mikeyb
07-14-2005, 09:44 AM
The Ghosts of Woodward Past.
Dodge Charger R/T, Ford Mustang GT, and Pontiac GTO prove that there's always a place for real American Muscle.
http://automobilemag.com/photo_gallery/0508_woodward_muscle_02_1024.jpg
Every August, more than a million people come back to Woodward Avenue in Detriot. Old muscle cars from the 1960s rumble slowly from stoplight to stoplight as part of a annual Woodward Sream Cruise, and you can smell the throttled-back machinery as it overheats in the stifling summer swelter. Everyone is trying very hard to remember a time when powerful V8 engines helped make Detriot the capital of the automotive universe.
Woodward Avenue has changed a lot since the days when the Dodge Charger, the Ford Mustang, and the Pontiac GTO were icons of American street racing. This is still Michigan I, the route that became the prmary artery of Detriot's development in the 1890s, when the sity built railroads instead of automoblies. It extends some twenty-seven miles to Pontiac from downtown Detriot, but time has passed by many of the old landmarks along it's lower reaches, such as the old Albert Kahn-designed GM building, the plant where Ford's Model T was built, and Chrysler's now demolished headquaters in Highland Park.
For us, Woodward Avenue really begins when you drive over the bridge across Eight Mile Road, where the old suburbs of Ferndale and Royal Oak begin. Here the baby-boom generation reched critical mass in the early 1960's, and it's members' hormone-charged enthusiasm for cars created an enormous street-racing scene on Woodward Avenue. Every night, kids gathered at drive-ins such as the Totem Pole near Ten Mile Road, tuned thier cars in gas stations suck as Teddy Spehar's Sunoco just a bit farther north, and then chose off in the parking lot of the Northwood Shopping Center for informal street races either on Woodward itself or on a nearby stretch of Interstate 75. From Ten Mile Road to Square Lake Road some eight miles away, Woodward Avenue was the most exciting stretch of pavement in the country, and it changed the way Aerican cars were built, advertised, and even portrayed in the national media.
Most of the Drive-ins ae gone now, yet there's a new generation of fast cars arriving on the scene. Just as in the 1960's, the new Charger, Mustang, and GTO are keyed to a marketing program directed at young, aggresive drivers. Muscle-bound, with powerful v8 engines, these cars hope to become icons for a new generation. Are they the real thing or just overhyped remakes?
http://automobilemag.com/photo_gallery/0508_woodward_muscle_04_1024.jpg
The Mustang's interior combines retro style and contemporary function with equal confidence.
The Dodge Charger R/T has aroused a controversy because it has the wrong number of doors (four) compared with the Mopars that used to be flaunted by Ramchargers - Chrysler's old unoffical street-racing club. Like the Chrysler 300, which it resembles uner the skin, the Charger Attempts to take the traditional four-door sedan into two door territory with a low, coupelike roofline. There's an awful lot going on in the Charger, maybe too much: a truck like styled grille, frenched headlights, a retro kick-up in the rear door meant to recall Chrysler E-body pony cars of the early 70's, and a Kamm-style aero tail. It's all been stitched together with lots of enthusiasm, but these's not much beauty to behold.
The Ford Mustang inspires no controversy, as it repeats the past in a familiar way. Even teenage drivers, the foremost arbiters of automotive style in America, are utterly wild about the new Mustang's reinvention of the pony car look. The interior combines retro style and contemporary function with equal confidence, although the instrument panel is surprisingly massive, which conspires with the high belt line to make the car seem bigger than it should be.
The Pontiac GTO has had observers in an uproar since it's introduction as a 2004 model., and plenty of people will tell you that it should look like one of those monstrous two-door GTO sleds of 1966-67. We're not among them, yet there's no way to side-step the fundamental lozengelike look of this car, as it carries a sleep inducing, Opel Omega-like shape inherited from the Australian-biuilt Holden Monaro, from which it's derived. Pontiac dressed up the '05 car with twin hood scoops and opitional rocker sills to placate the GTO culture police, and they're a worthwhile improvement.
For all the lollipop colors and extravagant styling of the classic American muscle cars, the engine has always been the most important part of the formula for success on Woodward Avenue. So it's impressive that the engines in the Charger R/T, the Mustang GT, and the Pontiac GTO not only are powerful but also reflect the different engineering philosophies of their makers.
http://automobilemag.com/photo_gallery/0508_woodward_muscle_06_1024.jpg
To some fans of the original Chargers, the new car's sedan configuration is heresy. Our test car has the optional navigation system. A five-speed manu-matic is the only available transmission
Although the entry-level Charger SE and the mod-price Charger SXT can be had with a 250-hp, 3.5-liter V-6, we're sure that most people will find their way to the Charger R/T and it's 340hp, 5.7-liter V8. (We tested the 350-hp version that comes with the $1600 Road/Track Performance Package) The Hemi brand name has carried this V8 far, and it's more evidence that Americans care deeply about the character of the engines in thier cars. Derived from Dodge's truck engine, ths torquey V-8 has a durable but heavy iron block, while the aluminum heads incorporate pushrod-operated overhead valves. The useful bit of high technology is a system to shut down cylinders during part-throttle crusing, a measure that helps improve EPA highway fuel economy to 25mpg.
The Mustang V-8 is a little displacement -challenged at just 4.6 liters, but Ford decided years ago to follow the path of efficiency with high-revving, overhead-cam cylinder heads. Indeed, the Mustang GT's SOHC powerplant revs to 6000 rpms to deliver its 300hp, and the increase in power as the engine winds up really makes this an exciting peice. Ford mages to get decent torque from this engine thanks to the combination of three valves per cylinder and variable valve timing.
The GTO incorporates the 400-hp, 6.0-liter LS2 V8 from the C6 Corvette, and it's an unreconstructed small-block V-8 with puchrods and overhead vavles. Nevertheless, the engine's prodigious output is a measure of the engineering effort that has gone into maing this OHV configuration truly modern. GM has proven that the pushrod V-8 can be compact, potent, and surprisingly cost-effective.
http://automobilemag.com/photo_gallery/0508_woodward_muscle_03_1024.jpg
The GTO proves supple on the roads of the real world and far from the monster its specs suggest.
Out on Woodward, the best street racing took place in the tree-lined section of Bloomfield Hills, although the frequent turn around lanes in the median made it easy to match up almost anywhere. Most speed contests took place at a lanching speed of 30 miles per hour, and usually $20 was at stake.
It turns out that our modern Muscle cars are best at these speeds as well, especially if a manual transmission is involved. For example, the GTO has a reputation for terrible wheel hop under fierce acceleration, but the explaination is as simple as a rear-suspension with a semi-trailing arms thats overwhelmed by 400 lb-ft of torque, and it takes a lanch at a paltry 1700rpm to get a optimum 0-60mph time of 5.1 seconds. The Mustangs four-link, solid rear axle is surprisngly well located and simply chatters under brutal torque loads. But here again, a lanch at 1900rpms is required to convert it's 320 lg-ft of torque into a run to 60mph in 5.6 seconds. On the other hand, there is no drama from the Chargers 5-speed auto-matic as it takes you to 60mph in 6.1 seconds.
Of course, the real racing on Woodward took place not only on the blvd itself but also on the access roads and concrete lanes of nearby I-75, then only partially completed. Out there, high powered Mopar Hemi and Royle Bobcat equipped Pontiac's had plenty of room to run. The new Charger, Mustang, and GTO also need room to run, as they're near 150mph vehicles.
The Charger R/T tips the scales at 4134 lb's as a result of it's Mercedes engineered chasis componets and the heavy-weight V8, yet it handles speed with a quiver of fright, shrugging off bumps and steering gently nose first through bends. The Dodge's stability control is always on duty, though, and it 's gentle but persistent intervention will quickly overheat the brakes, which don't have much bite to them, anyway.
The Mustang GT also takes the path of stability during fast driving, it's understeer making it incredibly predictable though not exactly lively or entertaining. A strong chasis structure and the thoroughly devolped solid rear axle put the relatively sticky 235-55 WR-17 Pirelli P-zero tires to good use. The numb, high effort steering is a little slow to react, though, and it's another factor that makes this 3516 lb car seem heavier than it really is. On the other hand, the 5-speed gearbox is brillant, it's short throws and defiantly mechanical gear ingagement helping to get the most from the high-winding SOHC V8.
The GTO's 6-speed manual transmission doesn't meet the Mustang's standard, as the shift throws are long and the gate location is uncertain, although the acutal gear ingagement is crisp and clean. The GTO steers brillantly, and you can place the car just where you want it. Once you put the hammer down, though, the GTO winds up on it's semi-trailing arm rear suspension in a disconcerting way, as if it were getting ready to hop side way across the road. Somehow, the 245-45 WR17 BF Goodrich G-force T/As always stick to the pavement, but it's clear the car shows a different personality that depends on whether you're smooth with the steering or you perfer to work the rear tires.
Unline the Muscle cars of the past, the Charger R/T,the Mustang, and the GTO can be driven to work each day without betraying the presence of a beast under the skin. The Charger is quiet and composed on it's 235/55 WR-18" Michelin MXM4 tires (in contrasts to the harsh riding 20" tires on the SRT-8), and the self-leveling rear dampers help the car bear up under the load of four people. The steering wanders a bit, though, as if the tires were a little too wide for the steering geometry. Inside, the car is very austere, just like the mucsle car of the '60's, and there are hints of truck like styling to help younger guys to make the transition into civilized sedan transportation.
The GTO proves decidedly supple on the roads of the real world and far from the Monters it's specifications suggest. The Opel- and Holden-engineered chassis dates from the 1990's and makes the car heavy at 3705lbs, but GM development has made the GTO feel mature and sophisticated. It's also suprisingly roomy inside, although the high seat and low belt line make it seem compact.
If you're an after a authentic muscle car, the athletic, somewhat stiff legged Mustang delivers the character you want. It's coiled up for action at every second, as if bristling with steriods. The surprise is it's ablity to acheive such a feeling of latent energy without making you uncomfortable with suspension harshness of chassis flex.
Every generation has it's muscle cars. The '32 Ford with it's flat head V8, the '55 Chevy Bel-air with it's small block V8, and the '68 Plymouth Road Runner with it's Hemi V8 all spoke the soul of a generation, and their rapidly escalating values as collectables cars prove it. Maybe it's a little too much to ask the same of the Charger R/T, which will be transformed into a 425-hp SRT-8 this fall. Maybe the Mustang GT is only the start of something great, as the GT500 holds out a promise of 500hp. And maybe the GTO just isn't the right kind of American breed package, as poor sales suggest. Yet our drive on Woodward Avenue shows that these cars measure up to the ghosts of the past. The Charger R/T liberates itself from utility-bond sedan- think of the past, and it's test numbers prove it can run with cars as serious as the Mustang GT and the GTO. It can even be had as a winged Daytona R/T with eye popping 1960's dash style colors. Meanwhile, The GTO shows that GM was too quick to cave in to the enthusiasm for fast pickups by canceling the Chevy Camaro and the Pontiac Firebird, as the American GT car clearly remains relevant a compelling concept. Finally, the Mustang GT is the Best evidense yet that Muscle cars with V8 engines still have a profound appeal that cuts across all generations. A car with real American Muscle is meant to be affordable, fast, and more than a little bit raw, and the Mustang meets criteria better than any other car in this group.
This summer when the Woorward Dream Cruise comes around again, there should be no weeping for the ghosts of the past. American autmakers can still make muscle cars with serious V8 engines, and we got the proof right here.
Dodge Charger R/T - $35,625
350hp, 390 lb-ft
4314lbs
5 speed manu-matic
0-60 - 6.1 sec
0-100 - 14.6 sec
Ford Mustang GT - $27,825
300hp, 320 lb-ft
3515lbs
5 speed manual
0-60 - 5.6 sec
0-100 - 13.7 sec
Pontiac GTO - $33,690
400hp, 400 lb-ft
3702lbs
6 speed manual
0-60 - 5.1 sec
0-100 - 11.8 sec http://automobilemag.com/photo_gallery/0508_woodward_muscle_08_1024.jpg
Dodge Charger R/T, Ford Mustang GT, and Pontiac GTO prove that there's always a place for real American Muscle.
http://automobilemag.com/photo_gallery/0508_woodward_muscle_02_1024.jpg
Every August, more than a million people come back to Woodward Avenue in Detriot. Old muscle cars from the 1960s rumble slowly from stoplight to stoplight as part of a annual Woodward Sream Cruise, and you can smell the throttled-back machinery as it overheats in the stifling summer swelter. Everyone is trying very hard to remember a time when powerful V8 engines helped make Detriot the capital of the automotive universe.
Woodward Avenue has changed a lot since the days when the Dodge Charger, the Ford Mustang, and the Pontiac GTO were icons of American street racing. This is still Michigan I, the route that became the prmary artery of Detriot's development in the 1890s, when the sity built railroads instead of automoblies. It extends some twenty-seven miles to Pontiac from downtown Detriot, but time has passed by many of the old landmarks along it's lower reaches, such as the old Albert Kahn-designed GM building, the plant where Ford's Model T was built, and Chrysler's now demolished headquaters in Highland Park.
For us, Woodward Avenue really begins when you drive over the bridge across Eight Mile Road, where the old suburbs of Ferndale and Royal Oak begin. Here the baby-boom generation reched critical mass in the early 1960's, and it's members' hormone-charged enthusiasm for cars created an enormous street-racing scene on Woodward Avenue. Every night, kids gathered at drive-ins such as the Totem Pole near Ten Mile Road, tuned thier cars in gas stations suck as Teddy Spehar's Sunoco just a bit farther north, and then chose off in the parking lot of the Northwood Shopping Center for informal street races either on Woodward itself or on a nearby stretch of Interstate 75. From Ten Mile Road to Square Lake Road some eight miles away, Woodward Avenue was the most exciting stretch of pavement in the country, and it changed the way Aerican cars were built, advertised, and even portrayed in the national media.
Most of the Drive-ins ae gone now, yet there's a new generation of fast cars arriving on the scene. Just as in the 1960's, the new Charger, Mustang, and GTO are keyed to a marketing program directed at young, aggresive drivers. Muscle-bound, with powerful v8 engines, these cars hope to become icons for a new generation. Are they the real thing or just overhyped remakes?
http://automobilemag.com/photo_gallery/0508_woodward_muscle_04_1024.jpg
The Mustang's interior combines retro style and contemporary function with equal confidence.
The Dodge Charger R/T has aroused a controversy because it has the wrong number of doors (four) compared with the Mopars that used to be flaunted by Ramchargers - Chrysler's old unoffical street-racing club. Like the Chrysler 300, which it resembles uner the skin, the Charger Attempts to take the traditional four-door sedan into two door territory with a low, coupelike roofline. There's an awful lot going on in the Charger, maybe too much: a truck like styled grille, frenched headlights, a retro kick-up in the rear door meant to recall Chrysler E-body pony cars of the early 70's, and a Kamm-style aero tail. It's all been stitched together with lots of enthusiasm, but these's not much beauty to behold.
The Ford Mustang inspires no controversy, as it repeats the past in a familiar way. Even teenage drivers, the foremost arbiters of automotive style in America, are utterly wild about the new Mustang's reinvention of the pony car look. The interior combines retro style and contemporary function with equal confidence, although the instrument panel is surprisingly massive, which conspires with the high belt line to make the car seem bigger than it should be.
The Pontiac GTO has had observers in an uproar since it's introduction as a 2004 model., and plenty of people will tell you that it should look like one of those monstrous two-door GTO sleds of 1966-67. We're not among them, yet there's no way to side-step the fundamental lozengelike look of this car, as it carries a sleep inducing, Opel Omega-like shape inherited from the Australian-biuilt Holden Monaro, from which it's derived. Pontiac dressed up the '05 car with twin hood scoops and opitional rocker sills to placate the GTO culture police, and they're a worthwhile improvement.
For all the lollipop colors and extravagant styling of the classic American muscle cars, the engine has always been the most important part of the formula for success on Woodward Avenue. So it's impressive that the engines in the Charger R/T, the Mustang GT, and the Pontiac GTO not only are powerful but also reflect the different engineering philosophies of their makers.
http://automobilemag.com/photo_gallery/0508_woodward_muscle_06_1024.jpg
To some fans of the original Chargers, the new car's sedan configuration is heresy. Our test car has the optional navigation system. A five-speed manu-matic is the only available transmission
Although the entry-level Charger SE and the mod-price Charger SXT can be had with a 250-hp, 3.5-liter V-6, we're sure that most people will find their way to the Charger R/T and it's 340hp, 5.7-liter V8. (We tested the 350-hp version that comes with the $1600 Road/Track Performance Package) The Hemi brand name has carried this V8 far, and it's more evidence that Americans care deeply about the character of the engines in thier cars. Derived from Dodge's truck engine, ths torquey V-8 has a durable but heavy iron block, while the aluminum heads incorporate pushrod-operated overhead valves. The useful bit of high technology is a system to shut down cylinders during part-throttle crusing, a measure that helps improve EPA highway fuel economy to 25mpg.
The Mustang V-8 is a little displacement -challenged at just 4.6 liters, but Ford decided years ago to follow the path of efficiency with high-revving, overhead-cam cylinder heads. Indeed, the Mustang GT's SOHC powerplant revs to 6000 rpms to deliver its 300hp, and the increase in power as the engine winds up really makes this an exciting peice. Ford mages to get decent torque from this engine thanks to the combination of three valves per cylinder and variable valve timing.
The GTO incorporates the 400-hp, 6.0-liter LS2 V8 from the C6 Corvette, and it's an unreconstructed small-block V-8 with puchrods and overhead vavles. Nevertheless, the engine's prodigious output is a measure of the engineering effort that has gone into maing this OHV configuration truly modern. GM has proven that the pushrod V-8 can be compact, potent, and surprisingly cost-effective.
http://automobilemag.com/photo_gallery/0508_woodward_muscle_03_1024.jpg
The GTO proves supple on the roads of the real world and far from the monster its specs suggest.
Out on Woodward, the best street racing took place in the tree-lined section of Bloomfield Hills, although the frequent turn around lanes in the median made it easy to match up almost anywhere. Most speed contests took place at a lanching speed of 30 miles per hour, and usually $20 was at stake.
It turns out that our modern Muscle cars are best at these speeds as well, especially if a manual transmission is involved. For example, the GTO has a reputation for terrible wheel hop under fierce acceleration, but the explaination is as simple as a rear-suspension with a semi-trailing arms thats overwhelmed by 400 lb-ft of torque, and it takes a lanch at a paltry 1700rpm to get a optimum 0-60mph time of 5.1 seconds. The Mustangs four-link, solid rear axle is surprisngly well located and simply chatters under brutal torque loads. But here again, a lanch at 1900rpms is required to convert it's 320 lg-ft of torque into a run to 60mph in 5.6 seconds. On the other hand, there is no drama from the Chargers 5-speed auto-matic as it takes you to 60mph in 6.1 seconds.
Of course, the real racing on Woodward took place not only on the blvd itself but also on the access roads and concrete lanes of nearby I-75, then only partially completed. Out there, high powered Mopar Hemi and Royle Bobcat equipped Pontiac's had plenty of room to run. The new Charger, Mustang, and GTO also need room to run, as they're near 150mph vehicles.
The Charger R/T tips the scales at 4134 lb's as a result of it's Mercedes engineered chasis componets and the heavy-weight V8, yet it handles speed with a quiver of fright, shrugging off bumps and steering gently nose first through bends. The Dodge's stability control is always on duty, though, and it 's gentle but persistent intervention will quickly overheat the brakes, which don't have much bite to them, anyway.
The Mustang GT also takes the path of stability during fast driving, it's understeer making it incredibly predictable though not exactly lively or entertaining. A strong chasis structure and the thoroughly devolped solid rear axle put the relatively sticky 235-55 WR-17 Pirelli P-zero tires to good use. The numb, high effort steering is a little slow to react, though, and it's another factor that makes this 3516 lb car seem heavier than it really is. On the other hand, the 5-speed gearbox is brillant, it's short throws and defiantly mechanical gear ingagement helping to get the most from the high-winding SOHC V8.
The GTO's 6-speed manual transmission doesn't meet the Mustang's standard, as the shift throws are long and the gate location is uncertain, although the acutal gear ingagement is crisp and clean. The GTO steers brillantly, and you can place the car just where you want it. Once you put the hammer down, though, the GTO winds up on it's semi-trailing arm rear suspension in a disconcerting way, as if it were getting ready to hop side way across the road. Somehow, the 245-45 WR17 BF Goodrich G-force T/As always stick to the pavement, but it's clear the car shows a different personality that depends on whether you're smooth with the steering or you perfer to work the rear tires.
Unline the Muscle cars of the past, the Charger R/T,the Mustang, and the GTO can be driven to work each day without betraying the presence of a beast under the skin. The Charger is quiet and composed on it's 235/55 WR-18" Michelin MXM4 tires (in contrasts to the harsh riding 20" tires on the SRT-8), and the self-leveling rear dampers help the car bear up under the load of four people. The steering wanders a bit, though, as if the tires were a little too wide for the steering geometry. Inside, the car is very austere, just like the mucsle car of the '60's, and there are hints of truck like styling to help younger guys to make the transition into civilized sedan transportation.
The GTO proves decidedly supple on the roads of the real world and far from the Monters it's specifications suggest. The Opel- and Holden-engineered chassis dates from the 1990's and makes the car heavy at 3705lbs, but GM development has made the GTO feel mature and sophisticated. It's also suprisingly roomy inside, although the high seat and low belt line make it seem compact.
If you're an after a authentic muscle car, the athletic, somewhat stiff legged Mustang delivers the character you want. It's coiled up for action at every second, as if bristling with steriods. The surprise is it's ablity to acheive such a feeling of latent energy without making you uncomfortable with suspension harshness of chassis flex.
Every generation has it's muscle cars. The '32 Ford with it's flat head V8, the '55 Chevy Bel-air with it's small block V8, and the '68 Plymouth Road Runner with it's Hemi V8 all spoke the soul of a generation, and their rapidly escalating values as collectables cars prove it. Maybe it's a little too much to ask the same of the Charger R/T, which will be transformed into a 425-hp SRT-8 this fall. Maybe the Mustang GT is only the start of something great, as the GT500 holds out a promise of 500hp. And maybe the GTO just isn't the right kind of American breed package, as poor sales suggest. Yet our drive on Woodward Avenue shows that these cars measure up to the ghosts of the past. The Charger R/T liberates itself from utility-bond sedan- think of the past, and it's test numbers prove it can run with cars as serious as the Mustang GT and the GTO. It can even be had as a winged Daytona R/T with eye popping 1960's dash style colors. Meanwhile, The GTO shows that GM was too quick to cave in to the enthusiasm for fast pickups by canceling the Chevy Camaro and the Pontiac Firebird, as the American GT car clearly remains relevant a compelling concept. Finally, the Mustang GT is the Best evidense yet that Muscle cars with V8 engines still have a profound appeal that cuts across all generations. A car with real American Muscle is meant to be affordable, fast, and more than a little bit raw, and the Mustang meets criteria better than any other car in this group.
This summer when the Woorward Dream Cruise comes around again, there should be no weeping for the ghosts of the past. American autmakers can still make muscle cars with serious V8 engines, and we got the proof right here.
Dodge Charger R/T - $35,625
350hp, 390 lb-ft
4314lbs
5 speed manu-matic
0-60 - 6.1 sec
0-100 - 14.6 sec
Ford Mustang GT - $27,825
300hp, 320 lb-ft
3515lbs
5 speed manual
0-60 - 5.6 sec
0-100 - 13.7 sec
Pontiac GTO - $33,690
400hp, 400 lb-ft
3702lbs
6 speed manual
0-60 - 5.1 sec
0-100 - 11.8 sec http://automobilemag.com/photo_gallery/0508_woodward_muscle_08_1024.jpg