Maybe we should revisit an idea of George Mason’s.

Not the Founding Father George Mason who was largely responsible for the Bill of Rights. No, the other George Mason who was the chairman of Nash-Kelvinator.

After World War II, Mason the latter became interested in “minimum transportation.” Just how much machine does a person or a family need to go about their business? People were moving to the suburbs, and women, who had contributed greatly to the war effort, were continuing to work. He saw the rise of women as a viable marketing opportunity for a new type of car.

While the Riviera name in the Buick scheme dates as far back as the late 1940s, it wasn't until 1963 that the Riviera became a stand-alone model. It was at that time that the Riv became a symbol of American luxury, power, and design that solidified the car's classic status.

My first glimpse of a 1971 Alfa Romeo GTV was 22 years ago, in a junkyard, and the sight was not far enough away from what I see right now in my garage. Some friends and I had made the trip across town to the only junkyard we knew of that had a supply of foreign cars. I was looking for a piece of bumper trim for my Alfa Spider, and my friend was looking for a Scirocco door handle.  My experience with Alfa coupes was limited to the then current Alfetta GT, to which I found my convertible preferable. But there in the junkyard I saw the shell of a proper GTV, and I knew that as good as the Italians were with a convertible, they could do even more given a top to work with.

Cars That Matter's Indexes are featured in the November 2008 issue of Car and Driver. Patrick Bedard uses them in his monthly column, "The PB Zone," to compare collector car prices against the Consumer Price Index.

Gasoline prices were marching steadily upwards, lines began forming at the pump, and the U.S. economy was suffering. Domestic dealerships were full of hulking, thirsty vehicles at a time when consumers were beginning to take note of fuel economy. And, as was famously noted, America was gripped by malaise. For Plymouth, the stopgap answer was the 1976 Feather Duster.