So, what’s it really about, this pony-car resurgence that ran wild at this year’s North American International Auto Show? We asked some of the experts and their answers are all over the road map. Loyalist Boomers, says Ford’s analyst George Pippas. Youthful tuners, adds Dodge’s brand manager, Jim Yetter. And, anyone with passion, purports GM’s designer, Ed Wellburn. Clearly it’s about nostalgia. But, if you ask auto historian Barry Dressel, of the Walter P. Chrysler Museum, it’s more a predictable equation of timing than pure nostalgia for a brand, or, perhaps, even a by-gone time. Whatever the magic, Chevy, Chrysler and Ford got it just right. And their muscle cars were the talk of the town. Ford plans to put its Shelby Cobra GT500 on the street later this year. The Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro Concepts are “driveable,” but will they come to market? That answer is still blowin’ in the wind, but they seem almost guaranteed to be on sale by the end of the decade if you ask me. In the meantime, I think I’ll let my hair blow in the breeze of pleasant memories from a far simpler time…but, you can be sure, I’ll catch the first pony ride that comes by. How about you?
Photos courtesy of the manufacturers
|
About Sue Mead
Sue Mead works as a photojournalist and features writer for more than two dozen publications. She has written for Parade, Popular Science, Open Road, the Road & Track Buyers Guide, Men's Journal, Popular Mechanics and Diversion and she has worked as an auto editor for CNN/fn. Sue has co-driven in two of the world's toughest off-road races, the Baja 1000 and the Paris-Dakar Raid. She attended four Camel Trophy adventures for Land Rover North America and has participated in several long-distance adventure drives. She recently completed her first book, "Monster Trucks and Tractors" published by Chelsea House. Sue lives in New England.
|
