Do you believe this is the greatest car generation?

[2011ss/rs]

Originally Posted by jd10013

yes, but very, very, very, few people can afford one. some of today's top end sports and super cars may be the best machines every made, but they're too far out of reach for the average buyer to say they make this the best generation of cars IMO. anybody with a job could go buy a chevelle off the lot. they sold millions of them. chevy is lucky to sell 20k SS camaro's a year, and probably less than 10k vetts.

I agree to a point but according to a thread posted by Fbodfather he stated in 2011 GM produced a total of 106,987 Camaros in 2011.
Most americans during that time were making a few dollars an hour could afford to pay for a $3,500.00 car over a four year loan. Today we make a lot more per hour those of us fortunate enough to still have jobs and have the opportunity to repay the $40,0000.00 car loan over seven years.


Here is the link to Scott's work.
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=315223

[ChrisBlair]

No. Cars are seen as increasingly evil and the people that are car enthusiasts face more and more restrictive regulations and laws coupled with governmental requirements that restrict automobiles. The national attitude has changed too.

Also more tech is being introduced that removes more and more need for driver input and skill, leaving "drivers" more and more as privileged passengers that get to push a few buttons.

I'd take a '40 Ford DeLuxe over a 2014 Bentley any day, and yes, I know what Bentleys are.

[pocketcthulhu]

Originally Posted by GnyaTek

I think you need to go back just a bit earlier to the mid-late 50's for the best generation for cars. This is really where the whole thing began. The country/world had survived WWII and folks really fell in love with cars as they became available again post-war. They also began the push for power, and modification of cars became popular - from power modifications, to chopped tops and cosmetic mods.

While today's generation of car enthusiast is strong, the complexity of the cars is increasing to the point that most enthusiasts that are modifying their cars are having at least some of the work done by professional installers.

I think that there will always be a strong car enthusiast group in all generations, but I think it is going to be extremely hard to displace the group from the 50's and into the early 60's as the greatest car generation.

Disclaimer: I am not part of that generation, it was slightly before my time.

hit the nail on the head friend, I grew up working on 60's cars a convertible ss chevelle, a 64 el camino (did my first body work on this one) and helped my dad switch a hard top 57 bell air to a soft top

[skibik]

I was born in the 60's grew up in the 70's. I would have to say that the 60's and the first couple years of the 70's were the best car years. Look at the cost of a car back then and compare it to what that dollar is worth today and see what you could buy. You would never touch an SS with the dollar value from back then. You could buy a 1LS, maybe get a 1LT or possibly a 2LT but you would be stretching it. The dollar value back then on a $4000 muscle car would get you about a $25k car now and that is a long ways from a new SS at around $40k. In 1982, the year I graduated, I was given $500 from my parents to buy a car. I found a 1971 Chevy Impala, 350CI for $350. Granted it only had maybe 230HP I think(never really knew or remember the rating) but an 11 year old muscle car. $350 in today's value is about $1500 to $1700, not too many 2002 sports or so called muscle type cars for that kind of money. If money isn't a problem today, even with the government restrictions, the cars are starting to come around again but just not affordable to the average person. Also, back in the 70's growing up we looked at cars and seen what people were driving. Too many video games and crap today the younger generation doesn't see cars like we did back then anymore. Yes there are the few that enjoy the yesterdays and today's cars but are fewer with that interest today. JMO.

Dean.

[BDBiker]

I miss the muscle car days of the 60's and 70's, gas was cheap back then and I worked at a gas station pumping gas as cheap as $.19/gallon. You could fill your tank for $5 and have fun with your friends for the bulk of a day. Hot cars were common and the fun we had back then can not be had today.
But the cars of today are far superior in every way to the muscle cars back then, that's my .02 cents.

[not]

Originally Posted by skibik

I was born in the 60's grew up in the 70's. I would have to say that the 60's and the first couple years of the 70's were the best car years. Look at the cost of a car back then and compare it to what that dollar is worth today and see what you could buy. You would never touch an SS with the dollar value from back then. You could buy a 1LS, maybe get a 1LT or possibly a 2LT but you would be stretching it. The dollar value back then on a $4000 muscle car would get you about a $25k car now and that is a long ways from a new SS at around $40k. In 1982, the year I graduated, I was given $500 from my parents to buy a car. I found a 1971 Chevy Impala, 350CI for $350. Granted it only had maybe 230HP I think(never really knew or remember the rating) but an 11 year old muscle car. $350 in today's value is about $1500 to $1700, not too many 2002 sports or so called muscle type cars for that kind of money. If money isn't a problem today, even with the government restrictions, the cars are starting to come around again but just not affordable to the average person. Also, back in the 70's growing up we looked at cars and seen what people were driving. Too many video games and crap today the younger generation doesn't see cars like we did back then anymore. Yes there are the few that enjoy the yesterdays and today's cars but are fewer with that interest today. JMO.

Dean.

I graduated in 79 and my first car was a 73 Chevy Impala, 4 dr, with a 350 engine, automatic tranny. It was the biggest pc of crap car, ever, bar none.

Salt rusted out the car, either from outside in or inside out. Pulled door handle once to open the door and the whole latch mechanism fell out as the sheet metal gave out, ha. I actually put duct tape over it and it held, until the car finally caught on fire and I wouldn't let the fire dept put it out until dead. That was 1981 or 2yrs of hell.

Before the fire of pity removed this enigma, I was driving at night and pressed on the bright lights button which was on the left-hand side of the driver's floorboard and it disappeared, floorboard rusted out. I had to pop rivet a pc of aluminum there and put some cardboard underneath the floor mat to keep slush out. Didn't work very well.

Besides the muffler falling off, other maladies included the carburetor catching on fire for no known reason, putting the parking brake on and it never releasing, that was fun to drive home with, rear flat tire and the steel wheel was rusted onto the drum brake cover, took a sledgehammer to get that one off.

But my personal favorite was turning left at an intersection and wondering why I am not going anywhere when I noticed the rear wheel axle housing broke free and my left wheel and tire were a good foot outside the wheel well, ha. After that was fixed, it showed how weak the univeral joints were in the drive axle as they proceeded to give out too.

Never considered the 350 in that car to be a muscle anything. The 73 coupe 2 dr had a nicer rear window and Impalas then were available in a 307, 327, 350, 400 and even a 454, which the last two may have qualified as muscle. But my Impala was more like mucus.

[motorhead]

I think not only was the 50's and early 60's the best car generation, I also believe it was the best generation all together.

[AdamEL]

Interesting topic. Although, my SS is my dream car, and I would take it over any classic car myself, I'd say the most exciting generation had to be the 60's into the 70's. Look back at all those classic rides and that seemed to be when the performance aspect of muscle cars was really taking off. That was a little before my time, but that had to be a great time to be a car buyer. My dad told me a lot of stories about that time frame being exciting for car enthusiasts, although, he was really into cars in the 50's as well.

But, something to really think about is, where will auto technology be in 10 or 20 years from now? With all the government regulations in place, there's been more than a few rumors of high horsepower V8's being eliminated from showroom floors. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I can't say that doesn't sound like a possibility. I'll hang onto my V8, thank you...

[jd10013]

Originally Posted by AdamEL

But, something to really think about is, where will auto technology be in 10 or 20 years from now? With all the government regulations in place, there's been more than a few rumors of high horsepower V8's being eliminated from showroom floors. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I can't say that doesn't sound like a possibility. I'll hang onto my V8, thank you...

might not be driving them anymore. the technology for self driving cars is out there and working fine. it's just a matter of the government getting around to mandating it, which is inevitable. as sad as it is, a majority of people will not only let the government do whatever it want's they actually want them to rule them like a king. probably one of the worst changes in the last 50 yrs.

[wayne watson]

Originally Posted by Overflow

No. I think 50s - 70s was the best.

I agree those cars were classy out of the showroom. Late 70s and 80s to me were disposable cars.
But have to say these new ones are impressive how they squeeze so much power and the cars are as heavy as a 55 chevy

[Mobyd]

this

[cadyshac]

I was born in the 60's, started driving in late 70's, 1st car was '64 cutlass, 2nd car was 74 cutlass, 3rd car was '68 chevelle. My best friends had a '65 bel air and a '69 chevelle. My cousin had a '67 camaro, many kids in high school had muscle cars. My wife and I had a '79 Z28 with a 325 HP Lingenfelter kit in the engine, we owned that Z for 25 years. We bought our 2SS and sold the Z within 6 months, none of those cars could come close to the 5th gen Camaro. I love the styling, rumble and smell of a 60's muscle car but to me, the 5th gens blow them all away. They are not easier to work on or cheap to mod but they are fast, quick, safe, stylish, powerful, comfortable, quiet, I could go on. I will always love the 60's muscle cars but they don't touch the present day Camaro. After '72 most cars sucked, by '75 they all sucked and it lasted way to long! My 2 cents for what it's worth.

[RJT Impala]

Originally Posted by Overflow

No. I think 50s - 70s was the best.

Originally Posted by GnyaTek

I think you need to go back just a bit earlier to the mid-late 50's for the best generation for cars. This is really where the whole thing began. The country/world had survived WWII and folks really fell in love with cars as they became available again post-war. They also began the push for power, and modification of cars became popular - from power modifications, to chopped tops and cosmetic mods.

While today's generation of car enthusiast is strong, the complexity of the cars is increasing to the point that most enthusiasts that are modifying their cars are having at least some of the work done by professional installers.

I think that there will always be a strong car enthusiast group in all generations, but I think it is going to be extremely hard to displace the group from the 50's and into the early 60's as the greatest car generation. I built my first car in 1968 for about $600; $200 for a '56 Chevy BelAir without engine or trans; $200 for a 300hp 327 and three speed manual that came out of a'65 Chevelle; and $200 for parts to put them together. Drove the car for three years before selling (BIG mistake!). Could have added fuelie cam and 2-fours or 3 dueces and headers for another $200, but time limited me and I needed to drive to my next duty station. Parts were routinely available over the counter at your local Chevy dealer.

Disclaimer: I am not part of that generation, it was slightly before my time.

I was part of this era, and have to agree with the above. The availability of factory parts, optionability of cars, various engineering approaches, and the ability to bring those together in any combination--inexpensively--well, those were the "golden days" of cars. That's why they are looked at and sought after as classics.

[Cheveey57]

Far from it! The days pre electronic crap where you could walk into a dealer and order a car the way you wanted and had way more three or four choices.