The majority of the general public could give two ****'s about an F-body no matter it's condition.

Without reading too much into the question but if the OP is referring to ALL generation F-bodies 67 up to the 6th gen. Camaro I'd say few people notice them unlike people noticing Porsches, Corvettes, BMW's and Lexus, all cars could be listed as fairly common in public opinion. Remember GM has produce many variations of the f-body from a 6 cylinder base firebird and Camaro, Z28 & TA's up to the SS & WS6's. Way more base models birds and camaros around to not notice if one is an SS or WS6.

IMO... the color gets notice before body style. It's like driving by a car dealership. At first look the lighter brighter color cars tend to stand out over the darker hues.
Any f-body that came factory with stripes and/or bold colors with get notice.

 

I agree. They look totally stupid. I'm embarressed to even drive mine which I guess is why I don't.

And addressing a comment a ways back, I'm not saving mine until it's worth a lot, I hope I never sell it.

My friend has 69 Camaro, lowered 17" chrome cragers, lumpy cam and flowmaster exhaust. When we cruise or hang together no one even knows my car is there. But I'm still faster than him!

 

I'd completely agree here. Of course, everyone on this forum would likely notice them, because we're all car people. The general public isn't, and for them it takes a car that's bright or flashy or noticeably different for that car to stand out to them, mostly from colors as you said. I've taken out my '67 with its crappy flaking paint from 40 years ago, rust, and missing pieces, and not many people take notice of it because it doesn't really stand out (in a good way!). But I'll guarantee if that same car was painted a bright color like red, yellow, or orange, I would have more people stop and check it out because now there's something to grab their attention.

 

Another WS6, if you are embarased to drive your TA and never drive it but won't sell it, what's the point in having it? I don't see your reasoning on keeping something you apparently don't like.

 

I'm hoping he was being sarcastic with his comment!

 

I'm thinking sarcasm myself

 

Perhaps a hint of sarcasm.

I don't drive it because I don't really have time or a reason to. The thought of anything happening - I'm talking rock chips and such - sickens me which is why it NEVER goes to work with me. I drove it to work a few times a few years ago and was absolutely miserable each time, I just don't like worrying about it. And the lack of driving eventually manifests into some sort of sense of pride about the low miles. It actually feels good to say I only drove it 200 miles last year. It's a sickness that many disagree with but it is what it is.

The car isn't perfect BTW, but I want to keep it as nice as I possibly can. Not driving it sure helps.

 

I can understand that. I garaged mine for the winter super early, I brought it to Iowa when I moved here from SoCal so there is zero rust, good paint, etc...even though it has high miles I take pride in knowing that it's in great shape.

 

I get that. This is why I won't risk driving mine for mundane tasks that aren't particularly fun and/or situations that are "high risk". Lots of people think this practice means you can't ever enjoy a car, or get any pleasure from it, hence the exchange from earlier in this thread. This just isn't the case for me, I get a ton of pleasure from the car every time I take it out - way more than I would if I used it all the time and watched it wear out like any other normal daily driver, plus I'll be able to continue this routine long after all the daily driven examples are used up and discarded. Part of the fun is seeing the car stay like new as the years go by, and then the pleasure of driving such a time capsule on occasions special to me. I guess enjoyment of this type is subjective and perhaps not possible for everyone, therefore many people can't understand. That's OK. As I've said in other threads, no matter what you do with a car (drive it daily, make it a garage queen, turn it into a race car, etc.) there will always be someone who thinks it's a waste/rotting away.

As for mileage, I don't worry about this specifically, it just stays low as a product of how I use the car. For me the source of pride has to do with the overall condition of the car, especially since this is partially a product of my labor to maintain it at a certain level over many years despite limited road use.

 

Glad to hear you were joking. I'm the same way with my Formula. I love to see it in the garage, but I hate to put the miles on it and I worry about something happening to it.

 

Same here. Trying to drive a really nice, low miles car for "regular" tasks usually just causes stress. I used to occasionally drive mine to work on nice days, but the rush hour commute with all the morons just kills it. And forget parking lots even for a short time. My mind starts imagining all kinds of crazy stuff happening while it's in a parking lot. A lot more fun for me to take a drive on back roads after work, weekends or cruise nights. Anything else is what a daily driver is for.

And don't get me started on weather forecasts and the ever changing chance of precipitation when I'm trying to drive somewhere!

 

Exactly my thoughts.

Haha....this sounds quite familiar. I take a lot of crap from the other regulars at my local cruise nights, since I often show up with a daily driver and park in the spectator lot when the chance of rain is more than about 10%. Some of the guys just don't care if they get rained on, or have to drive in the rain once in a while. I guess I wouldn't either, if I didn't keep the cars so highly detailed at all times. Those of us who are super particular about this understand how many hours it takes to achieve, and how hard it is to clean up after a rain event. The problem has less to do with the car getting rained on and more to do with driving it in the rain - the driving part is when it gets really messed up.

The last time I got caught in the rain with one of my garage queens was 1999. I've had a good run, a couple of close calls but, so far careful watch of the radar and hourly forecasts has paid off.

Z28 6spd....Just noticed that we both have a 4th gen Z28/3rd gen Nova combo. Very nice. My Nova isn't that fast though.

 

Also agree, well put, always worried about some tool bag running his keys across it or something like that. It's more hassle than its worth to, like you said, run regular tasks in it when you work so hard on something and have to worry about it. So I also just bash on mine on nice weekend days during a car gathering, pleasure drives, buddies houses for get together ect. Were my car is pretty much in site lol, might be paranoid but I take to much pride and work to hard on it to have something preventable, whatever that may be, happen to it

 

First let me say, I do like 4th gens a lot, mostly for the performance aspect. However I have always been a 3rd gen guy something in my redneck blood I guess. I remember 10 years ago friends with 4th gens hating on my IROC I had. I said dont worry, your time will come, the popularity of the 4th gen body will decline and they will be in that odd limbo stage. Not new, not old enough to be cool and classic just like my 3rd gens. Well the time is now..... Dont worry though, Ive noticed and uptick in interest in my 91 1LE when I go for a cruise. That has been with just my old stock 350, Im expecting a lil more attention when my swap is done and they here that cammed LS rumble... There will always be some people that show interest. But over the years it will have its peaks and valleys until the cars are truly old classics.

 

Yeah, I've got the "what is it gonna melt if it gets wet" comment plenty of times.
Like you said, it's the time and effort to re-clean that keeps me out of the rain.

The Nova was my first muscle car that has progressed over 23 years. It's occasionally driven on the street, primarily a bracket car. I've wanted a 4th gen since they were brand new, and was able to get this one to have a true street car. It's cool having a mix of old school and modern technology.

 

Nailed it, perfectly said.

I would like to point out that a lot of the miles that do get put on my car are not very nice ones. A very good chunk of them are violent and angry. Being meticulous and **** about the condition of it doesn't mean that I have a problem beating on it. It is driven like it was meant to be and if something breaks I'll replace it with something better.

 

This I can 100% relate to, driving it through our day to day traffic is dangerous and you can forget about parking, you're just asking for a dent or scratch. Honestly I don't even let it out of my sight even when I'm at shows or meets and usually park far away from everyone else lol

 

Anyway, back to the point.... I think the general consensus is that most people could give 2 S's about these things. But I work in an area where there are a lot of Ferraris and Lambos, most people seem to give 2 S's about those as well. Car people like cars, other people don't.