SUBSCRIPTION PROBLEM?
Email [email protected], or call 800/276-2438 (U.S.) or 386/447-6385 (intl.)SEPTEMBER 2019 5O
ur Letters depart-
ment sometimes
isn’t big enough to
present all the com-
ments, questions, and opinions
we get every month. That’s
when I let those thoughts spill
over into my editorial column.
I see this page as a venue to
provoke thought as well as
inform, and I by no means have
exclusive rights on provocative
around here.Car Show
Attitudes
In my June column I wrote
about how car shows, and at-
titudes about them, seem to be
changing—how younger hob-
byists, in particular, are less en-
thusiastic about traditional car
shows in favor of the more re-
laxed, cars-and-coffee approach.
Even more relaxed would be the
virtual car show you “attend” on
your smartphone. One reader
had this observation from a
different vantage point in our
hobby:Despite the fact that I haven’t
got a lot of interest in tuner
cars, I do like the vibe at their
shows better. While the cars are
mostly (but not all) foreign, the
guys there are real hot rodders,
and walk around talking about
their mods and goals and even
working on the cars on the
spot. It’s great to see everyone
actually doing things with the
cars. Maybe it’s a generational
or financial thing. Hot rodders
tend to be young, and most of
the top-tier shows have trailer
queens with cranky guys sitting
in lawn chairs. I love muscle cars
(own a couple), but man, the
tuner shows are a lot more fun.
Steve SiekerCatch Can
Another reader saw that col-
umn after returning from a show
called Pontiacs in Pigeon Forge,
which he said had to move this
year to a larger venue because
of its continued growth.This show is one where you
can have your Pontiac judged,
as I did, and it was very relaxed.
Or you can just display your car
and let the show goers marvel
at your Pontiac. The end of the
show even features a cruise into
the Great Smoky Mountains Na-
tional Park.
The shows I attend these days
have gone from the strict judg-
ing events to a more laid-back
event, such as this show. These
guys and gals are there for the
fun and camaraderie, rather
than to see who painted or
plated a washer the right finish.
We’re all just car enthusiasts
who want to have a fun weekend
because the week is stressful
enough.
Jeff BaileyThe common denominator
in those two letters? Fun, or
the lack thereof, at certain car
shows. It does make you think:
If we’re not having fun with our
cars, what’s the point?The Big Tent
A year ago, Diego Rosenberg
devoted his The Bottom End col-
umn to the question of whether
a ponycar could be a muscle car.
We printed a Venn-like diagram
in the column with a big HiPo en-
gine circle in the center overlaid
by various car types, illustrat-
ing the point that there were
fullsize, intermediate, compact,
and ponycar models with high-
performance engines that could
be considered muscle cars, or
specialty cars as they were often
described in the era.
We take that approach with
this magazine. We don’t limit the
cars on these pages to the GTOs,
Road Runners, Chevelles, 4-4-2s
and Fairlanes that fit the tradi-
tional, strict definition of a mus-
cle car. Even in this issue, with
GTOs as its cover theme, we fit
in a compact, a fullsize, and two
ponycars. Doing otherwise would
be too limiting and repetitive.
And yet our Chicagoland
contributor, Arvid Svendsen,
has had a burr under his saddle
about Diego’s column for a
year. Through emails, texts,
and phone conversations, our
resident traditionalist has com-
plained, “Now anything can be a
muscle car!”Here’s his latest rant:Definition of muscle car:
Intermediate domestic with
big inches (383 and up)—GTO,
SS396, 4-4-2, 427 Fairlane, Road
Runner, Rebel Machine
Everything else: Many differ-
ent categories; it’s not simple!
See below.Factory hot rod: Fullsize, big
motor—Z11 Impala, Pontiac Super
Duty Catalina, 1963½ 427 Galax-
ie, 1956 Chrysler 300B with 354
Hemi, 1966 Impala SS
Junior supercar: Intermediate
with high-perf small-block—Olds
W-31, 1971 350 Heavy Chevy
Chevelle, 1973 Rallye Charger 340
Ponycars: K-code 1965 Mus-
tang, Camaro SS350, Barracuda
Formula S 340, Javelin 343
Trans-Am cars: Z/28, Boss
302, AAR ’Cuda
Big-block ponycars: COPO
Camaro, 428 Mach 1, Hemi ’Cuda
Small-block screamer com-
pacts: 1966 Nova L79, 1965
Comet Cyclone K-code 289,
Duster 340
Big-inch compacts: 1969 L
396/375 Nova, 1969 M-code 440
Dart, 1969 390 SC/Rambler
Factory sleeper: 1966 Coro-
net Hemi four-door
Package race cars: 1968 Hemi
Barracuda BO29, 1968 Hemi Dart
RO
Two-seater kool car: AMX
Two-seater kit car (hated):
Corvette, Cobra
Arvid SvendsenI get his point, I think. He pre-
fers to put cars in precisely de-
fined categories. Maybe it’s the
drag racer in him. And while he’s
not wrong (except about Cobras
and Vettes), I don’t feel the need
to stick to those kinds of strict
classifications when deciding
what’s right for the magazine.
Do you?
Drew Hardin
[email protected]“If we’re not having fun with our cars,
what’s the point?”
Is it a muscle car? No. Do you want to read about it? Heck yes!
Stay tuned.TRAVIS HESS PHOTO