Modern muscle wars

[firestang70]

I was born in 1970 in the golden age of muscle. The styling, the power wow those cars will always be icons.
Fast forward 45 years. Cars off the show room floor will literally run circles around those icons. What a great time to be a gear head. Here is my initial impressions on the big 3.

I will mention my least favorite for years the Camaro. I was not a friend of the 5th gen at all honestly. For 2016 the new SS is out. They listened on some of the complaints. The car is hundreds of pounds lighter, put the new Vette motor, in a lighter stiffer chassis. Car should run bottom 12s bone stock. Interior looks improved. Two things not so positive. The ultra high belt line and blind spots everywhere. Looks only seen it in vid and pics but the body doesn't seem to scream sex. Maybe it will grow on me. No doubt these cars are going to be fast.

Challenger. No one will question these cars look amazing. Former knocks the interior sucked and I've seen minivans with more exciting interiors. But plenty of room for 4 adults for dinner. Performance these cars had to move a lot of weight with less than 400 hp. Restyled interior that the car has deserved for a long time. More hp the 392 and Hell cat are monsters. They added an 8 spd auto (like the ss) and strong manual transmissions. That new Scat Pack is a very enticing package. But man that car is huge.

Lastly my first love the Mustang. The now body has grown on me and is sexy. The new IRS seems to hold up well and handles great. The chassis is light years ahead of the previous gen. Drive both its apparent. The new interior is the best of the three. Cons the engine. The Coyote is an amazing engine but is at a disadvantage to the other two. Who would have ever believed that since the Coyote came out. Ford offers a great 6 spd auto that now has 2 less gears. The mt 82 trans has a been Chinese issue. The new Shelby gt 350 is just one word. AMAZING I can't wait to drive one. Makes me excited to see what Ford has coming to trump the competition.
What a great time to enjoy high performance cars!

[redfirepearlgt]

I could live with the exterior prior to the rework on the tail lights on the Camaro this past year. The outside of that car did grow on me. It stops there however. I agree the high door design makes the car weird to sit in or even drive. Interior wise I think they all suck. The seats look like droids from Star Wars Episode 1 IMO. The center console tries to go retro. However as it flows into the dash it is interrupted with goofy looking knobs that look like plus signs and a "com center" that looks slapped in place. Reminds me of the center dash on the Buick Somerset from 1986 if it could only look that good. The NAV setup looks only slightly better. I am sure the LSx series engines do a fine job as GM goes. I know they had clutch issues early on. Pedal would not release when going at it hard. Ford had a similar issue (hit or miss) on the MT-82. I saw both have pedals stay on the floor while trying to make a pass at a local track at different times. Probably the auto there would also be the better route...IDK.

The Dodge again nice but a land sled for being a sports car I agree. I only need the back seat for my dog and to keep insurance premiums down, so rear seat room is not an objective for me. I'd gladly give up cubes in the back leg room area to shed some fat off the car. Looks wise on the outside the car is awesome. I love the plumcrazy with matt black accents. It would be a likely second candidate since Pontiac had the carpet yanked out from underneath them. Don't know if standard shift is an option, but assume an auto would be the way to go. 8 speeds? Sounds a bit much. Don't know the reliability but if it works then so be it.

The 2015 body change on the Mustang has never grown on me. The back end looks nice I will give it that. But it falls way short on side lines and front appeal. Looks like it swallowed Darth Vader in the front IMO. Interior wise its okay. I prefer more simple after owning a 2013 with glamoured up interior. Never really felt like I was driving a Mustang in that car with upgraded leather, fancy NAV, climate control and all the hub-bub geek gadgets I was initially intrigued with. The 2014 I just took possession of has standard leather, no Nav or fancy features like heated seats and makes me feel more like I am in an older mustang. Love the ride, love the feel. Can't wait to get the goodies from the 13 on it and retuned. Had Ford take the time to put a TREMEC T56 behind the Coyote when they redesigned the car in 2011 there would be a lot less heart burn and more cars would have sold. Sucked to have a tranny you were afraid to really hammer on because of its reputation. Either I was lucky with mine and got a good one or I didn't beat on it like others who had far less luck with theirs. 6R80 is the way to go. Had they had an auto with leather and a color other than silver I would have been in an auto back then after test driving a base model cloth auto in silver.

Very disappointed that GM pulled the plug on Pontiac. The G8 even for a four door was an awesome car. I would have gone that route if looking for an alternative to being a Mustang owner. And as plain as the GTO was I must admit the 2006 was a contender as well in spite of tis simple looks that made it look like a two door Grand prix to some extent. But I liked that. Made it a sleeper IMO. And there will always be a soft spot in my heart for T/A's. That was my dream car as a kid. Loved watching Rockford files, and loved Smokey and the Bandit. 77,78 were my faves back then.

I agree Dale in spite of what I don't like about these cars it is a great time to be a car freak. And what a killer setup with all the things available today if one could afford to rest-o-mod a 60's Mustang with a Coyote setup, T56 Mag XL or 6R80, beefed IRS, 21st century suspension and chassis stiffening advancements while keeping a retro interior. Or for that matter an LS6 setup in a 60's Camaro or one of my favorites an 81 Camaro Z-28.


Thanks for starting this thread. Was fun reading your angle on things and sharing as well.

[NXcoupe]

I like that the tailights on the camaro finally look like 69 tails. The goofy half round things were reminiscent of the 70's camaro's, but did not belong on that car. imho. I still think they missed the mark with that body design tho. Although I find it less nauseating than the first ones.
I love the challengers. Can't say anything else. Love em.
The new stangs. Well, I like the body style, I think they are damn good looking cars, however, they totally misread the performance market with those damned IRS rear ends. At BG there were more clean ups of hard parts from those cars with high hp then you could shake a stick at. One guy I spoke with suggested 6 of them scattered over the weekend. That's scary to think of and there is no direct bolt in to replace it like the 03/04 cobras had. Now we wait on the aftermarket to come up with an 8.8 live axle swap kit.

[vertigo]

This is an exciting thread! Some of you know that I'm a salesman for Dodge, even though I'm a die hard Mustang lover. I consider myself fortunate to work in an automall, because I get to drive 2 of the big 3 modern muscle cars, basically at will. While the Mustang and Camaro are quite svelte compared to the Challenger, for me personally there is no comparison. The Mustang pound for pound will win in every performance category, but the big, heavy Mopar is just so...authentic. It's raw, huge, loud and interesting! Let me articulate the other day's experience, if I may.
A guy came to me wanting our Plum Crazy Hellcat, and he was trading his 569-mile 2015 SRT. Both automatics, the SRT being B5 Blue. After buying the purple monster, I had to take his SRT to his house and collect a large check. Once on Judd Rd, he cracked open the Hellcat at 50mph, laying 100 yards of rubber. I did the same in the measly 485hp 392, and I broke the tires loose, and at 110, was watching him get smaller and smaller. After a day of driving both cars in anger, I firmly believe that a Scat Pack or SRT 392 is plenty for me, and I'll never own another Mustang. The only thing that can be said is "Wow."

[vertigo]

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s612/VertigoXr7/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpshgpdn7kh.jpeg (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/VertigoXr7/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpshgpdn7kh.jpeg.html)