For some guys and gals, it’s all about the muscles. And the two cars we’ll check out this time have some strong ones. There are three muscle cars from U.S.-brand manufacturers. All have familiar names and looks, and they’ve never been better. For this column, I drove a Ford Mustang EcoBoost and a couple of Dodge Challengers, an SXT V6 and an R/T V8. The Chevy Camaro will be redesigned for 2016, and we look forward to driving one.
In our day of electric and hydrogen cars—yep, in October, the hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai starts deliveries in California—muscle cars can seem even more like the throwbacks many think them to be. But you don’t need an engraved invitation for people to appreciate strength, and the healthy sales numbers of each of these three prove that. The Ford and Chevy are selling at about half the rate of the midsized sedans in those lineups, and the Challenger is up big from last year.
They’re like Tom of Finland: they’re obviously from another time, but they still strike a chord in our modern day. The tested Mustang is perhaps the most modern among them, with its optional EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The last four in a Mustang was the lump of a motor from the Pinto, and so there was understandable concern when news came down of another four.
No matter: the Mustang has a hint of turbo lag off the line, but lots of surge awaits once the boost hits. The reward is an EPA overall rating of 25 mpg, if you can keep your right foot out of the turbo and the 310 horsepower it helps produce. Over the road, the Mustang feels surprisingly light and nimble, and the stiff ride is the manageable tradeoff for handling that’s truly engaging. The Pirelli P Zero tires on my test car made it easy to kick out the rear end, even at lower speeds. You’d have to reach license-burning velocities to get the Mustang EcoBoost crossed up.
Of the two Challengers I drove, the one with the 6.4-liter V8 made the biggest impression, though the standard V6 in the other was no slouch. The R/T V8 with the Scat Pack featured a launch control that would likely put my license in dire jeopardy; when I excitedly told a gay cop friend about my experimenting with it and the frankly awesome velocities I hit within mere feet of my start, he replied, “And you did this on private roads, yes?” That’s what 485 horses from a V8 do; they can turn the world into a funhouse of your very own. The Challenger also handles well and has a roomier interior than the Mustang.
Maybe most importantly, both Challengers got many more admiring looks than the Mustang did, including from a few cute straight guys who stopped to chat. For some buyers in this $25–40K price bracket, that might be all they need to know.
Philip Ruth is a Castro-based automotive photojournalist and consultant at www.gaycarguy.com. Check out his automotive staging service at www.carstaging.com
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