Pursuit: The Retro Trio

They say that if your wardrobe is out of date, just wait a few years and it will be back in style. The same may be true about car designs, but what goes around comes back around with a host of new technologies and a style that honours the past while staying fresh for the future.

The latest examples of this are three cars that recreate the glory days of the muscle-car era. The three cars–Chevy Camaro, Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger–have similar histories: each started out a short time before the fuel crisis of the 1970s, each rose to fame battling the others for horsepower and drag-race bragging rights and each has versions in its past we’d all like to forget.

Unlike Mustang, Camaro and Challenger are back on the scene after a lengthy hiatus. Chevy shelved Camaro in 2002 while Challenger (if you forget the forgettable Mits-based version) challenges the memory of all except those who were driving when it was at its peak.

All three pay homage to their best ancestors. In the Ford, you see lines reminiscent of Lee Iaccoca’s first Mustang, the 1964 ½ model. Camaro clearly recalls the 1967-70 models and Challenger has 1972 written all over it.

2010 Dodge Challenger

Muscle cars of the day were long on acceleration but even the most die-hard fanatics will agree they were short on stable, predictable handling. In other words, the fastest route between Points A and B had better be a straight line.

That all changes with all three modern retro sports cars, but perhaps most with the Challenger. Well, having tossed the Challenger SRT8 around the autocross course at Canadian Car and Truck of the Year TestFest two years ago, I can say quite confidently that the car is up to the task of both pinning you in your seat and negotiating curvy bits with aplomb.

Take a peek under the Challenger and you’ll find a lot in common with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Challenger, Charger, Magnum and 300 are all based on the previous-generation E-Class. That means that despite the car’s weight, it really handles quite well. Like the Camaro and unlike the Mustang, the rear suspension is fully independent, which really helps improve cornering on bumpy roads.

The Challenger also offers three engine choices, depending on whether your main focus is style, power or outright performance. The volume leaders for Challenger are sure to be the SE and SXT models, which come with a V-6 engine. It’s no slouch of a V-6 engine, with 250 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. While that’s more than the stock V-8s of the Challenger’s heydays, it pales compared to the 5.7-litre HEMI V-8 (372 horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque) available in the R/T model or the top-line 6.1 litre HEMI V-8 (425 horsepower, 420 pound-feet of torque) available in the SRT8 monster.

2010 Chevrolet Camaro

While it’s one thing to merely copy a design from a storied past, it’s another to make it modern enough to be accepted by those too young to appreciate its history while making it respectful enough to avoid alienating hard-core fans.

Trivia: when asked at the unveiling “What is a Camaro?” GM responded: “A small vicious animal that eats Mustangs.” Truth is, the name is a creation from when other Chevy car names started with C (Corvette, Chevelle, Corvair, etc.).

According to General Motors, that’s exactly the mantra employed from Day 1 of the 2010 Camaro development process.

“Our goal was not to do a carbon copy replica of the original, but to make a 21st century sports car that has some heritage to it and not be labeled as a muscle car per se,” GM of Canada spokesman George Saratlic says. “We wanted to pay homage to the roots of the car but in a very modern-looking car. When we take the badges off and show it to a 16-year-old who has no idea of its past, it still looks like a sleek, futuristic sports car.”

“If we had just built a replica, we’re really limiting the market to a small part of the population.”

Saratlic said Camaro has two target markets: “The first is the obvious enthusiast who has grown up with Camaro all his life. The second is the life enthusiast, a younger person, 25-35 years of age; a young professional who may not care about performance and is all about life and life experiences.”

With two engine choices, a 3.6-litre V-6 engine and a fire-breathing 6.2-litre V-8 engine, as well as a choice between six-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmissions, Camaro delivers good performance at a reasonable price and, for more money, performance that approaches that of the Corvette sports car.

 2010 Ford Mustang

Perhaps unfairly for the Mustang, because it’s been on the market continuously since 1964, its presence on the market is not as greatly heralded as Camaro or Challenger. The story of the returning hero is always a draw. Because we’ve seen Mustang grow up, its changes are more subtle and register less profoundly.

Yet the Mustang is a worthy contender in this market all the same.

Consider that when the major car magazines pit Camaro against Mustang against Challenger, the Mustang usually comes out on top. Which is surprising given that the Mustang, even in GT trim, is the horsepower weakling of the three. But building an all-around sports car is about more than just horsepower: weight, balance, gearing and handling all work together and in the Mustang, they work very well together. Of the three, the Mustang feels the most “tossable” when driving hard, which is another surprise given the Mustang retains its solid rear axle while the other two have sophisticated independent rear suspensions.

Mustang, since it appeared in the current generation, set a new standard for solid rear axles, thanks to a Panhard rod that prevents the rear axle from moving sideways when one rear wheel hits a bump. That, plus some creative suspension geometry in the rear, makes for a car that surprises in how well a solid axle can perform.

For some fire-breathing Mustang mayhem, there are limited-edition GT500 and Shelby models that up the ante even more.

Summary

Mustang’s current version was the first to really harken back to the Sixties, but the other Detroit carmakers have responded with strong, competitive entries sure to take a bite out
of the ‘Stang.

Each will appeal to different people in different ways. That Mustang comes in a convertible version expands its market somewhat, while the Challenger’s array of engines offers more choice of powertrains, even if the Camaro wins, for now, the horsepower challenge, albeit by one horse.

In the enthusiast market, the market share will probably split along the same lines as product loyalty. Hard-core Mopar fans won’t look at anything but Challenger and Chevy and Ford lovers will follow their loyalties.

Younger customers, those who don’t recognize the history of each car, might favour the Camaro or Mustang, not only because they are either relatively recently discontinued or long-standing models, but because both are tighter and more nimble, more in line with the kinds of other sports cars on the market.

Regardless which car appeals to you, each marks a welcome return of style, panache and unabashed sports-car bravado to the Detroit Three carmakers.