School research paper: please answer 5 questions!!

[Aetos]

I'm writing a school research paper on the reemergence of the muscle car market and the history of muscle cars, as well as their culture, and I would like some help on gathering some "primary" sources for my research. If you can, please spend a bit of your time answering the following 5 questions:

1) What do you view the muscle car culture as and what does it mean to you?
2) What is the appeal of muscle cars and their culture to you?
3) Why do you believe some people have a negative outlook on muscle cars and their culture?
4) What is the most important aspect of muscle cars in general? Styling? power? price? brand? etc.
5) What, if anything, would you do to increase the appeal of newer muscle cars?

If possible, please be as detailed as possible, but the length and quality does not matter too much. Brief answers will be just as helpful


Also, If anybody knows of any sites that may provide information that would be helpful in my research (anything related to the modern muscle car market, the history of the muscle car, etc.), please feel free to PM me!

Thanks for just reading this, and thanks even more if you take your time to answer the questions!

[BULLET_WS6]

I will try to answer these 5 later as I am in the middle of finishing a paper at the moment, but one of the best deals I used when writing research papers is a database called LexisNexis Academic catalog. My university, UNT, has an account setup for free with them and it is amazing. Try to go to your school libraries website and look for electronic resources section and see if it is available. If not you can go to their website and do a free-trial. I promise you will not regret it and every article is certified to use in an academic paper.

[wheeliE-maxx]

5. If they weren't so damn fat and ugly.
3. Too many kids and nubs driving them and crashing. Those "tragic" news stories where a v8 powered car just happened to be travelling over the speed limit and was involved in a crash

[justinmc978]

1) What do you view the muscle car culture as and what does it mean to you?

-this is up to you to answer this, i would go into being an american and promoting america

2) What is the appeal of muscle cars and their culture to you?

-again this is up to you, i just like to go fast. and i like that typically the people accociated to muscle cars are nicer/friendlier to deal with.

3) Why do you believe some people have a negative outlook on muscle cars and their culture?

-because they are influenced by TOPGEAR into thinking all things american are garbage
-because they drive slow rice
-because of smokey and the bandit

4) What is the most important aspect of muscle cars in general? Styling? power? price? brand? etc.

-in the early 60's when 'muscle' cars were first appearing in the market, what made them so appealing was
--wieght to HP ratios(aka they were fast)
--conformed to youth culture by standing out and being original, mustang first utilised this, also cheap pricing, you could mention how rising insurnce/gas costs killed them by 1975
-by the 70's, they were starting to get thier own radical styling and were guaranteed to get you noticed,
--i think today these same rules should be applyed

5) What, if anything, would you do to increase the appeal of newer muscle cars?

-low prices (for previously mentioned youth) roadrunners often came w/o carpet to save $
-more car clubs?
-talk about how gm used transformers (again a movie directed at youth) to make camaros rockstar muscle cars
-going back to the basics, being more like the cars offered in 1964-1974

[justinmc978]

you could also talk about how the popularity and rising cost of vintage muscle cars spiked way up in 2000-2005, (i read a statistic of how the book value of a 1969 z28 went up 5x from 1995 to 2005) thats what caused ford to restyling the mustang in 2005 to look more vintage, and its also what restarted the competiton of the big three with the new camaro/mustang/challenger

i want to someday teach a class about american automotive history from the 60s and 70s. i think its awsome your doing a paper like this. pm me a copy of your paper when your done, ill be happy to edit/look over it to see if i can chip anything else in

[Aetos]

Thanks for the answers guys, very helpful! anybody else?

Also, thanks for the offer Justin and I would probably take you up on it if it wasn't due soon...

[justinmc978]

Thanks for the answers guys, very helpful! anybody else?

Also, thanks for the offer Justin and I would probably take you up on it if it wasn't due soon...

alrighty well if you get it done early then, to be honest, i'm just interested in how it'll turn out, its such a cool topic for a paper IMO

[suede]

1) What do you view the muscle car culture as and what does it mean to you?

Heritage, Roots, and another means of competition....

2) What is the appeal of muscle cars and their culture to you?

Speed, Raw Power, Seeing how far you can push things, and the Danger element

3) Why do you believe some people have a negative outlook on muscle cars and their culture?

High speed crashes, laws broken (exhibition driving, speeding, reckless endangerment), The danger of it all that some feel could affect them

4) What is the most important aspect of muscle cars in general? Styling? power? price? brand? etc.

Completley person dependant, some want a cheap car to go fast, some would buy for the looks of a lowered car with body kit and the works, some want all of it, yet some still go for the oldschool (like the 69 in AAG),

5) What, if anything, would you do to increase the appeal of newer muscle cars?

to increase appeal they need to be made more affordable esp in times where the economy isnt worth a damn

[tnthub]

1) What do you view the muscle car culture as and what does it mean to you?

The muscle car culture represents the roots of freedom and creativity. The ability to go fast, cruising on a Saturday night, hanging at a drive in, and just simply enjoying is part of our culture.


2) What is the appeal of muscle cars and their culture to you?

Why do some guys like blondes and other guys prefer brunettes? I simply prefer wide tires, deep exhaust, the feel of a V8, as well as the inherent safety features of being able to accelerate out of danger or control a skid from both ends since muscle cars are rear wheel drive.


3) Why do you believe some people have a negative outlook on muscle cars and their culture?

Muscle cars have been the target of environmentalists for decades although much of the technology utilized by the most efficient vehicles was tested on muscle cars first... It was hot rodders who deveoped things like ABS and traction control and consequently these features are mostly outlawed in professional racing circles. Muscle cars today achieve better gas mileage than many regular vehicles and have much higher fun and safety factors, however the muscle car is still the target of environmentalists who have refused to educate themselves to the value these vehicles bring to the population as a whole.

4) What is the most important aspect of muscle cars in general? Styling? power? price? brand? etc.

I like the power, plain and simple. I personally enjoy being able to do a burnout atthe track without even trying. The feel of a larger vehicle with a large V8 to me is simply a comfortable feeling that needs to be experienced to be appreciated.

5) What, if anything, would you do to increase the appeal of newer muscle cars?

I would add a hybrid option to as many muscle cars as possible. Vehicles like the new Camaro, Challenger, Charger, and Mustang have a strong appeal in their styling for many people and by having an environmentally friendly option would increase overall sales, increase fleet fuel efficiency, and allow the continuance of high end/high horsepower models to satisfy the desires of the automotive enthusiast.

[0rion]

1) What do you view the muscle car culture as and what does it mean to you?
I view it as a means of expression and a sign of accomplishment. My car is my car....I don't care what other people think about it because I put the time and labor into it for me and not for someone else to approve or disapprove. It's an accomplishment because I did ALL the work myself so I can look at where the car started and where it's at now and know that it was something I built with my own hands. Must be similar to what an artist feels like when they get done with a sculpture.

2) What is the appeal of muscle cars and their culture to you?
You only have to be standing a few feet away when someone fires up a heavily cammed car to understand most of the appeal for me. There's nothing like a nice cam lope. It says "I took this car and made it sound like it's gonna kick your ass".

3) Why do you believe some people have a negative outlook on muscle cars and their culture?
This is a more recent change in the hobby. There's a reason people line the streets here when the super chevy show rolls into town to watch people cruise. There's a love affair between the ordinary person and the muscle car. It's been that way a long time. Negative views started happening after "fast and furious" came out and young kids started slamming 4 cylinder cars into people going 120mph. These kids have no understanding of what the hobby is about. Since when did roll racing on a freeway at 100mph+ become any form of racing? About the time torque steer became a problem is my guess. People still love the old muscle cars but let a fart can ricer pull into a parking lot......the mood changes instantly.

4) What is the most important aspect of muscle cars in general? Styling? power? price? brand? etc.
That's the beauty of the hobby. It means something different to every individual but power and brand loyalty are the top two I would think. Most die hard chevy guys would never think of owning a ford and the opposite is also true. Both however can walk up to a beautiful old school muscle car of either make and if they pop the hood and there's a 6 cylinder in there both with say "oh....just a 6" to themselves.

5) What, if anything, would you do to increase the appeal of newer muscle cars?
Strip them down and make them affordable. Cars have gotten so expensive that in order to get something worth building you have to put so much money up front your hesitant about hacking it up. They also put so much crap in these cars now days that they weigh almost as much as a half ton truck. Since when did muscle car guys start giving a shit about leather and 10 speaker stereo systems? They used to not have a/c or power steering. Build a stripper model v-8 anything and charge $15k for it and see how many you sell. Bet it would blow your mind.

[wheeliE-maxx]

That stripped down musclething got me thinking. Dodge could offer a stripper coronet or real super bee, but it'd still be a fat ass family sedan. The challenger wasn't exactly slim back in the day either. But you could offer a cloth, small wheels, base everything challenger to knock down the price though. Or offer a barely legal version of the drag pack solid axle car. None of this will happen of course. I need to gut my truck, the hvac stuff is mostly broke anyways and I'll never have a real motor, so I might as well...

[clovenhooves]

1) What do you view the muscle car culture as and what does it mean to you?
Street racing, raising at least a little hell, repairing your own car.

2) What is the appeal of muscle cars and their culture to you?
I like the combination of looks and power for a relatively low price. The culture does not appeal to me.

3) Why do you believe some people have a negative outlook on muscle cars and their culture?
Lower-class stereotypes and accidents.

4) What is the most important aspect of muscle cars in general? Styling? power? price? brand? etc.
If forced to pick one, I'd pick styling (but only of some makes).

5) What, if anything, would you do to increase the appeal of newer muscle cars?
Cut the price a bit (yeah, right), reduce the boxiness, and keep improving the mileage.

[1MileCrash]

1) What do you view the muscle car culture as and what does it mean to you?

the muscle car culture is about community, fun, competition, and individuality. power, styling, and prestige is a great side effect.

2) What is the appeal of muscle cars and their culture to you?

the appeal for the cars for me is the great looks, the lineage of the cars, the communities that surround them, and the great fun they are to drive and work on.

3) Why do you believe some people have a negative outlook on muscle cars and their culture?

some people have negative outlooks on the cars and the culture becaue a few people have given them a bad name. these people are often stupid and inexperienced and don't use common sense. also people tend to think of muscle cars as old gas guzzling hogs that only get a couple mpg when modern cars get just as good fuel economy as the neighbors sedan.

4) What is the most important aspect of muscle cars in general? Styling? power? price? brand? etc.

it's hard to say. price drives the niche, but the companies can't sell the cars without great styling, power, and rivalry. rivalry fuels innovating styling and power and there is always the desire to keep prices lower than the other manufacturers so i would have to say that rivalry is the driving force in the muscle car market.

5) What, if anything, would you do to increase the appeal of newer muscle cars?

i would make a greater efforts in the types of engines offered. turbocharged v6 engines can get the same hp and better fuel economy than v8 cars and in some respects there is a demand for that. there are always grass roots efforts by enthusiasts to make the cars more customizable from the factory. some companies are doing this, but there could always be more done to make a car unique from the factory for the new owner.

hope this helps and isn't too late!

[chuck4345]

5) I feel they have gotten away from what made me love muscle cars in the first place , they used to be loud , fast , scare most old people, affordable to most people and ride like garbage