|
|
Sibling
Rivalry
68Stang - 9/30/01
When brothers grow up together, they are often each others worst enemy,
and at other times they can be eachothers best friend. What has been
given to us by Ford and GM is a true to life example of brothers competing,
and helping eachother to strive to become the best they can become.
The Mustang started way back in 1964 to provide a sporty car with
good power and lots of extras at a reasonable price. Along with the
extras came the ability to have a car completely different from any
other car on the block. You could have your Mustang in many different
flavors including convertible, coupe, and fastback, all ranging from
mild to wild. Ford also took this one step further. They gave the
customer the ability to have control of every variable. For instance,
if the customer wanted a 'Poppy Red' exterior, and a 'Sea-Foam Green'
interior, they could get it. From day one, the Mustang has been nothing
but extremely successful. So much so that during it's first few years
in existence, Chevrolet took a look and immediately thought that they
had to do something to get some sells back.
In 1967 Chevrolet released the all new Camaro. This was a car that
was dreamed up to compete against the Mustang. The car was similar
in design, form, and function, with the main emphasis being on V8
power and rear wheel drive. The Camaro did indeed bring some sales
back to the General.
These "pony cars" had a very colorful beginning with hand
fulls of special models and performance packages. Where the Mustang
had the 230Hp 289 in the GT, and the 271 horse Hi-Po 289 version of
the GT, the Camaro had it's Z/28, SS, and RS models. As time went,
the two small siblings grew up so did their engines. Within a few
years of their release, the these two "American Icons" could
be had with Big Blocks which produced asphalt ripping torque.
Through the maturing of Mustang and Camaro, whenever one would out
do the other, the underdog would strive to catch up to par. It was
this playing of "cat and mouse" between Ford and Chevrolet
that caused the two to continually improve in their performance. These
cars grew to be frighteningly quick with their abundance of horsepower
and their whiplash-inducing levels of torque.
Then came an era known as the 70's. It was during this time that performance
car enthusiasts suffered the all too well known "Gas Crunch"
which caused performance to suffer. In 74, the Mustang became a fairly
compact economical car, but still available with a 302 V8, albeit
vastly underpowered. During this time the Camaro retained higher levels
of power than the Mustang,greatly turning the table in Chevrolets
favor, while retaining a larger size. Many Mustang enthusiasts give
credit to the Mustang II for carrying it through the gas crunch.
At last, the gas crunch was gone, and the hibernating engines had
awaken. 1979 started a whole new third chapter in the history of these
two cars. The Mustang retained it's small size, yet regained power
once lost. The Camaro on the other hand retained it's somewhat larger
size. During this generation, the Mustang found it's groove. After
having been beaten by it's muscle bound brother for years, the original
"pony car" had it's turn to enact revenge. During these
next 14 years performance levels had grown by leaps and bounds. The
aftermarket for both cars had become insanely large. With the help
of the aftermarket, the battle on the streets could go in either directions
with these two, now steroid pumping, muscle bound street beasts.
Once again, in 1993, the odds were on Chevrolet's side. Chevrolet
had introduced it's 4th generation of Camaro and had armed it with
the LT-1, 6 gears, and sharp, razor like edges. It was around this
time that Ford had considered discontinuing the Mustang. But with
much petitioning by Mustang and Camaro enthusiasts wanting to retain
the purity, and history of these two cars, Ford decided to let the
pony car live. Once again, the Mustang was the underdog, but, as stated
by many, where the aftermarket was involved, the outcome could be
unpredictable.
The year was 1994, and it the Mustang was upon it's 30th anniversary,
and what better time than now to give the Mustang a face lift considering
many enthusiasts had grown tired of the Mustang's boxy outward appearance
known as the "Fox body". What Ford gave us was a sleek,
rounded, smooth body with timeless styling harking back to the 1st
generation of it's heritage.
Within the next few years, Ford would go tech, and install an OHC
4.6 liter V8 in the Mustang GT, and a rev happy 32v DOHC 4.6 liter
V8 with more than adequate horsepower into the venerable Mustang Cobra.
Chevy on the other hand would give it's Camaro an extremely powerful
LS1 V8, to ensure the Mustang would remain the underdog.
Now, the unthinkable is upon us. The demise of the Camaro. The Mustangs
arch rival, but not only that, the Mustang's sole purpose for improving
year after year. After past threats of the Mustangs demise, and what
it could have done to the Camaro's future, we are now about to find
out just how strong the Mustangs survival instincts are. One this
is for sure, these two cars would not have made it this far alone. |
|
