NoHope

Which generation do you prefer?

The 1960's and 1970's were obviously where the muscle cars and all the true fans of muscle cars came from and were born from, it was that generation that spawned the word, the bought these vehicles in the hundreds of thousands per year, that spawned a decades long rivalry between two makers' cars.

The 2000's and 2010's have shown what modern technology can do to a muscle car. I think we've seen the full fledged revival and to a large extent, enthusiasm is back and nearly as strong as the first time. The muscle cars of today are not only much faster, but have excellent handling characteristics as well, all while being safer, more fuel efficient, and more comfortable.

There are SO many different models of the cars out there. The Mustang has at least 5 or more packaged between all their cars. The base v6, the GT, the GT track pac, the Boss 302, the GT350, the GT500, and I probably missed a few others. The Camaro has the base V6, the SS, the 1LE, the ZL1, and in 2014 the Z28. Then you have the Charger and Challenger and their 3 forms as well.

Do you think the cars from this generation will be sought after prized collector cars 30-40 years from now, worth even more than the old and rare muscle cars from the 1960's? Seeing the price tag on the ZL1, Z28, and GT500 I think those cars will be worth a LOT more in the future, they won't be made forever, a limited time when technology was advancing quickly and fuel remained relatively cheap.

Anyways, which generation do you prefer?

hutchman

I lived through the first era and owned 5 GTOs including two Judges. I have owned 6 Corvettes including a 69 350/350 4 speed, 4.11 geared convertable and 3 C5s including a Z06. I have owned 6 Trans Ams including a 1974 SD 455. I bought a brand new 2000 Z28 for my wife on her birthday in 2000.

So I have had some from both eras and a few from in between. It is my opinion that there is no comparison between the new and old....the new are much better cars than the old and I believe we are in the Golden Age of the Automobile right now. Enjoy it while you can.

On the other hand, I also understand the draw of the old cars too.....loud, stinky, no brakes, don't handle very well, uncomfortable, and terrible mileage. Oh ya and throw in valve adjustments, tune ups, and carburetors and you can imagine what it took to keep one of the old timers running at peak. But most people would pick an old one every day over one of the new ones.

But for me, I will take my performance with the AC and stereo on!

I am one who thinks the modern performance car will increase in value eventually as the old ones did. But it will be enough years down the road that it won't matter to me.......I'll be long gone by that time.

Real world today though, I believe the 98-02 F Body to be a great buy. Very good performance and an affordable price.

But that's just an opinion.......YMMV

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Well, as an owner of both, I really do prefer the older muscle in most ways. Their styling is better, they are [more] simple to work on, they still feel like a piece of machinery rather than a transportation appliance loaded with gadgets and electronics, they are not subject to the hassles of emissions testing any longer (area dependent), and they are just more fun to drive IMO (assuming restored/good condition or better example....nothing fun about driving an unreliable basket case junk yard car). Stock horsepower/acceleration comparasions are of little meaning since power can be greatly increased with extensive parts availablity for either example.

But when it comes to the purpose of daily driving, I do give credit to modern muscle for its far superior weather resistance.

I know I'm in the minority on this site, because most people lust after new gadgets, electronics, comfort and options that belong in a house rather than a car, and the latest trendy styling. These things, by themselves, mean nothing to me. I like a car that does what I want it to do as simply as possibile with as little gadgetry as possible while still being as appealing to my eyes as possibile. The last "modern" car that did all this for me was the 4th gen F-body, which is why I've made it a point to stick with them for so long.

I do like the C6, 5.0 GT, Challenger, and even the new moor-door Charger.....but my interest in them is limited mostly to daily driving since I have to own at least one car that I'm willing to expose to the elements, and my '02 Z28 isn't going to last forever.

Zlow28

iTrader: (11)

IMO there is no comparison in which cars are better obviously. The modern muscle cars have the advantage of new technology making them a "better" car. However, that same technology is also a disadvantage because now people expect more than just a car and this doesnt exclude muscle cars. By this i mean, a top of the line stereo, traction control, airbags, digital everything, etc... Im not saying theres anything wrong with these things, but as RPMws6 mentioned, these things make the cars more difficult to work on, heavier, and bring prices up.

So in simple terms, id say theres no comparison. A muscle car was built to be cheap means of transportation to young people and create a lot of raw fun by sacrificing luxury. The modern muscle cars have been watered down with luxury and comfort and gadgets that are added to keep up with the competition. Two very different types of fun IMO.

Now most people i know cant afford the "fun" cars (gt500, zl1, srt8). I know theres inflation, but these prices are climbing up fast, and i think the days are counted for these new modern muscle cars. Theyre probably gonna die due to high msrp prices, not due of the gas prices as the first ones did.

Zlow28

iTrader: (11)

i voted new school though

black_phoenix

iTrader: (27)

new school all the way for me... Modernized muscle is the way to go. Stock for stock, it demolishes the old imo

kpeterson

I caught the tail of the first era with a ’69 Vette in 1973. Was able to play in the modern era with a Viper and an Sti. If I just want to get somewhere make it modern. If I’m going out for fun I prefer something from the sixties with upgraded performance. Even though the orignal small block Chevy has reached levels that we did not even dream about in the early seventies I can’t get excited about what they offer compared to an LS based engine. A big block over 500 inches is OK if you’re prepared to keep it fed. My vote is for an old car with an LS engine and other upgrades.

totalchaos

iTrader: (5)

I own both. my 71 Z (not an rs model) , classic looks , ok performance in stock form. Now a full blown race car. My 98 Z , ok looks , awesome performance in stock form , my summer fun dd car.

cowpunk

Get both; problem solved!!!




Cowpunk

BrettWS6

iTrader: (1)

If I could vote in this poll I would vote old school. I grew up building muscle cars and street rods with my Dad. They had personality and style that no cars of today have IMHO. Plus they were crazy easy to work on. I feel like an idiot with how much I don't know and understand about modern "muscle" cars. However, I do love my TA. I would have another classic muscle car in a second except the growing values and prices have put them out of my reach.

NC01TA

I didn't see a category for BOTH since I really appreciate BOTH so much. I also grew up in the first era and was mostly a Mopar fan the first time around. I voted 'new' because the performance is every bit the equal plus they are made so much better, along with the comfort level. The negative is that I can't work on anything anymore outside of simple oil changes and routine stuff. I used to be able to change a valve cover gasket in the old days but am almost afraid to tackle such a job today if I needed to. Even my '80's muscle car (OK, stop laughing ) is so much easier to work on.
All I know is that when I attend car shows I appreciate 'em all. When you lived through the gas crisis days of the 70's and then the low HP 80's you wondered if you would ever see a 300 HP car again. I feel we all 'lucked out'.

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

I have an old car with a modern engine which is the best of both worlds IMO.

But to answer the question without that option it depends on the use of the car...as a fun toy I would take an old car with an old engine over a new car because they have character and they can be just as fast as anything new if you have even half an idea what you're doing.

NoHope

I have seen several people directly comparing old school cars against their new school counter parts in terms of build, characteristics, power, etc. This thread isn't comparing which car is faster or more capable, because that much is obvious, but rather which one YOU prefer, and which one you think will be more sought after in 30 years.

Will a 1969 Camaro SS be as sought after and as pricey 44 years later (2013)
as
A 2013 Camaro SS 44 years later (2057)

Cars have changed a LOT in 44 years, and they're guaranteed to change even more 44 years from now. So which do you prefer, which will hold its value better, and most importantly, which generation of muscle cars do you think will be better remembered?

I think people years from now will look back on the mid 20th century and remember the birth of the muscle car era, and its death in the 1970's, and people will also recall the rebirth, or renaissance, of muscle cars in the early 21st century. Which one will leave a greater mark on history?

NoHope

Lol.

They made muscle cars in the 80's? All 200HP of them?

Since I was not around in the 1970's to experience the gas crisis, how would you compare it to today's gas prices? Obviously today's prices are a lot higher, but I think we were all shocked and many of us changed our ways in 2007 when gas first hit $4 a gallon, now $3 a gallon gas is cheap, and $3.50 is the new normal.

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

the mid 80's are where it all started coming back around tpi 350 camaros and formulas could at least crack 14's bone stock if you knew how to race a car at the track and had good weather, a 5.0 5 speed notch with bolt ons and dr's was almost always in the 13's in the right hands and 86/87 grand national with some dr's a chip , quality fuel and a couple bolt ons would run 12's at least that was the scene on a street night where I was playing (New England Dragway). At the time I would bring out my sbc 71 nova that ran mid 12's or my stock internals 305 monte ss with intake & exhaust mods that ran 14.7's and 13.7 on a 125 shot so it wasnt all bad it was late 70's early 80's that were the worst after TA's stopped putting 6.6's and went to 301's , vettes had cross fire injection etc. it wouldnt have been as bad if 2004r's and 700r4's had come out about 5 years earlier lol they kinda woke up the 200hp cars with the gearing/OD

I still own some of each and hope someday to mix and have ls power in one of my old cars

I've had many old school cars that made great power , my 455 TA , 454/t400/456 12 bolt 69 ss clone ,73 chevelle ss 454/4speed ,70 el camino , 71 chevelle ss 350/t400 etc..... I bought and sold a lot of traditional muscle cars through the 80's to mid 90's owned way too many to list but the current fuel prices vs eroding disposable income makes it a lot easier to justify running around in a 4th gen that rips and will pull down close to 30 highway or my long term daily driver ( dont laugh) 4 door fwd regal gs 220,000 miles and will still pull low 13's on bolt ons and get 32 highway - most stock 60's/70's muscle cars would get their *** handed to them by my 4 dr v6 fwd buick that kinda sums up the value of efi technology and forced induction efficiency , remember even the top level of stock muscle cars were 13 second cars , you had to mod them if you wanted 12's or faster but either way you were lucky to get over 10 mpg

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I would prefer the '69 Camaro SS for everything except a daily driver in a harsh climate. I don't personally concern myself with the value of any car 44 years from now, so that factor would not be part of the decision for me.

As it stands, cars keep getting more powerful each year, so there is little foundation to build nostalgia for the current era. The original muscle era was defined by a breaking point in the way of performance. Cars got faster and more powerful on average with each model year until suddenly the bottom dropped out. By 1975, factory performance was dead, and things didn't start looking better until about 1985-86 with the return of 14 second factory performance in the way of TPI C4s and intercooled Turbo Buicks. Since that point, cars have continued to get faster and more powerful, on average, each year.

If there is another 10 year period where the bottom drops out again, then you can expect the cars built just prior to that to be valuable and fondly remembered as "the end of an era".

There will always be those of us that are hold-outs for a certain era of car that we love for any number of personal reasons, regardless of what happens with the next model year or even the next decade worth of model years, and regardless of popular opinion. But you won't get a massive amount of interest in any one specific era without some kind of watershed moment that drastically changes things in such a way that the previous version is universally more desireable to enthusiasts.

NC01TA

I knew people would get a laugh out of my 80's comment.
The hardest part of the gas crisis personally was the waiting in lines. The price was higher too (maybe a dime higher at 50c per gallon if I remember right) but that wasn't the issue, it was the rationing of the gas because of the oil embargo by those greedy OPEC nations.
I can only speak for FL (where I grew up) but FL had a system where you could only buy gas on 'odd' 'even' days (depended on the last digit of your license plate). You were also limited to 10 gallons which wasn't much when you had a 383 in your Plymouth (that was me) and trying to get to college 10 miles each way, plus all your other driving. Not good times. Be thankful that the US is not as dependant on foreign oil anymore. If they ever open up the Keystone pipeline, it would help make foreign oil a thing of the past (I don't consider Canada foreign).

NoHope

Well no! Our Camaros were made in Canada!

NoHope

Well said!

Daniel76

iTrader: (2)

From that era also...65 Mustang, 69 Charger, 72 & 73 Charger, 73 & 79 Vette to name a few, but I would NOT go back to that era. I suppose everyone has one that they would love to have stashed away (for me it is a car I never owned and it's from a movie...the black 1970 Charger from Fast & Furious)...but I busted more knuckles and spent more time crawling around under them that I want to remember. I like modern conveniences and reliability. Now if I could just afford the new stuff...