The New Pony Cars

Pony car, a category named after the original pony, the Mustang. It is fitting then that the Mustang line has continued uninterrupted since 1964 (and a 1/2). It was the first and who know, if Ford survives it may be the last one standing. Over the years there have been a few dogs, but the Mustangs being built right now are the best ever. Older car geeks may wax nostalgic about the good old days, but the current herd of Mustangs is by far the best ever.

Over the years all of its competition has dropped off. Lack of commitment one might think, but the real problem is no other pony car competitor has enjoyed the popularity of the original. The secret in my opinion? Name recognition and a basic look that except for the 3rd gen that has stayed consistent over the years. The Mustang is not a sports car but symbolizes fun. That fun ranges from just making one feel good again to street, drag and road racing. It is so popular that the aftermarket can take your basic Mustang from mild to wild. And to add to all that it has a hallowed history with Caroll Shelby and the Cobra. As a car the Mustang may not have always kept up with its competitors. But as an image the Mustang is a complete marketing success. It has appeal to both sexes, something the Mustang competitors can only dream of.

So the Mustang is the reigning champ of pony cars. The one they all chase. When Ford reinvigorated the Mustang in 2005, Ford returned back to the Mustang roots and went for a Gen 1 67-68 look and struck gold. They cut some corners and kept it simple and cheap and came up with a hot seller that has only recently tailed off. Everyone else noticed and wanted in the game.

In 2008 Chrysler reached back into its past and plucked its highest profile pony (muscle?) car the Challenger. Even though this car only lasted a few years (it was late to the pony party) it is a well known model among car nuts with a rep. And oddly it fits into the same pony niche as it did originally 38 years ago. It is big and is being built off a large car platform. In 1970 that was so the big engines would fit. Today, well it was all they had. Give Chrysler credit for starting with the hi-po SRT-8 model. Hoorah. But take away one bonus point for only offering an automatic.

But man, this I one beautiful car. To many the best looking of the new pony car wave. This car has a great engine, looks like a million dollars, handles and drives nice, but it needs more time on the stairmaster. This beast is over 4100 lbs! Small SUVs weight less than this. Bur so far the weight has only hurt the cars driving dynamics and not sales. This year, 2009, Chrysler has rounded out the range with a low end 6 cylinder and a mid performance V8 model. And tadaa, a manual transmission. Credit some of its success to newness and beauty, but this is an outstanding fun car with Mercedes genes in its ancestry with only one Achilles heel, too many lbs. A worthy Mustang competitor.

Enter big lumbering GM and the new Camaro. This is a car we can all than Bob Lutz for. He was an agent of positive change at GM, but he was too late to save the big guy. But don't write off GM just yet, that new Camaro is a winner. Not the car that can save GM but any good news at GM is just what they need right now. The 2010 Camaro (but wait this is still spring 2009!) is a clean break from the past. The last FBody, the fourth gen was a beautiful car with great engines that otherwise were pretty crude and somewhat poorly engineered. Why would you build a car with the electronics under the water pump (ever drop a cell phone in the toilet?) and a motor that was most easily removed from under the car.

This new Camaro comes to us by way of Australia. The same down under folks who brought us the new GTO and more recently the super cool G8. Unfortunately this car too is saddled with a large car platform and suffers from mild obesity. But GM was able to keep the weight to under 3,900 lbs with the SS M6 V8. And what a V8 it is. LS3, one of the newest in a line of super powerful and super moddable line of LS V8s. Even though it was released in the Corvette in 2008 it is already a legend.

But the motor room news is not the best part, they really paid attention to the stopping and handling. GM worked hard on the Camaro suspension and went one step further by adding a large dose of refinement. Now refinement is a good thing, especially for a daily driver or for a long range cruise. But refinement can kind of backfire. To illustrate witness the BMW 3 Series. The only criticism of this car that really sticks is that it may be too refined. They took some of the fun out! One other possible Camaro problem. While it is striking and has a cool look to it that look is not considered beautiful by many. Especially when compared to the lusty Challenger, the pony beauty queen. So we find a few chinks in the Camaro armor. It is a little too chubby, may be a bit too sophisticated for its target audience, and wears clothes that may go out of style in a few years. But even it if were perfect it still might have trouble outselling America's favorite pony.

Which brings us back to the Mustang. The 2010 Mustang (again with the spring pre-release) goes back to the 1969-70 Gen 1 Mustang roots. One of the coolest Mustangs ever. It looks a little clumsy, especially from the back, but from the public's reaction so far the Mustang has game. The Ford has a built in advantage over the other provided by Mr, Newton, the lightest weight! So with the smallest, lowest powered V8 engine the Mustang can mostly keep up with the competition. It will be too close for anyone to notice except the motorheads.

But Ford outfoxed it rivals to some extent. They fixed some of the biggest Mustang gripes, the handling and the interior. And they added a new option called the Track Pack. This package might make the Mustang the best handler of the three and gives this pony a bit of a racy hard edge. This package is getting rave reviews from all who have sampled it. So the Ford has the smallest engine and a solid rear axle but it most likely has the energy to keep its sales leadership despite the serious competition. And the new GT500 is waiting in thee wings. Sadly though the pony pie will be shrinking in this economy and the competition may kill off one or two of these cool cars over time. But let's not cry in our milk too much and seize the day.

Let me finish my pony ramblings with this. If I had the money and the garage space I would have a Camaro SS for a daily driver, a Challenger SRT8 for the weekend, and a tricked out Mustang GT for track days. Wow.

The new V8 power wars

We woke up one day and suddenly it is 1970 all over again. As a long time fan of the high performance V8 this renaissance is welcome development. Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, Cobra, G8, Charger all can supply a rock and roll V8 with enough power to light a small city. Good times are here agin. But willl they last?

We have reached a peak of V8 offerings we may not see again. The American V8 death knell has sounded many times. This time it may be that silver bullet. To add to the ever present insurance woes and gas milage reputation, we have the apparent demise of the US auto industry. The poor maligned V8, most hardly knew you. But let's not suck the fun out of these cars by predicting thier doom. Instead let us celebrate good fortune and party with a little tire smoke.