Mystic 98 TA

iTrader: (4)

I bought my F-body at 18. With my own money. And i only got it because all of the stars aligned for me. I had just had my 96 GT Vert totaled by a Saturn... and I got $7500 from insurance on a car i paid $5000 of my own money on. I also had to sell my project/old DD 69 Mustang to my dad, which i did for $4k. (No profit, he basically just paid for all of my money that I had put into it to get the POS running .. it sat for 5 years...) I literally had to scrape my coins together to pay for gas for the first two weeks!! That being said, I would like this car to be the one that my kids wont be allowed to drive when the time comes. Irreplaceable.

That said, I dont think that these are kids cars. I'll be 21 in a couple weeks now (damn, my back hurts!!) and most kids my age (with the exception of my LSx friends) with "fast" cars drive WRXs and Mustangs. Thats your kids car: a V6 mustang or a 90's-04 Mustang GT.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Yes indeed.

I see you know the area well.

ptime54

Yeah I'm just bordering Lincolnwood just to the East at Devon and Whipple. I also have a good friend who lives in Lincolnwood so I know what you mean.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Small world.

I'm near Devon and Cicero.

NightWindDriftr

iTrader: (4)

I think that the f-body is not a kid's car, but is becoming more affordable to kids. The car has a lot of power just a pedal (and shifter, for all you gear bangers ) away, and we know what comes with power.

It kind of depresses me that this car was relatively cheap to begin with, and is depreciating so much that younger kids are picking them up. I was one of those young kids (16 with a '94 TA) and am still pretty young (21 with an '01 Z), but I'm glad that respected the car for what it is more than what it could do to most other cars at a stoplight.

I've been there, and by some maturer eyes, I'm still there, but know that there are SOME kids out there that really want to start their hobby off the "right way", so to speak. Let me say that there's no finer car to begin with than a 4th gen. I speak from experience, although I'm sure it's not common for our demographic.

02 Camaro SS

iTrader: (4)

It sounds like your friends are a bunch of morons.

edwardswb

iTrader: (6)

I'll keep my exotic killing kid car until I'm too told to drive. Then, and only then, it will be passed down.

2001BlkWS6

[QUOTE=RPM WS6]Camaros, Firebirds (& T/A), and Mustangs were the “cool” cars to own when I was growing up in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. Guess that’s always stuck with me, and probably always will. And when the new Camaro comes out, I plan to get one of those as well. The "cool" cars for kids these days is RICE. [QUOTE]

I completely agree im just 16 and to me camaros TAs and mustangs are still the cool car. Alot of kids i go to school with drive celicas and civics and such but the talk is all about my ws6, how bad it sounds and looks and how they wanna race but know they are going to lose. So I think they are still THE COOL CAR just not as talked about because there is not that many on the road and few parents who respects their kids enough to drive something other than a 1.8 liter engine.

NC98Z

iTrader: (1)

Oh ya'll are are right. Camaros a kid car. My addiction started when I was younger.(FLASHBACK) Lets see I've had 2 67s, 1 68 327 4-speed, 1 69 with the rectangular headed 427 that came stock with aluminum Holley intake with C427X stamped on the runner. So after years of driving emission no power bitchs I came across this 98Z28 and the rest is history. Back in the saddle again. By the way i've got a QUIET Hooker catback with a DMH dump on it and I'm 52 years old. Talk about your ultimate sleeper!
I've never owned a new Camaro just some damn good used ones. And you can be sure before I buy a new one there will be a 427 in mine with AirPowers new twin turbo setup! My parents wouldn't LET me have a fast car. I had to wait till I could get what I wanted and there damn sure ain't no ricer car in my yard.

black02GT

so a ls1 camaro is a mature adults car but a mustang gt is a kids car? why because the camaro is faster? if anything the mustang gives off a better status / symbol car because of the fact it looks better and more refined.

Formula413

iTrader: (1)

Must...not...flame...

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Personally, I don't see the Mustang as a kids car at all either.

But this part if your post is ignorant. First, looks is subjective so there is no winning or losing that argument. You may think you're right, but you're not. Appearance is all about opinion so nobody is right or wrong. Second, the mustang is not at all a more "refined" car than a Camaro of the same year. That's just silly. More user-friendly for the average driver? Maybe (seating position, etc.). But more refined? In a word..... NO.

Formula413

iTrader: (1)

When I bought my car I was actually expecting a lot less refinement then I got. I thought of F-bodies as one trick ponies (pardon the phrase) that were meant to give you V-8 power at a cheap price, at the expense of refinement. Compared to my Escort, the Formula is quieter inside, has fewer interior rattles, and a much nicer interior and sound system. Besides the intentionally unrefined exhaust note the only thing about the car that seems cheap is the clunkiness of the suspension, which I look at as a trade off for better handling. One thing I have noticed is that Camaro interiors aren't as nice as the Firebirds.

I was thinking about trying out a used Mustang GT sometime just for reference. I doubt I will be impressed.

JohnnyC

In general, the F-body really is a "kids car". I had several f-bodies in my teenage days that cost me under a grand and performed (and looked) like sh%t. Let's face it: there were some pretty pathetic f-bodies that were built by GM over the years that were further ruined by some "good 'ol boys". Just check out the "Cheesy like Cheetos" thread in the appearance section and you will get some insight as to where the F-body got it's bad rep:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/multimedia-exchange/484604-post-pics-cheesiest-f-bodies-cheesy-like-cheetos-don-t-quote-pics.html

Now, before you all ban me and write threads titled "why Johnny C sucks", allow me to explain myself. I think that the more correct statement is that many F-bodies are kids cars. The LS1 F-bodies, as well as some of the LT1's, are the exceptions to the stereotype. Out cars came with enough power to outrun most cars on the street, and had price tags in the mid-30's off the showroom floor. I don't know many kids that can pony up $36000 for a T/A and not have someone else to thank. I would not own most of the F-bodies from the 80's(for example), but proudly own my LS1-powered 2000 T/A. Of course, there were many smart gearheads who took some of the otherwise lame and underpowered 80's F-bodies and turned them into big-block monsters. We all respect this, as I have owned a couple F-bodies that I had to drop big engines into as an upgrade to GM's so-called High Output V8.

The F-bodies earned any bad reputation problems long before GM offered them with the LS1. They went out with a bang, and we all are thankful for the LS1.

In the end, the cars that are genuinely cool will live on, and those that are not will fade away. The F-body is an American icon that started strong and ended strong-it just had a few hickups along the way. Our cars will ensure that the F-bodies are remembered properly as genuine American Muscle.

waldershrek

iTrader: (1)

Absolutely not, I see everybody from teenagers to old men drive these cars. I think they are popular for many reason mostly appearence, affordability, available bolt on's and let's face the truth......awesome power right of the showroom floor!

CavPat

Let's put it this way: Do you want your kid's first car to be an f-body? Hell no, my (future) kid's getting a civic or equivalent. When I was a teen, I WANTED an f-body, but now I look back and it's good I didn't have one then. I can almost GUARANTEE you I would have wrecked it.

F-body = kid's car? I don't think so.

lastcall190

iTrader: (36)

Around here I absolutely see more vettes than f-bodies. Which is fine, I like vettes, but there's no way I'd give up my f-body for one. I don't think it's so much a "kid's" car, but definitely gives off a youthful young at heart vibe. Choco said it well actually. Around here there are certainly people whom look at the f-body and think, why not get a vette? It's so much faster than the firebird/camaro/trans am/etc... You say LSwhatever around some of these people and they look at you like you're from Mars. Not to mention having people roll their windows up or give you funny looks because your cam lope is interrupting their cell phone call is priceless. I love this
car

-J

Z284U2TRY

iTrader: (5)

No I consider it a car for all ages.

CavPat

lol, awesome!

razorclaw99

iTrader: (7)

nope....