Yesterday, my fiancee and I took a trip up to the local Dodge dealership. The lease on her Dakota is about up, and we wanted to look at our options. Personally, I've been pushing for a Challenger, though she's always been a truck drivin' girl and I knew the deck was seriously stacked against me. Regardless, I was deadset on at least taking one out for a spin, to see what these new modern muscle cars were all about.
I let Melissa drive first, as it was after all her who was looking for a vehicle. After we went for a nice cruise, including an 80 mph trek on the freeway, it was my turn behind the wheel. As for my long time followers, you know my history. For those who don't, a quick run down of my automotive portfolio is as follows:
Learned to drive with a 1989 Pontiac Firebird w/305 - 5 speed. Next up was a 1969 Camaro w/350 350 auto w/manual valve body. This car later turned into a 454 powered car with a 400 auto w/manual valve body. This car pushed 513 hp and was good for 11.7's in the 1/4 mile. I also bought a 1970 Challenger w/383 and 4 speed pistol grip, while not nearly as fast as my Camaro, and a suspension so shot it was scary to take corners at even the posted speeds, it was still fun as hell to drive. I graduated from CMU's Industrial Tech program, concentrating on automotive design, working in the auto industry for 6.5 years, 2 of which was a stint at Ford Motor Company. So, needless to say, I have the credentials.
First off, let me just say that they did do a damn fine job with the Challenger! The exterior screams muscle car era in a way that the new Camaro and Mustang do not. That being said, it looks like a seriously overweight muscle car when compared to it's other two compadres. Tipping the scales at 4,100 lbs, it's a good 500 lbs heavier than the original. Behind the wheel, I could feel the extra heft. The car rode great, handles nicely, and has good acceleration, yet it lacks that seat of the pants/pin me back in the seat power that I have come to expect. On the freeway, punching the throttle quickly propelled the car to 100+ mph. Yet the acceleration occurred almost unnoticably, and without reaction on my part. While I didn't get an opportunity to really through the car around corners, I could tell that the extra weight would come into play while doing so.
I realize that the Camaro's weight isn't far off at 3,900 lbs, and imagine it's road manners would be much the same. I guess the best way to describe it is "The pony cars have turned into draft horses." While the Mustangs weight still hovers around 3,300 lbs, the Camaro and Challenger have turned into Chevelles and Coronets. This isn't all bad I suppose, as they were still muscle cars, and the new generations will STILL always be muscle cars. I guess what bothers me most is when the modern magazines write of the new Challenger and Camaro expecting sports car handling. Reality is, that was really never the intention of the muscle car, dating back 4 decades. Decent performance with massive power for straight line performance was the name of the game, and in all honesty, still is.
I enjoyed my drive in the Challenger R/T, and it's a helluva boulevard bruiser. If the new Camaro handles and drives much the same however, well, I think my focus will be getting my Camaro back on the road and then restoring my Formula, as I can get more of what I'm personally looking for out of both vehicles.
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