The fun car is dieing. (And the Pony car is beating a dead horse)

Alright, I'm the first to admit that I enjoy the automobile oddity. Really the cars I prefer are the random blips on the radar that come and go too quickly for most to notice. Not to say there that there are no interesting new cars, but it seems now a days that all the interesting cars are the super cars that nearly no one can afford(either the sticker price or the pump price). What I want to see more of is the sort of mid eighties to mid nineties randomness that brought about the Fiero, SHO, Super Coupe, Turbo Gran Prix, Grand National, Omni GLH, Spirit RT so on and so forth with any other cars I cant remember. Around this time America was just coming back from fuel crunches and the big three were realizing that fun cars could make a come back, and come back they did.

Fast forward to today and look at the line up of domestics. Few of my criteria are good engine (does not have to be original but it helps), original look or at least differentiation from the lower model, and finally let me really emphasize this so that my criteria are clear MANUAL TRANSMISSION!!exclamation point! Really what is it about the American Motorists that makes the manual transmission the black sheep. As it stands right now there are two types of American cars that have real mens transmissions eco-box 4 cylinders, and RWD v-8's. There might be an American car in the middle of this catagory but I sure cant think of it.

Massive tangent: Alright technology is all well and good and I enjoy the new toy as much as the next guy, but car reviewers really need to get their old bald heads out their tail pipes (see what I did there). Not every car today needs bluetooth, a Nav system , 800 redundant stereo and A/C controls, and soft rubber and leather everywhere. Seriously where did this idea come from, I am completely content with my radio being my radio my A/C being my A/C and my phone making my phone calls. In actuality the Navigation System is a terrible idea as we are creating a generation of idiots who cant follow a map let alone know how to use a compass (easiest thing ever), and before I get a bunch of comments about how not every car has those features I know(but then again we don't have any readers(prove me wrong) so its not a worry), but the auto industry is moving in a direction that I believe is only going to end in useless used cars full of broken electronic gizmos in the next decade.

SO back to the main point, there are not enough cars that offer performance on a price point, the only useful car (meaning not a roadster) I can think of that is reasonably within the bounds of my meter is the Cobalt SS. Thats it. The SRT4 is dead (don't even mention the Caliber) SVT might as well be dead(or is), and all of the interesting pet projects that made the 80's and 90's great have gone the way of the dodo. I mean really look at the cars from the 80's and 90's and look at what is coming out today, and I'm sure there are other sport's cars that i am not remembering too, then look at what is out now. As far as I'm concerned there is only one American car that could fit into fun cheap performance (congratulations Chevy you've done something right).

Alright, this will be an amazing feat if i can close this all up tangibly into one tidy package. Do I really think the "Fun Car" is dead. No. Do I think the fun car will make a come back. Yes. Is that come back going to happen in the next decade. Maybe. The problem being that "The Big Three" are trying REALLLY hard (extra L is free folks) to shift public perception that the build quality is up to that of your Toyota's and Honda's. Truth is its been there for a couple of years now but no one is buying it (literally and figuratively). The proof is in the pudding and when it comes down to it Ford and Chevy have ramped up their game and are offering the big warranty's and the production value is right there if not better on some cars than the comparable overseas production. So the one thing that American auto makers need is the one thing they could be seriously lacking soon: Time.

Just to prove this blag is not dead.

http://www.wikihow.com/Dissuade-Yourself-from-Becoming-a-Blogger


Its all true and everything involved is complete degradation of anything and everything you once knew and loved.