The move from performance to luxury in the Seventies was an interesting way of glossing over the fact that every V8 produced in the decade had been seriously neutered by the EPA and that none of the manufacturers really knew how to make things work properly while not pumping out chemicals by the ton out of the rear pipes. You could see that in their advertising: instead of letting the halo model sell the mass-market units, you had these strange meetings of shiny chrome and strange additional gingerbread like opera lamps and medallions paired off with the prototypical “disco couple”: her in an evening gown, with Charlie’s Angels hair, and the sir in a tuxedo or well-to-do suit, complete with a mustache that only looks good on Sam Elliot or Tom Sellack. The idea was that you gently pulled up to some fine venue in your fluffed-up and gutless ride and everybody went ooh and ahh. 

Please. Ten years later, most of these rides were sporting aftermarket wheels, loud pipes and usually a rear-high stance, while mom and dad greyed out and bought Honda Accords or Ford Tauruses by the truckload. The Seventies did do one thing right: it offered up roomy two-doors that could take any V8 offered with ease, packing very comfortable interiors. And maybe that’s why this 1977 Ford LTD II is so appealing…the knife-edged followup to the Ford Torino Elite, the LTD II was one of three different ideas from the guys at Ford: it was either (A) a stripped-down car for the low-buck entry, (B) the sporty intermediate to replace the Torino, or (C) the one step below the Thunderbird in terms of opulence and weak-kneed power. There’s a 400 under the hood, so the power won’t be as dismal as the overwhelmed 302, and whoever stuck on those wide turbines and BFGs…bravo, excellent taste.

There’s plenty to work with…you just need to add a horsepower injection to make these 1970s barges more than asphalt crushers.

eBay Link: 1977 Ford LTD II Brougham