OUTRAGE!! Mopar collectors guide wrong!

Here's something that's going to tick everyone off. I just picked up the latest "Mopar Collector's Guide" magazine from my local BNB (vol 24 issue 2) because it had what I thought was a cool article on a 75 Road Runner. I was shocked by what I read. The article, written by a Randy Holden, was full of anti-Late B body rhetoric. Here are some quotes:

"When the last of the 2 door B bodies rolled off the line in 1974..."
"about the only thing the 75 road runner had in common with earlier versions was the unique lavender beep beep horn"

We all know this isn't true. the 75 shared an entire platform with the previous years, and much of the interior was similiar. And the 2 door B bodies sure as hec didn't end in 74.

The article continues with its "why the hec would anyone restore one of these" attitude. I believe the writer may be a pontiac fan in disguise, as he mentions them edging out mother mopar twice in the article.

What do you say guys? Should we write in and complain? I believe they should be forced to do a 'doba article as compensation!

just my 2 cents; i am not real knowlegable past the 72 era. but i do know a couple of magazine guys and they are usually concerned about feed back. if the article is what you say wrong then by all means write a letter and the more the better. don't make it a rant just state the actual facts.

I think the 75-79's get bad reviews because of the now dated formal look styling. Back then the look of "personal luxury" was everywhere. For example, here's a lowly Pinto transformed into the "elegant" Mercury Bobcat. The 75's were merely a product of their time. The styling just hasn't aged as gracefully as other muscle car designs. The styling combined with the low compression engines just made the cars symbolic of the end of the muscle car era. Now it's merely a bookend to the end of the first wave of Detroit performance.

I've seen a \75 in "top banana", with a 400 and a sunroof. Looked great with black interior, stripes and the "tunnel" on the rear.

At the risk of sounding like a shill, since I first read MCG back in 1990, and met Randy shortly thereafter, I think your interpretation of the article may be misguided. The history of the early 60's in the article is correct, I lived through it. He is wrong, and you are correct, in that the 75 is a b-body, although the interior of the Cordoba/Fury is in no way similar to the prior 4 years. I read this article as a testament to the owner who restored it under all odds against it. You don't mention his "Thankfully, for all of us, there are guys like {owners name } " and goes on to detail what had to be accomplished to restore the car & notes "this is the nicest resto of a 75 Mopar.." In my view, I read the article as pointing out the uniqueness of the 75 car. I personally haved owned & restored all the b-body types, & I tend to view the 75-end b-body differently, as well. Although the basic platform/drivetrain is shared, the Cordoba styled body, inner fender, etc, are different. Back in 75, they had to compete with the Monte Carlo/Cutlass Supreme personal luxury styles, so this may have been somewhat of an attempt to do so with the RR name. (What was the 75 Dodge Charger ? ). Anyway, if you've read MCG for any time, there are no greater supporters for Mopar out there. Has anyone else covered a late b-body ? Few & far between, that's for sure. I certainly would like to see it.

I have a copy of volumn 1, edition 1 of MCG and subscribed to the mag for years. Thanks to Randy Holden and his one man, over opionated, editorials and features that read like he just changed the name of the car for each one..... not to mention frequent gross inaccuracys when giving facts about particular cars.... and his rants about what HE dosen't like...... I canceled my sub and don't even look at MCG anymore.... All the suppliers can be found elseware....

collectors guide has gotten worse and just pushes its limited views and opinions hard oh politics also .

I stopped buying Mopar Collector's Guide a long time ago. I have a 73 Charger and they act like a 3rd generation.B Body not worth having.

I stopped buying Mopar Collector's Guide a long time ago. I have a 73 Charger and they act like a 3rd generation.B Body not worth having.

i plan on gluing a "mullet" onto my 73 charger's roof instead of a vinyl top just so I can get my car in their magazine :D :bootyshake::puke:

Before I saw your post I had already read the article on the 74 RR. I thought the article was well written and bought to light the rarity of the car presented and the desire by the owner to restore it to #1 cond. As far as 75 and up cars go, I have owned a few and still have some regret for selling my 78 Magnum GT.That being said I don't think any of them, from the factory, could be called out as being high performance vehicles. I have seen a few in the pages of MCG and other Mopar mags over the years, but not many.If more well done pieces start showing up at the major shows, or submitted for review by the mags, I don't see why they wouldn't be given there due respect and ink.

At the risk of sounding like a shill, since I first read MCG back in 1990, and met Randy shortly thereafter, I think your interpretation of the article may be misguided. The history of the early 60's in the article is correct, I lived through it. He is wrong, and you are correct, in that the 75 is a b-body, although the interior of the Cordoba/Fury is in no way similar to the prior 4 years. I read this article as a testament to the owner who restored it under all odds against it. You don't mention his "Thankfully, for all of us, there are guys like {owners name } " and goes on to detail what had to be accomplished to restore the car & notes "this is the nicest resto of a 75 Mopar.." In my view, I read the article as pointing out the uniqueness of the 75 car. I personally haved owned & restored all the b-body types, & I tend to view the 75-end b-body differently, as well. Although the basic platform/drivetrain is shared, the Cordoba styled body, inner fender, etc, are different. Back in 75, they had to compete with the Monte Carlo/Cutlass Supreme personal luxury styles, so this may have been somewhat of an attempt to do so with the RR name. (What was the 75 Dodge Charger ? ). Anyway, if you've read MCG for any time, there are no greater supporters for Mopar out there. Has anyone else covered a late b-body ? Few & far between, that's for sure. I certainly would like to see it.

I must beg to differ!! One look at my 77 cordoba dash and front bucket seats, and one can easily see the family resemblance to my 72 Satellite. Yes, of course the writer praises the owner of the vehicle in the article, he has to. But it is little compensation for what preceded. I say, those who do not support their mopar brethren should be banished from mopardom forever.

Mopar collectors guide is not a good magazine in my opinion, it's 2011, enough of the black and white pages already!!

I just want to say, a 1975 Plymouth Roadrunner is one of my favorite cars of all time!
My older brother had one when I was little. I love em', but they were by no means a performance car. They were a Fury with RR decals. But I still love them, and I will own one someday!

Before I saw your post I had already read the article on the 74 RR. I thought the article was well written and bought to light the rarity of the car presented and the desire by the owner to restore it to #1 cond. As far as 75 and up cars go, I have owned a few and still have some regret for selling my 78 Magnum GT.That being said I don't think any of them, from the factory, could be called out as being high performance vehicles. I have seen a few in the pages of MCG and other Mopar mags over the years, but not many.If more well done pieces start showing up at the major shows, or submitted for review by the mags, I don't see why they wouldn't be given there due respect and ink.

Us late B body lovers struggle daily against The Man and his GTX's, HEMI's etc. I pray that the day will come when ALL B bodies are treated equally, and judged not by the year on our VIN plate, but by the content of our fender tags!!

MCG sucks, always has always will.

I think the 75-79's get bad reviews because of the now dated formal look styling. Back then the look of "personal luxury" was everywhere. For example, here's a lowly Pinto transformed into the "elegant" Mercury Bobcat. The 75's were merely a product of their time. The styling just hasn't aged as gracefully as other muscle car designs. The styling combined with the low compression engines just made the cars symbolic of the end of the muscle car era. Now it's merely a bookend to the end of the first wave of Detroit performance.

But what's wrong with a little disco bling? You ain't down with it brutha. My 'Doba's got chrome all around, original wheel trim without a single ding, two c pillar lights on either side that say "whatsup" whenever I cruise by, and 4 gold coins that say "suga daddy" to every hot mama I see. Can you dig it?

I've seen a \75 in "top banana", with a 400 and a sunroof. Looked great with black interior, stripes and the "tunnel" on the rear.

Right on Brutha. You and I "reach".

just my 2 cents; i am not real knowlegable past the 72 era. but i do know a couple of magazine guys and they are usually concerned about feed back. if the article is what you say wrong then by all means write a letter and the more the better. don't make it a rant just state the actual facts.

I reach you. We gotta beat The Man at his own game. The majority rules, but the minority has rights. He has freedom of the press, but not the right to Opress. He can put us down, but we don't have to stay down.

There's more to the car hobby than just factory performance cars. True musclecars are few and far between, and there's always someone with something rarer, more valuable, or faster than yours. MCG is not, last I saw, a musclecar magazine. It's broader than that although personally, I prefer Hemmings Classic Cars. Dismissing late B-bodies because they weren't factory performance cars is missing the point completely. A slant6 Dart isn't a musclecar either but there's plenty of nicely restored examples around. If a Guy takes a lowly Duster and puts a 340 in it is it now a musclecar? Is a Formula S Barracuda a musclecar? The A12 guys might disagree. There's more to this than a select few models from a 10 year time frame. Ask the traditional flathead-loving 32 duece owner who thinks your "modern" car is a soulless P.O.S, no matter how many trophies are in the garage. Or the cool cat who just set a club record with his M3 or Turbo Carrera. If its Mopar or no car, try not to niche it up too much. We get enough of that from Generic Motors fanboys. Oh, and d9103363, you almost make me wish I hadn't removed my "WHASSUP!" lights. The coins were pretty much goners though

But what's wrong with a little disco bling? You ain't down with it brutha. My 'Doba's got chrome all around, original wheel trim without a single ding, two c pillar lights on either side that say "whatsup" whenever I cruise by, and 4 gold coins that say "suga daddy" to every hot mama I see. Can you dig it? Makes me look back at the Cordoba I owned in 1977 in a totally different light. Wish I knew then what those gold coins were good for.

The 75 RR looks like a Monte Carlo.

You all crack me up. Should try being an A body guy. Even if you tell people it has a 340 they say. "O you got the small motor". LOL

Should try being an A body guy.

Don't blow my cover burnt! :grin:

You all crack me up. Should try being an A body guy. Even if you tell people it has a 340 they say. "O you got the small motor". LOL

Theres alot of the Chit tude runnin around.

"OH, sorry to hear you have that smog pice of crap 360 in there. HEY! I have a great idea, why don't you trash it and build a real engine like a 440?! I happen to be selling one for 8 Grand!"

Don't blow my cover burnt! :grin:

Your secret is safe with me Alley.

Theres alot of the Chit tude runnin around.

"OH, sorry to hear you have that smog pice of crap 360 in there. HEY! I have a great idea, why don't you trash it and build a real engine like a 440?! I happen to be selling one for 8 Grand!"


My fav so far was the two old guys at Dairy Queen. One asked why I put them hood scoops on a grandma economy car.

The 75 RR looks like a Monte Carlo.
I think you have had to much sun.

I personally enjoyed the article on the 75 RR. It did me good to see one in the spot light. I didn't agree with every thing that the editor had to say though. I disagree about it being the best restored 75 RR. But I commend him for the comment about the the dedication it takes to restore one of the cars. You can't just open up a catalog and start ordering parts. Hunting NOS and restoring good used are your only options.

One thing the later B's have is superior handling, and ride comfort, compared to their olders sister cars.

I think the 75-79's get bad reviews because of the now dated formal look styling. Back then the look of "personal luxury" was everywhere. For example, here's a lowly Pinto transformed into the "elegant" Mercury Bobcat. The 75's were merely a product of their time. The styling just hasn't aged as gracefully as other muscle car designs. The styling combined with the low compression engines just made the cars symbolic of the end of the muscle car era. Now it's merely a bookend to the end of the first wave of Detroit performance.Really, the only drawback was the anemic lack of power from emissions-choked engines. The cars rode & handled well. My Road Runner & Cordoba were used for very different reasons. The Cordobas, Montes & Cutlass Supremes were all the "ride in style" vehicle of the day. My date was very comfortable in my doba, with "Night Fever" on the radio. And I, or anybody with cujones, wouldn't be caught dead going out on a date with a Bobcat/Pinto.. with a vinyl roof, yet.. LOL !

i use to buy the magazine 2 years in advance. this is the 2nd year i stopped buying it.
same ol shit in there, too much politics and when i saw the bashing with jeff johnson and charlie blakanship fight at the cc event. i quit subscribing. dont miss it one bit.
it has gone down hill .

I had one of those lowly 72 Pinto's back in the 70's and I loved that poor lil car. It looked like every other one on the road but open the hood and the engine bay was crammed full with a 302. After her untimely demise I bought my first 77 Charger SE and never looked back.

I think the 75-79's get bad reviews because of the now dated formal look styling. Back then the look of "personal luxury" was everywhere. For example, here's a lowly Pinto transformed into the "elegant" Mercury Bobcat. The 75's were merely a product of their time. The styling just hasn't aged as gracefully as other muscle car designs. The styling combined with the low compression engines just made the cars symbolic of the end of the muscle car era. Now it's merely a bookend to the end of the first wave of Detroit performance.