1974 Ford ThunderbirdOne can scarcely talk about the 1970s without mentioning a concept that's almost entirely alien to today's market full of crossovers, trucks, and SUVs. That's the personal luxury coupe. Like the name suggests, these coupes were designed for luxury, meaning they were often really long, covered in shag carpet and leather (or imitation leather), and more often than not were powered by a huge V8. The Ford Thunderbird from the era was one of the better known executions of this concept. In some cases, like the models from the 1950s and 1960s, it worked well. In 1974, it was starting to get a little bloated, and that's not in a metaphorical sense. It was a two-door car that weighed 5,068 pounds and was 224.8 inches long. A new Chevy Tahoe is 210.7 inches long. In 1974, a 460 cubic-inch V8 became the standard powerplant. That all sounds great until you see that it only makes 224 horsepower. A 7.5-liter V8 making less power than a new Toyota Camry is frankly ridiculous. The 1974 Ford Thunderbird was roughly the size of a city block, and made a laughable amount of power.1975 Chrysler CordobaThe Chrysler Cordoba, when it launched, was actually very successful — selling 150,105 cars the first year it was offered in 1975. Additionally, the sales campaign and numerous commercials featuring Ricardo Montalbán are iconic. However, an excellent ad blitz and fortuitous sales do not make a "good" car. The Cordoba, much like the Ford Thunderbird, was a personal luxury coupe that fell into the same pitfalls. Namely, it was huge and underpowered.Hemmings notes that the Cordoba came with three different engine displacements, depending on what options you picked: A 318 cubic-inch V8, a 360 cubic-inch V8, or a 400 cubic-inch V8. Not a single choice is particularly good. Perhaps the most egregious is the 165 horsepower two-barrel variant of the 400 cubic-inch engine. It's 6.5 liters and it manages to make less horsepower than the 2.0-liter four-cylinder found in a modern Toyota Corolla. It was also 17.9 feet long. A boating license, as opposed to a drivers license, may have been more appropriate for the Cordoba.