Peugeot UO-8s stick out in my mind. A certain type was really attracted to them. They were somewhat of a status symbol around my area. This was a time when people were moving up from 3-speed "English racers" (but you could still quickly sell practically any used 3-speed for $25 to $35). With all those gears and fancy handlebars, Schwinn Varsities were pretty impressive to WWII vets buying bikes for their kids. The lightweight UO-8 with the fancy decals was super impressive. The Japanese bikes, however, offered much more at a lower price point. I preferred them back then over comparably price European bikes. I was looking for alloy quick release wheels, alloy cotterless cranks and leather saddles even as a kid. SunTour derailleurs were my favorite. There were also many poorly made bikes back then. It is hard to imagine now how people would actually go into a store and buy some of this junk, or that the stores would actually sell it. If you remember some of the cars from the '70s, however, it was a low point in manufacturing quality IMO.