The current Challenger is based on a modern platform (relatively, as Mercedes has long since moved on), but it was a platform designed for heavy sedans, not sporty cars. Most of the critics complain that the enormous size and great weight are obvious when you drive it. Like the original muscle cars it’s most comfortable driving in a straight line. For 1970 that might have been acceptable, but the competition offer cars that are both quick and handle well, in some cases with very old technology.
@bscar2 … what vehicle do you drive? If you tell me a Ford you will need to sneak up on me with that information. I don’t want to collapse in a fit of hysterical laughter and injure myself.
Yes, traction control can take away all the fun.
As you can see, those big late model Mopars that everybody loves so much use a ton of Benz components
And some of those components are “tried and true”
from what my dad told me, the old 442 was the best handling of the muscle cars.
he used totell me about running the cops for fun after he got out of the service. he showed me the curvy old roads around the deal island MD area where he was from (descended frompirates , outlaws and preachers) and how he would leave them far behind, then turn off his lights and use the emergency brake to slow down and make a turn while they tried to catch up. he said they never caught him and tho they knew who it was they had to catch him to prove it.
when I watched the dukes of hazard I always thought of him.
The 442 was a nice car, a little heavy for the suspension, I think the Pontiac GTO is the way to go! If you are into it.
but I loved that car, I remember coming down rt 50 with the speedo pinned past 140 when I was a young boy. we had been at the go kart track by the beach and some Harley s wanted to race. he said you wanna run em boy? and I said yeah daddy! they backed off at about 100, and he asked if I wanted to go faster, I said, yeah daddy!
it was a different time…
I saw a bio on James Garner on PBS not too long ago. It seems that even with his acting resume he was considered one of the premier stunt drivers in Hollywood when he was offered the part of Jim Rockford. He personally selected the Pontiac Trans Am, because he felt it was one of the best handling production cars available and would be one of the only cars that would be able to do the type of driving the role required. For many of the driving scenes, they had a stunt driver do the scene, and he didn’t like the “take” and would do it again himself… faster and better than the stunt drivers.
200 dollars a day…, plus expenses
Such a great show that was, and he looked quite good in the Trans Am. It seemed like the perfect car for a PI. What I couldn’t buy was his trailer on the beach somewhere near Malibu. Maybe at the time there were still a few, but even those would have likely been beyond his means. But hey, it’s an LA show. They could have had him in a great old Mission Revival house in the Hollywood Hills. Or the apartment in Culver City he’d probably have. Nah, that would be depressing.
He personally selected the Pontiac Trans Am,I always thought is was just a Firebird Esprit, that was popular in the mid/late 70's
There are still some dumpy places on Malibu Beach. I bet the ground is expensive now, but when the Rockford Files was filmed, toes places were likely still inexpensive. The LA beach communities didn’t really take off until the mid-1990s.
the same mountainbike
“I have absolutely zero interest in this type of car. I prefer something that carves corners over something with 700+hp.”
I prefer those also. I have owned and driven some fire breathers. I no longer need to impress anyone with tire shredding burn outs and 100++mph speed. What you describe I call a balanced car. They are lightweight. Have sufficient but not excessive power. Have superior handling and braking. My current 2010 KIA Forte SX 6spd MT was tested by Road and Track at 0 to 60 6.9 seconds with top speed of 135mph. Yikes! I will never validate those figures. If I had it way back in High School I could have beat most factory stock muscle cars. I think the closest I have had to a perfectly balanced car is a 1996 Mazda Miata.
@missileman
I drive a 2010 Mazda CX-7 GT AWD
That’s a decent vehicle @bscar2 . The only reason I ask is that a lot of Ford owners will trash Dodge and Chevy owners. If you go to any decent Street Rod event you will see beautiful examples of older Fords with the majority of them having Chevy small blocks purring under the hood…if the vehicle has a hood. My Dodge Dakotas have never given me a problem in almost 30 years of driving them. I drive them because the cabs are larger than S-10’s and Rangers.
The few people who will buy these cars will do so as an “investment”, garage furniture…These are not daily drivers …
Some people will buy them for racing. You just have to light weight them, add racing safety equipment, and change the tires.
From what I’ve seen, Ford doesn’t have that big of an aftermarket for their engines. Atleast not compared to Chevy small/big blocks. They have a couple racing engines, but Chevy offers more.
I don’t mock Chevy/Dodge owners, I mock the car company. Hell, I used to own a 65 Chevelle.
For modern cars, of the “big 3”, Ford would be my choice today. Most of Chevy’s offerings are bland and boring, and the one I WOULD own, I couldn’t afford. Dodge has been the orphan child for several years now, and it just shows, though, the most comfortable seat I have sat in has been in a Dodge. A dealership about 20 miles from here had an SRT8 Charger awhile back, and I got the chance to sit in it; they wouldn’t let me take it on a test drive(didn’t want to rack up the miles on it). I believe it was some kind of special racing seat for the car, but it fit my frame quite nicely.
The price leaked - it starts at $60k. Not cheap, but cheaper than I thought it’d be. And it’s FAST:
You’re right, Pvt. It was a '74 Firebird Esprit. I stand corrected on that detail.