Happy New Year, and a very Happy New Decade too! So, it’s 2020 and the 21st century’s second decade already; a year and decade that promise considerable changes in the type and style of cars we drive (or maybe autonomously self-drive us), with the eventual phasing out and demise of the internal combustion engine and the growth of electric power – whether we like it or not, given the latter’s questionable ‘green’ credentials.
Half a century ago the motoring world was a very different proposition, with a wealth of optimistic, exciting and influential new models being launched in 1970; from a pioneering ‘luxury’ 4x4 (or SUV as we know called them), a couple of truly remarkable family cars (plus some quite unremarkable British contributions), a pair of space-age GT coupes, an open-top tourer, two affordable coupes, a laughable attempt at an American economy car, plus a zany three-wheeler.
Here are 14 new car models that made their global debuts in 1970, some more noteworthy than others.