Japan8

BTW... that British guy's article... he may have had a few points, but it was entirely lost in his obvious hard-on he has for American cars. Take it with a grain of salt...

Japan8

Yep... damn thing. Which it why it wasn't ever fixed in the '83 or the '90. Living in Florida helps too (although I had the '90 in NC before giving it to my father when I came to Japan).

'90 Mustang LX 5.0... 16 years old 150,000+ miles and still going strong.

Japan8

Exactly. Sorry RG... you're off the mark on this one.

Example... Ford Thunderbird. Retro design and it flopped.

Chrysler Crossfire. Flop.

Chrysler PT Cruiser. Seems to be doing alright (even see some here in Japan).

Chrysler 300. Seems to be doing quite well.

Ford GT. Doing very well.

Ford Mustang. Doing VERY well.

In the Mustang's case... everyone loves the original Mustangs... '64 - '71. I have said it before... the whole Mustang II eyesore with the oil crisis and then resorting to the FOX platform in '79 lead the Mustang away from what it was. Lee Iacocoa moving up to President of Ford (away from produce design) and leaving in 1978 may have had something to do with that... Anyway Ford had been trying to bring the styling cues back in '94 and '00 (?) when they revised the FOX platform and gave it a facelift. Now with the chance to redo it from "scratch"... they took heavy doses of it. Remember the Ford Probe? It had been proposed to be the next Mustang, but got rejected. The market outright rejected that idea. The concept cars for the new mustang... they were raved over. So Ford built it. Could have translated better in my opinion, but hey...

Now we have Chrysler and GM trying to do the same thing with the Challenger and the Camaro. You don't like it? don't buy it. What... you want it to look like a Kabura or G35 coupe? Enough following. It's time to redefine and set your own trends for US automakers.

rotarygod

If it has the name Mustang or Camaro on it, it doesn't matter what it looks like. It'll sell. You could take a dump on a log, badge it as one of those and it would still sell. I'm not an american car hater. I've owned a few. I never will again though. Not because I hate them though.

Japan8

^^ I can say the exact same about Honda cars...

Transam kid 01

iTrader: (1)

Actually it does amazing here, its a VERY good selling car...so well selling, in fact, that GM made a car like it to try to get some sales, the HHR i believe

c2k4-8

Looks like I may be purchasing a new car come 2009... the Challenger or the Camaro. American Muscle Cars are re-born!

IZoomZoomI

Challenger camaro.... they both look the same. I agree with transam kid I get a 05+GTO anyday.

Darkrose

I test drove an 05 GTO. Didn't excite me. However, if you get to ride in the back seat with someone stomping on it, you'll get a nice vibrating back rub!

Transam kid 01

iTrader: (1)

What was lacking from it? I really hope you dont say power....

snizzle

A 400HP V8 didn't excite you?

There isn't much out there that will.....

Darkrose

No, there was PLENTY of power. I like exterior styling, not the looks of a bland GTO or Grand Prix. The interior, though classic muscle car-ish, left me wanting more buttons to push, and gadgets to fiddle with (not while driving of course!). I didn't want to buy something that I had to spend more $$ just to get the things I wanted in it. The RX-8 had everything I wanted, and when I test drove it (twice!), it just felt like it fit. Don't get me wrong, my husband and I had a 69 Pontiac Firebird sitting in our garage before the RX8. I love classics and muscle cars! My favorite car of all is the 57 Chevy Bel Air 2 door hardtop.

Transam kid 01

iTrader: (1)

Cant go wrong with a 4th gen t/a or camaro
or get an STI or something

or just wait for 09 to roll around and treat urself to a camaro

Darkrose

I was trying to hold out for a new Camaro, but the current state of our beaters made me decide to buy this year (not that I'm complaining!).

Here's a pic of my husband (years ago) with his 79 Trans Am 400 small block, solid cam, solid lifters, 411 rear, 400 turbo trans, & stall speed torque converter.



I know if we had the opportunity to buy a car like this in the near future, we would take it....

bascho

I seriously doubt that Dodge will be able to bring this car to the market with 425hp for less than $40K. Look at the other Chrysler products that have the 425HP HEMI (300 SRT8, Charger SRT8, Jeep Cherokee SRT8 and Magnum SRT8) they are all over $40K out the door.

Transam kid 01

iTrader: (1)

My first car was going to be a 4 spd 1978 t/a with bandit decalts (not bandit edition) and t-tops in great condition for 12.5 ...God it was beautiful!!!! but i emailed the guy from his hours and told him i would come see it on a sat (he is in ohio...im in NJ) and the next day, it became 18.5k....that *******

mjd

They should have called this Challenger the Charger. It looks a lot more like the General Lee than the Charger does. I don't think the styling looks too bad, but just by looking at the pics it does look like it is really heavy. That's why I stick to foreign cars. They seem to care a little more about finesse than raw power in their designs and performance. I'll just wait for the MS8.

bascho

The Bandit edition is on my all-time favorite cars list. I WILL have one in my lifetime.

Transam kid 01

iTrader: (1)

Ur better or with a 78 or 77 cuz they were faster and better than the bandit and you can always get them with bandit decals...unless ur goin just for the bandit edition....and yes they kick ***!!

bascho

True....but if I ever do acquire one of these, I would keep it forever hoping the value appreciates into that relm of unbelieveable $$$. For that it would have to be a true Bandit Edition. By the way, since your the Transam kid, do you know how many Bandit Editions were sold? I am really interested in getting one in the next few years.

I don't know if you saw that commercial (I think it was last years Super Bowl, don't remember what the commerical was for) but Burt was driving a Bandit Edition that looked brand new......it was the blackest paint I've ever seen. I must have backed up the TiVo like 50 times to see that car.

Transam kid 01

iTrader: (1)

it may not have been bandit edition...there are so many 2nd gens with those paint jobs...personally...my fave 2nd gen in a 76 w/the 455 that does 0-60 in 5.7 STOCK...but gets 7 miles to the gallon lol...ill go check....1 sec

and no i ddnt see that comercial...i think i should though

btw....link to thread i made...sign up to view it
http://www.ls2.com/forums/showthread...hreadid=333780

bascho

It might not have been....but since Burt was driving, I thought that maybe it was. Damn I wish I could remember what that commerical was for. I am going to google the Super Bowl commericals for last year....I'll see if I can find a clip.

That '76 sounds nice. I like the '74 TransAm's a lot also.

Transam kid 01

iTrader: (1)

Well, technically the answer is "0" because there really was not a model called a "Bandit Edition", it was a "special edition" model, but wasn't specifically called a "Bandit".

Production in 10s of thousands, they were fairly common. How many circulating, who freakin knows. "Decent" condition is subjective, so I'll say anything from $500 to $20,000.

bascho

Special Edition!! was that name only used for Bandit look-alikes or other colors and trim? 10's of thousands...I was hoping they were numbered cars like my Contour SVT was But your right, getting one in decent condition is the key. I know that up here in Michigan, most have frame rot and need a lot of work.

Thanks for the info.

Transam kid 01

iTrader: (1)

Rare are the mid 90's raptors...not many super rare t/a's....some early 2nd gens can be valuable...ive seen late 2nds go for 30k in IMACULATE condition