22nd May 2015, 10:51

As someone who lives in the UK, we recently visited New England for a three week tour, and loved the country and found it interesting how everyone drives Subaru Outbacks or Volvo XC70s, and barely anything else! Both are great cars, but hardly anyone drives the Subaru over in the UK; us Brits much prefer the comfort of the Volvo as they are very popular in my area (admittedly, countryside and fairly 'middle class')... I often wondered how Subaru survived as a company given the few amount of cars them seemed to sell, but now it makes sense! LOL.

22nd May 2015, 22:27

Subaru is extremely popular in most of the upper Northeast. It's a great year round vehicle for very active families. Once you move here, you will find it very hard to ever leave.

25th May 2015, 09:55

Manufacturers underrated where possible the true HP on many models due to governmental pressures. This pressure could be a direct result of accident statistics and insurance pressures as well. There was too much HP. Tire and braking technology of the day was an issue. I had cars with drum brakes with fade, bias or Polyglas tires that would hydroplane or not hook up. Combine that with a lot of HP and no power robbing emission crap that was in its infancy. Even a minivan today may be faster today light to light.

But in turn the muscle cars of today cannot be compared to the past. Just about every aspect has benefited from current technology. These cars are really fun to drive. Very fast, and great suspension options that can be changed as you drive, with engines that you can program from a laptop or engine management card. These are not a Camry.

Modern aluminum fuel injected cars can get you up to speed, but it doesn't mean it's a fun driving experience straight ahead on this car. It's a regular car that gets you around.

As far as the 442 owner, it's not really an issue to fret about. Getting behind the wheel of a well regarded classic is a total rush. That is a really beautiful car from 70-72. It was sold as a luxury model for a successful middle class buyer. Well optioned and close to 5k new. It is a heavier, well insulated, sophisticated muscle car from that era. These cars are really escalating in value. So you can take solace in a car that has not only climbed in value, but is a lot of fun to own. It's a wise choice to buy and let time work for you. Try buying a Camry, drive it for a long period and cash in the results. It is planned obsolescence. Worn out and time to replace. It gets you around well enough, and that's the value in it.

The muscle car comparison, only relating to a 0-60 time from an early era to today, isn't what true ownership is about. I have a car under 4 seconds 0-60, yet I get an equal reaction driving a car too that is old. 0-60 that is nearly 2 seconds difference. The other difference is pulling hard well beyond. Then I can drive my sedate plain daily driver to the mall, shopping centers, games etc without fretting over theft or dents.

26th May 2015, 17:59

The folks still talking about muscle cars, totally did not get the point that was made. Like already mentioned before, sure - it isn't really fair to compare two totally different eras of cars.

The point of that comment wasn't to compare literally both cars in their present state. The point was to demonstrate the incredible improvements in engineering, design, efficiency, materials and technology that enables a boring car like a Camry to be as fast as many of the fastest muscle cars of the 70s. It's no different than comparing a old computer from the 90s to one made today: both do the same thing, but one does the job many times better, faster and more efficiently.

That, and unlike the 70s, any typical middle aged Mom or Dad can now afford to have a little more fun with the ole' grocery hauler.

26th May 2015, 18:35

And the same muscle car, say a Shelby Mustang, has double the speed, and greater handling in 2015 as well. Time does not sit still. Which means that your parents may have owned any number of rear seat mid sizes in the 60s and 70s. One of my friends had a new GTO, others 455 GS Buicks and the like. And now today's parents can own Camaros, Mustangs, or Challengers with one or 2 child seats in them. Just like the past. Gas was real cheap back then. Most parents didn't have to drive mini cars.

27th May 2015, 21:53

I have a lot of friends that are middle age mom and dads that drive very cool cars. We are called baby boomers. Our kids are driving ours to their proms.

28th May 2015, 09:29

Putting adults in the back of a economy import or domestic perhaps. I grew up riding in the back of cool sports cars. Many were convertibles. The enthusiasm getting in one being driven by either parent to grade school vs a bus was priceless. I am certain you can fit a small child in a car seat or even a small child into compact 2 seat imports, as well as a mid size current muscle car. I have a coworker that drives her small daughter in a new Challenger.

I once had a new small S-10 pickup. My kids were mad when I sold it. Not much room at all in the back. They loved the opposed facing rear seats. Thought it was very cool.

Most families have 2 or more cars. Likely there's a crossover to use or a bigger car. 9 out of 10 times though kids want to ride in the new sports car. If you didn't grow up around them, it may be why you don't understand the appeal. Ask your kids what they think and let their mom test drive one. You'll probably be asking to borrow the keys from her.

28th May 2015, 21:03

A sports car is totally impractical for most families for a number of reasons:

A: Space. It doesn't matter if its a "import" or domestic sports cars: Most have small back seats.

B: Stowage and "grocery getting" abilities. Most families need or want room for hauling around baby strollers, groceries, soccer and football/sports gear, vacation stuff and so on. Again - most sports cars lack that.

C: Visibility. A lot of the new sports cars, ESPECIALLY the new Camaro, have terrible visibility. I rented one last year and the side and rear windows are like looking out of a bunker.

As far as the comment about back seat riding in an "Import", well most of the family cars made by Toyota, Honda and Nissan are just as big as any of the domestic brands. I know because when I was a kid we did have a small '85 Camry and that WAS a small car. The new Camry is the size of a Buick.

Lastly, current consumer trends shows that SUVs are all the craze. Mainly because you can stick a lot of stuff in them. If sport cars were what families wanted, then you'd see that reflected in the numbers.