American Muscle: Ford, Dodge, and Chevy

by Matthew C. Keegan

America's muscle car era peaked during the 1960s, but a new era may soon be returning thanks to the Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger, and Chevy Camaro.

Back during the 1950s through the mid 1970s, Detroit automakers produced several cars that were out and out "muscle" cars. These types of vehicles shared the same characteristics: they were two door coupes with souped up engines, responsive transmissions, an aggressive exterior design, and a sporty interior. High fuel prices and changing tastes eventually limited sales to the point where only a few models were produced beyond that period of time. Today, muscle car mania is back, despite even higher gas prices. Thanks to the Ford Mustang and to a lesser extent to sedan and wagon models from Dodge, there is new interest in a category long given up. The future is bright for the muscle car segment as one more manufacturer, Chevrolet, considers bringing back one of its darlings of yesteryear, the Camaro.

Besides the Ford Mustang there were a whole host of vehicles produced that at one time or another might have been considered a muscle car. In addition to the Mustang, the Ford Fairlane 500 and Ford Torino did duty; the Mercury Montego was another model; Chevrolet produced the Camaro and Corvette; Pontiac the GTO, Firebird, and Tempest; Olds the 442; American Motors' had its Javelin; Plymouth had the 'Cuda, and Dodge produced the Challenger and the Charger. Today, only the Mustang and Corvette survives although the Dodge Charger has returned as a four door muscle car along with its sibling, the hot Dodge Magnum wagon.

Interestedly, it took Ford's redoing of the Mustang for the 2005 model year to stir the current muscle car era craze. Styled after Mustangs built in the 1960s, the current Mustang embraces a retro look while incorporating contemporary technology. The result has been that the Mustang currently sells its entire 150,000 model capacity without incentives.

The Mustang has been inspiring DaimlerChrysler to go ahead with a retro cruiser of its own. The Dodge Challenger concept car, appearing at auto shows across the USA, has been a huge hit and Chrysler plans on bringing the V8 hemi powered model back in 2009. In addition, General Motors is considering giving its blessing on the Camaro, another car also making the rounds of the USA auto show circuit.

So, isn't it silly to bring back such gas hogs? Back during the early 1970s, the then current crop of muscle cars averaged only 10-12 miles to the gallon around town and 15 or 16 miles per gallon on the highway. Thanks to computer technology and efficiency, even the Corvette returns a highly respectable 28 miles to the gallon the highway. So, although fuel mileage will certainly be lower than many other models, the new group of muscle cars will still better the previous generation cars with fuel mileage 80% or more above the cars from the 1970s.

Fortunately, we still live in a fairly free country and what the consumer wants, the consumer gets. So, V8 powered muscle cars mated to 6 speed manu-matic transmissions, with sport handling, bucket seats, and better fuel economy will likely appeal to many. No, they won't be exact duplicates of yesterday's muscle cars, but they will provide the nostalgia and power that motorists seek. I can't wait!

About the Author:

Copyright 2006 - Matthew C. Keegan is a full time freelance writer covering the new cars as well as the classics. Get the most out of your performance car by: http://www.recreationexhaust.com
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Challenger Dodge

by Ove Marcelind

The Challenger Dodge is one car that has a long history ranging back to the 1960's and 1970's when the Challenger first came about. The Challenger was the answer for Dodge in the car wars, when the Pony car was all the rage. The Challenger has a sporty look, sleek, and gives you that muscle car feel, look and spirit all wrapped up into one car. The new Challenger is coming out, that will be starting production in the year 2008 and if all goes well, will continue as it is a car that will give the driver a good feel about driving it, and a good ride at the same time, costing less to run than a large SUV would. Muscle cars are making a comeback and the Challenger Dodge is one of them.

The Challenger is expected to be that of an LX model, but there is sure to be many that will be ordered, suped up with many of the luxuries that car owners want, such as the electric windows, the cd player, mag wheels and so on. This Challenger Dodge is a proposed solution to the problems that are plaguing many who are driving large cars that are also considered gas-guzzlers. The Challenger Dodge is one that will have better highway miles, and one that will make the grade when it comes to traveling long distances or to climbing that long driveway.

The engine for the Challenger Dodge has not yet been finalized or decided upon. There are a few options involving the engine. It could be the Hemi or it could be the V6 or possibly Dodge is going to produce both. The final decision will be made in the coming months as the factory gears up to start producing the needs body parts and engines for the Challenger Dodge.

The Challenger Dodge is a car that will have a long looking, larger than usual hood, with a short trunk lid. This is a replica or a similarity look of the Dodge Challenger from the late 1960's. While there are similarities, many things are different about the old challenger and the new challenger. The hood only seems larger and longer because of the use of the accessories. The front overhang is going to be further. The side mirrors area placed back further from their usual positioning to create that longer look. The car is a little wider than most, and there are angles in the doors and in the side panels that give you the added illusion of a larger longer hood on the Challenger Dodge.

The body of the car is not going to be fiberglass. The body of the Challenger Dodge is not going to be steel. Actually the body is going to be made of carbon fiber which will give the car a better overall value for this day and age, when running gas down the highway. The carbon fiber is going to be a little lighter, not much, but a little bit. The wheelbase on the Challenger Dodge is wider, and the drop of the car in the front is a mere twenty inches up from the ground.

Find out more at: www.challengersite.com

The Continuous Challenges of the Dodge Challenger

by Terry Brown

In the automobile world, there have been many vehicle names that come and go and then later would come back as another model. Or there are vehicle names that are used by different vehicles all at the same time. This case of confusion and double naming has also happened to the Dodge Challenger. For this vehicle, there have been two different models that held the same name. The first vehicle lived from 1970 to 1974 while on the other hand, the other Dodge Challenger lived from 1978 up until 1983. Both vehicles were marketed and ran under the umbrella of Chrysler Corporation's Dodge division during the 1970s.

The first model of the Dodge Challenger was an entry to the pony car segment in the United States. It was actually based on the Plymouth Barracuda which used the same E-body platform that this vehicle, the Dodge Challenger, was mounted on. As per the second model, this vehicle was actually a revision and a version of the Mitsubishi Galant Lambda coupe which was sold in other areas of the world as the Mitsubishi Sapporo. The Dodge Challenger was marketed as a vehicle that held a sporty appeal, bright colors, and unique tape stripes.

During the 2006 North American International Auto Show, Dodge introduced another Dodge Challenger. However, this time around, it was introduced as a concept vehicle. According to the company, this Dodge Challenger, if it would go into production, would be mounted on the Chrysler LY platform. And this would possibly be fulfilled come the year 2008.

The Dodge Challenger has been used in various media especially broadcast media. It has appeared in music videos as well as in films. It was on Audioslave's "Show Me How To Live" music video. It also made its appearance in films like Vanishing Point (1971), Gone in 60 Seconds (1974), Natural Born Killers (1994), Terminal Velocity (1994), Drive (1997), Vanishing Point Remake (1997), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), and Just Married (2003).

Featuring the capacity to be successful despite any kind of changes done to it as well as its capability to still perform and deliver, the Dodge Challenger needs no less than superior Dodge Challenger parts as well as accessories when the need arises. And this is where Auto Parts Information comes in. Having a vast array of well crafted Dodge replacement parts, performance parts, aftermarket parts, OEM parts and accessories to choose from its online store, it has also been made available twenty four hours a day to serve the most demanding needs for Dodge auto parts and Dodge auto parts information needs.

Its online collection holds the most durable Dodge parts that are made from premium quality material so as to guarantee the maintenance of the performance and delivery of the Dodge vehicle. The collection of Dodge parts includes a/c condensers, altezza tail lights, spoilers, tailgates, and wheels among many others.

Terry Brown is a 32 year old from Houston Texas, and an enthusiast for anything auto-related. He currently writes auto-related articles for several publications.