Chrysler fills Detroit garage with muscle cars

I set out to do an overall muscle-car summary of all the hot Detroit horsepower here at the show. But I got so carried away with my notes on Mopars that I kind of forgot about the other legendary namesakes from Ford and GM. The new Mustang is certainly newsworthy and what’s not to like about the ferocious looking 505-hp Camaro Z/28?

The problem is that I could not walk past the “Mopar Garage” display without staring at the honest-to-goodness Shaker hood peeking out of a very custom “Mopar ’14 Challenger” decked out in white paint with blue pinstripes and black wheels. It’s obvious that Chrysler believes there is a strong aftermarket accessory and upgrade market because this display was crammed with Mopar-branded wheels, sound systems, suspension parts and exhausts to give your beast more rumble.

The reason these cars capture my imagination so much is that I grew up wanting one. The problem, though, was the first wave of American muscle cars peaked before I was old enough to drive. Yet I’d read countless stories of how the famed Hemi-powered 426 cubic-inch V8 ‘Cudas and Challengers ruled stop-light drag racing. Chrysler also had plenty of success in sanctioned events as well, with the Gen II 426 Race Hemi winning its first race – the 1964 Daytona 500 with Richard Petty at the wheel. Three other Hemi-powered entries gave four of the top five finishing positions in that race to the new powerplant.

And even though I had a pivotal birthday last summer (rhymes with “nifty”), I was still too young to drink in all that muscle car madness.

The smart people in Detroit know there are lots of people who either missed this era or want to relive it. And, in a way, today’s cars are much better than the originals. Modern muscle cars are faster, handle and stop much better, have more safety equipment, and get superior fuel economy. Win, win, win!

Checking out the Mopar hardware on display, it’s clear that Chrysler is playing to its home-field advantage. And they didn’t hold back.