What was the most popular car in 1974?
Launched in 1970 to counter the success of such small imports as the VW Beetle and Datsun/Toyota, the Ford Pinto is the best-selling American model in 1974 with a very impressive 360,688 sales. It is followed by the Plymouth Valiant at 337,585 units and the Chevrolet Chevelle with 333,405 sales. Overview. In 1974, 7,331,256 cars with a total retail value of $26. US and sold there (the most successful being the Ford Pinto, pictured above). In addition, 2,572,557 ($7.