| Bear with me as I step back in time to formulate what | | | | the car once again has spawned interest in the muscle |
| I believe are three terrific American built performance | | | | car segment as both DaimlerChrysler and General |
| cars: the Ford Mustang, the Dodge Challenger, and the | | | | Motors craft competing models of their own. |
| Chevrolet Camaro. Currently, only the Mustang is in | | | | Dodge Challenger - After the success of earlier |
| production with the Challenger coming back by 2009. | | | | muscle cars including the Dodge Charger and |
| GM hasn t committed to building the Camaro just yet, | | | | Plymouth Cuda, the Dodge Challenger was launched |
| but the company is likely to make a decision in favor | | | | as a 1970 model. The car borrowed heavily from the |
| of the car and its sibling, the Pontiac Firebird, by this | | | | Cuda although the sheet metal was somewhat |
| summer. So, what is it about American performance | | | | different and the wheelbase was stretched by a |
| cars that set them apart from the rest? In one word: | | | | couple of inches. Because the muscle car era was in |
| muscle. Read on as I compare and contrast these | | | | decline at the time of its introduction, the Challenger |
| three vehicles and share with you my feeble attempts | | | | lasted only five model years before it was cancelled. |
| to explain the culture behind the cars. | | | | The concept Challenger currently on display at many |
| So, you think I forgot the Chevy Corvette and Dodge | | | | auto shows is based on the 1970 design and is the talk |
| Viper when talking about performance cars? No, I did | | | | of message boards and blogs across the nation. Look |
| not. Both models are performance cars as well as | | | | for Hemi powered engines as being favored by many |
| race cars. On the other hand the Mustang, Challenger, | | | | owners; the car is likely to share some technology with |
| and Camaro are mass produced performance cars | | | | the current Magnum wagon and Charger sedan. |
| with muscle. There is a difference in the way a typical | | | | Chevrolet Camaro -- GM was asleep at the wheel |
| race car handles, rides, and performs vs. a muscle car. | | | | when the Mustang came out. It took nearly three |
| Typically, a muscle car was a coupe version of some | | | | years before the company could respond and when it |
| of the larger cars that were pervasive on U.S. | | | | did the Camaro and Pontiac Firebird were the result. |
| highways in the 1960s and 1970s. The Mustang and | | | | Although both cars sold well over the years, neither |
| Camaro, however, were designed separately [although | | | | one could match the Mustang s sales levels and by |
| they both heavily borrowed parts from other models] | | | | the time the last cars were sold in 2002, production |
| and these pony cars were a category all to | | | | dropped to a trickle. Still, the end of the Camaro after |
| themselves. For comparison s sake, they join the | | | | 35 years has stirred renewed interest in the name and |
| Dodge Challenger, a performance version of Mopar | | | | thanks to the retro Mustang, the entire muscle car |
| cars of its time. All three were compared by critics of | | | | category is growing once again. Look for a 2010 |
| that time and all three will once again be compared in a | | | | Camaro to be the first Camaro since 2002; a ragtop |
| few years when production has been ramped up. | | | | version is also being considered. |
| Ford Mustang - Step back in time with me to April | | | | So, just who can be expected to purchase a muscle |
| 1964 to an era when America was heavily involved in | | | | car these days? People just like me: middle aged men |
| the space race, Lyndon Johnson was president, and | | | | who grew up with the original models. In addition, a |
| General Motors ruled autodom. Ford, for its part, had | | | | whole new generation of younger drivers tired of the |
| been nipping at GM s heels for years, but the failed | | | | me too look of so many of the compact cars out |
| Edsels of the late 1950s had cost the company dearly. | | | | there. Muscle cars of today are so much different |
| Still, it was the time of the New York World s Fair and | | | | from earlier era cars as they incorporate the look of |
| Ford used the fair and television technology to | | | | the originals while harnessing today s technology. Thus, |
| promote its newest offering, the Mustang. A 2+2 | | | | fuel savings will be decent without sacrificing |
| coupe borrowing parts from the Fairlane and Falcon, | | | | performance: a true win-win situation. |
| the 1964 = model was the first one sold and is widely | | | | No, I cannot wait to see a Mustang, Challenger, and |
| credited with being the best introduction of a new | | | | Camaro lined up at a traffic light waiting for the light to |
| vehicle ever. With a V6 engine standard and V8 | | | | turn green. A new muscle car era is upon us and for |
| optional, the all new Mustang quickly broke sales | | | | that I am very excited. |
| records and has been a hot seller ever since. Indeed, | | | | Here you can compare prices and buy the best auto |
| with the introduction of the retro look Mustang in 2005, | | | | parts for any vehicle. |