[dodge boy]

Well lately I've been reminiscing a bit, as one of the older members here I've had the good fortune of seeing the muscle era of 60's and 70's and the one of today which now seems to me will be over within a few years. I can remember when Mopar got serious in the early 60's with the 413, then the 426 Wedge and then the 426 Hemi. One thing that struck me was when Don Garlits who was originally a Chevy guy told the Chevy guys to sell their 409,s and buy a Hemi, it was an exciting time to watch all the rivalries. Well today its basically the same thing for the most part, it seems that Mopar has finally decided to get serious again with the 707 HP Hellcat, it appears that they have once again given the competition more than they can handle. So once again as we near the end of this great era now it looks like the Hemi will once again go out on top.

 

[MOPARMOM]

The one thing about the word "Hemi" is that everyone knows it.....car guy or not. You mention 454's, L88's, Windsor's or Coyote's....some people will know what your're talking about, but most won't. The word Hemi is even in the dictionary! It's Universal, and once again, history is repeating itself.

 

[70barcuda]

It's going to be interesting to see what the response is this time around by GM and Ford. Will they try to better the Hellcat or with some pretty imposing CAFE requirements just down the road will they lean more towards handling and less toward brute strength. Remember it was a combination of government regulations and gas prices that pretty much killed the muscle car war of the early 70's, kind of looks a lot like history might be repeating itself.

If there is not a horsepower response then the Hellcat may well end up in History very much as the 426 did in the past. In which case Chrysler could be living off that reputation for the next 50 years.

 

[dodge boy]

It's going to be interesting to see what the response is this time around by GM and Ford. Will they try to better the Hellcat or with some pretty imposing CAFE requirements just down the road will they lean more towards handling and less toward brute strength. Remember it was a combination of government regulations and gas prices that pretty much killed the muscle car war of the early 70's, kind of looks a lot like history might be repeating itself.

If there is not a horsepower response then the Hellcat may well end up in History very much as the 426 did in the past. In which case Chrysler could be living off that reputation for the next 50 years.

At this point with CAFE looming IMO I think its unlikely that Ford and GM will try to respond with a more powerful engine, it just doesn't seem like a practical thing to do but who knows?

 

[Dodgeguy]

Alan your thoughts reflect mine to a "T". I think we may still see high performance cars but they will be smaller with less grunt but high winding 6 or even 4 cylinders. Gone will be the rumble of the V8.It is just the way things go. I may be wrong (hope so).

 

[70barcuda]

Alan your thoughts reflect mine to a "T". I think we may still see high performance cars but they will be smaller with less grunt but high winding 6 or even 4 cylinders. Gone will be the rumble of the V8.It is just the way things go. I may be wrong (hope so).

I agree there will still be performance cars but they will be taking a different approach. Somewhere I saw a quote from Ralph Gilles where he said he didn't think the Hemi V8 would make it past the end of the decade. I'm of course hoping it does but then Ralph probably knows better than I.

 

[dodge boy]

Alan your thoughts reflect mine to a "T". I think we may still see high performance cars but they will be smaller with less grunt but high winding 6 or even 4 cylinders. Gone will be the rumble of the V8.It is just the way things go. I may be wrong (hope so).

I think your right Corbin, unfortunately I think we are about to enter another ricer burner era, to me its very sad.:smiledown:

 

[Dodgeguy]

I think your right Corbin, unfortunately I think we are about to enter another ricer burner era, to me its very sad.:smiledown:

It is sad, but we got to go through 2 muscle car eras I feel very fortunate.After 1974 I did not ever think they would come back( like many others)

 

[oldsterguy46]

Hey guys--stand by. I have heard, maybe coming from the lamenting Ford sector, that Ford is redesigning the GT 500 to best the challenge. Don't know but, stay tuned. The Ford guys don't like being knocked off their throne and are making lots of noise. Also, look for some match race challenges coming down the pike with the existing model owners.

 

[dodge boy]

Hey guys--stand by. I have heard, maybe coming from the lamenting Ford sector, that Ford is redesigning the GT 500 to best the challenge. Don't know but, stay tuned. The Ford guys don't like being knocked off their throne and are making lots of noise. Also, look for some match race challenges coming down the pike with the existing model owners.

Im sure the Ford people are not too happy about being dethroned, whether Ford will come along with something different and better well i guess that remains to be seen. As far as the match races that are coming it should be interesting although i think its a safe bet to say that the GT 500 is gonna have a real tough time competing with the Hellcat's Torque Management 8 speed auto, ill bet thats surely gonna be a real game changer.

 

[TikiMan]

I just went out to the garage and gave my Challenger a huge hug. Thanks !

 

[mrhemihead]

It's going to be interesting to see what the response is this time around by GM and Ford. Will they try to better the Hellcat or with some pretty imposing CAFE requirements just down the road will they lean more towards handling and less toward brute strength. Remember it was a combination of government regulations and gas prices that pretty much killed the muscle car war of the early 70's, kind of looks a lot like history might be repeating itself.

If there is not a horsepower response then the Hellcat may well end up in History very much as the 426 did in the past. In which case Chrysler could be living off that reputation for the next 50 years.

Add insurance costs to the demise of the 70s muscle car. Rates were based on HP to weight ratio.
Friends who lived at home and with jobs could barley make insurance/car payments and have enough $$ to fill the tank. Since there was nothing left for tuition they ended up being drafted.

 

[dodge boy]

Add insurance costs to the demise of the 70s muscle car. Rates were based on HP to weight ratio.
Friends who lived at home and with jobs could barley make insurance/car payments and have enough $$ to fill the tank. Since there was nothing left for tuition they ended up being drafted.

I lived in that era and saw all the cold realities that went down that effected everyone including me when I was at the age when younger drivers and their muscle cars were really targeted, it all went downhill really fast.

 

[dodge man2]

I'm not old enough to have owned a muscle car when they were brand new but I do remember the era. I also am lucky enough to have owned and restored a 70 Challenger with a 383 and a 70 Road Runner with a 440 six barrel. This is still my favorite era of cars but its a great time to be a car person right now. They are making some great cars. Will this era move on also? I suspect so.

 

[oldsterguy46]

I agree dodge boy.

 

[B5RT]

Add insurance costs to the demise of the 70s muscle car. Rates were based on HP to weight ratio.
Friends who lived at home and with jobs could barley make insurance/car payments and have enough $$ to fill the tank. Since there was nothing left for tuition they ended up being drafted.

Is it really any different now? What do you think 18-25 yr olds are paying for insurance on an RT or SRT? The saving grace is now, most buyers of RT's and SRT's are 30+ (I would expect). Back then the older crowd bought Newports, Grand Prix's, Bonneville's, large Olds and Buicks, and Impalas. The muscle and pony car buyers were the youth market, and they were lucky in that they could afford them at 18 yrs. old. Today's market and demographic is quite different.

 

[Gematriaa]

Is it really any different now? What do you think 18-25 yr olds are paying for insurance on an RT or SRT? The saving grace is now, most buyers of RT's and SRT's are 30+ (I would expect). Back then the older crowd bought Newports, Grand Prix's, Bonneville's, large Olds and Buicks, and Impalas. The muscle and pony car buyers were the youth market, and they were lucky in that they could afford them at 18 yrs. old. Today's market and demographic is quite different.

I bought my Challenger when I was 18 (19 now). I have the SE and I pay about $140/month for car insurance, not sure what the Hemi would cost me.

 

[Dodgeguy]

I bought my Challenger when I was 18 (19 now). I have the SE and I pay about $140/month for car insurance, not sure what the Hemi would cost me.

More!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[hada71RT]

Soon they won't be asking is it a Hemi?, they'll want to know if it's a Black Key or a Red Key..
(OO [:::::::::::::::: SRT::] OO)