So just how good was the A-Body back in its day?

I was born a couple years after the last Dart rolled off the assembly line but all of my life I have loved these cars, knew I wanted to own one by the time I was about 8 years old...and just assumed that they were the best of their breed....but is that right?

As I understood it, the A-body cars (and that covers a lot of ground, obviously) were superior to the competition by most measures- better 6 cylinder engines (with astounding reliability), better top of the line small block V8 engines, generally lighter than the competition (Duster 340; ~3200lbs, Nova SS 350; 3400lbs) excellent weight transfer and had generally superior suspension (by most measures)...and though it's subjective, they looked better too. :D

Granted, with the exception of Barracudas, some convertibles, etc, these were budget cars..but how were they regarded in their day? I assume that Novas and Mavericks, etc. sold better...but was that simply a branding issue?

Did any of you guys buy them new? How did you make your decision?

Any insight regarding the Abody's place in history would be very welcome.