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Tallgeese wrote:

Mr. T wrote:

The 80's were a sad time for muscle cars in general.  The damn emissions laws killed off all the horsepower; the rising fuel and insurance costs certainly didn't help much, either.  The industry never fully recovered.

On the other hand, the 80s produced one of the greatest muscle cars ever
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e … al_WE4.JPG

I owned a 1982 Mustang GT (5.0, 4 speed) in 1988 (1 year after high school). I had it painted all white with the a black stripe that went over the scoop through the length of the car. Man did that engine sound and perform pretty nicely, for the time. I remember racing a Grand National and the thing (my friend) made me look like I was standing still. Those cars were amazing at the time as well for sire. Top dog.

But I loved my 5.0.

Last edited by wellfleation (2009-10-24 4:35 pm)

I feel the 1980s was a great time for performance cars. I came of age in that decade, and that's when I first became aware of cars. It was an exciting time, because the awfulness of the 1970s was being undone. The Camaro/Mustang/Firebird horsepower war was finally rekindled in earnest, Dodge got involved with their turbo Chargers and Daytonas, and the Japanese sent us all manner of goodness.

The 1980s also gave us such timeless beauties as the Porsche 944.

wellfleation wrote:

Robert B. wrote:

wellfleation wrote:

You obviously did not realize that - (that meant "minus") on my post. Go back and re-read my post now for full comprehension.

WRONG.

Go back and your own damn post.

If you did not intend to include the Beetle in the encompassing classification of American vehicles, then why bother mentioning it? What your post says is "American cars seem to be moving retro, except for the Beetle..." Since the Beetle is not an American car, it's not necessary to mention it at all.

ENGLISH FTW smurf!!

But then someone like yourself would have said, "But what about the Beetle?!" That's why I qualified my position that I thought was pretty obvious to everyone but apparently not.

Someone like myself would not have said that, because I know the Beetle is German -- as I already said. Maybe you should go back and re-read my post now for full comprehension.

We need more gas, more fuel injectors and some No2 because Robert and wellfleation have started their engines.

Since we are throwing around styling opinions, Bren, what are your thoughts on this era of Firebirds?

Thanks for answering. Full disclosure first, the top 1994 Firebird is my current daily driver (as it looked today after washing) that I have owned since it was 2 years old. Would have liked a V8 version back then but the price and outrageous insurance didn't allow. I immediately saw the genius of the V6 in fuel economy, lighter weight, and most people ignorant to the fact it wasn't a V8.

I'm 6'3" and have plenty of headroom but do understand what you are saying. Only time I seem to have a problem is when a traffic light is placed too close to the stopped traffic it is trying to signal. I find it has high 360º visibility out and is very maneuverable in traffic with blind spot mirrors added. In the hills of San Fran I can see where you might run into a lot more problems though.

My fondness for the styling boils down to daydreaming in my high school years. In 1988 Pontiac released a concept car called the Banshee IV.

I wanted to own either this car or a Porsche 911 when I became "successful". Well that day still has not arrived but when the 1993 Firebird was teased to the public I thought we might be one step closer. Well... the new Firebirds were not exactly the Banshee but were close enough for me. [sidenote]The internet seems to be void of any images of 1993 F-body teaser ads? Might have to do some digging in storage and ad my own?[/sidenote] Firebirds are also a tradition in my family. My parents owned a fairly new 1968 until my Mom crashed it a few years later with my brother and I in the car (spun around during a snow/ice storm and backed it into a tree). My brother (2 years older) bought a 1969 with a 400 soon after high school. He still has it and it is now in a perpetual state of restoration. It actually is pretty rare since originally was a V6 car with all the power and comfort options. A '69 with power seat, windows, and A/C? Who knew?

Tallgeese wrote:

Mr. T wrote:

The 80's were a sad time for muscle cars in general.  The damn emissions laws killed off all the horsepower; the rising fuel and insurance costs certainly didn't help much, either.  The industry never fully recovered.

On the other hand, the 80s produced one of the greatest muscle cars ever
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e … al_WE4.JPG

I like the Monte Carlo's styling a little better (same platform as the 87 Regal).  If we include weight and suspension as part of the muscle car definition (as opposed to pure HP) then I guess a more appropriate definition of the muscle car "dark ages" would be mid-70's to mid-80's.  The horsepower was mostly restored by the end of the 90's, and these cars outperformed their 60's predecessors in every way imaginable.  But this latest generation of retro muscle is really the most exciting it's ever been, at least in my lifetime.  The power is back in full, now, along with the lighter weight, better handling, surprisingly decent highway fuel economy, much better interiors than even 5 years ago, and re-imagined classic body styles (excepting the new GTO).  I wan't 'em all, especially the Camaro SS.

Last edited by Mr. T (2009-10-26 12:40 pm)

The Monte's lines are a bit more pleasing than the Regal's, though the Monte sure did need a lot of aftermarket help to run with the T-types and Grand Nationals. I happened to see an '84 Grand Prix in SF today, just parked on the street. Black with black vinyl roof, and a red pinstripe. No wheelcovers. I wanted to take it home and give it the TLC it needed.

Anyone here watch PowerBlock?  Remember the Mighty Carlo?  That was pretty awesome.

Fair enough.  Anyway, IIRC, they somehow stuffed a 502 crate motor under the hood, and swapped out the automatic for a stick.  Pretty slick stuff.

Last edited by Mr. T (2009-10-27 4:41 pm)

I don't think I've ever seen a bench seat with a floor shifter.

Stock, that is.

In a car.

Last edited by Tallgeese (2009-10-27 6:21 pm)

Bren wrote:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it did have a column shift. An SS with those options would be a wonderful find. It might even be rarer than the Aero Coupe.

Speaking of troubling new-car epidemics, I have no idea what the FWD Monte Carlos weighed, but their styling sure did suck. To go from the smart styling of the last RWD G-bodies to those swollen, weird-looking boats was just sad.

No smurf, wtf happened?

-mark