Last year when General Motors and Chrysler first showed off their new upcoming versions of the classic muscle cars the Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro, gas prices hovered on an average of $2.35 a gallon.
The gas prices seemed extremely expensive at the time, but the $2.35 mark is 62 cents cheaper than what people are currently paying to fill their car's gas tanks.
The high gas prices may be one reason why executives from Chevy and Chrysler companies are now hesitating to call the new production cars, which were popular as “muscle cars,” a nicknamed earned in the 60s and 70s when the cars burned gas and tires in equal measure.
The newer versions of the hits from the past are shedding their gas guzzling name and are taking on the "high-performance vehicles," moniker instead.
The Dodge Challenger SRT8, which was shown at the Chicago Auto Show on Wednesday, "is not a straight-line fast car," says Chrysler's executive vice president of product development Frank Klegon, minutes after the Chrysler showed video of the Challenger smoking its tires. "It's designed and engineered to be a really great car."
The top-of-the-line 425-hp SRT8, which is scheduled to hit the street in March and has a base price of $37,995, will come with features usually seen on family cars such as side-curtain anti-lock brakes And air bags/
The Camaro, is also struggling to get away from its muscle car past. Ed Peper, general manager of the Chevrolet brand says, "This is much more refined than that. This is a sleek, aerodynamic, futuristic sports car."
In a move sure to anger purists, the new “high performance vehicles” will be made in more fuel efficient versions featuring smaller engines.
President of GM North America Troy Clarke says the GM will make more gas efficient versions of the Camaro, which is scheduled to hit the market early next year, and is considering idea of making a Camaro that runs on an environmentally conscious ethanol blend.
The Challenger could be engineered to get 35 mpg in the coming years, says Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press, even though the company is launching the least-fuel-efficient V-8 version. The more efficient models would rely on more expensive technology. "The technology exists, but you have to package it in a way that people can afford it."
Demand for the Ford Mustang was down 19.2% in 2007, even though it was the first muscle car to be reintroduced to the auto market in the United States. But auto fans say there is still more room for other muscle cars. GM has a list of over half a million people who have expressed interest in the Camaro. Chrysler received 4,300 orders the first day the Challenger was announced and said it would make the Challenger SRT8. It plans to build only 6,400 of the V8 version of the muscle car.
"These people that are going to be buying a Camaro or a Challenger, I don't think their first consideration is gas prices," says Edmunds.com road test editor Brian Moody,. "They're interested in the car as a status symbol or an icon."