This was the time that American companies really dropped the ball and did almost nothing for 10 years or so while the Japanese and Germans brought fuel efficient cars to market. It took another decade after that up to 1990 or so, for us to catch up. The death of the behemoths was a long one.

I've got an 73 T bird black over burgundy 429 4bbl and the ride on that car is incredible. 1973 saw Ford sell 87, 269 T birds. Purchased 2 yrs ago, had the car weighed last summer and was 5,181 lbs and at 225 inches 7 centimeters long I realized I bought Noah's Ark. But she is just gorgeous. That's when Detroit used to build cars we wanted!! Remember those days?? Grew up in the 70s, how I miss those years. Much better place then

That was some list! I was laughing and thinking back too. A lot of those cars became quite fuel efficient over time. They got a lot smaller too. You cannot help but to appreciate these cars from that era for what they were. Thank you for the video and the video and information and effort.

Great research and presentation. In high school, my girlfriend's mom had a 1973 Chevy Impala, similar in size to the cars you counted down. I drove it once. You haven't lived until you've tried to find a space larger enough to parallel park one of these in a crowded area.

When these cars were on the drawing board they were designed to have a lot more HP. These cars were detuned fter hit with emmission regulations, then the were detuned even more to squeeze out more mpg than performance.

As a child, I admired these road ships and the upholstered interior, this was not the case in Europe, some tourists from the USA visited our country and at that time I couldn't tear myself away from these vehicles, they were so special that it was hard to imagine this in our country , there are many fans of these vehicles in our country, but I did not manage to rent one just to test how they drive, this is my great wish, today, unfortunately, the vehicle fleet in USA is very similar to ours in Europe, and that makes me sad

My wife drives a 76 Lincoln mark 4 now . She only drives locally so it's not so bad. One day a new Toyota car rear ended her Lincoln at 40 mph ! The engine on the Toyota jumped out of the engine cradle - body and engine parts all over the road. I drove her Lincoln home - bumper was bent and a tail light damaged. Well built car saved her life. Just saying.

I owned the 73 Mark lV. It became ridiculous when the embargo hit. My brother had the 73 T-Bird, so he was shafted too. It was a shocking time in America when we realized how other countries could affect our lives so directly.

I owned a 74 Monte Carlo and I loved that car. Honestly, I didn't pay attention to how much gas it guzzled because I was a teenager and since I was still living at home that wasn't a huge deal for me. I remember getting an awesome stereo system with an amplifier and I also got Keystone Classic wheels which looked SO good on that car!

I was born in 1951 and I remember the era of the large, heavy, big engine, gasoline guzzling, land yacht cars. These cars had a soft cushy ride the smoothed out all the bumps in the road. The largest car my parents owned was a 1971 Ford Country Sedan Station Wagon with a 400 cubic inch V8 engine. The fuel mileage figures given in this video appear to be city driving fuel economy figures. On the highway these large cars got somewhere around 14 to 15 miles to the gallon.

During the gas crisis, I made a trip across the country from CA to WI then to SC and back to CA. I discovered that you could buy plenty of gas if you got off the main hwys and at times just getting a couple blocks off the freeways you could buy all the gas you wanted even on Sundays. I still currently own a 1978 Cadillac Eldorado with a 425 cu in engine and get 11 around town but on the freeway 16-18 mpg

Just married, my wife and I bought a 1973 Pontiac Catalina during the depths of the gas crisis. We knew that the gas crisis would abate and that there would be plenty of gas to go around and at affordable prices. Consequently, we bought more car than we would ever have been able to afford since the dealer at the time we bought was almost giving them away, afraid the demand for big cars was vanishing. That car was like driving a B-52. All power, no environmental crap, just brute force on the highway burning low price per gallon gas. Had no maintenance issues other than new tires. It was truly one of the last of the great land cruisers.

My uncle had a 73 Monte Carlo with the swivel seats which I thought were so cool! On long highway trips I could actually see the needle on the gas gauge moving toward "E" lol They all move of course but I've never seen any move as fast as I'd see it move on the Monte!

My first car was a 1973 Cadillac Coupe DeVille that had the 472 cid engine. I bought it from my Grandparents (who bought it new) when I was 15 years old for $500.00 in 1987. It averaged about 9 mpg on a good day. A very comfortable car however…. I grew up in Montana…. So to be on the open road with the cruise control set was like riding on a cloud.

My dad always had those gas guzzlers . 78 Mark 5, 77 Ltd, 78 Mercury grand marquis, 75 Ltd, 74 Ltd, 77 Lincoln town car. Massive huge cars, monster 460, 400, 351 V8 engines. He barely got 10 mpg on the hwy. They ride great though

Parents had 1971 Toronado. I was in the Air Force and when they were in Florida, I drove their car to McGuire AFB instead of my 72 Pinto. What a gorgeous car! I got about 10 mpg on the open road and remember it costing me $30 driving it for the week I had it . To and from Long Island. I hated when they sold it for a 75 Cutlass!

I purchased my first new car in 1973 while in the military. I wanted a Chevrolet Caprice but the credit union refused, “too much car for a single man”. So I got a 73 Monte Carlo for about $3,000, bench seat and the 350 4 barrel carb. Loved driving that car. Never paid attention to the mpg, didn’t drive it that far from base, except to go home every month or two. Had another Monte Carlo in 76, that time with the swivel buckets and T top. The 73 Monte Carlo was the Motor Trend Car of the Year I believe, made me proud.

My brother owned a 73, 74, and 75 Thunderbird. The 1975 model barely made it from Tampa to Tallahassee on a tank of gas. When he got to Tallahassee, (approximately 250 miles) his low fuel light was on. His next car was a 1977 TOWN CAR.

my dad had a 70 dodge monaco. I remember racing someone from one block to the next set of lights. You'd get to the next intersection, and you could see the gas gauge dropping like a stone.

In college I was gifted my grandmother's 1973 Buick Electra 225. 455 CID V-8 with a 4-bbl carburetor. That beast could pass just about anything except a gas station 😂

Back in the mid-80s I bought a 73 Lincoln Continental. The most luxurious car I have ever owned. The ride was so smooth it felt like you were floating on air. I was kind of glad when I wrecked it, I could barely afford the gas ⛽. Probably only got about 10 mpg or less. It sure was beautiful though.

This is great! I worked for a Chrysler line dealership in 1973. Business went way down until Chrysler introduced the rebate. I wish you would have included fuel tank size for these dinosaurs. That last one, even with a 30 gallon tank would have only gone 210 miles.

Bought a '72 Lincoln for $500 as a very used car when I was in desperate circumstances.That 460 cid power-plant is a truck engine--the same truck engine that is widely reviled by commercial users. Rebuilt it once, then rebuilt the rebuild when the oil pump shaft twisted. On the other hand, it was a surprisingly handy boondocking vehicle. Let it creep at idle on those wide tires, and it would trundle through a foot of water or six inches of mud. I explored pretty much all of the Mendocino National Forest roads that way.

The 1973 cars were on the drawing board 2 or 3 years before production when gas prices were still about 30 cents a gallon.

I had a 1973 Pontiac Grandville with a 455 4 barrel carb. It was by far the most comfortable car I've ever driven. If I kept my foot out of it I could get a solid 8mpg. Wish I still had it.

Umm, (Sir/Ma'am) just 1 more thing 🤔. You know what's really funny? You have people today driving cars like Mini Coopers and little small Audi's that have a" back up camera" in them. But these cars wouldn't even fit in the average car garage in the 60s, LOL. My dad had a 1967 Plymouth fury that I drove in high school. Gas was $.50 a gallon. I was making two dollars an hour at a small taco place and was able to fill up that Plymouth, buy my class ring, my letterman jacket, and my prom tickets. Not to mention the bench seat for my girl when we went to the drive-in. What a great time to be alive.♥️👍

My family and friends owned various models in this video. As children we referred to the Thunderbirds, LTDs, Continentals, and Cadillacs as boats, due to their suspension and the way they rode. You felt like you were on a boat when riding in them. They were very comfortable and nice inside. Great for long trips on vacation. When the fuel costs sky rocketed my mom bought a bright yellow Ford Pinto brand new off the lot. It was such a lemon she took in back before the first year was over. Happy sailing!!

My first car was a 69 coupe deville back in 92. It was a great car had factory limited slip diff with snow tires and a couple of tractor weights in the trunk it would go anywhere a 4x4 could go. Just picked up another one to use as a daily driver again. I figured despite the poor fuel economy which isn't much worse than some large suv,s the insurance and registration and part's are only a fraction of newer cars also it will never encounter the problems these newer cars have and I can do all the maintenance myself with no expensive special tools.

Fun fact: all these cars weigh close to the current "mid-size" SUVs! Even a Rav4 is getting close to 4000 lbs. It's the old engines that gobble the gas.

My parents owned a 72 Olds Toronado & a 73 Chevy MonteCarlo. I got my license in 1985 & got my dad’s beat up 79 Lincoln Continental. Great memories of the old boats….my mom almost made it home in our driveway coming from Boston in the Blizzard of 78. Not bad for RWD….

I love these cars with a passion. It takes someone with a very high level of appreciation for sculpture and art to understand them. Most pedestrians, have no understanding of the design, so it’s lost on the majority of people. If you decide to part it out, I’d like to acquire some parts please.

In high school, I drove a hand-me-down 1973 Chevy Impala. That boat only got 9 miles per gallon. When I asked my dad for a little help with my fuel costs, he said "No problem." Then he proceeded to remove the AC unit from the car. The good news was that the MPG jumped all the way up to 13, but the bad news was that you couldn't wear shorts in the car when the temperature was above 85 or else your skin would stick to the vinyl seats.

Dad traded in his 4 door hard top impala for a Toyota Corolla. I still have that Corolla, it still runs and drives.

I remember as a kid being so “peed” off when gas went to $1.00 a gallon. It was taking away my profit margins in my neighborhood lawn mowing biz! Haha

We've always been told that Chrysler produced the biggest gas-guzzling dinosaurs back in '73. I'm glad to learn that the other automakers had them beat in this instance!

I had the 72 Toronado with the 455. I was a very economical driver and most of my driving was rural and highway cruising. I was pretty skilled at getting the most MPGs out of any car I drove. I averaged between 15-17 mpg with my Toronado

I remember the sad days in 1974, three years before I got my drivers license, of all the speed limit signs being taken down and replaced with ones that said 55. 18 months earlier we had driven from GA to Florida down I-75 and Daddy ran 80-90 the entire way. I remember we stopped at a station having a "gas war," and got regular 94 octane gas for $0.18/gallon!

I had just started a family and took a promotion that changed my work drive from 18 miles round trip to 85 miles..Gas jumped from .36 per gal to 1.48 or so. It would be like our 2.58 being 10 bucks a gal. I didn’t have trouble getting gas but you never passed up a chance to fill up either. It is sure when Datsun, Honda and Toyota gained their unremovable foothold on the American car market. It put the economy into such a tail spin that NE Ohio didn’t even start recover until the late 80’s . My children all long time adults just cant imagine those times.

I can confirm the 73 Toronado mileage was always between 7 to 9 mpg for any given tank. The gas tank held about 26 gallons. The one I had was amazingly fast for the weight and era. The front wheel drive performed well in snow. The 73 Olds Toronado drive train also powered the GMC Transmode and Motorhome of the same era. Mine was as reliable as any car of that era.

I had a '66 Riviera. It was absolutely fantastic. Weighed a ton actually several tons. With a huge 425 CU In nail head (the last year for it). Full set of gauges and still got 9 MPG. One of the gauges broke. The gas gauge! I ran out twice. Sold it and got a Pinto 4 spd. transmission and got 29 MPG. Loved that car. I would shift it when it wouldn't go any faster. haha

My father gave me a 1973 Lincoln Continental 4dr he was originally going to sell when I was just 19yrs old in 1980. I thought I was in heaven! But I got better than the stated 7mpg. More like 9 maybe 10 if I took it real easy on flat, highway conditions. Still, I absolutely loved that land yacht of a car! Great to get the girls at 19yrs old I tell you!!!

My Dad purchased a 73 Olds Cutlass Supreme coupe. Not one of the larger cars but those doors were enormous! Sadly he passed away in 81. He was 52 and I was 14. I inherited it at 16. It was such a cool car. While not a street machine, it did top out at 130 mph. Confirmed by me on the 210 Fwy. Valves never floated, it just wouldn't go any faster. Great date car!

I had one of several of these cars! My favorite was the 1973 Thunderbird 460 V-8. Mileage was more life 5 MPG But what a ride!❤

My 1st car at 18 years old….a ‘69 Fury III….HUGE!! At the same time my mother was driving a ‘71 Mercury Marquis Brogham….another beast that literally floated down the road . Drivers seat was like a plush leather la-z-boy. Fun at the drive in. Kids today will never know.

I just got my drivers license in 73 and went into the military. Hard to pick which was the biggest disaster. But man didn’t the cars look better! I sure do remember sitting in his car and hearing Dad tell the attendant. “ Two or three dollars worth. What ever stops first “ and don’t forget the glass please!

Those cars were like driving your sofa around town.

I was born in April of 73. I remember all these cars. My parents had a 1970 Cutlass Supreme, mom's car and dad a 1973 Mazda B1600 pickup. I now daily drive a 2001 Durango SLT Plus and a 2003 Dakota SLT Ext Cab,both owned since 2006. Mom drove a 1972 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser after the Cutlass and then they bought the 1st of 2 1979 Buick Estate Wagons with the Olds 403 V8. Their GM run ended with a 1982 Olds Regency Brougham with a whimpy 307. The she had an 87 Nissan Stanza GXE and finally went back to the V8 wagon style with a 95 Grand Cherokee Limited. Her last car is my now daily driver, the Durango. Dad's still around but the Dakota he drove up til 3 yrs ago is now mine and they both run pretty good got 20+yr old vehicles. Love the channel 👍

I finished high school in May 1973. When I left for college in August, gas was still in the 30-cent range but beginning to rise. By Xmas vacation, a gallon of gas had more than doubled. It was indeed a period of upheaval for family budgets.But I sure did enjoy my friend's 75 Ford Thunderbird in Lipstick red and white. The quietest car I've ever driven, andit wrapped the driver in luxury.

Great video!!! I love these big hogs of the seventies, I owned a 75 Mark lV, driving it was like floating down the road, it was smooth & quiet, I miss it!!! My dad had a 79 Town Car, the last of the big Lincolns!!! Thanks for sharing another fun video!!! 👍👍🙂

My Dad had a penchant for land yachts throughout the 60’s and 70’s. The ‘73 Chrysler New Yorker with the 440 cu. in. (215 HP) was the greatest gas guzzler he ever acquired. We never got more than 10 mpg in that boat.

I had a 1973 Eldorado in the mid 70's and I can totally relate to this video. It seems I just drove from gas station to the next gas station and often thought there was a hole in my gas tank. Needless to say I didn't keep it too long. Wish I had it now, these cars are getting up to $50,000 in the resale market as collectors items.

I remember it well. I used to work at a gas station during that time . What a nightmare.

My grandfather would go out and buy the most luxurious big Chevy as his car of choice (he owned General Motors stock and lived off the dividends). During the seventies he would own a '71 Caprice (in metallic lime green!). a '73 and a '75. I loved riding around in those land yachts, but I'm sure they cost a lot to run gas wise. When Chevy downsized the Caprice in '77 he bought one, and while not as spacey he loved the better handling and even better gas mileage. I still see a few restored Caprice convertibles around in my neighborhood every summer.

My mother had a '77 Town Car with a 460 and C6. It was almost 22 feet long and probably weighed 6k pounds. She kept track of her fuel economy, it got 10.1mpg year-round, overall. Similar to the ones at 7:30 in the video. It was a great car for long trips, comfy and roomy, but a gas guzzler.

My folks had a 73 Eldorado with landau bars, and the winged woman as a hood ornament. The 8mpg, would drop if you got off of the highway. On long trips, I could actually see the fuel gauge needle move - it had a 27.5 gal fuel tank. But... What a magic carpet ride!!!

Those gas hogs didn't go away. Today they aren't cars but HUGE trucks and SUVs. I bet they aren't much better around town than these land cruisers

I remember those days quite well. The second photo that you showed of a gas line with the 85.9 and 99.9 was fron 1979. This was round two of the gas shortage. In the line, you can see a 1979 Datsun 210 and a 1975 and up Chrysler Cordoba. We had the long lines, as well as odd and even days. The stations had flags to indicate when you could legally buy gas. Green was we are open. Didn't need it because you would see the line well before you got to the gas station. Yellow for emergency vehicles and red for no sale. Most stations would be open from 6AM to 8AM, then 4PM to 6 PM. The lines were excruciatingly long. I drove a 1972 Mercury Montego MX with a 351 V-8. I swear you could see the gas guage move.

In the early 70s, my father was the business manager/accountant for a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership in Canada. He was given a demonstrator as part of the job, but they got sold to customers from time to time and he'd get a temporary one for a few days until the dealership's owner figured out which car to give him next. One time he had to use a Plymouth Fury III with a six-cylinder engine - and it wasn't even the 225-cu in Slant Six. It was the 198 cu in. That huge barge with that tiny engine could barely get up to city street speeds. My father never even tried to take it out on a highway. It has to be the most under-powered car I've ever ridden in. He also had a Plymouth Superbird for a few days and you have NO idea how cool you instantly become when you get dropped off at school in one of those.

Hey, I still have 1972 Ford Torino with a V8 and 4 bbl carb. I also owned a 1973 Thunderbird with the gigantic 460 cubic inch V8. When I moved to LA I towed a double axle trainer over the Grapevine. I was still able to easily pass people, but I could literally watch the gas gauge go down, and I think that car had a 25 gallon gas tank! I think I got 1.7 MPG climbing that pass! When I took the engine out I remember the front got so light the bumper rose up to the level of my head!

Damn I love those land yachts! Back then out of those I had the Monte Carlo, Tbird & Town Car but also had a '72 Chrysler Newport 400 4bbl, '73 Plymouth Fury III 360 4bbl & '70 Buick Electra 225 455 4bbl & yes it was as expensive as hell to fill them up every 3 days...lol

IN THE UK HERE I OWN A 1973 olds 98 as new with 115k miles on her when I got her she had 40

Had a 1973 Thunderbird with a 460 as my first car. Cars back then started breaking down at 36k miles. Wish I had a 76 ElDorado now but maintenance would be hard to do! Happy with a 2019 rav4 at 35mpg now.

I used to have a little Honda 50 cub motorcycle. At the time it took just under $1 to fill the tank and that lasted me a week. This was back in the 90's. Great video.

I daily drive a 1972 Grand Prix (455) and get around 7mpg, all city. I also occasionally drive my '68 Eldorado and get around 8mpg with the 472, though I drive a little more carefully with it! I did manage to squeeze 15.5 mpg on an all highway trip home with the Eldorado

Love the 70s cars! Currently own a 79 Lincoln Continental 4 dr. With the 400 cid V8 the only engine offered, I get a respectable 9.5 MPG! Love it… every mile!

My 1972 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with a 350 2V & a 3:08 rear axle never got more than 10 mpg. I did drive like a madman. High test gas was $1.39 in the late 70s. It was 32 cents in 1973 before the phony gas crisis.

My dad bought a VW bug in 1969. Not sure what his MPG was (maybe 20-25MPG?), but I can tell you he didn't suffer like the US made vehicles over this period of time...

In 1973 my dad said ''One day you will have to pay $2 a gallon for gas''. I built a hot rod 2 wheel drive CJ2A flat fendered Jeep with a built Z-28 engine, Sig Erson roller cam, twin 750 Holly carbs, M-22 rock crusher trans. It got 4 miles per gallon but ran 11 second quarter miles. Gas was about 50 cents a gallon for Shell premium then. It broke my wallet but sure was fun. It was built with the Pismo Dunes in mind and with the paddle tires on it, I could climb anything out there. It still sits in a friend's back yard there rusting away. My girlfriend was bragging that they live in a $50,000 house in Long Beach. Time flies!

I was only 4 years old when these cars were around, but I remember them and the gas crisis of that time. Loved them and wish there were still big cars like these around today.

Many European cars at the time, was also great gas guzzlers. Rolls Royce, Bentley, Lamborghini, Ferrari and the infamous Jaguar V12 models all had a heavy gas consumption rating.

My driver’s Ed car was a Chrysler Newport. The teacher made me learn how to drive in a blizzard - literally, the first day on the road they cancelled school at 10 am. He dragged me off the bus, plunked me in the drivers seat and away we went for several hours. I learned how to go into and out of skids, find traction on an icy road and keep safe. Hat’s off to Mr. O, wherever you are! I am now 67. I have NEVER been in a car accident despite driving a couple million miles, here in the USA, and around the world. Learn how to drive at the worst times and the good times are a breeze!

I owned a 1970 Lincoln Continental 4-door sedan. Mileage was 5 and 9. That was the 365-horse 460. Glad to know I wasn't the only one who knew every gas station attendant in town.

I've had my 1973 2WD Blazer for over 30 years. It was originally built with a 350 4 barrel , but I wanted something that burned more fuel, so I pulled the 350 and dropped in a .030" over 400. Put a cam with a lot of overlap in it so it gets even worse gas mileage.

Question: where did these gas mileage estimates come from? The EPA did not require manufacturers to publish estimates in 1973. Not that I doubt some of these numbers but having quite a bit of experience with the worst of the lot, the '73 Lincoln Continental, I can tell you that overall gas mileage was much better than 7 MPG. I currently have a '73 Marquis Brougham with 429 (4V) and it can knock down 18 MPG on modern gas at a constant 55-60 on the highway, though the around town mileage is as bad as any on this list.

I started working at a service station in August '73, the gas crisis hit in September. I remember many of those land yachts. A little memory: when we wanted to close we'd take a "LAST CAR" sign to the end of the line and ask the driver if we could put the sign on the back of their car, "of course!" they were in. By the time that car made it's way to the pumps, the "LAST CAR" sign would have mysteriously made its way back several cars. We never made a fuss, just pumped the gas and got things closed up. There was also a lot of talk and interest in smaller cars. Learned a lot about people in those days, most folks were OK, but you did have your knuckleheads. Good times!.

I had a new ‘73 Chevelle SS, but only had the smaller 350 cu. in. 4-bbl. At the time of the gas crunch featuring 10-gallon purchase limits, I lived only 6 miles from work, which although a good thing on the wallet, it also meant all my travel was “city miles”. I averaged 7 mpg! 😱🤯