Welcome to Found Around The District, where we highlight fascinating cars we find around a city where people are too busy fighting through traffic and hunting for parking to drive anything interesting: Washington, D.C.
Besides baseball, apple pie, and wasteful government spending, what could possibly be more American than the hulking V8-powered sedans and coupes of the 60s and 70s? Nothing, if you ask me. That's why I found it extremely fitting that I found this pair in a parking lot not terribly far from the Capitol. (This is also the first time you're getting a two-for-one deal on my "Found Around" stories. How's that for customer service?)
I found this duo not far from a Zipcar parking lot, and while I ended up zipping around in a Mazda3 — an extremely competent modern small car — I sure would have preferred borrowing that red Chevrolet Impala for the afternoon instead. It's fairly clear that this one was a fifth-gen Impala, the one made from 1970 to 1976. Sorry, Mazda, but this one has you beat in the style department.
It was a pretty good looking car, albeit one that didn't stand out too much from the competition of that era. Long hood, long wheelbase, convertible top, wide grille — all pretty standard 1970s American fare. That doesn't make it any less attractive or special today, though.
Now, the light green car parked next it was in... um, less than ideal shape, as you can see. It looks like it was in a pretty nasty front end collision at some point. That and the lack of badges all around make it harder for me to tell what this car even is. It looks to be from the same era as the red Impala, but I don't think it's the same model because the hoods are different. I have no doubt that you guys can figure it out. Any guesses what it is?
Also, what's your favorite big American coupe from the 1970s?
Update: As most of you pointed out already, it appears to be an early 1970s Ford LTD. Good eye, everyone.