Was the new-for-1976 Chevette really a "new kind of American car," as claimed in this ad? With rear-wheel drive, anemic pushrod engine, and abysmal build quality, it was more like a new kind of unconditional surrender to the Honda Civic.

Still, the Chevette was better than the Vega it replaced (though the Vega was more technologically advanced), and even if it didn't have the interior space of the front-wheel-drive Civic or the reliability of the crude-but-functional Corolla, it was American, by God! Do we miss the Chevette? The Pinto? Discuss.