Top 10 Longest American Cars of the 1970s (land yachts)

353,288
0
Published 2024-05-05
In this video, size does matter as I go over the top ten longest American cars from the 1970s. These, as many call them, “land yachts” are absolutely beautiful and will always be. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler competed against one another in this segment that is no longer around today. Of course, I am no expert, so if I miss anything, please let me know in the comments below.
Thank you all for watching, I do apologize for the lack of consistency these past few weeks. I have a lot more time to put into the channel now.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 -Intro
1:58 -Car 1
3:24 -Car 2
4:56 -Car 3
6:40 -Car 4
8:03 -Car 5
10:07 -Car 6
11:53 -Car 7
12:38 -Car 8
13:41 -Car 9
14:27 -Car 10

Music: by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
DISCLAIMER:
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."

All Comments (21)
  • @sableminer8133
    Dude, u showcased not only my first car ('71 Olds Ninety Eight) but also the limo i drove part time one summer in the early '80s ('76 Cadillac stretch with divider window and full bar)! I got to drive a Lincoln stretch (late 70s) once but the Cad I liked better! Grand pa bought the Olds 98 new out in Odessa,TX for my grandma to go to the Piggly Wiggly in Big Springs! Metallic blue with a white vinyl top, that car would go onto my mom until I turned 15 with a learners permit and she got a rad '80 Mazda RX7 when she got a better paying job (whence I learned to drive a stick also). Thanks for the memories once again and yeah, Buick was on the higher pecking order back then. Olds was always at their heals with good looking, slightly more powerful "Rocket 8" engines I believe were used well into the late 70s but all the divisions designed their own engines.Buick was the doctor's car before he went all out on a Caddy! Those were the days but the Olds was truly a boulevard cruiser and I got tons of respect in that car cuz I kept her clean and talked my way out of more than one speeding tickets with the fuzz😅
  • @willbond
    I remember climbing in the backseat of my friends 1969 Buick Electra 225 4 door and I wouldn't have been surprised to see a fireplace.
  • @marianmoses9604
    My mom had a 1976 Olds 98. It had a 455 Olds V-8 under the hood. Plenty of power and it glided down the highway as smooth as silk. You could drive over almost any crap on the road and you’d never feel it. Lol! We took a road trip from Texas to Colorado in it in the summer of 1976 and it was a joy. You just set the cruise control - popped in an 8-track tape of easy listening music - and chilled out as the miles rolled by. The damn thing was almost as comfortable to sit in as laying in your bed at home. Such plush seats. There will never be cars like that again. What an era!
  • @kevinw1554
    When I was 16, in 1972, my dad bought a 1972 Imperial LeBaron 4 door hardtop in chestnut brown metalic with a brown vinyl roof. It had almost all the option boxes checked including separate rear seat heating system, power vent wing windows, all leather, stereo with cassette that could also record. It didn’t have sunroof or surestop 4 wheel antilock brakes (the only 4 wheel antilock system in the industry at the time, the other guys were only 2 wheel). It was a beast and he let me drive it. It really had presence. On the highway, the comfort was unbeatable especially in 1972. You could have a family of 4 live in the trunk. I always loved old Chryslers. I bought a 1960 Chrysler 300F in 1980, restored it, showed it then sold it in 1985. I always missed the car until I was offered it back 3 years ago. The collector owner stored it in a warehouse for 36 years! She came home to me🤗. Now in my senior years, I enjoy taking her out to local car events. Thank you for this, very informative!
  • @TPOrchestra
    My mother's husband let me drive his mid-seventies Cadillac. I'll never forget what it dream it was to drive. It was so effortless it seemed smaller than it was. No modern Cadillac can compare. Thanks, Matt.
  • @jadeddragon4254
    Todays youth will never know just how smooth these cars drove. And the sounds, sights and feel of them. I miss it
  • @s.vancourt9541
    I had a friend in high school whose parents owned a '63 Imperial. On one occasion I saw them put a lawn mower and two bicycles in the trunk -- and close the lid!
  • @afarangi4839
    I love these huge cars from the 60's and 70's, the good old days.
  • @bobc.6908
    Took my drivers license test in my Mom’s 67 Olds 98 in 1971. A year later she had a 1972 Buick Electra 225, later a 75 Ford LTD Brougham then a 78 Mercury Marquis Brougham. I drove all those cars at one time or another. The Marquis was my favorite, plush comfort. It was like driving a cloud.
  • @kevincleek8389
    Ahh, the memories. I learned to drive in my father's 1968 Dodge Monaco, only 213" long and 80" wide. I really believe that learning to drive in those bigger cars made us boomers better drivers, as we had to learn to maintain our lanes and park with much less room for error. People who learned later, in smaller cars (due to gas prices) had less need to learn to thread a long, wide car through narrow passages. Now, these people have moved up to big SUVs and many can't drive or park for squat.
  • @gerry5134
    When I was young and being from the U.K I only ever saw these cars on TV shows like kojak, starsky and hutch etc and I just thought they were fabulous !! The size of those station wagons are unbelievable.! You could live in one ! LoL 😆
  • @takemeback70s
    We owned a 79 Lincoln Continental Mark V Cartier Series. It was by far the smoothest riding car I've ever driven. Plush seats and every amenity you could think of. The hood was about as long as the Toyota I drive now. Great memories of that Lincoln. Thanks for posting this video.
  • @RandallFPS
    My Dad (born in '56) thanks you for this video.
  • @dhillaz
    The longest production SUV in 2024 is the Cadillac Escalade ESV at 227"...yet still shorter than every car on this list!
  • @roadcalm3303
    This is like a ride down memory lane for me. My Father had a 75 Electra Limited. It was the ultimate highway cruiser. Our neighbor across the street bought a 76 Olds 98. Our other neighbor across the street and two houses up bought a 74 Cadillac Fleetwood. My Fathers Best friend was going to trade his 67 Coupe De Ville in for a 77 Coupe De Ville, but he didn’t like how they cut them down, so he bought a leftover 76. We also knew people who had Chrysler New Yorkers and Lincoln Continentals. I had a chance to ride in all of these huge land yachts. They look ridiculously big now, but back in the 70’s they were so common, they looked normal.
  • @hunter7e7
    When I was a kid we had a 76 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Brougham. Beautiful hardtop in blue with opera windows and vinyl top. Great Car!
  • @jasperlit1345
    The order of hierarchy for luxury GM cars back then was Cadillac> Buick> Oldsmobile> Pontiac> Chevrolet
  • @user-jw9kl4qd9t
    LOL I used to own one of the biggest. I had a 1969 Chrysler Imperial LeBaron. It had a 440 cubic inch engine that could pass anything on the road but a gas station. I think it got 10 miles a gallon coasting downhill.
  • @irelandmsk8901
    In 79, my father working for Boeing in Wichta Kansas, decided to take us on a family road trip before heading back to UK. He bought a 72 Le Baron Imperial..Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Ilinois, Missouri..Kansas..5000+miles..staying Holiday Inns, Howard Johnsons, taking in every major landmark on the way..never broke down,, maybe a fan belt..6-8mpg..the car was perfect.. and even then... everybody wanted to talk to my father about it..