Thirty-five years ago, I reviewed in The Denver Post the 1981 Honda Civic. Excerpts:

It’s no surprise the little Civic is still the bread-and-butter car of the Honda lineup. It is an excellent vehicle for getting about the city – quick and economical with good traction in the snow from its front-wheel-drive system.

Driving an ’81 Civic 1500 DX Hatchback in Denver resulted in fuel mileage of 34.8 miles per gallon. The 1,800-pounder was equipped with a 1,488 cc engine and is one of the faster 4-cylinder subcompacts on getaway.

The 5-speed manual transmission is shifted easily, with no push or pull or slap required to engage reverse, just move it in. Under-the-hood working room is plenty, and the plugs, oil filter, alternator and battery are reached easily.

Quality and craftsmanship of the Japanese-built Honda show in tightness of the body. Controls are well-placed except  those for the rear wiper and defogger, which are around to the side of the main instrument panel.

Basic price of the Civic 1500 DX is $5,099, which includes steel-belted radial tires, remote hatch release, intermittent windshield wipers and rear window wiper, washer and defroster. High-altitude emission control equipment added $30 to the price, undercoating was $47 and freight of $172 brought window sticker total to $5,348.

Turning circle of the Civic, which has 13-inch wheels, is only 31.5 feet. On a wheelbase of 88.6 inches, it is 148 inches long, 62 inches wide and 53 inches high. Tread is a narrow 53.5 inches in front and 54.3 at the rear.

The Civic was introduced in this country in 1973. Honda also makes a larger Accord model and sportier Prelude.

I borrowed the car for testing from Ralph Schomp Oldsmobile Honda at 2949 S. Broadway, Englewood.

Thirty-five years ago this week, in May 1980, I reviewed in The Denver Post the ’80 Marathon electric automobile. Excerpts:

Choosing between the use of 3^rd or 4^th gears – a tradeoff between range or speed – is one of the few decisions to make while driving a Marathon electric. Its operation is smooth but slow and limited, and marked by simplicity.

Testing of an electric seems appropriate since several models have recently become available in Denver.

The Marathon, sold by John and Josie Fetters of Alternative Autos on East Colfax, is called a utility vehicle. It is a two-passenger type with rear deck for cargo, and has jeep-like doors and canvas top. Selling price, like all automobiles, has shot up, going from $6,800 last year to $8,500.

Builders of the Marathon claim a minimum range of 30 miles between charges. My first-day test ran 24 miles.

Hills proved to be the biggest challenge for the Marathon, with speed falling to as low as 15 on some of the steeper ones. Second gear held the speed at 18 going up the hill at the 20^th Street viaduct; the relatively slow pace riled many motorists following me in the 5 p.m. rush hour.

The company claims top speed of 30; the Marathon actually ran easily at 35 in 4^th gear. It isn’t fast enough, though, for use on the Valley Highway.

Below the cargo deck at the rear is the power source – 12 six-volt heavy-duty batteries. They supply the 72-volt, 8-horsepower electric motor at the front of the auto. Lights, horn, windshield wipers and washers are supplied by a separate 12-volt battery. The car is absolutely silent at idle.

The 2,300-pound vehicle has good braking from its front discs and rear drums. The ride is on the stiff side. Suspension includes coil springs in front and leaf springs at the rear. Wheels are 13-inch.

The company says an overnight charge of the batteries costs less than 30 cents. Battery life should be sufficient for approximately 20,000 miles of driving, according to Marathon officials.

Thirty-five years ago this week, I reviewed in the Denver Post the 1980 Plymouth Gran Fury Salon four-door sedan. Excerpts:

The long popular Plymouth nameplate, which has been surprisingly short in model variety for several years, has been expanded this year (1980) with the return of the Gran Fury, last built in 1977.

The new one is a good-handling, comfortable-riding full-sized model, quite the same as the Dodge St. Regis and Chrysler Newport. Excellent braking complements the handling. The Gran Fury is aimed against the Ford LTD and Chevrolet Caprice and Impala.

The car, powered by Chrysler’s 318-cubic-inch-displacement V-8 engine, rolled up gas mileage averages of 13.2 and 21.8 in town and highway drives, respectively. Acceleration is strong in low gear, then falls.

The six-passenger sedan has a large trunk of 21.3 cubic feet capacity. The 3,600-pound car is built on a wheelbase of 118.5 inches.

Base price of the Plymouth is $6,927 with power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission and seat-belt chimes. Among options which raised sticker price to $10,600 were halogen headlamps, cornering lights, speed control, power bench seat of ribbed velour fabric, power windows and power locks (the locks seemed inconveniently placed on the window sills).

Other Plymouth models are the subcompact Horizon and the compact Volare, besides imports from Japan.

Thirty-five years ago this week, I reviewed in The Denver Post the 25^th anniversary 1980 Ford Thunderbird and the original ’55 model. Excerpts:

The stylish new 1980 Ford Thunderbird marks 25 years since introduction of one of the most prestigious model names in automotive history.

The year 1955 was a glamorous one for cars. When the ‘55s hit the showroom floors they were the most colorful and powerful, and displayed the most significant styling changes, of any one-year changeover before or since (to that time).

Every carmaker joined the move, but the big scene-stealer was the first Thunderbird, a little two-seater convertible with a removable hardtop. The 52-inch-high ’55 T-Bird was a sports car for those wanting something different. Built on a 102-inch wheelbase with an overall length of 175 inches, it was powered by a Y-block 292-cubic-inch-displacement V-8 engine with 193 horsepower. Base price was $2,695.

To provide better rear visibility, the famed porthole was designed into the hardtop of the ’56 T-Bird and tailfins were added in 1957.

To appeal to a broader segment of the public, a rear seat was added in 1958, sales tripled, and it was named “Car of the Year” by Motor Trend. The Birds continued to grow in size and by 1976 the car was 225 inches long with a curb weight of 5,100 pounds.

A sharp increase in fuel mileage and the best design since the early T-Birds highlight the smaller 1980 Thunderbird.

The comfort level in the high-seated ’80 model is unmatched in previous T-Birds. It is on a wheelbase of 108 inches and weighs 3,270 pounds. Handling is good with the McPherson struts, coil springs and variable-ratio rack-and-pinion steering.

The big boost in gas mileages comes with an automatic overdrive transmission, available with the Thunderbird’s optional 302-cubic-inch V-8 engine (standard is a 255 V-8). An electronically controlled keyless entry system locks and unlocks the doors and unlocks the decklid by depressing calculator-type pushbuttons in a programmed five-digit sequence.

Following are excerpts of a column, featuring a 1942 Packard of the late Gen. Douglas MacArthur, in The Denver Post in early November 1979, 35 years ago (I was automotive editor in the Post’s business news department at the time):

What would induce a Colorado man to pay out $175,000 for a drab olive-colored 1942 Packard Clipper?

A peek into the back seat gives a clue to the value of the vehicle, which is sitting in the new facility of Class-iques Colorado Inc., in Golden. There’s an old Army helmet and a corncob pipe, left there by Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

The car was MacArthur’s from his World War II days in the Philippines in 1942 to the end of the occupation of Japan in 1948, when he gave it to a driver who had served the general. The car sat forgotten in a barn in Texas for 30 years.

(The late) Bob Esbenson, co-owner with author Clive Cussler of the new classic car garage in Golden, said the Colorado buyer wishes to remain anonymous. The auto was purchased from Tom Barrett, internationally known car collector from Scottsdale, Ariz.

The khaki car is decorated with stars, flags, military lights, adjustable louvered headlight shutters and siren. Atop the Clipper hood ornament is a cormorant. Inside is a submachine gun mounted at the dash, fire extinguisher and first-aid kit, in addition to the helmet and pipe.

The car was a gift to MacArthur from the employes of the Packard company. It followed him from Australia to the Philippines to the occupation of Japan.

The car was retired in 1948 and MacArthur presented it to his driver. The five-star general made arrangements through a Navy friend, a skipper of the aircraft carrier Princeton, for transportation of the auto to San Diego.

It was loaded onto a military flatbed truck and carried to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, where it was released to the driver. In his home city of Dallas, he made arrangements to have the military hardware removed and the body painted a bright postwar color. But the body shop was busy at the time and he agreed to bring it back in a week. That night, after parking the Packard in his small, dirt-floor garage, the driver died in his sleep. There the Clipper remained untouched year after year until Barrett recently acquired it.

How the Packard became a gift to MacArthur is an interesting tale. His check for $2,600 which accompanied the order for the auto was returned to him with a letter (dated Feb. 25, 1942, portions of which follow) from M.M.Gilman, president of the Packard Motor Car Co.:

“We are deeply honored that your interest in the Packard motor car has prompted your personal order for one for military service. A shipment of our vehicles will be leaving our plant in March for the military; these will be the last cars to leave our facilities until the end of hostilities. Included in this shipment is one Packard sedan model 2011motor number E318750D which is a gift to you from all the employees and their families of the Packard Motor Car Company. We hope this gift will express to you our heartfelt thanks, appreciation and support for your fantastic efforts on behalf of our country during this period of great peril. Your two thousand six hundred dollars is herein returned with our compliments.”

I drove the Packard and the old straight-8 engine is amazingly quiet. The starter button is beneath the accelerator pedal. The car is solid and handles fine. Driving it might not make you feel like a five-star general; it makes you feel more like a chauffeur for the general.

If the big auto doesn’t command the road, a flip of a toggle switch puts a siren at your fingertip, activated by the horn ring.

It was equipped with an air conditioner, one of the first in the auto industry, and the cooling unit was so large it had to be mounted in the trunk.

The ’42 Packard Clipper is on a wheelbase of 120 inches and weighs 3,600 pounds. It is 208.5 inches long, 76.1 inches wide and 63.5 high.

The L-head eight-cylinder engine has a 282-cubic-inch displacement and a compression ratio of 6.85 to 1.

It averaged about 13 miles per gallon and had a 17-gallon fuel tank. Tire size was 6.50×13.

Thirty-five years ago this month, when the movement to front-wheel-drive cars was beginning to really roll in Colorado, I reviewed in Denver the 1980 Oldsmobile Omega Brougham Coupe. Here are some excerpts from that column:

Oldsmobile, builder of the longtime hot-selling Cutlass, has another hit on its hands. The model name, Omega, isn’t new, but the car is, and what a reception it has had in the showroom. Some persons are waiting several months to get their hands on these ’80 models, which were introduced in late April.

What’s so different about the new one? It’s got the good-handling front-wheel-drive setup, for one thing, and offers a choice of transverse-mounted 4-cylinder of V-6 engines which produce gas mileage figures out of reach of the older Omegas.

Driving of a V-6-powered Omega Brougham Coupe with automatic transmission on a straight highway run recorded impressive fuel mileage of 32.2 miles per gallon. However, mileage took a sizable drop to 20.3 when air conditioning was used on a half-highway, half-town test.

The automatic transmission shifted smoother with the V-6 than in similar cars (Buick Skylark, Pontiac Phoenix, Chevrolet Citation) tested earlier with 4-cylinder engines. The Olds V-6 engine, 2.8-liter (173 cubic inches) in size, produced good power. It develops 115 horsepower, with compression ratio of 8.5 to 1.

Base price of the Brougham Coupe is $5,014, which includes such standard items as an AM radio, rack-and-pinion steering, maintenance-free wheel bearings, radial tires and inside hood release. Optional equipment, in addition to the V-6 and automatic transmission, included air conditioning for $527, vinyl landau roof $167, power steering $153, power front disc brakes $71, whitewall tires $39, dual horn $8, power antenna $44, power side windows $123 and electric rear-window defroster $93. Total window-sticker price was $8,105.

The 2,560-pound auto is 750 pounds lighter than last year’s Omega and is 6 inches shorter in wheelbase. The smaller engines, lighter bumpers and new front and rear suspension systems added to the weight reduction.

Twenty years ago this summer, in 1994, I interviewed John Elway regarding his Dodge Viper, one of 189 numbered models of the original Viper. Excerpts:

John Elway, owner of the ultimate performance car – a rare Dodge Viper – won’t part with the car. He and Rod Buscher, his partner, will sell you a performance car – a Toyota Supra Turbo, a Nissan 300ZX or a Mazda RX-7. But the Viper? Forget it. Elway would sooner just buy a Dodge dealership then get rid of the Viper. Buscher said they really would like a Dodge dealership, or Ford or General Motors, “but these days there are few available.”

The V-10-powered Viper is the quickest production car sold in this country. I’ve not driven one; the quickest I’ve driven this year have been the Toyota Supra Turbo, the turbo-powered Saab Aero and the Chevrolet Corvette. Elway bought his Viper from Doug Moreland at Cherry Creek Dodge in 1992 when only 189 numbered models were sold. He’s driven the car only 965 miles, “most of that has been taking the kids for rides,” he said. “They (Jessica, Jordan, Jack and Juliana) really enjoy the car.” Elway’s main means of transportation is a Mercedes-Benz 500SEL four-door. His wife Janet switches between a Mazda MPV minivan and a Toyota Camry wagon.

Elway, the top quarterback in the National Football League, said he tries to spend at least two days a week at his dealerships. “With my other commitments, that’s about all I can do and still have time for my family,” he said. We didn’t talk football, but at the end of our conversation when I suggested we cover some ground, he in his Viper and me in the Corvette I had borrowed, Elway said: “I’ll pass.”

Thirty-five years ago, I reviewed in Denver a British-built 1979 MGB roadster, borrowed from Victor Witanski of Foreign & Sports Cars, 1147 Broadway. Excerpts:

Is British Leyland really about to stop production of the MG sports car, one of the most readily recognized and generally liked names in the British and American auto markets? Production is expected to conclude at the end of the 1980 model run. MGs have been sold in the U.S. since 1948, when the TC model with its cut-down doors was popular. An MG makes you want to forget computers and deadlines and just drive the countryside all day. Good steering response and an easy-shifting 4-speed transmission add to the fun of driving the ’79 MGB convertible. Added to a price of $6,795 for the MGB were an AM/FM 8-track for $275, polyglycoat and undercoat $239, trim rings $48, luggage rack $98, pinstriping $85, preparation and transportation $275 and delivery and handling $95, bringing the total to $7,910. Putting the top up and taking it down, with necessary snapping and unsnapping, will take a few minutes. The low-slung runner is powered by a 110-cubic-inch, 4-cylinder engine with a compression ratio of 8-to-1. On a wheelbase of only 91 inches, the car weighs 2,410 pounds, and has a turning circle of 32 feet. The MG TC’s introduction into the U.S. was followed in late 1949 by the TD; then came the TF (1953-55) and the MGA, which was succeeded by the MGB in 1962.

From 35 years ago this summer, I remember the rough shift of the automatic transmission from first gear to second in the 1979 Mazda RX-7 sports car with rotary engine, loaned to me by Buckingham Imports, 334 Havana St., Aurora. Excerpts from the review back then:

The addition of an automatic transmission to the 1979 Mazda RX-7 took none of the allure from that popular sports car. It’s not as quick as a stick on getaway, though it’s easier driving in the city, and at about 25 miles per hour or 3,500 rpm the automatic begins to run right along with the 4-speed. The ride offered by the two-seater is above average for a sports car, and handling is outstanding. Weight distribution is the key, as the compact rotary engine is mounted far back in the engine compartment behind the front axles. It was at its best on the hills and curves of the highway between Castle Rock and Franktown. Mazda’s use of rotary engines was cut by poor ratings of the Environmental Protection Agency five years ago. The present rotary, free of most vibrations, averaged 15.6 miles per gallon in town driving and 20.6 on the highway. The 2,400-pound RX-7 is on a wheelbase of only 95 inches and is 169 inches in overall length. With its narrow track, turning circle is only 31.5 feet. Its window sticker of $9,739  included the automatic transmission, air conditioning, removable sunroof, AM/FM stereo radio with power antenna, alloy wheels and electric remote hatch release. Officials of Toyo Kogyo, the Japanese builder of the Mazda, compare the RX-7 to the 1947 MG-TC, the ’53 Corvette and the ’70 Datsun 240-Z. I don’t know about that.