[z28guy30]

I remember growing up as a child and fancying the 1st generation Camaros Mustang, Challengers, etc.. of the original muscle car era, yet I never cared much for the late 70's and 80's offerings of the Mustang and Camaro due to their lethargic performance in comparison. During the mid 90's these two pony car rivals began returning to their roots with performance gains due to improvements in technology, EFI, DIS, and they were just as fast as their 1st gen counterparts. Now that we are in the 2010's...the Camaro, Challenger, and Mustang have surpassed every previous generation of performance cars offered by GM, Chrysler, and Ford off the assembly line by leaps and bounds! While the beautiful performance cars of the original muscle car era may have been more affordable for the average joe, and of course easier to work on they have never been so enjoyable, thrilling, or pleasing as they are today imo! So what better time to own an American performance car?

Some have even proclaimed that the new Camaro is no longer a pony car, but has been revolutionized into a modern sports car.

[Techn9cian805]

Untill we run out of gasoline....

Sucks that these cars will be obsolete in a few years, specially with all the new EPA and safety crap in the works by our good ol' gov.

Still, enjoy them while theyre hot! I know i will!

[andrec10]

In the 2020's its gonna get harder to get a V8...

[SSport16]

Originally Posted by Techn9cian805

Untill we run out of gasoline....

Sucks that these cars will be obsolete in a few years, specially with all the new EPA and safety crap in the works by our good ol' gov.

Still, enjoy them while theyre hot! I know i will!

Run out of gasoline? Plenty of oil for hundreds of years, problem is the damn EPA and the government in every aspect of our lives, dictating what kinds of cars get made!

I will be holding onto my SS, they will pry it out of my garage, lol!

[ParisTNDude]

The mid to late 60s was every bit as exciting. In 1966, I bought my first new car, a Chevelle SS 396 with 375 HP. Awesome car, until the 1968 Charger R/T came out and I had to have one. With it's 440 cubic inch motor and 375 HP, it was definitely king of the road and it was more awesome than my Chevelle.

But, you're right...who ever would have thought you could have a car running low 12s in this day and age. In the 70s, as you say, I thought performance was dead. Now, my low 12 second Camaro can also get over 30 MPG if I try real hard. The Charger could get 13 if you stayed out of it.

Good times, for sure!

[z28guy30]

Originally Posted by ParisTNDude

The mid to late 60s was every bit as exciting. In 1966, I bought my first new car, a Chevelle SS 396 with 375 HP. Awesome car, until the 1968 Charger R/T came out and I had to have one. With it's 440 cubic inch motor and 375 HP, it was definitely king of the road and it was more awesome than my Chevelle.

But, you're right...who ever would have thought you could have a car running low 12s in this day and age. In the 70s, as you say, I thought performance was dead. Now, my low 12 second Camaro can also get over 30 MPG if I try real hard. The Charger could get 13 if you stayed out of it.

Good times, for sure!

Great times for sure man. Nice engine choice btw...the 396BB Chevelle was a beast in it's day! Of course Chevelle took it another step up in 1970 with the optional LS6 454BB though.

[at7000ft]

Originally Posted by SSport16

Run out of gasoline? Plenty of oil for hundreds of years, problem is the damn EPA and the government in every aspect of our lives, dictating what kinds of cars get made!

I will be holding onto my SS, they will pry it out of my garage, lol!

Yea, the EPA will have to pry my Camero SS steering wheel from my cold dead fingers!

[6th Gen SS]

Agree. I don't think we have to worry about lack of gas in the next 50 years. That's my bs-guesstimate.

I'm more worried about stricter CAFE standards yielding more turbo 4 and 6 bangers with fake engine sounds pumped into the cabin speakers

If that's the case I would keep my prospective 6th gen forever.

[SSport16]

Originally Posted by 6th Gen SS

Agree. I don't think we have to worry about lack of gas in the next 50 years. That's my bs-guesstimate.

I'm more worried about stricter CAFE standards yielding more turbo 4 and 6 bangers with fake engine sounds pumped into the cabin speakers

If that's the case I would keep my prospective 6th gen forever.

100% agree!

[Indydriver]

The EPA rules are nothing more than regulations dreamed up by a bunch of left wing nuts. They can be changed or eliminated with the right guy running things. Think about this when you vote next November.

[SSport16]

Originally Posted by Indydriver

The EPA rules are nothing more than regulations dreamed up by a bunch of left wing nuts. They can be changed or eliminated with the right guy running things. Think about this when you vote next November.

The EPA should be elimjnated all together, amongst tons of other wasteful government agencies!

[MackSteelPrivateEye]

I remember the original era as well, I was a kid not old enough to drive in the 60s but kept up with all the factory hotrods. "I started driving in 75'". I actually remember that era of the 60s and 70s as being more exciting than today. Every kid from 16 to 40 seemed to be hot rodding something. The town not far from me had a speed shop on every corner either hot rodding cars or selling hot rod parts. I will say this that that todays cars hold up better with less maintenance. Cars then required tuneups of oil changes, points, plugs and condensers at about every 3000 miles. Mufflers rusted at 20k, shocks lasted maybe 30 or 40k. But having owned some of the 60s iron I can say that the power was more raw low end snappy torque but suffered at the top end do to 2, 3 and 4 speed transmission unlike the 6 and 8 today. They lost some power as the transmissions changed to the next gear and we all know that gas miliage sucked, but gas was only 30cents in the 60s and nobody cared. Cars then I think looked a lot better, stylish and were not limited to wind tunnels but to the imagination. Even cars from the 40s and 50s look better than the PODs on the road today. Sure he camaros, challengers and mustangs are nice but they are just links to the past and a somewhat better day.

[MackSteelPrivateEye]

Originally Posted by ParisTNDude

The mid to late 60s was every bit as exciting. In 1966, I bought my first new car, a Chevelle SS 396 with 375 HP. Awesome car, until the 1968 Charger R/T came out and I had to have one. With it's 440 cubic inch motor and 375 HP, it was definitely king of the road and it was more awesome than my Chevelle.

But, you're right...who ever would have thought you could have a car running low 12s in this day and age. In the 70s, as you say, I thought performance was dead. Now, my low 12 second Camaro can also get over 30 MPG if I try real hard. The Charger could get 13 if you stayed out of it.

Good times, for sure!

I rembember those days...yep very exciting. I had a 69 Roadrunner I bought when it was 6 years old, kept it for almost 15 years. When I was a teen there must have been about 6 hotrodders on my street in my block alone. A 70 GTO, 70 Road Runner, 69 Road Runner, further up someone had a hot setup 72 0r 73 Ford Torino. A few years earlier a friends father had a 64 Galaxie convertible, 4 speed, Black with red interior that had skirts and sat low in the back with baby moons at all for corners. Another friends mom bought a brand new 67 GTO. No such thing as a soccer mom back then.

[MackSteelPrivateEye]

Originally Posted by ParisTNDude

The mid to late 60s was every bit as exciting. In 1966, I bought my first new car, a Chevelle SS 396 with 375 HP. Awesome car, until the 1968 Charger R/T came out and I had to have one. With it's 440 cubic inch motor and 375 HP, it was definitely king of the road and it was more awesome than my Chevelle.

But, you're right...who ever would have thought you could have a car running low 12s in this day and age. In the 70s, as you say, I thought performance was dead. Now, my low 12 second Camaro can also get over 30 MPG if I try real hard. The Charger could get 13 if you stayed out of it.

Good times, for sure!

Did your steering start to get loose and sloppy in your charger as it aged? My barracuda and roadruuner got real sloppy as I racked up the miles. Went to a junkyard and got a used steering box for my RR put it in and it was just as bad as the one I took out. I havn't seen on dodge or plymouth from that error except my uncles 67 Fury that seemed fine.