What ever happened to the no frills muscle car?
09-06-2006, 12:58 PM
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What ever happened to the no frills muscle car? Were all excited about the new Camaro and Goat, but how much are these things gonna cost? What ever happened to the stripped down, ugly, cheap, offensively fast hot rod? I recall the GTO started as a stripped down version of the most stripped down Tempest. Pontiac took the cheapest platform and shoehorned the biggest engine into it. Same with the Superbee, a dog dish-hubcapped version of the Roadrunner, with a Hemi, and headers in the trunk from the factory. All these names come to mind, COPO Camaro to add to the list. I want the basics, no leather, no satellite radio, no OnStar. Bench seat, column shifter, and a huge engine. I know weve been getting 500hp out of a 427 since the 60's, why so much for the LS7? Anyone share this opinion, or am I just living in the dark ages?
09-06-2006, 01:40 PM
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yea insurance is a good one.. with cheap hot rods of yester year came 16yr olds with a 400hp car they can't handle resulting in an insurance crunch that can ruin the fun for everyone else.
09-06-2006, 05:15 PM
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As Biz said, you (and a lot of people on this site) are in the minority. While I might agree with you personally, the majority of today's car buyers don't look forward to spending time in the garage installing some new go-fast part. They're more interested in leather bucket seats, satellite radio, and a good stereo system. If you took a poll of everyone on this site, then built that car, it would probably be more of a stripped-down muscle car that was built to go very fast on the 1/4 mile. The problem is, the bean counters in corporate HQ are looking for something with more mass appeal. If everybody on LS1Tech ran out and bought the new Camaro in the first year, GM would be thrilled...but it wouldn't be enough to sustain the vehicle. GM has to build a car that appeals not only to the weekend warrior, but also to the guy who will never modify a thing, never drive it hard, and probably never do much of anything aside from put gas in it, get the oil changed, and run it through his local car wash once a month.
Insurance companies have convinced lawmakers that fast cars are extremely dangerous. They're partly correct, too, but not for the reasons they think. In the 60's, daily traffic was NOTHING like it is today. The idea of a "Sunday driver" (someone who only takes his car out on weekends, but rides the bus/trolley/train to work) was much more prevalent. Today, the roads are PACKED, almost around the clock in big cities. While you, me, and most of the people on this site are probably good drivers, it's the other guy you have to watch out for.
Example: You're out having fun in your new muscle car. You're speeding (because that's what muscle cars like to do). You are very aware of the road around you because you know you're going fast (and maybe you're on the alert for cops, too). Some soccer mom in a Yukon with three kids in the back playing PS2 while she has the radio on and is talking on her cell phone realizes she's going to miss her exit, so she attempts to cut across three lanes of traffic without singalling. You do your best to avoid her, but you collide. Who's at fault? Realistically, she is, for not paying attention (and failure to signal). However, I'd bet the police would say "Guy in muscle car...speeding. His fault."
We live in a world where used cars are now "previously owned vehicles", where drag strips are hampered by noise ordinances, and where vehicle manufacturers are forced to put in air bags and crumple zones. That last one is a good thing, but it costs money.
-Mike
Insurance companies have convinced lawmakers that fast cars are extremely dangerous. They're partly correct, too, but not for the reasons they think. In the 60's, daily traffic was NOTHING like it is today. The idea of a "Sunday driver" (someone who only takes his car out on weekends, but rides the bus/trolley/train to work) was much more prevalent. Today, the roads are PACKED, almost around the clock in big cities. While you, me, and most of the people on this site are probably good drivers, it's the other guy you have to watch out for.
Example: You're out having fun in your new muscle car. You're speeding (because that's what muscle cars like to do). You are very aware of the road around you because you know you're going fast (and maybe you're on the alert for cops, too). Some soccer mom in a Yukon with three kids in the back playing PS2 while she has the radio on and is talking on her cell phone realizes she's going to miss her exit, so she attempts to cut across three lanes of traffic without singalling. You do your best to avoid her, but you collide. Who's at fault? Realistically, she is, for not paying attention (and failure to signal). However, I'd bet the police would say "Guy in muscle car...speeding. His fault."
We live in a world where used cars are now "previously owned vehicles", where drag strips are hampered by noise ordinances, and where vehicle manufacturers are forced to put in air bags and crumple zones. That last one is a good thing, but it costs money.
-Mike
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09-07-2006, 01:05 PM
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If they are going to get hit with a CAFE penalty then they want to make as much money as possible on the car. For every Tahoe, Suburban and Z06 GM sells they need to sell a couple of AVEOs and Cobalts to keep under the EPA's radar.
