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The MAC dials the wayback machine to 1974

The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture is the home of cars from the 1970s during the summer when Spokane celebrates the 50th anniversary of Expo '74.
Photo by Steve Jackson
The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture is the home of vehicles from the 1970s during the summer when Spokane celebrates the 50th anniversary of Expo '74.

The museum showcases the popular vehicles people drove during a time of transition.

The celebration of the 50th anniversary of Expo ’74 has brought attention on the cars of that era. A new exhibit at the MAC, “Driving the American Dream,” celebrates the variety of vehicles that were on the road.

The museum approached Cory Komberec from the Historic Auto Society of Spokane and the Inland Empire, to help create a display of cars from 1974.

He says that was a time of change for American automobiles. New environmental regulations sent manufacturers searching for ways to make cars that met strict new emissions standards. That led sometimes to cars with reduced power and drive-ability issues.

At the same time, with the OPEC oil embargo and gas availability issues, U.S. automakers had to figure out how to get more mileage out of heavy cars with large displacement engines.

“A lot of things we enjoy today came from this era, use of lightweight material, more aluminum, magnesium, fiberglass, plastic, and different engine technologies to try to squeeze more miles per gallon," he said.

Consumers looked for new sources of fuel efficient cars. The Europeans and Japanese were already making them, so consumers began buying more Volkswagen Beetles and a lot of Japanese imports.

The exhibit features a collection of cars that tell this story, from the early ’70's cars with powerful engines and no emissions controls to later models with less power and a couple of small, fuel-efficient imports. The exhibit runs through September 8th.