Saying that the classic 'muscle cars' of the sixties and early seventies were slow is unfair. Comparing today's cars to any from 'yesterday' is ridiculous...there is no way to fairly level the playing field.
While a mid-13 second car today is no big deal, such a level of performance back in the 60s/70s was a HUGE deal.
Cars back then had extremely archaic manufacturing techiques, did not have the advatage of all the lightweight materials we do now and the level of engineering was Flintstone-era compared to today's electronic doo-dads.
It is true most typical 'super cars' from back then (the term 'muscle car' was not even coined until well into the eighties as the interest picked up) were basically mid-15 second cars. And that was fairly quick.
Dipping into the low 14s and even the 13s was considered the REAL performers, but you had to order the high-zoot engine options like the CJs, Hemis and MarkII 'pocupine's to get that level of performance. And those cars were not comfortable daily-drivers, so most did not order them with the biggest most powerful engines.
The reason the 'muscle car' got today's fondly-remembered reputatuion is because that level of performance was the pinnacle, and then the gas-crisis and emissions-related politics basically strangled the performance down to near zero.
Everyone remembered when cars were 'fast', and then-current vehicles did not come anywhere close to that. So the rose-colored reputation of 'muscle cars' was then cast in stone.
Around the beginning of the eighties or so, most manufacturers begabn to figure out how to make performance, economy and emissions work in harmony. And cars have been getting better and better in the performance market every single year since then.
Since there has been no 'break' in the offerings to the public, there has been no opportunity for enthusiasts to invest emotionally into the 'good old days' of the 2nd generation of performance, because that 2nd generation is still in full swing!
We are all living in a time of performance renaiasaince, and most take it for granted. It is truly unbelivebale to me the high level of 'real' performance available today to the average car-buyer who just has to plunk the money down on the counter.
A second 'ice age' of performance, like what we went through from 1972 to 1982 is what it is gonna take to give cars from this generation the same vaunted reputation that 'muscle cars' have today.
Everyone here basically raves about the 'awesome' performance a Super Coupe gives, but compared to today's offerings, a Super Coupe is a slug at best...not even a contender.
I mean, my 1971 429 Cobra Jet Mach 1 is a 'serious' muscle car from back then, and it is considered real fast by those standards (1/4 mile @ 13.4), but today a stinkin' Dodge Neon SRT-4 can beat it right of the showroom floor!
But just like the reputation of the 'muscle cars' and the eighties performance cars, that ain't what its all about.
The beauty of these cars is what they attempted to do at the time they were new...what they represented in thier own performance climate, not today's performance climate.
Think of this way: The new GT-500 is a pretty awesome car, and the new ZO6 is about the best all around performance c ar ever offered for sale at any price.
But in a few years those guys are going to be laughed at by whatever is available at the time, and it will be today all over again.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
