By Grant Stoecker\u00a0\/ Originally Published January 23, 2015\u00a0\/ Hagerty<\/span><\/p>\n

The Malaise era was the antithesis of the muscle car heyday that existed merely a year before its start in 1973. It was a dark period characterized best by underwhelming engines, EPA restrictions, and questionable styling- the only pleasure found in the fact that you could run your new Cobra through the gears without raising the attention of local law enforcement. The Malaise era wasn’t without hope, and the era saw production of a few diamonds in the rough. Here are our picks.<\/p>\n

$\"1981$
1981 Delorean<\/p><\/div>\n
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3. 1983-<\/span>86 Audi Quattro<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0– Germany continued to make fast cars throughout the malaise era, such as the BMW M1 and Porsche 930, but Audi created a whole new segment of car with the introduction of its all-wheel drive performance car, the Audi Quattro. The Quattro was originally introduced to the European marketplace in 1980, but did not make its way stateside until 1983. With power from its turbocharged 5 cylinder going to all four wheels, the Audi Quattro became a rally car legend, and the production models looked the part with its noticeable fender flares, Audi graphics, and BBS alloy wheels. The car was a head of its time, and only 664 were ever sold in the US before Audi discontinued it stateside in 1987.<\/span><\/p>\n
$\"1984$
1984 Audi Quattro<\/p><\/div>\n
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4. 1974-76\u00a0<\/span>Bricklin SV-1<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0– Canada\u2019s primary contribution to the malaise era was the brainchild of American millionaire Malcolm Bricklin, who dreamt of making the world\u2019s safest sport car, naming his creation the Safety Vehicle One, or SV-1. The SV-1 had a smattering of safety features ranging from an integrated roll cage to safety bumpers, and even lacked an ashtray to discourage drivers from smoking. The Bricklin was powered by an AMC or Ford V8, and was rated favorably at the time against its competitor, the Corvette. Despite initial reviews, the car was notorious for poor build quality, and the engine was prone to overheating due to its small radiator. Bricklin went into receivership in 1976, and the SV-1 was dead in the water.<\/span><\/p>\n
$\"1975$
1975 Bricklin SV-1<\/p><\/div>\n
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5.\u00a0<\/span>1987 Buick Grand National\/GNX<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0– The Buick Grand National was not your grandfather\u2019s Buick. Often referred to as Darth Vader\u2019s car due to its all black paint scheme, the Buick Grand National was powered by a Turbocharged V6, and was rated for only 245 horsepower. The Grand National Experimental, or GNX, was the baddest of the Grand Nationals, and after rolling off the production line, it was sent to the mad scientists over at McLaren Performance, who modified the engine to be able to run 0 to 60 in a mere 4.3 seconds, a figure impressive by modern standards.<\/span><\/p>\n
$\"1987$
1987 Buick Grand National GNX<\/p><\/div>\n
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This article has been reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder, Hagerty. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Click here for more<\/span>\u00a0<\/i>classic car stories<\/i><\/a><\/span>\u00a0from Hagerty.<\/span><\/i><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":6543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[136],"tags":[49,367,2252,2262,1479,2253,2256,2255,2254,2268,1359,18,2270,1126,2260,2261,2265,13,2263,2269,2249,593,885,884,1520,1125,2259,2251,2250,2267,2271,1544,2266,1362,348,2257,2258,343,2264],"class_list":["post-6537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-automotive-history","tag-8-track","tag-amc","tag-audi-quattro","tag-back-to-the-future-car","tag-bmw-m1","tag-bricklin-sv-1","tag-brut-reynold","tag-buick-gnx","tag-buick-grand-national","tag-canadian-cars","tag-colin-chapman","tag-corvette","tag-darth-vaders-car","tag-delorean-dmc-12","tag-dmc","tag-doc-brown","tag-flux-capacitor","tag-ford","tag-giorgetto-giugiaro","tag-grand-national-experimental","tag-grant-stoecker","tag-hagerty","tag-hagerty-classic-car-insurance","tag-hagerty-insurance","tag-hagerty-price-guide","tag-john-delorean","tag-journey","tag-malaise-era","tag-malaise-era-cars","tag-malcolm-bricklin","tag-mclaren-performance","tag-pontiac-firebird","tag-porsche-930","tag-renault","tag-smokey-and-the-bandit","tag-t-tops","tag-ta","tag-trans-am","tag-wankel-rotary-engine"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t