Meantime, the economy fast pulled out from its gas-crisis doldrums, and the 1980s approached with signs that Detroit had learned to live with “Fed regs,” thus promising a return to real style and performance at last. Could a new performance era be ahead? Engineers were fast developing technology for doing more with less, but did performance have a place in this brave new world? If a lender sees you as a low risk borrower because you have good credit, you could be more of a target for low-interest offers on lines of credit. Unfortunately, at least part of the reason why barons like Carnegie and Rockefeller were able to become so affluent was because their businesses’ bottom lines weren’t hampered by things like child labor laws and minimum wage requirements. The Datsun 240Z is a sports car that was first introduced by Nissan in 1969. It is notable for being one of the most successful sports car lines ever produced. Its “shaker” scoop throbbing with power, the 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 428 Cobra Jet was the muscle car Mustang fans had waited for. The 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 was the last Boss and, with a 330-bhp solid-lifter 351-cid ram-air V-8, among the best.

Perhaps the most encouraging marker was a clean-sheet 1979 Mustang and companion Mercury Capri: roadable, slick-looking new-think pony cars that admirably reconciled many conflicting demands of the day. By 1975, the casualty count included most big-block engines and such icon performers as the Buick GS, Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport, Dodge Charger R/T and Super Bee, Ford Torino Cobra, Mercury Cyclone Spoiler, and Plymouth GTX. For example, the 1971-73 Plymouth Duster 340 and Dodge Demon/Dart Sport 340 offered up to 240 net bhp, plus nifty fastback coupe styling, eye-grabbing colors, and enough tape stripes and black accent paint for a Trans-Am race car. That same year, GM switched its advertised engine ratings from gross figures to more-realistic net numbers, which made the power and torque losses look even worse on paper. A 360 V-8 came in for ’74, but for easier emissions tuning, not extra power. Plastic became cheaper and easier to make in the 1950s, and it seemed like the perfect material.

Some people like to do this themselves while many others hire a home theater service. When a hotel’s KPIs like occupancy rates, ADR and RevPAR increases, it is usually a good indication that the hotel is running profitably. And let’s not forget all the hit ’60s songs celebrating fast cars and good times. Demand for big, fast, thirsty cars dried up as rising gas prices and hefty insurance premiums had many buyers looking at thriftier, more affordable Detroit compacts and imported minicars. Or would a new generation of car buyers, many weaned on economy imports, be looking for something else entirely? The muscle car was about to be reborn. Pony Cars EverThe rebirth of muscle cars depended heavily on revived pony cars. Several factors drove this rebirth. The above factors symbolize the appearance and the quality of every room you find in hotels. A tiny dry, porcelain shelf sits aloft in each toilet bowl, perched daintily above the water level, allowing everyone a chance to consider their elimination’s complexities before flushing. It also rattled Congress into enacting a Corporate Average Fuel Economy law (CAFE), starting with 1978 models that required automakers to meet progressively higher minimum-mpg targets against the threat of hefty fines.

But as far as high end luxury cars go, the Lexus LS gets top marks for having among the lowest insurance costs, breakdowns, repair bills and fuel economy. The thing is, the new-age muscle cars soon matured to the point of outperforming their 1960s grandfathers: faster yet more fuel-efficient, smaller outside but no less spacious inside, and far more capable when the road turned curvy. According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), coffee is Ethiopia’s biggest export, accounting for more than a quarter of its export value (its next largest export is gold). Packing a 455-cid V-8, the 1971 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am featured the biggest engine ever put in a pony car. So, too, the top-performing Pontiac Firebirds. Times had changed. But Detroit had changed, too, and was ready to spring some surprises. Then, in spring 1979, came a second gas crunch that had buyers scurrying back to smaller cars again. But, Britney has battled back since shaving her head in 2007. Oh baby, baby, do we love a comeback!