Yes, they where and manufacturers changed the body style every year. It was something we did, in the fall, when the new models came out we would go from dealer to dealer and see what the new ones looked like. Those were the days of two tone and even three tone paint jobs and distinctive styling. You could tell the brand of the car and the year from half a mile away. Now if you have seen one SUV you have seen them all. The only difference is the emblem. It was wild.
It was to bad that mechanically they were short lived but at the time before the interstates were finished people didn't drive all that far so at the end of three or four years, especially up north cars were practically junk. Tires (bias ply) lasted about 20K miles and blew out often, oil changes every 3000K, tune ups (sparkplugs, timing, points & condensers) every 10K. And were usually ready for the junk yard by 50K or what hadn't rusted out yet. They were a total pain in the butt if you had to do a lot of traveling for some reason. You spent more time in service stations (they existed then as well) than at home. However, they were works of art sometimes that rusted away to nothing very quickly. I had a 1970 Buick Skylark that I bought new and when It lasted over 6 years and over 120K miles on the original engine and transmission, I was considered a hero. The body was well on its way out too!
