The Muscle Car Market: Who’s it For?

Undoubtedly, you have seen plenty 05+ Mustangs on the street, and the Dodge Challenger is making its way to dealerships nationwide. The Chevy Camaro is due out before too long, sure to please the bowtie faithful. But with all this going on, are we seeing a resurgence of the muscle car, or is that era dead and gone? Although I still lust after RWD, V8 musclecars, I believe the latter to be true.

Close your eyes, and you wouldn't know it's 2008. There's a war raging in a foreign country, gas prices are at the forefront of every Americans mind, and environmentalism has become the "thing" for all of the "hep cats" to pursue. It feels like 1970 all over again- and that's why muscle cars are on the way out, or on the way down, at the very least.

Being a younger fella, I grew up in the tail end of the eighties and through the Clintonian era of the 90's. Cars then, for the most part, were dull, rounded, quiet and met or surpassed all gov't crash test safety regs, and got decent mileage figures. But today, that ain't the case. Eco-nuts all blame cars for "global warming" and our elected U.S. Government representatives seem to believe that by imposing tighter emissions regulations that they are doing a great service to Americans, the OE's, and getting themselves out of hot water-and the media spotlight. These are the same folks who are supposed to be regulating gas prices through smart market management and trade negotiations, not to mention keeping monopolies at bay. However, pawning the problems of the environment off on an easy patsy-the U.S. auto industry- is much simpler, and more cost effective. You can't blame their reasoning- they see the U.S. auto industry as a dying-or dead- thing that is better amputated than losing the cash cow that is the oil industry. Thus, they point the finger, the general public accepts it, and the car becomes a villain. Who better than to blame but an American car, especially one as menacing, as aggressive (well, aggressive looking, anyway) and as flashy as a muscle car. They are an easy target, lumped into the same category as Hummers and gargantuan "SUVs"- simply inefficient, unnecesarry vehicles, nowhere as utilitarian as a Corolla, or the darling of all of the "green" elite-the Toyota Prius.

So this raises the question of who the muscle car is aimed at. It costs a lot to keep one full of fuel, it costs a lot to keep one insured, and attracts a lot of attention from those who wield keys (see any Mustang message board for proof) or radar guns. They are also overpowered, loud, and not terribly practical. Thus, by the time the car has been built to safety spec, neutered to emissions spec, and taxed to Gov't spec, the muscle car becomes the opposite of its "cheap-thrills" forebears-it is expensive, it is exclusive, it is an investment. In short, this is what'll kill the muscle car for good, as they are (mostly) only attainable by rich-guy standards, folks who have disposable income in the midst of a recession, and whose lead foot shriveled into more of a paperweight around age 45. The old target market of yore-young men in their late teens and early twenties, working for relatively low wages- is now attracted to cars that are quick, but do so as cheap as possible, the WRX's, the Evo's, the Mazdaspeed 3's, et. al. And this is what Detroit is forgetting.

Probably the only muscle car that is selling in any significant numbers right now is the Mustang GT- which admittedly has a VERY small engine, at 4.6 liters, which churns out 300 horses- at the flywheel. Although the modular motor is VERY modifiable, one mustn't forget the "Hemi" that Chrysler has been shoving into almost every model, including the Magnum and Charger, that lacks a true aftermarket. What of the Pontiac GTO debacle of a few years ago? It performed wonderfully, even if the car was a bit heavy, but it was expensive and looked like a Grand Prix. However, none of these vehicles offer the kind of community, track-proven racing background and following that many of today's sport-compacts have. The Rolex Grand-Am series notwithstanding, the element of track-proven performance is important, as most enthusiasts follow some sort of racing, and so when a WRX flashes across the screen going over some jump on a dirt road in Finland, it serves as a reminder to customers what their car is potentially capable of, whereas a funny car with a Mustang paint job on the body and a race-only mill seems to indicate that the Mustang is supposed to look fast, but not actually compete. Image is everything in the enthusiast marketplace, and if you win on Sunday-you truly will sell on Monday, but only if the cars you race are the cars you sell. Otherwise, what's the point? Gone are the days when your garden-variety Hemicharger, Mustang GT or GTO shared dimensions and powerplants with its race-bred sibling, today only the nameplate makes its way down the track-and consumers know it.

If Detroit really wants to make a splash in the performance car market, they would be well-advised to improve their products across the board first. Consumer confidence in a product will only help an OE's reputation. What doesn't help are stories of recalls of flame-belching Super Duties, or bad ball joints in a Jeep. Although the media does tend to give foreign automakers more leniency in their reportage, it is down to the OE's to develop quality products, and then create cars bred for on and off-track performance, for the right price, thus aiming them at the right demographic. They may have to divorce the V8-powered formula for the moment, as such engines are considered irresponsible in this day and age, and look to small-displacement engines, hopped up with power adders, to achieve maximum performance within an efficiency envelope. However, the spirit of the muscle car can carry on- just look at Aussie muscle cars of old, some of which use in-line six engines. They are popular, they are plentiful, and they are fast. They may not have quite the same lope from the exhaust, but they will offer heaps of performance, tons of modification potential considering the technology of today's engines is wonderful, and affordability for the average customer (and nobody said that V8's can't make a comeback later). These kinds of cars still do very well in the Aussie market, and keep enthusiasts happy. Who wouldn't love to see a WRX-fighter with the name "Chevelle" and drop-dead gorgeous sheetmetal, or a modern-day Fairlane that is both utilitarian and a performer? Ooh, let's not forget a Mercury Cougar with 4WD, a supercharged small-displacement, high-efficiency mill and Mercury styling? Come on, we have the technology, it can be done!

The ball is in your court, Detroit- what's the game plan?