Are we in another hot rod golden age?

-
doogievlg

doogievlg

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2007
Messages
8,379
Reaction score
2,380
Location
Amelia, Ohio
I just stepped out onto my deck to take a phone call and off in the distance I can hear v8s rumbling and rice burners flying around. We have a tv show about drag racing on prime time cable tv and a full blown horsepower war in Detroit. Car meets are packed with young people in mustangs and GM hot rods. If you YouTube 1320video you will see hundreds of videos of young people racing very fast cars.

This isn't the same as the hot rodding in the 60s but like it or not there is s huge surge in interest in cars and drag racing with the young generation!
 
Dittos

I hear many straight piped late model muscle cars from my front porch every evening when i take the dogs outside to pee. Now i'm not an LS fan by any stretch, but boy do they sound good with these guys windin em up and blowin em out. The older 2 valve mod motor mustangs sound good to me with flowmasters on em too.
 
Same here, always something hot rodded, even if its import stuff still cool to see the hobby is thriving.....most younger kids around here go import cause its easier and cheaper, but many respect the older cars, wish more old cars were out but they are popping up more and more....I like it!
 
my dog has been on 1320 videos.Kyle has a great business.He started filming our group and eventually go to quit his job at pay pal
 
Alive and strong here in the south, our local race track now runs two days (Friday and Sunday) and I think some of the folks my age are retired and showing back up that raced hard in the 70'es ..
 
memike said:
Alive and strong here in the south, our local race track now runs two days (Friday and Sunday) and I think some of the folks my age are retired and showing back up that raced hard in the 70'es ..
Click to expand...
In their hoveraround?
 
The way I see it, as "left turn only" motor racing looses interest another form of motor racing will thrive. Points to consider...
The type of energy never was a factor. Ancient Romans raced horse drawn chariots.
Its in our nature/mindset/makeup. Auto mfgrs know this and pander to it.
If the first motor vehicles had been battery powered, humans would have found ways to compete and win with those too. So fossil fuel has its heyday. The battery powered era comes afterwards.
Some form of humans racing, other than on foot, will always exist and thrive somewhere
( just like roaches and dandelions, for a like it or not comparison ).
 
Probably the last golden age for hot rods as we know it.With the mileage mandates coming and engines getting smaller and moving to power adders the landscape is changing.Glad there are still pushrod V8's out there kicking butt.
 
one of our local tracks are closing at the end of the year. Texas Raceway has been there before I was born.The dirt tracks across the road 1 gets 1 more year and the other is closed
 
496 polara said:
Probably the last golden age for hot rods as we know it.With the mileage mandates coming and engines getting smaller and moving to power adders the landscape is changing.Glad there are still pushrod V8's out there kicking butt.
Click to expand...

I dont think we will see V8 iron go the way of the dinosaur in our lifetimes. There is still something in our brains that loves the gutteral roar of an uncorked V8. Damn my son whos 3 and a half loves the V8 sound. He couldent care less for the import fart popper soind.

Ever hear a P51 mustang running at full tilt straight n level. Big inch V12 liquid with short stack exhausts, dude that sound gives me a chubb.

Or big inch aircraft radial engines on takeoff.

All these sounds and the heartbeat like staccato exhaust notes speak to us. We know this stuff isnt alive, but in some sense it is, like its got a soul. Just like steam locomotives. Once it went to diesel and the stream era was over something kinda died because of progress.

I think electrics though fast, and maybe faster eventually than gas, will lose something V8s had. Whereas V8s feel alive, like they have a soul, electrics just wont.
 
if present day technology enables car manufacturers to make HIGH hp engines that are fuel efficient and environmental friendly, then that will help justify their rediculous prices!!??? my take.

we all know it is more fun to have plenty of power in our cars than to NOT have. racer or not!!!
 
It will NEVER be as good as it was in the late 60's early '70..you can keep all the "riceburners" and new fangled wanna be musclecars..
 
stroked340 said:
It will NEVER be as good as it was in the late 60's early '70..you can keep all the "riceburners" and new fangled wanna be musclecars..
Click to expand...
ya'all can keep them "rice burners" for sure - zero interest here, BUT - a 700+HP Mopar that'll do 200MPH, has modern braking, handles pretty well and is comfortable to drive - you betcha that's a muscle car - obviously not the classic ones we all pine for, but brotha - if I had the $$... there WOULD be a Hellcat in my driveway.
With that said, and all things being equal - if I had a choice between a 70 Challenger and a 2015 Challenger - yea, I would choose the 70..
 
Hot rodding had exploded in the 60's with the factory wars.Kids these days have been used to fast cars for as long as their parents remember.Their is a whole lot less "AWE" now than the 60's and 70's.You expect the new car to be faster these days.
 
V8 cars are making a huge come back around here.
Back in Time said:
Modern muscle cars are faster,ride better,are more fuel efficient...what's not to like except for the price.
Click to expand...

I have a real hard time calling a 70 thousand dollar car a muscle car. 70,000 today equates to 9,000 in the late sixties. There was no muscle car that cost that much. Offer a 400 hp rear wheel drive car for 25,000 then your in muscle car territory.
 
doogievlg said:
V8 cars are making a huge come back around here.


I have a real hard time calling a 70 thousand dollar car a muscle car. 70,000 today equates to 9,000 in the late sixties. There was no muscle car that cost that much. Offer a 400 hp rear wheel drive car for 25,000 then your in muscle car territory.
Click to expand...

Since when does the cost of a car determine if it's a muscle car.... Horsepower in a sporty car makes it a muscle car.
 
Challenger SRT 392 Core.
Base model body with SRT 392 and all go fast goodies plus A/C $48K

So $48K todays bucks is equal to what $5,500 in 1970 bucks. Its all relative dude.

Hell my folks bought their home in 1966 it cost $11,000 they sold it to move into a new house 10 years ago, and got $325K out of it. Inflation is relative.
 
Theres is NOTHING like the wow factor of seeing a nicely done/restored or original car from the late '60's early '70..new stuff doesn't come anywhere close..
 
stroked340 said:
Theres is NOTHING like the wow factor of seeing a nicely done/restored or original car from the late '60's early '70..new stuff doesn't come anywhere close..
Click to expand...


Not knocking old school Muscle Cars....I would take one in a heart beat. Just saying the new ones are much more efficient and most of them are faster than the average old school muscle car.
 
Back in Time said:
Not knocking old school Muscle Cars....I would take one in a heart beat. Just saying the new ones are much more efficient and most of them are faster than the average old school muscle car.
Click to expand...

Yes, but will modern muscle be valuable and collectible as the original stuff is now once they age?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top