[littlecammi]

Originally Posted by StoutFiles

Is there any hope of muscle cars surviving the new CAFE standards?

Short answer? No. Absolutely not.

Originally Posted by TomServo

The definition of "muscle car" will most likely change relative to the other cars being manufactured at the time. They will most likely be a "shell" of themselves like they were in the mid '70s.

The Camaro and Challenger both snuck in under the wire, as both programs were approved years ago. Neither one would be approved if they were up for management review today. They may both die at the end of the current cycle in five years or so.

Originally Posted by dieseldave24v

I think there is a very good chance that the big displacement V-8 powered muscle car as we know it will be gone. Fast cars will always be around. I would speculate that we will see more turbos, superchargers, direct injection, Variable valve timing and other technologies that have yet to be introduced.

If there is a next version of the Camaro or the Challenger, it will be engineered for better fuel economy and the current 6+ liter V8 engines will be replaced by smaller engines using some of these technologies, to be sure.

Originally Posted by odie23

I'm wondering if the American auto industry is going to survive, period. If you can afford one of the current muscle cars, buy it and never sell it.

Exactly the reason I am saving to buy a 2SS/RS Camaro in two years. These are the last (and best) of the current muscle car era. Since I do not need another car, I would prefer to save up and pay cash for a Camaro.

Originally Posted by radz282003

I agree that we are facing the end of musclecars/sportscars as we know them. I don't think the automakers will survive unless they start investing in development that will lead to the requirements the government is putting on them.

No additional money will be spent by American car manufacturers on developing performance vehicles other than Corvettes and Cadillacs. The high-tech V8 replacement for the Cadillac Northstar engine was already killed off. And even the next-gen C7 Corvette program has been shelved indefinitely.

Originally Posted by Hylton

You are going to see more of GM's R&D money go into plants like the one they are building for the Volt engine. This factory will be geared towards highly fuel efficient engines.

Quite true. There will be no funds for future generations of muscle cars.

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Muscle cars will become rarer and less afforable.

Even during the woeful "performance" years of the mid-seventies and early '80s, the rich could still purchase Ferraris and Porsches, etcetera. Knowing that the Hollywood elite still want their exotics, California has even declared automakers who build less than 50,000 cars per year (hello Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin) exempt from their latest round of restrictions on emissions. There will be high performance cars in the future, but only the rich will be able to afford them.