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Greetings and Welcome to The 405 Coffee Break with O.K. Solberg
New episodes tend to air over the local KMMR radio station @ 5 minutes past 4PM each M-F. And have been doing so, nearly every week since Sept 2018.
New episodes appear here usually within a few hours after that KMMR air time and been striving to post new releases here by 4:30PM.
Wanna again welcome you to the 405 Coffee Break. Guys, new week. Get you cup of coffee, glass iced tea, bottle of water. Let's see what's happening.
OK Solberg:Spring wheat down a bit, $6.36 a bushel. 550lb steer calf there dropping off too guys, $4.40 a pound, and a 100lb fat lamb in Billings from $3.10 to $3.15 a pound. But guys, there's more, much more.
OK Solberg:So I said it's Monday, and that means it's Jay and Joe's Motor Monday. And I have a special addition today.
OK Solberg:My sister, Evie, she lives in the Seattle area, but she grew up here, right here in Phillips County during the 1970's as well as me and a bunch of the rest of us.
OK Solberg:And she sent me 7 cars from the 1970's that turned some heads and got more headlines. So thanks, Evie. And you guys see if you remember these cars.
OK Solberg:#1 the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, the 2nd generation Firebird appeared for the 1970 year, but the Trans Am became a national sensation after the 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit, in which a black Trans Am was the star automobile.
OK Solberg:Pontiac sold 46,704 Trans Ams in 1976, but by 1979, they sold a 117,000. The numbers made the movie effects especially striking. Because of the movie, more people bought a Trans Am. Sales more than doubled from 1976 to 1979.
OK Solberg:#2 the Chevrolet Corvette. The Corvette made 1970 headlines partly because it survived a difficult decade for performance cars with emissions regulations, safety requirements, and rising fuel prices changing the American automobile.
OK Solberg:In 1977, Chevrolet built the 500 thousandths Corvette. That's a half a million. And in 1978, the Corvette became the official pace car for the Indianapolis 500 for the 1st time.
OK Solberg:#3 the Osmobile Cutlass. The Olds Cutlass became an extraordinary sales story in the 1970's accumulating in 1976 when it became, listen guys, America's best selling car.
OK Solberg:Yes. It did. 1976. Contemporary reporting in January '77 said Cutlass sales were already 488,500. The Washington Post reported Cutlass sold more than 486,000 in the 1976 year.
OK Solberg:#4 the Datsun 240Z. The Datsun 240Z arrived in America as an affordable Japanese sports car. What about that? Nissan said it sold 27,000 examples in its 1st year, while later US sales climbed above 50,000 annually.
OK Solberg:#5 the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Lots of us saw the Monte Carlo around. The Monte Carlo became one of Chevrolet's defining personal luxury cars from the 1970's and its popularity exploded during the mid of the decade.
OK Solberg:1976 was a record year. That was the year Evie graduated too, with approximately 353,000 Monte Carlos sold according to production records.
OK Solberg:Chevrolet says more than one and a half million second generation Monte Carlos were produced from 73 through '77, making it one of the signature American cars of the decade.
OK Solberg:#6 you're not gonna bet guess it, AMC Gremlin. AMC introduced the Gremlin on 04/01/1970, April Fool's Day, making it one of the of America's 1st domestically built subcompact cars and an early American response to the growing popularity of small imported automobiles.
OK Solberg:Its unusual appearance, essentially a shortened hornet with a dramatically chopped rear end, made it one of the most talked about new cars of the era. Despite the jokes, AMC sold over 25,000 gremlins.
OK Solberg:#7 on the list, the final one, the Volkswagen Beetle. The Beetle made headlines in the 1970's. The Volkswagen worldwide production passed 15,000,000. 15,000,000. Are you kidding me?
OK Solberg:In 1972, surpassing the previous production record that was held by none other than Ford Motor Company with the Ford Model T. Volkswagen's own production figures show another 1,200,000 beetles built in 1972 and more than 1,200,000 in 1973. Check it out, guys. There's an interesting heading for each one. These aren't simply 7 cars that people remember.
OK Solberg:They each have a specific headline making story. Pontiac Firebird Trans Am was a movie star. Chevrolet Corvette was the American sports car milestone. The Olds Cutlass was a sales champion. Datsun 240Z became the Japanese sports car invasion.
OK Solberg:The Chevrolet Monte Carlo was the personal luxury phenomena. The AMC Gremlin was the unusual American sub compact. And finally, I'll never forget the Volkswagen Beetle became the production record breaker, even outsold the Ford model T.
OK Solberg:So thanks, Evie. And guys, Evie and I studied confirmation together back in the 1970's and we needed to memorize all these bible verses.
OK Solberg:Well, one verse that both Evie and I remember well from back in those times was John 11:35 Jesus wept. Shortest verse in the Bible, and Evie and I spoke of it often. Jesus wept, and I might start crying now because I have to say,
OK Solberg:So until next time. As you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.