Was down at the bank this morning when a local 44o Duster from around 1970 came past with the headers open. Was at it's minimum idle which is probably 1500 and cam is so radical it was getting full compression firing impulses into the exhaust that sounded like gun shots. Making MAYBE 600hp and maybe 6-8 mpg. Miserable to drive as he had to keep clutching rather than lose any rpm and die. Out at the shop is a 1970 Camaro with an LS 9 that is 650+ hp stock (it's modified) with an automatic that idles at 600 rpm and gets 25 mpg. His wife could drive it to the grocery store. The nerds have beaten us hot rodders.
Naah, they just think they have. That LS9 needs a bunch of computer controlled software shennanigans to make 650 hp.... The only software the Duster needs is the kind that pays for the racing fuel. Different strokes for different folks.
It'd be a damn sad day if we had reached our horsepower peak 45 years ago. The "gas crisis" of the 70's forced us to figure out how to get a little more distance out of a gallon of gas. The "malaise era" of the late 70's/early 80's gave the offshore vehicles a piece of the market, and forced the Big 3 to step up their game. The eighties ushered in EFI, and it took us awhile to figure it out. The 90's started to show the fruits of better economy AND more horsepower. The 2000's stepped it up even more, and today we are in a musclecar era like nobody could ever have predicted, or perhaps even imagined. I'll take it, Thank You very much.
I agree ~ The nerds didn't win , we just have ever so many more choices to make nowadays....... I still see those ' rumpity rump ' drag cars with lights and license tags , they were horrible to drive on the street then and still to - day but they're 1,000 & AMERICAN in concept .
