Era of the Muscle Car is over

JB1

OK, excuse me for getting back tot topic: "Era of the Muscle Car is over?". I don't think it is. The only difference will be: forced induction over "cubic inches". We already see it with the 370Z, 330hp from a high revving 3.7L compared to Fords 210 HP from a 4.0L?. Next step will be forced induction... Look at what is going on in Europe. VW for example, a 1.4 with turbo replaces a 1.8 N/A. (both 125 hp). Next generation BMW M3 will be turbocharged... Or look at Ford Eco boost, twin turbo V6 instead of a V8. So the muscle car will live on, just with less capacity :-)

cstr_Cali

Didn't read through all the posts in this thread so forgive me if I say anything that's already been said.

If the end of the muscle car era means no more dated, overweight, poorly engineered and designed RWD "pony" cars then that is fine by me. In my eyes the current muscle car crop defines what's wrong with the domestic auto industry: wrong product at the wrong time dated in the past. Take the new Camaro for instance...it's HUGE compared to the Z and weighs what I imagine to be several hundred more pounds. At the least the Z appears to have been designed with the foresight of changing environmental conditions that produce concerns for what and how we drive, and to boot changing consumer tastes influenced by this awareness. Granted the Z does not have miserly fuel economy you'll fare better than in a Camaro SS, albeit not by much. Even something as superfical as physical presence is enough to convince the average consumer in a time where fuel economy is of great concern whether or not to buy one car over the other, because lets face it "downsizing" is the new trend in the automotive market.

Muscle cars don't have to die they just have to change. New sources and ways of developing and harnessing power must be realized and utilized if these cars are not only to survive but become more efficent, which is the guiding principle for the entire auto industy moving forward. This means smaller engines, lighter build materials and other innovative technologies geared towards increasing efficency. And while the electric car is a great idea it's got a long ways before it becomes truly viable. There are still issues of cost and even efficency before the electic car can truly become some sort of panacea for the global auto industry. Fear not the combustion engine is here to stay.

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Waiting to see if she fits. Fingers crossed.

ZKindaGuy

Overweight....agree.

Dated....Disagree. The muscle cars are not dated. They are a second muscle-car generation and possess contemporary design and styling. And they are exacly what saved Ford and doomed GM and Dodge only because they did not jump in on the 2nd-gen MC era quick enough.

Poorley engineered....Disagree. A person is more likely to walk away from a race crash alive in one of those "poorly engineered" cars than in the new epxerimentally "green" crackerboxes that are on the market today.