This clearly is a step in the right direction for any of the Big Three automakers. If you go back to the 1960s in the Pony Car hayday, they made a crapload of money for their respective manufactuers, and they further propelled competition between the makes for one of the greatest performance struggles in American automotive history.
I personally have no problem with parts-bin construction on these cars, as it cuts down on costs, and gets them to the public much faster than most other cars that have to be developed from scratch...
If we were to go back in time to 1964 for example, the Mustang was a parts bing car... Baisicly a reskinned Ford Falcon, the Mustang was obviously an instant success and started the whole Pony Car War... Fast forward to 1967, and the Chevrolet Camaro (and Pontiac Firebird) were also reskined cars, taking much of their parts from the Nova, and using engines from a wide variety of sister cars...
Nowadays, there really isnt a problem with it, IMO. The Mustang may share a similar platform with the Thunderbird and Linclon LS, and the new Challenger may share a baisic structure with Charger and 300C, but I am still somewhat confused as to where exactly the Camaro will be comming from? They allready said the Zeta wont work, and the rumors about the "Sigma Lite" platform have never been confirmed...
Looking at the Mustang GT at 300HP with possible DOD, the proposed Camaro with 325HP and DOD, and the Challenger in the neighborhood of 340HP with DOD, it would be a close race between the three depending greatly on the weight of the cars, and how agressive they decide to make the gearing in the Chevrolet and Mopar.
To answer some earlier questions:
1) I would consider the 4th Generation F-Bodies the only models that ever came close to the greatness that was the 1st Generation F-Body... Performance and looks were both great, and both were much better than their Ford and Mopar competition.
2) I really dont think modern interpretations of older cars would have worked. Its been a slow progression twards retro styling since the mid-1990s, espically on the Mustang. When you look at the late model cars, espically those built after 1999, you can really see them attempting to go back to their roots.
But being that the baby boomers now control the market, it is completely understandable that the market is drifting back to the looks that they grew up with, and the nameplates that they drove when they were younger. And even then, younger people have gained a greater interest in classic cars, so the trend may continue on for quite some time.
3) The '80s were a dark time for the Mopar performance monikers, and almost every great model was tarnished with a FWD variant that didnt deserve its namesake. There were Dusters, Challengers, Chargers, etc... Although the Shelby Charger was a decently fast car, it was a far cry from the origionals that were so great...
4) I completely agree that the retro look is the way to go. It brings back memories, and sells cars. I wouldnt want my Camaro looking like an RX7, would you?
