'Stang alive
I grew up in small blue collar 'burb where fast cars and faster mullets were the order of the day.
Our house was actually on the only white collar strip in the whole town, but half a block away, the local grease monkeys tinkered constantly with their light yellow '66 Chevy Malibu.
They'd come roaring up the hill, that V8 roar ripping the neighborhood a new asshole.
Primer-gray Camaros circled the 7-11 like grumpy sharks. The only thing bigger than the spoilers on the cars were the hair-dos on the girls.
But I was never "into" cars as a kid. The ape drapes, acid-washed jeans, and Def Leppard kind of scared me away from the whole scene. I could handle each of those threats if taken alone, but together they effectively kept me from joining the local rocker scene.
That all changed my senior year of high school. Our physics teacher liked to end his Friday classes on a light note by showing a 5-minute video of something he had taped at home and found interesting, something not even related to physics.
One day he showed a segment on a brand-new Corvette called the ZR-1. This was Chevy's attempt to kick things up a notch. The super-Vette crammed 375 horses under the hood, an amazing number at the time. I was impressed with the feature that let you lock out half the horsepower in case your kid or untrustworthy friend wanted to borrow it.
That video must have unlocked all those boyhood influences because I became a car nut virtually overnight. I subscribed to all the auto buff magazines -- "Car & Driver", "Motor Trend", even "Road & Track". I did it all. Hell, when I was in the mood for some hard stuff, I'd swing by the grocery store and pick up a "Hot Rod". But only once in a while, honest.
Through it all, the Corvette was lodged in my heart as my favorite car. The 'Vette was the one that started it all, the quintessential American muscle car.
But now there's a fresh challenge.
Don't get me wrong, the Corvette, reworked for 2005, is better than ever. The base package gets you 400 ponies and launches you from 0-60 in 4.3 seconds.
But.
Two seats, $51,000. Not the best choice for a single-income family with a kid.
It has just been getting tougher to find affordable American muscle. The Camaro and Firebird died with a wheeze after the 2002 models. Storied badges of eras past -- Malibu, Nova, Cougar, Charger -- were emasculated or condemend to a rusty grave, the first often making the second inevitable.
Some cars, like Ford's Thunderbird and Pontiac's GTO, were reborn in promising new incarnations, but were either boring to drive (T-bird) or boring to look at (GTO). Not to mention their outrageous prices.
The only real competitor to the 'Vette was Ford's Mustang. But the Mustang GT could never even best the Camaro Z28, much less a Corvette.
Ford did make a more-than-decent attempt with its 2003/04 Cobra, which bolted a supercharger on the 4.6-liter engine to crank out 390 horsepower and finally prove that Blue Oval's pony car could run with the big boys. But even that couldn't hide the fact that the Mustang's underpinnings were 25 years old -- older than many of its drivers.
Of course, the all-new Mustang hit the roads last year to much acclaim. And it has been with growing excitement that I've been thinking over the just-announced Shelby Cobra GT500.
Look at that thing, man.
Futuristically retro design? Check.
Modern chassis and suspension? Check.
Non-Kmart shopper interior? Check.
Four seats? Check.
5.4-liter supercharged V8? Check.
450 horses? Check. Oh baby, check.
The only problem is that I bet these things are going to be in hot demand. Ford dealers (well, probably all car dealers, but Ford seems especially bad) are notorious for really jacking up prices on flagship models. That's part of what killed the new T-bird. So even though early buzz says the new Cobra will have an MSRP of around $35,000, I wouldn't be surprised if the first batch go for something closer to $50,000.
But I still have the feeling that this could be the 'Stang that pulls me permanently away from the Corvette.
Our house was actually on the only white collar strip in the whole town, but half a block away, the local grease monkeys tinkered constantly with their light yellow '66 Chevy Malibu.
They'd come roaring up the hill, that V8 roar ripping the neighborhood a new asshole.
Primer-gray Camaros circled the 7-11 like grumpy sharks. The only thing bigger than the spoilers on the cars were the hair-dos on the girls.
But I was never "into" cars as a kid. The ape drapes, acid-washed jeans, and Def Leppard kind of scared me away from the whole scene. I could handle each of those threats if taken alone, but together they effectively kept me from joining the local rocker scene.
That all changed my senior year of high school. Our physics teacher liked to end his Friday classes on a light note by showing a 5-minute video of something he had taped at home and found interesting, something not even related to physics.
One day he showed a segment on a brand-new Corvette called the ZR-1. This was Chevy's attempt to kick things up a notch. The super-Vette crammed 375 horses under the hood, an amazing number at the time. I was impressed with the feature that let you lock out half the horsepower in case your kid or untrustworthy friend wanted to borrow it.
That video must have unlocked all those boyhood influences because I became a car nut virtually overnight. I subscribed to all the auto buff magazines -- "Car & Driver", "Motor Trend", even "Road & Track". I did it all. Hell, when I was in the mood for some hard stuff, I'd swing by the grocery store and pick up a "Hot Rod". But only once in a while, honest.
Through it all, the Corvette was lodged in my heart as my favorite car. The 'Vette was the one that started it all, the quintessential American muscle car.
But now there's a fresh challenge.
Don't get me wrong, the Corvette, reworked for 2005, is better than ever. The base package gets you 400 ponies and launches you from 0-60 in 4.3 seconds.
But.
Two seats, $51,000. Not the best choice for a single-income family with a kid.
It has just been getting tougher to find affordable American muscle. The Camaro and Firebird died with a wheeze after the 2002 models. Storied badges of eras past -- Malibu, Nova, Cougar, Charger -- were emasculated or condemend to a rusty grave, the first often making the second inevitable.
Some cars, like Ford's Thunderbird and Pontiac's GTO, were reborn in promising new incarnations, but were either boring to drive (T-bird) or boring to look at (GTO). Not to mention their outrageous prices.
The only real competitor to the 'Vette was Ford's Mustang. But the Mustang GT could never even best the Camaro Z28, much less a Corvette.
Ford did make a more-than-decent attempt with its 2003/04 Cobra, which bolted a supercharger on the 4.6-liter engine to crank out 390 horsepower and finally prove that Blue Oval's pony car could run with the big boys. But even that couldn't hide the fact that the Mustang's underpinnings were 25 years old -- older than many of its drivers.
Of course, the all-new Mustang hit the roads last year to much acclaim. And it has been with growing excitement that I've been thinking over the just-announced Shelby Cobra GT500.
Look at that thing, man.
Futuristically retro design? Check.
Modern chassis and suspension? Check.
Non-Kmart shopper interior? Check.
Four seats? Check.
5.4-liter supercharged V8? Check.
450 horses? Check. Oh baby, check.
The only problem is that I bet these things are going to be in hot demand. Ford dealers (well, probably all car dealers, but Ford seems especially bad) are notorious for really jacking up prices on flagship models. That's part of what killed the new T-bird. So even though early buzz says the new Cobra will have an MSRP of around $35,000, I wouldn't be surprised if the first batch go for something closer to $50,000.
But I still have the feeling that this could be the 'Stang that pulls me permanently away from the Corvette.
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