TN615

Bankrate.com
Muscle cars are back -- in force
Friday March 4, 6:00 am ET
Bill Burt


Remember when the Beatles were still together? Television had only three channels? Gasoline cost 27 cents a gallon? Then for you, the term "muscle car" has meaning.
It was the 1960s, and every manufacturer -- and that meant General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- offered a wide range of two-door coupes with powerful V8 engines. Names like GTO, Charger and Mustang GT meant power to burn rubber into the next county.

Then came a triple whammy: high insurance rates, gasoline prices sent soaring by an Arab oil embargo and orders from Washington to clean up engine emissions. The American muscle car was extinct by 1975.

Or so it seemed.

However, our love for power didn't disappear. Starting in the 1980s, thanks to better computer controls on engines and breakthroughs in engineering, horsepower began to return to American cars, starting with the 1984 Corvette.

Today, there's a muscle-car renaissance that rivals anything seen in the 1960s. And names once discarded -- GTO and Charger in particular -- are reappearing on cars with more horsepower than ever.

While muscle cars still represent just a small percentage of the more than 16.4 million new vehicles estimated to sell in 2005, they are expected to sell well and also cast a favorable aura to manufacturers' other offerings.

"We're not just talking about a trend any more," says Benjamin Moss, of Moss Motor Company, a dealership in South Pittsburgh, Tenn. "Muscle cars are selling like hot cakes. Advance orders are overwhelming.''

"The return of the muscle car comes as no surprise,'' says Jim Spoonhower, vice president of market research for the Specialty Equipment Market Association, an industry trade group. "The car companies are fully aware that the nostalgia is powerful, so their contemporary designers are incorporating recognizable style features to give these modern-day muscle cars a distinctive retro look.''


2005 Mustang GT
The return of the muscle car also is market driven. A significant number of people who came of driving age in the 1960s and 1970s are now seeing their children off to college or adulthood, and there's no longer the need for that big SUV or minivan. A stylish, powerful, sporty car that is reminiscent of youth could prove to be a logical replacement for empty-nesters.

And with auction prices of pristine examples of true 1960s muscle cars running into six figures and beyond -- an original 1970 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda convertible can cost as much as $800,000 -- baby boomers eager to recapture youthful moments are seeing these new cars as reliable, affordable alternatives.

At the other end of the age spectrum are buyers in their late teens and 20s who also crave performance. But while American V8-muscle still appeals to this group, many more covet imported muscle cars such as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo or the Subaru WRX, which wring as much as 300 horsepower from their four-cylinder engines.

"The baby boomer generation grew up with muscle cars. They never stopped lusting after power under the hood,'' says Christopher J. Kersting, SEMA president and CEO. "Now their children have the same passion for performance, and the auto industry would like nothing better than to satisfy that demand.''

Like muscle cars of the 1960s and early 1970s, today's versions come in a wide range of styles and prices.

There's the new Mustang GT, which has a 300-horsepower V8, a list price that starts at just under $25,000, and styling that is more than a little reminiscent of muscle Mustangs from the 1960s. Ford expects to sell more than 140,000 of them in 2005, double the number of Mustangs it sold 10 years ago.


Pontiac GTO
There's the Pontiac GTO, which shares with its 1960s namesake only the placement of a powerful 400-horsepower V8 under the hood. The 2005 GTO, which is a U.S. version of a car built for years by GM's Australian division, has muted, modern styling that some say doesn't appear especially muscular. Prices start at about $33,000.


Chrysler's 300C, which shares the name of a 1960s luxury two-door hot rod, is a four-door sedan that has the beefed-up look of a muscle car and a 340 horsepower V8 that borrows the name and cylinder-head design from the ultimate 1960s muscle car engine, the Hemi. Buyers are paying above $30,000 for loaded models.

When Dodge's Charger debuts later this year, it won't wear the sleek fastback two-door styling of its muscle-car namesake. It essentially will be a restyled version of Chrysler's 300C four-door sedan that will also carry the Hemi engine on the option list.


Cobalt SS Supercharged
Although Chevrolet has yet to resurrect the Camaro or the Chevelle, it has brought back the SS moniker (it stands for Super Sport, and the badge was on all of Chevy's 1960s muscle cars) and attached it to the new 2005 Cobalt compact coupe. There's no V8 under the hood, but there is a supercharged 205-horsepower four-cylinder that's aimed squarely at young buyers who define muscle cars differently from their parents.

Even Cadillac is in the game with its high-performance, V8 powered CTS-V sedan, which puts out 400 horsepower and carries a sticker price of more than $50,000. Later this year, Caddy will bring out a muscle-car version of its CTS sedan with 440 horsepower and a price of more than $70,000.

Europeans also play the muscle-car game, and it's at the same pricey level as Cadillac. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi all have models with ultrahigh performance engines, as does Jaguar.

What's surprising about this current muscle-car renaissance is that it's flying in the face of a run-up in gasoline prices. But unlike the oil embargoes of the 1970s, fuel remains plentiful, though not cheap.

Barring long gas lines or insurance companies raising rates for these new cars into the stratosphere, the muscle car looks to have staying power this time around.

05GT-O.C.D.

... already posted this about 15 mins ago ... maybe a mod can merge this?

TN615

sorry man didn't see it.

OBleedingMe

Wow.. this article has been EXACTLY what me and my father have been saying to each other for the last 8 months. It seems that another Muscle Car Era is being birthed. I can't wait to see how these cars will evolve with today's technologies.

On a side note - $70,000 for 440 HP!?!? Yet again, Cadillac misses the mark. That's nuts. I'd rather buy the upcoming Batmobile (also known as the Corvette). It's got 500 HP, better handling than the Caddy, and better styling - oh, and it's $55k, lol.

Not that I would ever go Chevy - if I have the moola, I'll definitely be in line to purchase the Ford's SE Edition for '07.

mr-mstng

Do you have a link to the other topic?

Burke0011

Return of the Muscle Cars!!

Mustang!!!
GTO!!!
Charger!!!
300!!!

.......Cobalt???.........

Super Sonic Blue Mustang

Yes I agree!!!! I can't believe that Bill Burt accually mentioned Cobalt in the same article with Mustang, GTO and Charger as a muscle car. Cobalt what a joke for Chevy I love it replaced the Camaro and Firebird with Cobalt. I hope Chevy someday ressurects the Chevelle, if they were smart they would but the jury is out on that one we all know what the latest Nova resurrect looked like talk about a Nova(spanish for no go) :notnice: 80's style

pilot1129

Linky Linky. I posted this yesterday

Mustangfreak

The cheby cobalt "ss" is NOT a muscle car, in fact its FAAAAAAAAAAR from bieng anything but a 16 yo's new ride who thinks its faster then a C6 cause of that stupid commercial.

wow a 205 HP 4 banger :retard: Its still Wrong Wheel Drive! And wheres the Torque?!

OBleedingMe

The torque?? It be in those spinnin' wheelz, canted coffee can exhaustz, and them po-fo-mance wings, yo! And doan forget about those stickahs! Good for ten horsepower each, dawg!

future9er24

:nono: hey not all teens are like that :P

plenty of us wont settle for turbo'd 4bangers. we want our V8 rumblew too

ask around, you'll find out theres alot more true muscle car oriented teens then you might have thought. no flamin, just informin ya

Mustangfreak

:nono: hey not all teens are like that :P

plenty of us wont settle for turbo'd 4bangers. we want our V8 rumblew too

ask around, you'll find out theres alot more true muscle car oriented teens then you might have thought. no flamin, just informin ya
[/b][/quote]


All the kids I went to HS with were into either trucks, or honda's. I only saw one vintage Mustang in the school parking lot

mipo777

Thats because the insurance company doesnt like 16 yr olds with V8s & 300 ponies.

Flashback

All the kids I went to HS with were into either trucks, or honda's. I only saw one vintage Mustang in the school parking lot
[/b][/quote]

mmm... not the same case at my school. about a year ago i bought my 1967 mustang fastback. and then this year, at least 20 ppl have a classic car. yes i agree with u that there are alot of kids with truck/honda/etc but there are still ppl into the classic car theme.

when i sold my mustang (i ordered an 05 mustang GT) i did look at the WRX and the Lancer Evo but it did NOT even come close to the quality of the mustang nor did it have a V8

Psycho911

maybe they shoulda waited for the Chevy to make that Camaro, then maybe they can write an article like this

1 COBRA

If right, the dealers better lick their chops while the shortage lasts.