I am not bashing either and am a fan of both. My only problem with the whole musclecar scene today is the money spent on them. They are quickly becoming unobtainable for the common man. Sure, people make musclecars handle, and I am happy to see the parts on the market. Unfortunately, the cost of a aftermarket subframe for a 69 Camaro with big brakes, good geometry, etc is around $5-10k. Couple that to the bodywork the typical project car 69 Camaro needs or the cost of the new Dynacorn shells and it quickly gets out of the price range of the average man. Unfortunately, what I see is musclecars moving out of the Hot Rod range and into the Coachbuilt car market. Heck, I recently bought Diamont base/clear in a factory blue ( 2002 F body Navy Blue Metallic) for my Cutlass and it cost me $733-just for the paint! The thing I like about G bodies and the whole BMW 3 series thing is that they are still cheap enough to buy for under $1,000 ( or even $500) and have interchange possibilities. I like everything that is technically well constructed, import or domestic and from a variety of disciplines. However, I have more respect for cars that are owner built in an average garage rather than cars that someone just wrote a check for. I like outside the box thinking like what is in Sport Compact Car's Ultimate Street Car Challenge or the GRM $200X Challenge. I admit, my G body is typical in a lot of ways and that is on purpose as I make less than $30k a year and have to build things that will last and not consume gas and parts quickly. However, I also yearn to try something outside the box and will probably try it when resources and space become available. I have about 4 or 5 cars that I have built on paper down to the weight distribution and engine management because I happen to enjoy it. That's why I am going to school for a Mechanical Engineering degree at 33 yrs old. I want to do it for a living and not have to deliver pizza!
As for carburetors vs EFI, EFI is usually better due to it's ability to adapt to a variety of conditions. I run a Quadrajet on my 355 because it offers the best all around combination of abilities and tuneability for my needs. However, I also like the idea of the Megasquirt stand alone EMS because it allows for inexpensive tuneability with EFI, and the ability to run a variety of engines without the whole stock engine management package. This opens the door for many engines that were never before considered, or even using it to make older EFI cars run again without obsolete parts ( Cosworth Vega, old Renaults, Diahatsus, and other oddballs)
As for the Northstar for cheap, I went Monday and saw 4 or 5 Northstar Caddies sitting there, but I also saw a 47,000 mile Ford 5.0 HO that I would have pulled if I could have spared the $135 they want for a longblock assembly. I also saw the 2nd generation Taurus SHO with the 32 valve DOHC engine that is not a modular ( made by Yamaha?), have seen a Maserati Biturbo, and several other oddballs. I even saw the rustiest 1958 Mercury Monterey I will ever see ( the door skin was rusted off the frame!!), a Checker, etc.
BTW, if you want to compare a 1969 Camaro to a 1969 Japanese car, I'd choose the 1969 Datsun PL510 2 door, winner of the Trans Am under 2 liter division every year it was run. The base car has: Perfect 50/50 weight distribution, 2,000lbs curb weight, SOHC 1.6 ltr 4 cyl, 4 speed manual trans, front disc brakes standard, 4 wheel independent suspension, etc. Compare that to the base 250 l6 Camaro or the Vega or Pinto a year later and it would likely wipe the track with it. No, it's not as fast as a SS396 or a Z-28 in a straight line, but it cost half the price. It is a great car that still has a very loyal following today. There is even a swap kit to put a SR20DET in it, and it is not outside of the realm of possibility to get 500hp from these engines with extensive work, or 300 on stock internals. Also form Datsun a year later, is the 510 based 240z, or you can go back a few years and look at the rare Toyota 2000GT. Toyota also built the FJ40 Land Cruiser form the 50's through 1999, and it is widely considered to be one of the best off road vehicles ever devised.