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by Mike Furtado
Copyright (c), 2003, My Daily Driver -- All Rights Reserved

Musclecar Tradition

Chrysler. Dodge. Plymouth. Imperial. AMC. Jeep. Mercedes. Daimler. Did I forget anyone? FREIGHTLINER!?! Anyway, you know the company I'm referring to. A lot of classic daily drivers I've encountered are Mopars. That might have something to do with the fact that I'm a Mopar enthusiast, and I drive a couple of them. During the Musclecar era, this company produced some of the legends. The term HEMI comes to mind first. Is the "elephant motor" the pinnacle of street muscle? I'm sure you can find plenty of differing opinions on that one.

I drive a 1970 Plymouth GTX with a 440. While it's probably not the "ultimate" musclecar, boy it rocks! At the other end of the spectrum I have a 1974 Plymouth Scamp. By '74 the heyday of the musclecar was gone and fuel consumption was a big concern. Exhaust emissions were also being recognized as harmful and regulation was cleaning up the air and chasing away the horsepower. That little Scamp has a small block V-8 318 with an automatic transmission and it romps! Not to mention the 140,000 miles on the original engine.

Some of the real standouts from that time are the Charger and the 'Cuda. The Charger was the car that you could watch at the track on Sunday, buy one on Monday, and take it racing next Sunday! The cars we saw on the track were in fact the cars we saw in the showrooms. And what can I say about the 'Cuda? The small sporty car with the GIANT motors. Plymouths advertising slogan was "Catching a cold doesn't make it. Catching a 'Cuda is impossible. Plymouth makes it." Pretty much straight to the point there. Can we talk about Mopar musclecars and not mention the Superbird? A 2 foot fiberglass nosecone up front, a two foot wing out back and available at your local Chrysler-Plymouth dealer!?!? Where's my time machine?

Plymouth 'Cuda Hardtop	1970 Plymouth Cuda 1:18 Scale (11 inches)
1969 Dodge Charger 500 - 1:18 Scale - (11 inches)	1:18 Scale '70 Plymouth Superbird...

Now a company with that kind of reputation should really be the one to keep these traditions alive. I think they've tried for a few years now, but I don't think they've quite gotten it yet. The Viper is a good example. Production Vipers rolled off the line in December of 1991 boasting 450 horsepower! OK, so we've got a modern muscle car, GREAT! With a $50,000 sticker price. That leaves me out. My GTX sold new in 1970 for 3500 bucks. It wasn't a cheap car, but it also wasn't the price of a house! Keep trying, boys.

Then there's the PT Cruiser. Another great attempt. Cool retro lookin' car, $16,000 price tag, just right. And it gets beat participating in shopping cart races in grocery store parking lots. Missed it again. I hear they're planning a turbo PT for next year. Keep trying, boys.

1995 Dodge Viper RT/10 - Scale 1:24 (7 inches)

1998 Dodge Copperhead Concept Car - Scale 1:18 (9 inches)

Then every now and again they tease us with a concept car. Have you seen the Dodge Copperhead concept car? Looks like a SMOKER! If it makes it to the showroom with a decent power-to-price-tag ratio, we'll really be on to something! And now Dodge is touting the Magnum SRT-8, a rear wheel drive car with a supercharged HEMI!! Wonder what that'll cost?!? If they keep it under $30k I bet they'll sell like hotcakes.

If this wasn't a manufacturer-specific story, I'd be talking about the new Thunderbird next. But I'll save that for another time.

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