As I'm sure you've all noticed, the Muscle and Pony cars are back. Ford got it started with the Mustang, then Dodge made a lukewarm attempt with the Charger, so Ford came back with a better Mustang. Chevy wanted back in and is doing it with the Camaro. Dodge realized its blunder and pumped the Challenger out in record time. Now Ford is back with a cooler Mustang.
What are your feelings about these cars and the "comeback"? Have you had any seat time with them?
Personally, I like it. I was getting tired of all the SUV crap and lackluster vehicles being pushed out of the factories. I like that American muscle is finally coming back, and this time it's even got decent gas mileage. It brings with it a spirit of competition for both manufacturers and owners that just doesn't seem to exist between mini-vans and SUV's.
As a lifelong Chevy fanatic, this pains me...I think Ford has got it right and is finally operating like they should. I'm beginning to have enormous respect for them as a company. They got their act together before anyone else did, and to me, the Mustang proves it. They saw, or possibly created, the trend and got out there with a solid car. Every iteration of the new Mustang has been awesome, and the new 2010 is pretty damn cool. I can't wait to take one for a test drive.
The Challenger looks fantastic. I think that Dodge has captured the muscle car style better than any of the other manufacturers have. That's not such a good thing for aerodynamics, but when you're pulling 450 horses, who cares? I was very impressed with how fast Dodge got the Challenger out, but after looking at the interior, I can see how they did it. It's very generic and is almost exactly like all their other interiors. I think for what they're charging for it, they could have done better.
And now the Camaro. Oh boy...let's just say I went to see Transformers just as much for the Camaro as I did because I love Transformers. My only gripe is that it took Chevy so damn long to get this car on the road, but it looks like it might have been well worth the delays. I haven't driven one yet, but from what I can tell, I already love everything about the car.
So, what think you?
EDIT: I left the Charger out because I honestly think it's a half-assed attempt that only gets good in the SRT range. My Caliber looks the same as a Charger on the inside and can almost keep up with one. Great for my Caliber, not so great for Charger.