Re: history on how the g bosy came about? ended?
Not to get too far off topic but the government has been controlling what comes out of Detroit for some time now. Environmental regulations led to the smog pump motors that marked the end of the muscle car hey day. Government crash ratings led to car becoming too heavy and cumbersome for any sort of performance. Basically, 1972 marked the end of the "horsepower wars" and marked the beginning of choked, smog motors to appease the tree huggers. We were told that we were "running out" of fossil fuels and that the planet was warming due to carbon emissions. (Sound familiar). The government basically told us that there was no need for "performance" cars. What we really needed was overweight, under-powered, fugly boats that met some magical MPG number.
The current "muscle cars" coming out of Detroit are cool, but I believe they will begin to disappear when the new CAFE standards kick in. The new technology that allows a 450 hp engine to get 25 mpg on the highway is promising, but I still feel that Uncle Sam will nix the whole idea of "performance" vehicles in the future.
Another one of the problems with the current pony cars is their weight. They are far too heavy to be true performance cars. Why are they so heavy??? Creature comforts, air bags, computer systems. Seriously, who needs heated seats on their Z06 vette??? These cars are loaded with navigation systems, 6 CD changers, heated seats, heated cup holders,etc. Why are all these items on "performance" cars??? Remember back in the day when you could order a muscle car with a radio delete option, no AC, aluminum doors and hood and trunk??? We now have "performance" cars over two tons!!! C'mon Detroit!!! By putting the Stangs, Camaros and Challengers on a diet, you could possibly have a factory muscle car that could run in the low 12s, high 11s with slicks at an affordable price. Instead they load them up with yuppie creature comforts so that somebody's $7.00 cup of Starbucks doesn't get cold.
Anyway, g-bodies were mass produced and cheaply built, but that was the way it was for years. GM did it with the GPs, Cutlasses, Montes, Malibus, GNs, Regals, Lemanses. Chrysler did it with the Reliant Ks, Aries, and are now doing it with the 300C, Chargers and Challengers. Ford has done it for years with Lincoln and Mercury. The manufacturers do this to save money by having multiple vehicles share the same platform.
G-bodies were never meant to be true performance cars save the GN. However, I, along with everyone on here believes that the style of these cars is attractive and that with some imagination and ingenuity, these cars can be turned into true performers.
