78novacaine

iTrader: (2)

you also cannot count out the terminators, and the GTO's as mentioned. the whole thing about muscle cars in the 60's was that they took big heavy cars and stuffed the biggest baddest motors they could find in them, and actually camaro's and mustang's were/are considered to be pony cars, not necessarily strictly "muscle"

Cobra Commander

iTrader: (12)

No, but it will probably be the last one from GM that's a great platform for modding.

ex: putting a 12 bolt/9 inch in one versus a GTO/C5/C6/CTS-V/G8

AChotrod

iTrader: (17)

I agree that 4th gens are the last true muscle cars. The tech revolution has pretty much killed it. A muscle car should not cost 35-40k new. What kind of kid could afford that and nobody will want to rip it apart if they do buy one. Sure maybe a few people will but it will never be affordable to most people looking to build a car.

Sunset'01Z

iTrader: (10)

in 2002 a new ws6 would have cost you about 35k.

'Trust'

iTrader: (24)

Ignorance is bliss.

jason00ss

iTrader: (2)

i don't really think that you can classify even the 4th gen's as muscle cars. don't get me wrong, i love my car and don't want to get rid of it, but at the same time i don't consider it a muscle car. not with abs, traction control, power everything including seats and mirrors, and the list goes on and on as to why it shouldn't be classified as a muscle car. i hate to say that the last real muscle cars, imho, died with leaded fuel back in the early 70's. i know i'm gonna get a lot of hating for saying this, but the fox mustangs, again imho, were the last muscle cars, which i'm not going to get into details about right now. i feel that a muscle car shouldn't have electronic everything, shouldn't have leather, shouldn't cost more than a kid out of school could afford(one of the downfalls of 4th gens was the price), etc. as far as the new performance cars(ie. camaro, mustang, challenger) not lasting because of government regulations such as fuel mileage, last i checked the new camaro and mustang have a higher estimated mpg than the previous generation mustang and camaro, due to all the new electronics, which is exactly why i don't feel that these are true muscle cars. basically what i'm trying to say is that these new batch of performance cars that have some luxury should be classified as something else instead of "muscle". let the hating commence

Cobra Commander

iTrader: (12)

Z28s could be had for mid to low 20s, and were often the quickest of the bunch.

DNTMPME

G-force is actually developing a 9inch fully bolt on kit for the GTO's that includes driveshaft and axles and everything....and its not a Ford-9inch...nor are there ford parts in it...and actually the factory IRS in the GTO's are fairly strong once you replace the drive shaft and CV's....the diff itself is respectable...

Cobra Commander

iTrader: (12)

At what cost? My point is that it's a lot more money and a much bigger pain than a car that was designed for a solid rear.

DNTMPME

Price is estimated WITH driveshaft and axles that can handle 900rwhp....$5k...You would easily spend that on a F-body driveline... Besides, 10 bolts should have never been used in those cars... That is the weakest link in the car... A friend of mine had a bolt-on '02 SS w/33k on the ticker and with street tires broke the diff.... I just don't see what they were thinking to begin with...Sure it's a solid diff, but not much of one to speak of...

NemeSS

iTrader: (127)

imo the last real or anything close to. a muscle car would be the 3rd gen fbodys. they are all steel, i have 2 of them a firebird and iroc. they are going nowhere, every one laffs now, but 20 yrs. from now, they will be viewed the way the 67-69 are now.

Cobra Commander

iTrader: (12)

For a complete rear and driveshaft to handle 9000 rwhp? I don't think so.

BobDoLe

iTrader: (11)

i was thinking the same exact thing...

to me, switching to a shared platform means death of that model of muscle car.
5th gen camaro is just another bodykit on the zeta chasis with CAMARO emblems slapped on. it really is a nice car that i would love to drive, but it is not really a camaro to me.
and rest are using shared platform also... although i guess you could say ford technically isn't as the current mustang platform D2C is only for mustangs. however, it is a cheapened DEW98 which is intended for mid sized rwd cars like the lincoln ls. it takes a LOT of stuff from the DEW98 (floor pans, trans tunnel, front frame rails). the way i look at it, the mustang is now on the shared DEW platform and therefore dead also.

so yeah, i consider the 4th gen fbody to be of the last great american muscle cars.

davidadavila

ill keep my car for life and will get a 1st gen 2nd gen and a third gen, and maybe a second hand 5th gen......when i die im going thru the motor in the 1/4 mile

eseibel67

iTrader: (10)

Fitting cars into clean slots by definition is impossible.

My opinion is that a muscleacar is an intermediate with a full size engine (SS 396 Chevelle, Olds 442, GTO, Buick GS). F-bodies are Pony cars, but since the traditional musclecar hasn't been produced for 35 years, I can accept an F-body as a musclecar. It's close enough for me.

What is the last musclecar? The new Mustang, Challenger and Camaro. This will be your LAST CHANCE to buy a brand new toy with a V8. When sales on these fizzle out in about 2 years, they will never be produced again.

TheSilverOne

iTrader: (22)

a high 15/low 16 second 1/4 mile time isn't a muscle car

PowerShift408

iTrader: (44)

Technological innovation also applies to muscle cars. Just because they started with carbs, doesn't mean they have to run them now. If that's the case, all muscle cars should retain bias-ply tires as well.

myk

iTrader: (4)

While we're at it, why don't we go back to points-style distributors and manual drum brakes all around? Muscle cars are dumb pieces of steel but that doesn't mean they can't evolve. Jesus Christ people...

DNTMPME

Well, I said 900rwhp.... And I do think so... Since you would need to buy the gears, housing, axles, hardware, driveshaft, and then you would have to upgrade the the tranny if it was a T-56 and definitely if it was a 4L60.... T-56 in GTO's are much more superior than those that were in the F-bodies, especially pre-00.... I haven't heard of too many GTO guys bending shift forks or having synchro issues..... I love F-bodies, but I don't see how anyone can see they were the last true american muscle car... Muscle cars evolve along with technology... '67 Charger's had power window option.... Options don't distinguish the difference between muscle car and non-muscle car....Stature and performance do....mustangs, gto's, camaros, challengers, chargers, and even the late V8 Monte Carlos and Impala SS and Grand Prix GXP all evoke a sense of power and thrill of driving... They all perform respectably and have all evolved from something that at one time or another was a bit raw and stripped... And whether it's FWD or RWD shouldn't matter.... It's how the car makes a person feel when they drive it... Powerful and in control and knowing that you have the ability to overtake another car on the road...

Ironxcross

iTrader: (8)

I'd say you're biased because you own a gto.

You'd say I'm biased because I own an F-body.

I don't consider either one of these cars "muscle cars" and I don't really care about being considered one. Its subframe car with rwd and a v8. Who cares, its fun enough.

People get too hung up on titles.

However, I do agree with this:

Its all really about the end result, a car that is fun to drive. Something that puts a smile on your face.