bigdom1012
Well-Known Member
has anyone seen the new dodge charger...i was shocked when i saw it i think they did a great job with it here is the link
http://www.dodge.com/en/2011/charger/
http://www.dodge.com/en/2011/charger/
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new charger
- Thread starter bigdom1012
- Start date
Rodimus_Prime
Well-Known Member
meh. challenger is all they got
Not bad not bad. Almost has a Mustang feel with the looks. Almost like they are trying to close the gap between the 2. I do know when I see them at car shows that is one wide car! It's a monster! That thing needed a diet for sure. I still think if I was in the market for a new one it would be the new Camaro vert! 
72firebird
Super Moderator
while I agree with you, that isn't what the general consumer wants to see. The idea of all the plastic is that it makes everything look simple. The manufacturer doesn't want the customer opening up the hood and seeing the catastrophe that lies under the plastic. It also helps cut down on some of the manufacturing costs, they don't have to make sure the intake castings are aesthetically pleasing or that there is something just protruding straight up at you, they an design for function and forget form.
For instance a new chevy truck intake (covered) Lq4 intake image by TTLS2S10 on Photobucket versus an ls1 intake http://skillmanracingparts.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/25534322.jpg
Even most of your high end manufacturers (Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Porsche, etc) cover everything on the motor and they've been doing it longer than the big 3. They only take a few seconds to remove so as far as service goes they don't really impede anything, they just add one more thing to break on the car.
kymmee
Silver Member
Falls right in line with the typical mentality of a "throw away" society. If it breaks I'll just trade it in and get something else. If it wasnt for people like us that want to preserve the "when cars were really cars" attitude, how many TTA's would have been junked and forgotten?? I dont live that way, I actually like older stuff because I think it was built better.
72firebird
Super Moderator
I don't think it puts us as a "throw away" society, but more towards "I'll pay someone else to fix it". Just because the cars have more plastic isn't a bad thing. There's been huge advances in polymers in the last 20 years, they don't dry out and crack nearly as bad as our TTAs. I don't think most of us would be able to afford a car that meets emission and safety standards using the materials of the 70s. The manufacturing and material costs would be through the roof.
I don't like plastic either, it looks cheap, it's flimsy, and its easier to break. However, it's an advancement in technology that costs less and allows a lot more freedom for design, so you're going to have to deal with it and be prepared to see more of it. They've actually been working on some polymers to make engine blocks out of, want an all plastic motor?
kymmee
Silver Member
I'll have to agree with you 72firebird that polymers are more advanced and less likely to fail that older types. But our age diff (you 20 something, me 40 something) has some bearing on our opinions. I agree that advancement in technologies has brought us far, but also sometimes it is our own demise as we are dependant on others, like you said, manufacturing and materials would be thru the roof. Guess that is why there is very little manufacturing here anymore. Keep in mind my area was once a manufacturing mecca, now it is the "rust belt". lol I dont know if I would buy a car with a plastic motor.
bigdom1012
Well-Known Member
idk sumthing about the newer cars gets to me...in my opinion there missing something...i cant put a finger on it but there missing that wow factor...i nearly purchased a new 2ss until i test drove it...as much power as they have and they look great the feel of it isnt the same as the older cars..i once read an article comparing the new ss to the 69 ss and ofcourse the new ss won in every aspect of judging because its so technology advanced in every aspect but the end of the article summed it all up they writer said " when you wake up on nice sunday morning and open your garage and you have both of these cars which one are you gonna take out...the 69 camaro ofcourse" im sure not many will agree with this but it does make sense the older muscle cars id say till about our tta's had a cool factor that these new cars just cant compete with every creek and rattle and just that rumbling exhaust make them so much more enjoyable!!
72firebird
Super Moderator
I'm going to go on a long rant like usual.
It's because the older cars have a raw feel. Now everything comes stuffed with sound deadening, softer suspension for smoother ride, nice power steering racks, ABS, TCS, cruise control, etc. Any idiot can jump in a car now and do alright driving it, hell they'll probably take out their cell phone and text some people on their way to where they're going. People have become too comfortable with cars and it's just become an everyday task, and it's only getting worse. I wasn't around in the 60s and 70s but I feel I have a pretty good grasp on the feeling from having similar conversations with my dad. When people got in their car, that was their main focus. Bias-ply tires had a tend to cause a car to wonder and follow any uneven spots in the road so you had to keep the car on the road, now you just drive it with one hand and if you need to search in your console for a couple seconds it'll stay straight (unless you have a POS that needs an alignment). It's only getting worse now with all of the proximity sensor controls that they're putting in. When I was at a Chrystler information session about a month ago the representative was bragging about how he just set his cruise control and never hit the brake after he got on the highway. Every time the car senses something within a certain distance it'll adjust your speed accordingly. So now all you have to do is keep the car on the road on our highways which are pretty much completely straight. Soon they'll start putting in systems on the sides of the road to steer the car for you to. The driver has been eliminated and the computers are taking over.
There's few cars that in my opinion actually are still "car guy" cars and that even includes looking at the supercars. The top car for a car guy out right no IMO is the C6 Z06, yeah it's not the top of the line but it's what a modern muscle car should be. You can only buy it in a manual, they packed a shit ton of cubic inches in it, it's N/A, and it's got a butt load of parts which were originally developed for the race track. It has a few more luxury items than necessary, but it screams when you give it gas. While I would never own one, one of the cars I've always had respect for was the 1st gen Vipers. Why? Because they consisted of a huge engine, a frame, a body, and as few interior amenities that they could get away with, it was a purpose built car.
I could write a lot more but I think it gets the point across. I'll probably always own something newer for a DD with all the new gadgets, but then I'll always have for pure enjoyment beside it (hopefully one of these once I'm done with school and have some time/space/money Type 65 Coupe )
bigdom1012
Well-Known Member
i gotta agree with you here but i also think the times have alot to do with it...now me and you are very close in age so we saw the same growing up...muscle cars were instilled in me at a very young age which is why i grew up to be a car guy i grew up around vettes iroc trans ams and mustangs of the late 80's early 90's due to my families love for these cars. which made me curious of these cars past and i began a huge love affair with these cars and i explored the entire muscle car history for years...now guys like me and you will compare these great late 60's early 70's muscle cars to the newer ones but the fact is 95% of our generation wont!
the point im tryin to make is this...not only are these old muscle cars great cuz of the feeling you get driving them but for many of the guys on here it spoke of there generation...to alot of people camaros trans am gto etc etc werent just a car it was way more than that...it could of been there first car there dream car the first date car etc etc...whatever it may be it means something dear to alot of people who grew up around this it was a sign of better times and more importantly happier and fun times and there youth...
as far as our generation goes we grew up around the 90's to early 00's cars and the only options we had were camaro trans am mustang and they were mostly not in our budgets..the cars that defined our generation is unfortuatly the imports as much as i hate them that was our thing cheap fun buildable cars as were the muscle cars of the 60's and 70's now i am glad to see the return of the mopars and the camaro and the new 5.0 cuz the next generation will hopefully grow up around this...and though it may not be anywhere near the old timers it can give guys like me and you a taste of what it was like back then and more importantly show a whole new generation these "new" cars have a great history behind them
"circle of life" hahaha
echostatic
Turbooo
I may be young (23) but I've been able to drive a wide variety of cars. I've had an '81 trans am and have my '68 grand prix and '89 TTA, but I've also been able to drive a 2004 mercedes AMG CL55, newish dodge magnum srt8, 1978 trans am, 1985 lamborghini countach, 1978 cadillac eldorado, 1987 buick GN, and so on. I rode in a new Challenger SRT8. The only cars I thought were really fun were the older ones. Kymmee said it right, the new cars are way too quiet. My '68 grand prix roars and that countach screamed, but all the new cars sound way too reserved.
Say what you will about the new and improved materials they use for making cars, but my 42 year old grand prix spent years in a field and god knows where else and it's still in good shape. Heck, the leather seats (driver's excluded) are nearly perfect. They just don't build 'em like they used to.
Say what you will about the new and improved materials they use for making cars, but my 42 year old grand prix spent years in a field and god knows where else and it's still in good shape. Heck, the leather seats (driver's excluded) are nearly perfect. They just don't build 'em like they used to.
bigdom1012
Well-Known Member
for normal people there the 3 things you never have a convo about is the weather religion and politics...for us car guys its new muscle vs old muscle are covettes muscle cars and whats the fatest production american car lolll
honestly we always gotta love technology in some way (look under the hood in your tta and when u punch the gas look at the grin u got in your mirror lol) if it wasnt for technology we wld be in a bad place muscle car wise...lets go back to the mid 70's the big heavy muscle cars are either gone or in a bad place and the pony cars were the new leaders...and that isnt sayin much with horsepower barely breaking 200...the only glimmer of hope was in pontiacs stable with the late 70's t/a's who were putting up respectable numbers for its time (black and gold and burt gave it a nice kick in the butt sales wise loll) now lets head into the 80's and well start with 80-81 turbo trans am now when you look at them now they aint much performance wise like ive said black and gold is really niceee oo and thanks burt...again aside from that the automotive industry was trying to get around the governments laws the best they could...the efforts were deff there try and forget about cease fire injection lol but the numbers were going upward and the governments rules were kept intact... from the 3.8 turbo to the 5.7L tpi this technology was putting american muscle in a much better place than it was in the mid to late 70's and it paved the way to the 300 plus numbers to follow in the 90's and 00's...now like i said in the previous post as much as we say its the feel of the new cars that takes away from it i still believe it is more of what the older cars represented and the iconic statures they hold the today...cause lets be honest technology is what gave us the muscle cars to begin with and who knows 30 years from now our kids and grandkids and some of us will be on these forums arguing the the 2010 camaro mustang and challenger are way better and cooler to drive than the 2040 2cylnder ecotechnology dualhybrid bird friendly compact coupe with the optional flying mode which is a dealer installed option btw hahahahaha
honestly we always gotta love technology in some way (look under the hood in your tta and when u punch the gas look at the grin u got in your mirror lol) if it wasnt for technology we wld be in a bad place muscle car wise...lets go back to the mid 70's the big heavy muscle cars are either gone or in a bad place and the pony cars were the new leaders...and that isnt sayin much with horsepower barely breaking 200...the only glimmer of hope was in pontiacs stable with the late 70's t/a's who were putting up respectable numbers for its time (black and gold and burt gave it a nice kick in the butt sales wise loll) now lets head into the 80's and well start with 80-81 turbo trans am now when you look at them now they aint much performance wise like ive said black and gold is really niceee oo and thanks burt...again aside from that the automotive industry was trying to get around the governments laws the best they could...the efforts were deff there try and forget about cease fire injection lol but the numbers were going upward and the governments rules were kept intact... from the 3.8 turbo to the 5.7L tpi this technology was putting american muscle in a much better place than it was in the mid to late 70's and it paved the way to the 300 plus numbers to follow in the 90's and 00's...now like i said in the previous post as much as we say its the feel of the new cars that takes away from it i still believe it is more of what the older cars represented and the iconic statures they hold the today...cause lets be honest technology is what gave us the muscle cars to begin with and who knows 30 years from now our kids and grandkids and some of us will be on these forums arguing the the 2010 camaro mustang and challenger are way better and cooler to drive than the 2040 2cylnder ecotechnology dualhybrid bird friendly compact coupe with the optional flying mode which is a dealer installed option btw hahahahaha
Hi, very true in what you all are saying this is (was) my car. I bought in 1977. sold in 2000. I reget it.the car was a local car saw it loved it bought it when I was old enough. restored it. and keep it 23 years thought I was done with it boy was I wrong, if you have a car you love keep it!!!. I have drove allot of cars from the late 60s and early 70s. the new cars are cool but not the same. they feel tight and too quite. I too like to feel the horsepower vibrate my ears and skin not just at the pedal.
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