A Tale of Two F Bodies

When the Chevrolet Camaro was launched in direct response to the Ford Mustang in 1967, the Pontiac Firebird was its "Me Too" tag-along brother.  But a decade later, as kid brothers often do, The Firebird outgrew the Camaro's shadow.    



By 1977, the Pontiac Firebird/Trans Am was the hot car, partly because of the optional 6.6 liter engine, which was bigger than the motor in the Camaro.  But I suspect the big reason why the Firebird was so popular was because it was featured in "The Rockford Files" and "Smokey and the Bandit".  Burt Reynolds drove a black 1977 Trans Am as the Bandit and the car became legendary.  As a result, just about every Trans AM made after the movie was black with honeycomb wheels and featured the "Flaming Chicken" on the hood.



When the 3rd Generation Camaro and Firebird rolled around, both cars were very successful in the marketplace.  However, Pontiac again won the publicity battle, when a modified Trans Am played the part of K.I.T.T. on "Knight Rider".



After all, does anyone remember AJ's Camaro in "Simon and Simon"?

Eventually the Camaro regained the sales lead, with the debut of the 4th Generation model.  But by 1998, sales had dwindled, so being the sales leader was akin to boasting you were the more handsome of the Menendez brothers.  Eventually both cars were killed off in 2002.



The Camaro returned nine years later, on a new platform and with a vague resemblance to the 1969 model.  Pontiac would have returned with the Trans Am in some form, had GM not shuttered the brand as part of its bankruptcy.

Picking a favorite between the Camaro and Firebird is a matter of personal preference.  Both cars are a good value, offering good looks and performance for a bargain price.  The 1st generation cars have long been considered classics and the 2nd and 3rd generation cars are now becoming collectible as well.

My personal favorites are the 3rd generation cars.  Given the chance, I'd love to own an IROC Camaro or a Trans Am.  But between the two, I have to give the nod to the Trans Am, only because the Bandit and K.I.T.T. captured my imagination as a boy.    

Power!

Jeremy Clarkson, the lead presenter for BBC's "Top Gear" television show, is famous for shouting POWER! His yawp is usually reserved for cars by Mercedes and Lamborghini with massive power. But I think even he would agree that the power made by the latest four and six cylinder engines is astonishing.

When I was a kid, 200 horsepower was a lot. Most V8s of the early 1980s struggled to reach that number. The Corvette put out between 230-250 horsepower. Same with the Porsche 928, which for a time was the fastest car you could buy in the US. Now you have four cylinder engines that make that amount reliably thanks to turbocharging, and multi-valve direct injection. Six cylinder engines producing 300+ horsepower are not uncommon. Cars like the Chevy Camaro, Ford Mustang, and various Hyundais and Nissans put out that level of power and offer the same level of performance as V8s from just a few years ago.

It truly is exciting times for internal combustion. With smaller, more efficient and more powerful engines coming to market each year, I can't wait to see what's next.

10 Cars for $10K - 80s Collectibles

The average car nut is usually forced to make a choice. Buy a reliable daily driver and a toy or one car to fit both requirements. The second route is straightforward. Instead of opting for a Camry, like most normal people, the car nut picks something like a Mini Cooper, Dodge Challenger, or BMW M3--all of which have a degree of practicality but can also induce face splitting grins on demand.

The other route is more difficult, requiring a balancing act and a very understanding spouse. Spend too much on the toy and you're likely to own a daily driver that will have you taking the bus. Spend too much on the daily driver and you're the owner of a toy that sits on blocks or lurks in boxes.

However, there are cars out there that make this balancing act easier and can be had for less than ten grand in good, if not excellent, condition. The following is a list of ten cars from the 1980s, a decade enthusiasts only recently began scavenging for collector cars. While this is by no means a complete list, each of these cars should appreciate in value and are fun to drive.

1. Alfa Romeo Spider - The car Dustin Hoffman drove in The Graduate was still in production when he did Rain Man. The 1980s version may lack the clean lines of the original but is less temperamental. The Pininfarina styling holds up well today and the driving experience is light and crisp, like a Pinot Grigio.

2. Audi Quattro - Before Audi became synonymous with unintended acceleration, it made a name for itself in the rally racing world with the Quattro. The turbo-charged all-wheel drive sports coupes were almost as fast as pure sports cars of that era and set the standard for cars like the Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo.

3. Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z - Think Camaro and the brain conjurs up an image of the mullet wearing high school bully who prowls the streets in a primer and Bondo Z-28 with Poison blaring from his Pioneer cassette deck. But the IROC, named for the International Race of Champions, offers Corvette like performance in a 2+2 coupe or convertible.

4. Chevrolet Corvette - Love or hate the Tron inspired digital gauges, the C4 Corvette offers clean looks and world class performance. Convertibles may be out of the $10 grand price range, but you can still pick up a well maintained coupe. Avoid the 1984-85 models which had the Crossfire fuel injection and rattle trap suspensions.

5. Ford Mustang - I couldn't put the Camaro on this list and leave off the Mustang. While I'm not crazy about the 1987-92 GT with its junky add-ons, you can't go wrong with any of the 5.0 liter cars or the turbocharged SVO.

6. Honda CRX - This car is a favorite of autocrossers everywhere. Light, quick and cheap, with bulletproof Civic drivetrains, this car is pure fun to drive. The only downside is that so many of them have been bastardized by the import tuner crowd.

7. Jaguar XJ-S - The Jag is a classic grand touring car with a smooth V12 engine and a cockpit like an olde English study. You can find good examples under $10K because the car has a reputation for being more temperamental and unreliable than Lindsey Lohan. Some of that reputation is deserved, but for my money, nothing in this price range touches it for looks and style.

8. Mazda RX-7 - Like the CRX, the RX-7 is light, quick, cheap to run and a blast to drive. It's also the only car on the planet powered by the turbine like Wankel rotary engine. Collectors prefer the looks of the first generation car, but the 1986-1992 models offer better performance and the lineup includes a roadster.

9. Porsche 944 - The 944 is brilliance masked by subtlety. You can have a mild mannered base model, or the outrageously quick Turbo or S2. All versions are equally competent as a track cars or daily drivers.

10. VW Rabbit GTI - The original hot hatch. Think Quattro-lite without the all-wheel drive and at a fraction of the price.

Same Old GM

This week GM trotted out the Chevy Volt again. This time to announce the car gets a stunning 239 mpg as estimated by the EPA. Whether the Volt gets 239 mpg or just half that number, it’s a major achievement. But there is one problem with the Volt. It’s made by GM.

Forty years ago, GM made cars that were aspirations. In the days they controlled 50% of the market, their cars were beautifully styled and well made. People were proud to own a Chevrolet. Pontiacs were bad boys in muscle shirts. A Buick or Oldsmobile in the driveway indicated you were squarely middle class. With a Cadillac, you were someone to be reckoned with.

GM lost its way in the 1970s. With the oil embargo, strict emission standards, and labor strikes it stopped dictating the market and began second guessing itself. Innovation was stifled by a heavy handed corporate culture that made the Soviet Politburo look like Google. Lately GM has started to recover some of its edge. Cadillac and Chevrolet are making good vehicles again and even Buick is showing signs of life.

But the product gestation period is too long. It takes GM at least five years to launch a new vehicle, twice as long as most other companies. And GM flaunts their cars years before they are ready. Cars like the Camaro and Volt are old news before they are finally launched. I get that the drive train technology for the Volt needs time to be developed, but five years for a Camaro that looks like a cartooned evil twin of the 1969 model?

C'mon GM.