Origional V New Retro

It seems like the new craze for car makers now is to make new muscle cars look like the old ones. Looking at the previous post you can see this is indeed a major part of car production for major auto makers. And for the most part they are all doing a good job too.

Ok, so we all know that the whole point in the new retro Mustang was to make it look like the old ones. The new Mustangs brought back the memories of the original 60's and 70's muscle car that changed the American muscle car forever. There are obvious differences of course, but when you look at them side by side you can sure tell the resemblance. They kept the Mustangs classic look with similar headlight and taillight set ups.

Same goes for the new Challenger. They made it look modern but retro all at the same time. I couldn't believe how close it is to the original Challenger. The Camaro did a decent job too, but I don't think the resemblance is quite as apparent as the Mustang and the Challenger.

The real question is, what do people think about this making the new look like the old deal? Most people like it, but some say just leave the old in the past and move on and come up with something new. I have to disagree with those people because I think the engineering behind these cars is just plain awesome. To make something new and modern that at the same time resembles the old school way as close as possible. You can comment below and let me know what your opinions are on this. Do you like what the auto makers are trying to do with these cars, or do you think they should just come up with all new looks?

The big 3 - ITS ON!!!

2010 is going to be a big year for the three major outo makers in the U.S. Whats the big fuss about? The big three are going to be back on the road together once again! The all new and retro styled Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger are in high anticipation for the up coming year.

The Mustang is changing things up a little bit with mostly minor changes. But will that be enough to keep up with the all new 2010 Chevy Camaro and the new Dodge Challenger? The changes the mustang has in store are mostly minor, but significant changes. The overall frame and wheel base are the same. But the body panels are getting a make over. The front end is simply more aggressive and looks like its ready to run. While the back end has been tweaked to look more sleek as well. The interior seems to be more modern and higher quality. Also the suspension is going to be a lot tighter for better balance and feel around turns. These things plus a few more engine options available, such as the 5.0 litre and 3.8 litre eco boost engine, are going to be fords answer to the new Camaro and Challenger.

The all new Camaro has been anticipated for a few years now. Production has seemed to be pushed back and slow to a lot of people and a lot of people want to know what happened to it. Where is this new Camaro you people speak of!?! Its been forever and people are getting impatient! Well the word on the street is 2010 is the year, for real this time. Enough teasing and taunting that well know image of the new Camaro and get it on the road already!

The v8 has yet to be released to, but the v6 model has. The v6 model of the Camaro is going to be extremely impressive. The 3.6 litre engine they are using is the same direct injection engine offered in the Cadillac CTS and is sopposed to produce 305 horse power. Comparing the unfinished prototype interior of the v6 camaro to the interior of the Challenger, the Camaro's is more detailed and better looking. As for the V8 SS version of the Camaro, it will have a 6.2 litre engine pushing about 420 horse power. That is pretty impressive. There is an RS package that will be offered on the v6 and v8 which includes HID headlights and 20 inch wheels.

So what does the new Challenger offer besides high price and low fuel economy? The new Dodge Challenger took retro to an all new level. Out of all three the Challenger did the best job of making it look like the original American muscle car from the 70s. The Challenger offers a 5.7 v8 as well as a 6.1 litre v8. Both make upwards of 400 horse power. A lot of things on the new Challenger are carried over from the Charger. The transmission, the gear ratios, suspension, breaks, and the tires are all the same. But the frame is 4 inches shorter, but it is only 20 pounds lighter than the Charger.

2010 is going to be an interesting year for Ford, Chevy, and Dodge. It is hard not to be biass making comments on the Camaro seeing that I am a Mustang fan. But I have to say that the 2010 Camaro looks pretty impressive. I like it a lot. I will always love Mustangs but would seriously consider a new Camaro. Here come the American muscle cars once again. Let the muscle car wars begin!

v6 Shelby

When most people think of Shelby Mustangs they most likely think v8. The Shelby Mustang is most known for its v8 power in the Shelby GT500, which pushes about 500 horse power.



But Shelby switched things up a little bit when he introduced the Shelby CS 6 Mustang. It is a v6 Mustang that is far from stock. It has more horsepower than the Mustang GT pushing a little more than 350 horses.



The power plant behind this horse power is a twin turbo v6 engine that will be introduced in 2010 as an Eco boost 3.5 liter instead of the 4.0 liter running the v6 Mustang now. The new Eco boost engine will be more powerful and more fuel efficient. A lot of v8 lovers do not seem to like the idea behind the v6 Shelby, but it is actually very practical.

The v6 is lighter and more fuel efficient. With this package it is putting out quite a bit more power than GT Mustangs. And also it accelerates faster and handles better too. It is nowhere near the car the Shelby GT 500 is, but it is certainly a couple of steps up from a stock v6.

The package comes with the Shelby body kit, the twin turbo charging kit, bigger breaks, 20 inch rims, and dual exhaust, not to mention the Shelby logo it shows off. To get all this including the added power, on top of the price of a v6 Mustang comes out to be about the same as the price of a GT Mustang, but with more power! If I had the opportunity to do this to my v6 I would definitely consider it.

2010 Mustang

The 2005 Mustang was a dramatic change from the previous models. The new body style made the mustang look more muscular and powerful. Not to mention the strong retro appearance the new models show off.



I fell in love with Mustangs before the these new models came out, but when they did I fell in love all over again. I was overall completely satisfied with the appearance of the 2005 Mustang, so I was ecstatic when I got a 2006 Mustang of my own.



Once again Ford is changing the appearance of the Mustang. The 2010 Mustang is going to be slightly different than the previous models. They will be coming out in late 2009. I have been looking into the new 2010 Mustang, trying to establish an opinion on it. I haven't quit made up my mind if I like it better than the 2005 models or not.



There are a lot of things I noticed I like better about the 2010 Mustang, but there are also a couple of things that I really don't like from what I have seen. The over all appearance is really similar but noticeably different. The front end I really like. It is really close to the 2005 Mustang front end but it looks more aggressive. Also the new hood is also more aggressive which resembles a cowl hood.



I also really like the interior. It looks a little more modern and sporty than before and offers more options. From what I have seen I do like the interior better. Another cool thing about them is that they offer a glass roof option which I really like.



The only thing that I do not like about the 2010 Mustang so far is the rear end. I don't like the back of them at all. From the pictures that I have seen it just looks a little weak or something, especially compared to the 2005 Mustang. But that is just my opinion from the photos that I have seen. I may change my overall opinion when I actually see them in person when they come out.



So right now I am leaning towards liking the 2005 Mustang better than the 2010 Mustang, but that is mostly just because I don't like what I've seen of the back end. Other than that it seems to be a pretty legitimate car. I found a really cool website that does a good job showing the overall appearance and options on the 2010 Mustang. It is definitely worth checking out if you want a close up look at it and if you want to make your own opinion on it. I will link the website above and also put the website as the first one under the check these sites out section.

California Special

The California Special Mustang was first introduced in 1968. It was a limited edition Mustang. They only made four thousand one hundred and eighteen of them. Production of the 1968 Mustang GT/CS (GT California Special) only lasted five and a half months. Most of the production was just special orders.

Recently, in 2007, Ford brought back the Mustang GT California Special. Once again their plans are only to make it a limited edition Mustang with models made form 2007 to 2009.

Basically the new Mustang GT/CS is a Mustang GT with a few extras. The interior upgrade includes two tones seats and special floor mats and also is available with a 1000 watt stereo system. On the outside it has 18 inch polished aluminum wheels, exhaust tips and lowered front and rear fascia.

The main reason I am writing about this is because my mom actually has one of the new GT/CS Mustangs. She got one of the first 2007 models made back in September of 2006. I love her car. It is Vista Blue which looks really nice. I'd personally rather have Black, but I will give her car credit. She does occasionally let me drive it. Actually I bet I have driven it almost as much as she has. It is almost 3 years old and only has about four thousand miles on it. That should tell you how well she takes car of it. I'm pretty sure it has never seen rain. And I know that it has never seen the months November through March. I just wish she would drive it more, cause it is such a nice car to have!

The Suds

One of my favorite places to cruise by and chill for a while on a summer evening is The Suds. It is located in Greenwood, Indiana, just south of Indianapolis. The suds was once a part of the Dog 'N Suds chain. But was sold to a different owner and they eventually dropped from the franchise and became "The Suds" in 1983. Over the past 20 years the old fashioned drive in restaurant has been closed, repurchased and reopened several times. Just this past July The Suds restaurant reopened again to serve the community.



Me and my friends don't go here to eat though. A couple of years ago my friend Josh invited me to go up to The Suds on a Saturday evening to look at some cool cars. This is the first time I ever herd of this place. I thought that it was just a temporary thing, a scheduled annual car show or something. But actually it is just an every Friday or Saturday night thing where all kinds of people from around the area bring their old muscle cars or tricked out new rides. You can just cruise through and find a spot to park your ride then walk around for hours looking at cars with out getting bored.

I was really surprised at the number of people that were there. I guess it has really grown in popularity over the past few years. Some times you have to drive around for quite sometime to find a spot to squeeze your car in amongst the hundreds of other cars. It is one of the coolest things that I have ever seen though. The atmosphere is just really laid back, and anyone who wants can come by and check out other peoples prized possessions.

It is a usual thing for me or Josh to call each other up on a Saturday night in the summer and ask if we want to wax our cars up real good and head up to The Suds. I usually take a few hours cleaning up my Mustang real good while he washes his truck up real nice.

At The Suds you will see all kinds of different cars. A lot of them are old fixed up American Muscle cars. But there are also a lot of newer cars too. Last summer we even saw an old fixed up fire truck, that if I had to guess was like from the 50's or 60's. You never know what you will see when you go. Its a good opportunity for people to go up and ask what they've done to their ride and get some suggestions on what to do to theirs as well.

Writing this blog entry is really making me look forward to summer. It makes it even worse that it is really nice and warm today. It just makes me more anxious for summer. Well if any of you live or are around the Indianapolis area this summer and are into cars, you should definitely check this place out!