Death of the F-body

[TraceZ]

I just got home from our local car show.

Lots of Mustangs - all generations. Lots of newer mustangs, 1 Roush GT, several late 80s early 90's GTs, etc. Lots of imports, many looked like they might actually be somewhat quick. Lots of Corvettes, but no C6.

F-bodies? no. I had the only one in the show with exception of a red 68 RS.

What is up with that? Not a single Firebird, not any generation. Only two Camaros? This makes me sad. Maybe the f-body really is dead in people's hearts.

[Trash man]

i kno what u mean at the carshow everweekend here in danbury there was only 4 of us, but like 6 mustangs in a row, with like 15 totall. but its nice to know im not like every1 else. all the fox bodie stangs look the same

[Christopherrr]

Don't worry, the f-body fanatic is still out there. Heck, most of them are right here on this board. Granted that it wasn't represented at the meet you were at, I'm sure there are plenty of us that wished we could be out there.

We are far and in between sometimes, but I feel we're the pinnacle of the muscle car crowd. When I see rows of stangs, it's like "eh"...Vettes, "cool"...rows of Camaros and Birds, "Oh yeah".

We're out there...

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Who wants to get lost in the crowd? Not me, I'd rather have something a little on the wild side, not originally designed for 'girls' and it's not too bad to have something that can no longer be bought new.

That's not to say that I don't have a healthy respect and envy of the guys that own supercharged Cobras and maybe the new GT500. Those would be my peers, not the average Mustang GT. There's also the balls out 5.0 guys but they are still too common for me, and most of their cars are ugly. The only bad thing about being the only one there is no one to hang with.

[LarryMow]

The way I see it is...until GM makes a Camaro or Firebird thats in the same ballpark with a Mustang pricewise, there will always be more Mustangs out there. Its crazy for GM to think that they will sell more Fbodies than Ford sells Stangs, especially when the Fbodies are usually 6 grand more than the Stangs. I was raised hardcore GM loyal...so I wouldnt buy a Mustang if it were 10 grand less. I will always keep my Firebird, mainly because until GM gets real and gives the new ones a price that reasonable, its the only one I'll be able to afford. I also think they need to get away from option groups. example: if you want this option, you have to get this one too. And how about a balls to the wall all out horsepower beast...no power windows, or power seats, no extra anything just like the good old days. For the sake of safety I CAN understand ABS and power steering...but other than that, give us the body, a seat, and one hellacious motor.

[TraceZ]

The only bad thing about being the only one there is no one to hang with.

No kidding. I went to the show alone, and had the only LT1 powered vehicle there. The only LS1 powered vehicle was a SSR.

I had nobody to hang with.

[Formulaboy95]

Eh... Ford = Slow (kidding)

http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/phot...kc8vapf8p9n4rz

I OWNED this $170,000.00 Ford GT at the track................ for a good 2.5 seconds Crappy run for both of us.

I guess to each his/her own... I am hooked on F-Body's, it seems like everybody and their grandma has a new mustang. Too dang many on the road. F-Body's are more scarce, and more noticable to me.

[Christopherrr]

Too dang many on the road. F-Body's are more scarce, and more noticable to me.

Oh yeah, I still get plenty of thumb-ups and waves.

[LarryMow]

Yeah, I too, am sick of seeing all the Mustangs on the road. Everytime Im out and about I try to keep an eye out for other Fbodies, especially if theyve been hopped up or modified somehow. Its pretty cool to see what everybody else is doing to their rides.

[TraceZ]

Mustangs and Hondas. Enough is enough already.

I just watched an epicode of Horsepower TV where they talked about their budget Honda buildup. So far they swapped in a bigger V-Tech motor, did intake, exhaust and a shot of nitrous.... the grand total. . . . a whopping 195 FWHP.

Why do these fools waste their time with that crap? With just a catback and exhaust my 12 year old LT1 puts 270 HP to the wheels. If I was going to go through the trouble to swap in a different motor it had better get at least 370 HP to the rear wheels. They go through all the trouble for 195??? Come on!!

[Lappin]

I have the only vehicle (not just car) at my school even with a V8,my whole town is devoid of domestics (let alone ponys or f-bodies) Amongst the legions of beamers, ricers, benz's and mini-vans iam complelty alone up here, I hang out with my buddies who have old Z24 cavaliers and just wait till they save up enough dough to buy F-bodies (then when they do we will conquer a timmy's or mcdonalds parking lot for ourselves )

['STANGETR]

What is up with that? Not a single Firebird, not any generation. Only two Camaros? This makes me sad. Maybe the f-body really is dead in people's hearts. [/QUOTE]
That just makes us more rare. More envied. HA!! I'm sure all of us now the feeling, but I get so many looks and compliments in my stock '96 T/A. O.K., not just cause I'm blonde, but they really like the car. Too many 'stangs out there to compliment, everyone and their mother owns one.

[Joe 1320]

Maybe I'm missing something?

As long as the f-body existed in the first place, I will be a hard core enthusiast of the platform that started life in 1967. Whether or not it continues in the present or not is a moot point. It existed in the first place, it has been a source of enjoyment for millions of people, you can't erase what has already happened. The pseudo enthusiasts who are interested just for the short duration of their ownership have never had as strong a drive and dedication as the true enthusiast...........the one with a passion for the car and what it's all about, not to mention the friendships that we aquire during our experiences that keep us going.

I'll never be able to erase the feeling I had back in my youth of stomping the throttle on my 67 RS/SS Camaro solid lifter 396 4 speed, 4:10 posi. It would light them up in the first three gears and the fuel mileage was more like a controlled leak. It was the experience remembered that cannot be tarnished by politics and economics of the present. Nor can it be tarnished by the flood of other products to be consumed by the masses.

Even though the platform isn't sold new, I still manage to keep a few of them around. They perform beautifully with their simple design and good performance. To even suggest that the F-body is dead is not even in the right universe of thinking. I suppose the day that I can consider the f-body dead, is the day that for me it truely will be. It's the day that my body and brain finally wear out and I depart this world, still leaving behind something that cannot die....... A Legend.

[TraceZ]

Sure, the f-body will always have its cult following. My point is that at a city car show with thousands of people and over 200 cars nobody had one and nobody was interested in talking about them. That is the first time I've seen anything like that happen. There were a bunch of F-cars last year, I wonder what happenned to them?

I get the feeling our cars mainstream appeal is dwindling. Hopefully the release of the new 5th gen will jump start interest in the earlier generations again. No matter what happens, I will always love mine. They don't know what they are missing.

[fastTa]

I have and always will be partial to the f-body.

Down here in San Antonio during the Summer, we have a big car meet the last Saturday of every month. It's called Hot August Nights just likr the big one in Reno but no affiliation. There a BUNCH of f-bodies that show up. Mostly 1st and 4th Gens. Alot of them are wicked fast too.

The f-body ain't dead in Texas!

But, we cannot knock Ford or Honda or any of the 4 banger manufacturers. Ford hit a home run with the Mustang and it's selling like hotcakes. It's as simple as that. Kudos to Ford. I have driven and owned Mustangs. They can be just as fun to own and drive as a f-body.

Honda has also produced an economical and outstandingly reliable import. Kudos to Honda.

I used to turn my nose down to all these import guys and all these newer turbo 4 cylinder cars. But, I eventually realized that was just plain ignorant and arrogant to think that way. Sure there are the morons out there that own imports, but then again there are just as many morons that own muscle cars as well. There are respectable import cars out there, and there are respectable import owners.

I look at all people that have an interest in cars with respect and an open mind......because after all, they are car guys(and gals) just like us.