We all bought cars we loved as kids.

[SteveSS]

The standard thing you hear is when you start making a little money you buy that dream car you had as a poster on the wall. Sure for a lot of us the choice was easy. Muscle Cars far outshined the current new cars we could afford. Who wanted new Impala from the 80'?

Now if you want a muscle car should you spend $65K on a nice 1969 Charger R/T or buy a new Charger SRT? The thirties something guys I see at the track are driving NEW Mopars Fords and Chevies.

 

[Budnicks]

times change & so do what's popular

never ending cycles, peoples likes change
along with the times too

for a hobby car I prefer old stuff,
1968 is my favorite year cars PERIOD

for a driver the newer stuff is nice
if I had the extra spending $$$ for something I really didn't need
I'd buy a Demon or Hellcat Challenger or Charger if I wanted a 4 dr sedan
or more likely a SRT Durango or a SRT Grand Cherokee

but my newest car/truck is a 2002 Ford f350 4x4 Diesel Dually
my Daily driver is a 1999 Dakota SLT ext-cab 4x4 5.2 magnum

they serve my purpose fine
so does my 68 RR

 

[hanks73340]

Late 60's and early 70's muscle cars were my favorite. Could afford my 1st brand new car in 1974. I wouldn't mind getting a new Charger or Challenger today.

 

[Darter6]

I'll only go back to the last 20 years. If I'd count the money spent on the 60's and 70"s muscle cars during that time I could buy about 6 or 7 HellCats.Maybe even more(I don't want to think about it,really) But having the mindset of those days I just can't bring myself to spend 80-90 or 100 grand for a modern car.

 

[Cranky]

The standard thing you hear is when you start making a little money you buy that dream car you had as a poster on the wall. Sure for a lot of us the choice was easy. Muscle Cars far outshined the current new cars we could afford. Who wanted new Impala from the 80'?

Now if you want a muscle car should you spend $65K on a nice 1969 Charger R/T or buy a new Charger SRT? The thirties something guys I see at the track are driving NEW Mopars Fords and Chevies.

It's always kinda been like that. Got my first car at 18 in 69. It was a 66 and was drag racing it soon after, then doing mods to it on the weekend and driving it to work on Monday. Borrowed an extra car that dad had when I did an engine swap in December of 70. All the years I drag raced there were always someone out there with fairly new cars and plenty of older ones too. Now all the old ones are in NSS lol Btw, my step mom had a real clean low mileage 80 Impala 2 dr that they were going to trade in and I told dad I wanted it! It didn't happen but when he had an 87 Dakota several years later and mentioned trading it in I told him he had better not or I'd hurt him cause I was still mad about the Chevy! lol

 

[Basket case]

The difference between now and then is, in 1984 when I bought my '68 Charger R/T, it got dailey driven except for winter. Then it was POS beater time. They were just old cars then. Now these youngers buy one car and run them year round.

 

[davek]

I have always had a muscle car newest was the 74 Chally,If I could I would get a Hellcat charger but I would never give up the old muscle car. I did think about it this year and then I woke up. Thought of selling the Bee and buy a new muscle car then realized it was not me.

 

[Ron H]

Of course, all a matter of what lights your fire. Some, like my older brother, want the new stuff and he bought an SS 6 speed. He had some 5 GTO’s back in the day then went ape **** on motorcycles. My 1st car was a ’67 GTO vert then a ’70 Cuda vert (always liked verts but my bro said they were crap for ultra performo like drag racing and w/ more body weight they had). I get that; but liked the option of dropping the roof on a nice day or night. Something about an old ride (I have a ’63 Fury since ’95 I’ve invested over 40k in over the years). I got that itch for older B’s remembering my older cousin who had a ’64 Fury then few months later somehow talked his dad into co-signing on a new ’64 Polara 426/4speed. As a 10 year old, those cars were burned into my head. My true lust does go back to my ’67 and ’70 if I had a choice after all the decades. Liked the Challenger resurgence and could be I’d have bought one if it came in a drop top. Still…those old rides can’t be duplicated. Spent a ton making my '63 drive a lot better than it ever did off the assembly line.

 

[Aarons Air]

Another thing to consider is how each type are and will be holding their value.
The new ones get pumped out every day. And the number of old ones drops every day.

 

[coronet68mx]

Another thing to consider is how each type are and will be holding their value.
The new ones get pumped out every day. And the number of old ones drops every day.

IMO the Hellcats and Demon will keep their value as long as the new owners don't drag race them.

 

[steve from staten island]

I bought a 64 GTO tri- power 4 speed convertible for 800 dollars in spring of 1970 with money I saved from pumping gas. I bought a 69 GTO in 71 for around 2500 and in 72 I bought a 65 Corvette for 2500. In between I had 55/57 Chevys, trucks and beat up junkers.
The 69 was the best of them, it was like new and only had 10,600 miles. I kept it totally stock, it was fast and reliable.
The vette was like woman who was a knockout but tormented you and drove you nuts, yet you wouldn't leave her.
I wish I had all three of them back
Im not giving up my truck but my next car will be a two year old Lexus, something low miles or off a lease in top condition

 

[GetX'd]

Part of the deal with the old iron is the fun of working on them. Unless you buy a garage full of computers you won’t be able to do the same on the new stuff. They have their place but are a different deal. There’s a lot of reasons I like the old stuff and that’s one of the big Ones.

 

[plymouth67]

I have both...and I love both. The 71 is a 512 stroker and just brings an absolute smile to my face when I drive it....but there is something to be said for the refined power and suspension of the 17 scat pack.... I will say the 71 will wax the scat packs ***....lol

 

[Dennis H]

Both here too. Still no replacing the fear of lighting up the 69. New one just too Nannied.

 

[SteveSS]

People like my brother want the old car look with modern handling, reliability, and performance. I don't blame him. Resto-mod it. I've often wondered if they make old car steering columns with airbags.

 

[moparedtn]

I've told the story before about having the usual assortment of old cheap GM products when I was a teen, new to cars and wrenching on them because it was needed (and thanks to my dad teaching me the fundamentals of wrenching).
'64 Olds F85, '68 Chevelle, a couple '73 Cutlasses, stuff like that.
Then my friend bought HIS childhood dream car from his neighborhood, a '70 Challenger T/A....
I still think the T/A is about the best looking musclecar ever built, honestly.
Went to a few shows and events with him and fell in love with Mopars in a way I never was with what I had before:

I signed a note at the bank and bought this '68 Super Bee and off we went....
(This was early 80's. Forgive the hairstyles and such. That's me with all the hair sitting in front.)
Bought an '85 Omni GLH Turbo critter new and beat the snot out of it - and it broke.
A lot:

(Yeah, still with the hair...this would have been later '80s)

I've never owned anything but Mopars ever since (well, if you include a Jeep Grand Cherokee in the
90's) with the lone exception of an '89 5.0 Mustang bought new in Dec. '88 (traded my GLH Turbo Omni
on it, had enough of THAT experiment...).
That 5.0, to be honest, was the single most indestructible car I've ever owned. Won a lot of races in SSGT
class of SCCA racing with her, too. A quarter million miles, driveline never apart, still had original clutch even!

These days, there's the GTX - which turns out to be the car love of my life, flaws, incorrect numbers, wrong
everything and all the scars. You get rid of her, you might as well stuff me in the trunk before hauling her off...
If you have any property to tend at all, out here at least, you need a pickup, so there's my '04 Ram hemi 4x4
(built at the old Fenton plant) which I also am seriously fond of.
For modern, there's the '12 Charger R/T "the wife's car":

She's got all the bells and whistles I'll ever need. Pray she never tears up....

It's a blessed life I've led in regards to vehicles, to be honest. Never a wealthy man, had plenty of money
issues really (costs a lot to keep a cadaver like me alive, come to find out) but I've always managed to scrape
along enough to keep some manner of Pentastar products around.

Wouldn't have it any other way. Wouldn't be "me" if it was.

 

[Dennis H]

People like my brother want the old car look with modern handling, reliability, and performance. I don't blame him. Resto-mod it. I've often wondered if they make old car steering columns with airbags.

Airbags? Hell, we’ll die in the fire.

 

[oldbee]

OR you could be lucky enuf to buy a muscle car brand new and actually keep it, forever!!!

 

[68Moparmaniac]

I have both...and I love both. The 71 is a 512 stroker and just brings an absolute smile to my face when I drive it....but there is something to be said for the refined power and suspension of the 17 scat pack.... I will say the 71 will wax the scat packs ***....lol

View attachment 882999 View attachment 883000

I think we need and unbiased opinion on that claim. Send those baby's over to me and we can do some scientific testing. If we do it like the government does tests you can have those back to you in a few years, with a full accounting of our unbiased findings... free of charge
Seriously fine looking MoPars you have brother!

 

[6PKRTSE]

I bought the car I loved as a kid in the 80's. My red 70' Charger. 29 years later I still own it. Still unrestored. Can't touch the prices of them today. I still love old school muscle. The new muscle is amazing in different ways, good power, creature comforts, nice and quiet. I have both and like them for different reasons.