[lbls1]

I saw the title of the article and I did not read further. I may be a lone dissenter with my opinion, but I feel that after Camaro, Chevrolet's best days are behind them. Absolutley no excitement exudes from their current line of cross-overs. This is the shame of it, that most of their cars have been removed from their line-up. The only glimmer of hope that I see from Chevy is from their pickup trucks and maybe corvette.

It is such a shame to see an excellent automobile such as Camaro go to the waste side due to poor marketing and management. Chevy would need to do a complete 360 degree turn-around in order for this (possibly former) customer to see any sign of excitement and imagination coming from their automotive lines.

[olrocker]

What I want to know is, what happened to all the guys from my generation who grew up in the 80s and 90s with what was a resurgence in the muscle/performance car segment?

I'm 46. As a car buff I know that the period from 1973-86 or so, the Malaise era, performance and pretty much everything went downhill due to the emission and fuel economy regulations that choked out and nearly killed the original muscle and performance cars of the 60s and 70s.

I remember then, as computers and emission and fuel economy could improve with power and performance, the engines getting bigger and better after '86 to reach the pre'73 levels of performance, and then surpass them in the 90s.

All the while my friends and I were all going "man I can't WAIT to get old enough to afford one of these!!!"

Not just the Camaro and TransAm, Ford had the Mustang, Thunderbird, and Cougar which could all be built to be performance or sport coupes. And then before bankruptcy GM had the GTO and G8, and the Cadillac V-series. I figured these cars would always be there because not only me but every cool guy I knew my age wanted one. It was like our Dad's generation all over again.

Did all of a sudden everyone but me decide they just want a boring SUV for life after 40? I ain't dead yet!

[olrocker]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeROC

A lot of Gen X was kind of split between muscle and rice. You know what gen is starting to get REALLY into muscle cars? The kids in HS and college right now.

Well God bless ‘em. Let’s hope they convince Queen Mary to save an affordable internal combustion V8 4 seat sports coupe for the future.

[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by olrocker

What I want to know is, what happened to all the guys from my generation who grew up in the 80s and 90s with what was a resurgence in the muscle/performance car segment?

I'm 46. As a car buff I know that the period from 1973-86 or so, the Malaise era, performance and pretty much everything went downhill due to the emission and fuel economy regulations that choked out and nearly killed the original muscle and performance cars of the 60s and 70s.

I remember then, as computers and emission and fuel economy could improve with power and performance, the engines getting bigger and better after '86 to reach the pre'73 levels of performance, and then surpass them in the 90s.

All the while my friends and I were all going "man I can't WAIT to get old enough to afford one of these!!!"

Not just the Camaro and TransAm, Ford had the Mustang, Thunderbird, and Cougar which could all be built to be performance or sport coupes. And then before bankruptcy GM had the GTO and G8, and the Cadillac V-series. I figured these cars would always be there because not only me but every cool guy I knew my age wanted one. It was like our Dad's generation all over again.

Did all of a sudden everyone but me decide they just want a boring SUV for life after 40? I ain't dead yet!

I think a lot of them are over on Bring-a-Trailer paying 5x original sticker for the cars they lusted over when they were growing up. Almost bit a few times myself. Tapped out when some of my targets jumped up to 10x original.

[Wyzz Kydd]

Originally Posted by olrocker

What I want to know is, what happened to all the guys from my generation who grew up in the 80s and 90s with what was a resurgence in the muscle/performance car segment?

I'm 46. As a car buff I know that the period from 1973-86 or so, the Malaise era, performance and pretty much everything went downhill due to the emission and fuel economy regulations that choked out and nearly killed the original muscle and performance cars of the 60s and 70s.

I remember then, as computers and emission and fuel economy could improve with power and performance, the engines getting bigger and better after '86 to reach the pre'73 levels of performance, and then surpass them in the 90s.

All the while my friends and I were all going "man I can't WAIT to get old enough to afford one of these!!!"

Not just the Camaro and TransAm, Ford had the Mustang, Thunderbird, and Cougar which could all be built to be performance or sport coupes. And then before bankruptcy GM had the GTO and G8, and the Cadillac V-series. I figured these cars would always be there because not only me but every cool guy I knew my age wanted one. It was like our Dad's generation all over again.

Did all of a sudden everyone but me decide they just want a boring SUV for life after 40? I ain't dead yet!

I'm 60. I grew up lusting after fast cars and fast motorcycles. Over the years I've owned a bunch, starting with a 69 GTO and ending up with my current Camaro. In between were a twin turbo RX7, WRX STi, MR2 (still have that one)
and several very quick motorcycles. Looking back, even as a big time enthusiast, I've still owned more non-performance vehicles than performance vehicles.

I think that's just a function of differing needs as we get older. I couldn't haul the wife and 5 kids around in any of the performance vehicles I've owned, so there has very often been a people hauler in the picture as well. Accords, Element, a Corolla station wagon (yuck), a Sienna (double yuck), a few trucks. Practical, but very little fun.

Face it, we're moving to a place as a society where many people will be stretched to the limit just to have a single car, let alone one car for amusement and a separate car for practical needs. Performance cars will increasingly be toys for the very well off.

[SlowLS1]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeROC

A lot of Gen X was kind of split between muscle and rice. You know what gen is starting to get REALLY into muscle cars? The kids in HS and college right now.

As a Gen Xer, I agree. I grew up with muscle cars as a child, hit adult hood and those cars were either not affordable, or not road worthy. Imports were cheap and plentiful! I followed the path of the Jedi and stayed with my roots. But did have some cheap imports along the way out of necessity.

Now having 2 kids in college, I find that age group to use a car more for utility, not like we did when we were young. Back when a fast car was the party.

I don't see things ever going back to the way we were in the 80's and 90's.

[Kamero6]

Hauling kinds and wife it's not the excuse now. Nobody is having kids nor getting married.

70% to 80% of purchasing decisions are made by women this days according to marketing statistics.
This could be the key factor.

Cars on the road:
There are 204 million personal vehicles available for regular use
57 percent are cars or station wagons
21 percent are vans or SUVs
19 percent are light trucks

[Kamero6]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

I think a lot of them are over on Bring-a-Trailer paying 5x original sticker for the cars they lusted over when they were growing up. Almost bit a few times myself. Tapped out when some of my targets jumped up to 10x original.

Jay Leno says 30 years is the sweet spot where people who were young will pay top dollar to have their childhood dream car. After that price starts to go down again.

[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by Kamero6

Jay Leno says 30 years is the sweet spot where people who were young will pay top dollar to have their childhood dream car. After that price starts to go down again.

The last car I bought was 30 years old when I bought it. It wasn’t my dream car back then but I always had high respect for it. My “dream cars” are

1. Split window Vette
2. ‘68 Shelby GT350
3. ‘77 Bandit T/A

All of them are priced way beyond what I’m willing to spend.

In 2021 I bought a 1991 MR2 Turbo. First pic is the day I bought it. Second is how it sits now.

[102SS]

Originally Posted by Kamero6

Hauling kinds and wife it's not the excuse now. Nobody is having kids nor getting married.

70% to 80% of purchasing decisions are made by women this days according to marketing statistics.
This could be the key factor.

Cars on the road:
There are 204 million personal vehicles available for regular use
57 percent are cars or station wagons
21 percent are vans or SUVs
19 percent are light trucks

The "Balls in the Purse" syndrome

[olrocker]

Single, never married, no kids here. Started working full time at 20 years old in 1998.

Just livin the dream. Jimmy Buffett said it's 5 o'clock somewhere, but for me it's 5 o'clock everywhere

[lbls1]

Originally Posted by Kamero6

Jay Leno says 30 years is the sweet spot where people who were young will pay top dollar to have their childhood dream car. After that price starts to go down again.

Jay Leno is wealthy and can afford any car that he desires, so I wouldn't necessarily take his statement as a measuring stick. If you are fortunate and have gone the typical route for success (college, sacrifice, work) perhaps by age 30 you would have at least identified the car of your desires. The great cars of the 1960's and '70's were long gone by the time I reached 30, but GM still had some good ideas floating around. Actually my savings grace came after age 30 when GM had the guts to muster up some modern greatness. I took full advantage of this, knowing that the great power and performance would not last. At this writing, I am glad that I did.

[PDXSSCE]

Originally Posted by Kamero6

Jay Leno says 30 years is the sweet spot where people who were young will pay top dollar to have their childhood dream car. After that price starts to go down again.

1. F*ck Jay Leno.
2. I feel certain that a 1969 Camaro and Corvette are worth more today than they were in 1999, even when accounting for inflation.