As one of the oldest existing vehicle nameplates in the automotive universe it seems only fitting to ask the inevitable question: When (if ever) did the Ford Mustang jump the shark?

I'm going to take the suspense out of this discussion and tell you up front when I think the Mustang topped out: 1969. That's actually one year after my favorite Mustang of all time -- 1968 Shelby GT500KR -- but there were enough exciting models in 1969 to validate the model's sustained health. The Boss Mustangs (302 and 429) both hit showrooms that year, as did the Mach 1. The 428 Super Cobra Jet was going strong, and Shelby still had a couple models in the line-up (though I don't like them as much as the '68 versions).

Continue reading...

Seemed like a fitting end to "Dodge Challenger Week" around here, so I drove my old bomb home for this weekend. Also seemed fitting to provide a fair picture of the old girl, without flourescent lights or parking posts in the background (I posted a similar photo back in August of 2006).

It's interesting -- 1 and 1/2 years ago I blogged about how much modern cars have improved and how old cars really feel old when you drive them. But this is the first time I've driven my 1970 Dodge Challenger after driving the 2008 Dodge Challenger. You know what? The new one drives better -- but not as much better as I think it should. The biggest improvements are (in order of magnitude) body-roll control, steering accuracy and braking confidence. I actually expected that order to be reversed, but steering on the new Challenger isn't as good as I'd hoped, while the steering and brakes on my old one seem better than they should be. Body control remains floaty on the purple car, even with brand new shocks.

Continue reading...

Someone brought up this topic a few days ago, asking me what my dream cars were as a child.

If you're an automotive enthusiast you can likely rattle off the dream cars of your youth without taking a breath. Dozens of images flow through my mind when I think about what cars fascinated me as a kid. But to give the question merit I think you have to define "childhood." The cars that excited me in grade school, late '70s Firebirds and '57 Chevys, weren't the same ones I lusted after in my teens. For me, I'll define "childhood" as 16 years old, or the year driving cars went from being fantasy to reality. At that age, these were my favorite vehicles (with period-correct photos to prove the point):

Continue reading...

We could talk about shopping and gifts and family get togethers, but let's talk about the real meaning of the holidays -- getting things done! This nether-week between Christmas and New Year's is pretty useless from a professional point of view, with few businesses firing on all cyclinders. At the same time, it's an excellent opportunity to tackle that perpetual "to-do" list we all have.

I've jumped on mine, with the passenger window in my 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE being replaced by a used one I found on eBay. The Challenger's original window had some nasty scratches running in a vertical line along the rear edge. With the window pulled I diagnosed the cause as a felt window guide worn down to bare metal (some "love taps" with a hammer cured that problem). I went into this job having minimal knowledge of - or experience with - replacing old Mopar windows. That's good, because once I realized how tricky the job was it was too late to go back. I re-attached the door panel, and gazed through my scratch-free window, just as the sun set and the Southern California temperature dropped below 50 degrees.

Other major items on my "to do" list for this week include:

Continue reading...

I can't believe I'm going to say this -- but the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 is too much of a muscle car for me. Maybe I should add, "...old-world muscle car..." to that statement for better clarity. I just had possession of a GT500 convertible for a couple days, and I was fully ready to hand the keys off when my allotted time was up.

A comparison between this car and a 1971 Hemi 'Cuda can not be avoided. Both cars make approximately 500 horsepower. Both cars weigh approximately 4,000 pounds. Both cars use a live-axle rear end. And both cars are about as subtle as 50 Cent lyrics when their engines rev past 5,000 rpm.

Problem is, I don't have much interest in driving a 1971 'Cuda convertible these days, and the same holds true for the most radical version of Ford's new Mustang. In both instances, a more balanced version of each car is available (AAR 'Cuda in one case, Bullitt or Shelby GT in the other).

I wrote about the concept of crushing older cars to reduce vehicle emissions waaaaay back in the summer of 2001. This subject comes up every few years when the latest batch of legislators is looking to put an environmental feather in their cap. As I stated in my original editorial column, crushing older vehicles not only doesn't reduce emissions, it often raises them. Beyond the editorial I linked to above, here's another interesting take on the subject.

After two days and 1,000 miles my 1970 Plymouth GTX is safely tucked in at its new home in Denver, Colorado. My Dad has room for the car in his garage, and next year I'll be attending my 20-year high-school reunion. I've had the GTX since 1986, and the pair of us were well known throughout my junior and senior year (I don't know if it was really the fastest car at my school, but I know I never lost a race). I'm looking forward to showing up with the GTX next year, as plenty of people asked about it during the 10-year reunion. Now, instead of saying "It's out in California" I'll be able to say, "It's out in the parking lot -- wanna go for a ride?"

The original plan was to drive the GTX back to Denver, but the thought of 100-plus temperatures across the desert, with no air conditioning, had me calling U-Haul at the last minute and snagging a car trailer. Our long-term 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe handled the 6,000-pound load (2,000-pound trailer, 4,000-pound car) admirably. I'll provide additional details on the long-term blog, but suffice to say I'm a bigger fan of Chevy's full-size SUVs than I was before -- and I already liked them a lot.

Well, after about two months and at least 50 weekend hours, plus the work of a capable (once again, capable) body shop my 1970 Plymouth GTX is looking surprisingly good. I personally dug into the interior mess, removing the shelf paper from the woodgrain surfaces and removing/re-installing many trim pieces with the correct screws and bolts (just about every item disassembled by the first body shop was re-assembled with missing and/or improper fasteners). Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I repaired the vacuum lines and got the Air Grabber hood working.

Continue reading...

To protect the guilty I will not use any specific names, but I did spend a good chunk of yesterday effectively repossessing my 1970 Plymouth GTX muscle car. I gave this vehicle to a shop to do restoration work in August of 2005. I didn't want a "complete restoration" because the car simply didn't need it. The picture above shows the car a few years ago, and as you can see (hopefully through the smoke) it's pretty clean. But it did have some minor rust around the rear wheel wells and some dings and scratches. Long story short, 22 months later I still didn't have the car back and was greatly disappointed in the "quality" of the work when I inspected it on Monday (wrong exterior color, "restoration" work on the interior that destroyed rare, original -- and effectively irreplaceable -- components, etc.)

Continue reading...

...we've got a good one going up on Monday about Smokey and the Bandit, a classic car movie that turns 30 this week. If you're of a certain age group this movie likely left an indelible impression on you when it premiered in 1977. It was the second-highest-grossing film of 1977 after Star Wars (another movie that left a large impact crater on my young psyche). The harsh truth of 1977 is that there wasn't a lot to celebrate in the world of automotive enthusiasm. Cars were weak, gas was no longer cheap, and it looked like we'd all be pedaling front-wheel drive hatchbacks before the end of the decade. Bandit was a total departure from this line of thinking, which is probably why it resonated so well across the fruited planes.

Continue reading...