[Layla's Keeper]

Good god, the Camaro has been laid to rest due to years of corporate neglect and still the biggest ego trip rivalry in motorsport wages on.

Fact: The Mustang, no matter how much Bill Ford says he loves it, is dying because of lack of marketing talent. Red Mustang convertibles with automatics and V-6's, and this market is more profitable than hardcore gearheads. Thus, the Mustang is losing its edge in search of its "feminine side".

Fact: GM didn't think that this was a wise idea. So they left well enough alone, for almost ten years, barring the 98 facelift and re-engine. Thus, the car was increasingly looked upon by the general population as "an old obsolete" car. And, when it boils right down to it, the ride was choppy and the ergonomics seem to have been back-engineered from the Mercury space capsules. To some one who tears out the stereo because it weighs too much, or doesn't mind wearing a kidney belt if it means a few more tenths of a 'G on the skidpad, this wasn't a problem. But it's a big problem for John Q. Public who wants his Camry, only with an image.

Fact: Insurance is crazy for ponycars. The teenage boys who'd regularly buy them (and supported the car during the 70's) could afford the cars and wanted them for their performance and presence, but the insurance was beyond their reach because it's automatically assumed that if you're young and drive a Camaro/Mustang, you're going to do something stupid. Be this the case or not, it's what the insurance companies believe.

So, what it boils down to is this: The primary market can't operate the cars, so they give them up. The secondary market, older men, aren't buying the cars because of the downshift in the price of standard classic muscle cars, thus the nostalgia is fading. The tertiary market, young women, like the style of the cars and are buying them, but they aren't buying ultra performance and presence, they're buying style and comfort. Thus, the cars must be engineered for that market. Unfortunately, while important brand-wise, the total sales of the Mustang and the F-bodies don't add up to much profit at all. So, any redesign must be done cheaply and must be aimed at the most lucrative market. The F-bodies could no longer be modified for the most lucrative market, women, so they died. The Mustang, is still kicking because of its more modern chassis and interior. But if the next platform Mustang in 2004 does not meet the expectations of the tertiary market, I fear the car will be put out to pasture. Already, the styling concept of the 2004 Mustang is a knock against it. It's horribly deriviative of the 1964-1966 notchback Mustangs, which the tertiary market, for the most part, doesn't recognize and the secondary market probably already owns.

Too bad, I miss the 1970 Trans-Am season. Boss 302's, Z-28's, Firebird Trans-Ams (with a 303, look it up), Mercury Gurney Cougars, Javelins, T/A Challengers, AAR 'Cudas. That's a real war of muscle, to me.