The Death of the GM Muscle Car

With the last years introduction of the new Ford Mustang, it can be said that Ford has won the muscle car war for the new millennium. At least when you consider that it does not appear that GM will be offering any competition any time soon. The fact of the matter is that I actually like the new Ford and I have to say that if I were in the market for a modern muscle machine I would not have any other choice. In order to understand how great a shift this is I have to go back to my childhood. My father, god rest his soul would rather have had a swift kick in the you know what than to have ever owned a Ford. In fact, every car he ever owned was a GM. From Chevys to Pontiacs, he owned them all. The one thing he refused to own was a Ford or Dodge. The odd picture of a Dodge on the wall in my room would always illicit a comment about how he disliked Dodge cars. So forgive me dad but I actually like that new Ford.

The reason I am in this dilemma is GM's lack of vision when it comes to reasonably priced performance cars. Camaro and Firebird at one point represented the cream of the crop in terms of styling, affordability, and performance. Several questionable design iterations throughout the years cost these two cars much of their following. At the end of their run, the Camaro and Firebird were overpriced shadows of their former self and as of September 2002, they ended their production run. It must be said that the Corvette remains one of the more exciting production performance vehicles but it is not very accessible to your average consumer. With a Canadian MSRP of over $67k, you do not see many of these cars around. The Corvette is not a muscle car for the masses.

When GM announced that it was going to begin to produce the GTO, again imaginations began to run wild. There were many discussions amongst GTO enthusiasts as to what the styling of the car would look like. Given the GTO's heritage, there was a plethora of styles to choose from. So what did GM choose as a styling influence. It appears that they chose a 1998 Grand Am. Based on sales it is apparent that the enthusiast community felt the same way, as sales of the GTO have been slow in the U.S. Canadians don't even get a chance to dole out what would probably be close to a $45k price tag since GM still hasn't made the GTO available to our market.This year's introduction of the Pontiac Solstice at least gave soft top enthusiasts something new but it doesn't satisfy the modern muscle enthusiast's needs.

Chrysler also entered the market with the Charger. While it packs significant punch with the optional HEMI, the questionable styling has not guaranteed it's success. This past week the Charger was given an award at the SEMA show for being accesory friendly. Styling wise, you either love it or hate it. One thing is for sure about the Charger is that their are no heritage styling cues incorporated into the car and that hasn't sat well with Charger fans.

Enter the Ford Mustang. For between $24 and $33 k you can get yourself what can only be described as a beautiful car. Clearly, the engineers and designers at Ford knew what they were doing when they developed this car. They have ingeniously transcended the gender, age, and demographic barrier. This car appeals to almost anyone. The one thing that makes it a surefire success is the price. The same thing made it a success back in the 60's. Inexpensive performance. One year later, the new Mustang has become a huge hit with a veritable explosion of aftermarket goodies available.

GM's recent financial woes speak to the lack of excitement in their car lines. There have been rumors of an on again off again Camaro / Firebird project. As a huge fan of GM Cars of the past, I can only hope that someone in the brain trust has the foresight to equate performance and design excitement with sales. Otherwise, I fear the era of GM performance cars is over...

About the author:

Joseph Baptista is the owner of UltimatePerformanceCar.com, Canada's premier site for performance car news, parts, tools and equipment.

Written by: Joseph Baptista

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