[bird72]

Muscle cars first became eclipsed by new transmissions. Gutless new cars of the 80's could out-MPH a muscle car on a highway by being able to ultimately go faster. At some 5700 Poncho RPM point, the OD-d egg car can pass you. So if we weren't fastest anymore, we at least were quickest, right? Now everything and their mother 4 door sedan is 400 hp it seems. Fast AND quick egg-cars. To run in todays world, OD or tall gears are needed. Neither are stock musclecar stuff. The purist correct musclecar is now an around town item of historic importance, and a thing of timelss beauty. Just not not a real world contender, unless modified. The world changed around us, 70-80 mph highway is common. So I say the bigger future is modded cars for the new public that wants them. Correct cars will even more become parade cars.

[NBF823]

I have no idea whats going to happen, bit I think its ATTACK OF THE CLONES!

Fed up with lack of style, huge curb weights, mandatory options, decreased numbers of the older models, and more nanny state electronics - the clones are comming! Were gonna make up some jigs, order some stampings, and supply the world with freah classic sleds to work with! Want a 68 'maro - Ed at the end of the block made the jigs. Want a 72 Challenger - go talk to bob across town and get ur steel ordered so he can start welding it up!

Clones, clones, clones, everywhere clones! Hahahaha!

Wait, I think the battery in my crystal ball is going. Wonder if Lutz has a good battery in his.

[ck67goat]

As others noted - Factory original cars are only factory original once (and even then, service replacement parts make that moot). Unless you have a museum piece, as time marches on, anyone that would ever tell me they have a "factory original" car that is also driven, simply opens themselves up to ridicule (you really drive that car with factory flaws, old/original plugs, ignition, wires, oil, tires, brakes, suspension components, etc.??? - if yes, please don't share the road with me or drive in my neighborhood). Is it fun to see factory look alike cars in a museum? Sure, but is that the future of our hobby? You can restore the car to look factory original, however GM is/was in the business of making highly mass-produced cars and inevitably always had/have goofs off the assembly line or had design shortcomings from the get go. Further, as time marches on, technology advances so unless newer technology is incorporated, the cars as drivers become obsolete. I've driven both "factory original" type cars and restoration that have been improved (restification / resto-mod - whatever term you prefer). The factory original are interesting to look at, but the latter is far more fun to drive, longer satisfaction and could actually be useful. If I lived in a location without road salt, my cars would all be built as daily drivers. If you cannot drive and enjoy, what's the point? Also, the younger crowd is spoiled because horsepower and handling is so much easier and cheaper to obtain today than even just 20 years ago. Unless you have both street cred. and visibility, the cars of yesteryear will become novelties. I still hear younger people wanting to own a muscle or antique car, however the cost, availability and drive-ability makes it more fantasy than reality.

My 67 GTO is technically a resto-mod, that I restored in the late 80's before the term "resto-mod" existed. Though the drivetrain is Pontiac and appears to be somewhat original from a distance, it has been upgraded in nearly every way (suspension, brakes, tires, overdrive, steering box, stronger components, better paint/rust proofing, better chrome on bumpers, radio, headrests, etc. etc. etc.). I did not even contemplate using puny 14x6 wheels in the late 80's, so I can relate to why today's generation could care less about the original wheels (put them on the shelf if you ever want to make it original). I built my car to be driven (though summer only in my area). I knew someone that had an unrestored original 67 GTO HO car. It was a nice car with many options and the owner kept all the factory points ignition and factory open rear end in order to keep it "factory original", but even on a good day could not run better than mid-15's. With its poor handling, steering and brakes, needless to say, the owner does not drive that car any more and its been sitting for some 20 plus years slowly decaying. My car, though a gas hog, starts instantly and can be driven. Today, new car performance from an acceleration standpoint is on par or better than the 60's unmodified performance along with the added bonus of handling, braking, gas mileage, comfort and reliability. From my viewpoint, a lot of the newer cars look kind of boring. No surprise that younger folks are still interested in the look and uniqueness of an old car, but prefer modern performance.

Un-restored or "factory original" restorations will still be valued by some museums or collectors (not the 5% someone mentioned - there is only a 1/2% crowd that has the disposable money, and then only a small handful of those have interest in old cars - folks like Jay Leno are an example - very few of these folks). For the rest of the folks that want to drive their cars, not many people under the age of 60 are accustomed to driving a car with pencil thin sway bars, 4 wheel manual drum brakes, small/narrow bias ply tires, slow-steering, lack of A/C, poor idle quality, AM radio, no shoulder belt, etc. etc. Further, asking them to do so is probably only asking for trouble from a safety perspective. Even with "smart" technology, I still see countless people making poor decisions and get into ridiculous accidents all the time - I could only imagine what today's fatality rate would be if the only safety devices in modern cars matched 1960's standards. I believe resto-mods are good for the hobby, though I personally prefer original engines in their place along with newer technology. It would take some education in order to convince the unacquainted that older engines still can be quite useful.