Can't say I disagree with you, only pointing out that it is a matter of opinion and to someone who grew up when the fastest accelerating vehicle from Dodge was a Jeep, they might see it differently.
They are certainly further out of reach right now than they were a year or two ago, but a car payment is a car payment. There is a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 about 2 hours from here for $23,750 which works out to like $428 a month for 60 months. That's about $61 a month in 1970 according to the online calculator I used so the right individual should be able to swing it.
Granted, if it had to be a Challenger or (heaven forbid) Mustang/Camaro, they are higher right now but not impossible.
And again we are back to an opinion. 0-60 and mpg can be measured, but style is subjective (just look at the people that like GM products :D ). And if you look at performance only, pretty hard to argue that new muscle has it in spades. For you, maybe the style of the new muscle turns you off so you don't car how it performs. But to someone else it might be something they can overlook or maybe even enhances the performance.
