re: All show and no go... many 80s muscle cars were weak sauce

Comparing car technology with a 40 year gap

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1972 was the end of the muscle car era.

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Correct. The government started making car manufacturers put smog stuff in 1971 which had an effect on horsepower too. By 1972 it was the end of horsepower

You won't get any argument out of me.

Had one of these as I was graduating LSU. Had the 150 horse marine 5.0, a two barrel, 3:08 differential, and a four speed where forth was overdrive. What a pig this thing was...a deer took it out of it's (and my) misery.

I will say that Mustangs did re-emerge with better power options in the latter part of the 80's, but nothing to compare w the 70's.

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The Nova was GM’s sort of awkward bizarre answer to the Mustang.

There was something rather oddly badass about them, though.

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The Nova was in no way an answer to the Mustang. That was the Camaro/Firebird's job. The Nova was more of an answer to the Maverick and economy cars in general. It was popular with hot rudders because it would fit a Mark IV Big Block between the fenders and was very lightweight.

For other posters,

- ALL cars now have EGR, though one of you were right on the emissions pumps being a temporary bandaid.

- The Mustang began a new HP war in 1985 that is still echoing today.

- A handful, though not all by any means, of the late 80's cars would be markedly faster on modern tires. A modern performance tire is light years better than a track-only slick from the 1960's, and measurably better than the first dedicated street/strip treaded race tires that were coming out in the late 1980s. Late 1980's Mustangs, manual 305 TPI and auto 350 TPI F-bodies all three with the right option boxes checked were all traction-limited, so their 0-60 and quarter mile times make them look slower than they are compared to modern cars with either a) more sticky tires on the performance cars or b) highly optimized 7/8/9/10 speed gearing to overcome lack of torque on grocery getters.

- One reason the GN/GNX was so fast for its time was that, stock, it didn't have the torque to just blow the tires off right off the line. It launched more like a modern car, and by 60' in, the turbo was spooled and off you went.

- The tires are also the main reason that comparing any data from the 1960's-1972 to modern cars is pointless. A modern fast car will have a 60 foot time in the mid 1's, a 1960's car was probably mid-2's to even 3's, which translates to a larger difference at 60 MPH and even more in the quarter. On top of that, tire spin on the 1-2 and 2-3 upshifts caused even more lost time with the old cars. That's 70-80% tire, with the rest being suspension design and traction control.

Dad had one. That thing was damn fast and timed it at 5.0s 0-60.

Cars now are just goofy fast.

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That Firebird was the biggest piece of bullshite in automotive history.

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The firebird came out with the worst four cylinder ever manufactured. Later on they heard from the consumer how poor is was and offered a couple more engine upgrades.
By and large, the 80s were the worst decade in us automotive history.

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As long as you went in a straight line, and had forever to stop. And dont lock those brakes...

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We went in straight lines, very fast...and loudly.

Awesome time to be a teen, car culture, cruising, etc.....

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No better way to rile up a bunch of crusty old bastards at work than to tell them that old muscle cars were pieces of shite.

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Lol whats your IQ buddy?

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Comparing car technology with a 40 year gap

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It’s pretty universal for any car of that era. There wasn’t a 80s child on the planet that didn’t want a Countach or a Delorian, and by all accounts they’re great to look at and miserable to drive. Hell, somehow Porsche’s brand grew stronger after it leaned into the propensity for their turbos to kill its owners.

Eh...mostly that was lack of understanding of the RWD/RE by the drivers...

Best be ready when that turbo spooled up...

They can still get away from you, but Porsche has done a masterful engineering job with those cars, especially with AWD.