Haven't heard this term before: "Entry level muscle car"

[bull]

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/cto/840238333.html

"1971 dodge coronet aka entry level mopar muscle" What? For those who aren't quite ready to take the wheel of a red two-door with the same engine and trans?

[dpm68]

Maybe it's like an entry-level job, where you work all day and get hosed in the process...

[Brock Samson]

  I first heard the term when the road runner was released in '68 along with "Bargin Basement" there used to be a marketing ploy where the discontined goods from last season would be sold in the basement of department stores, i know cause my dad used to take me there for back to school clothes and I hated it, today my friends take their kids to get the very latest gear and $150 dollar tennis shoes their kids have cell phones i-pods, calculators and all manner of portable gaming devices, but i digress... 
I believe the super bee was also a entry level muscle car released due to the popularity of the R.R. there were a few other models that fit the bill like the '65-'67 Pontiac lemans Sprint that was for the folks who couldn't afford a GTO.







thinking about it I suspect the 340 Mopars were also entry level muscle cars, because the higher prices of the big cube machines insurance rates were rising rapidly for the larger displacement motors.

[Ghoste]

I guess I always think of entry level musclecars as things like Novas and Dusters and so forth whenever I hear the term.

[69_500]

I thought my 500 was an entry level muscle car. It got me into the aero club, but not a full fledged member yet due to it missing a wing and a nose. 

[Brock Samson]

sorry reading your question again Bull - in the context of the CL ad. you cited, I guess if the same drivetrain was in a '71 two door coronet or "charger". the cost would be at least twice as much.

 

[bull]

I know the guy is talking about the purchase price and IMO a late model 4-door Coronet isn't really a muscle car. I have to agree with Ghoste that Dusters, Darts and Novas are what i would think of as "entry level" muscle cars.

[SFRT]

muscle cars can only be coupes...

entry level: Darts, Novas, etc. the bottom rung of el cheapo v-8's offered by the big 3. A barebones satellite and maybe evn roradrunners would have been 'entry level'


IMAO

[snooter]

dealers are tossing this term around...things are tuff in the muscle car biz right now and dealers are trying everything to hook in any idiot with money..as an example go here

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___1970-Pontiac-GTO-Convertible-455-Classic-Performer-AC_W0QQitemZ300259031809QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item300259031809&_trkparms=72%3A727%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245

read under the first pic.wording is there

[WingCharger]

I guess I always think of entry level musclecars as things like Novas and Dusters and so forth whenever I hear the term.

I like Novas and Dusters. Does that make me entry level?

[dodgecharger-fan]

I guess I always think of entry level musclecars as things like Novas and Dusters and so forth whenever I hear the term.

I like Novas and Dusters. Does that make me entry level?

Okay, I'm just having some fun here, but I couldn't let this one go....


Having one is entry level (at least in terms of this discussion).
Your "liking them" is more like potty training.


For the record, I don't consider Dusters and Demons and the like as entry level muscle cars. If you look at a lot of them in terms of power to weight ratios and how you could order them stripped down with almost no options, they follow the muscle car formula very well I think. In my mind they are only entry level in terms of price.

[PocketThunder]

Potty Training!!!!!                 

[69_500]

Entry level to me is a base Charger with say a 383, or a SuperBee with a 383, or a RR with a 383. Something that would have been Cheap when new, yet still was a big block car.

[Ghoste]

In my mind they are only entry level in terms of price.

I've always thought that was exactly how it was determined, by price.

[John_Kunkel]

  "Entry level" has always meant inexpensive.

[bull]

Maybe now that the price of everything has gone crazy the four-doors have moved into the entry level category. At least that's what this owner would have us believe.

[CharcoalCharger]

There are a lot of Darts/Dusters that are no longer "entry level".  I got mine cheap in '92 ($1000), and it was driveable (318) and no rust.  I saw a '71 Duster locally last summer that had a /6 and was totally rotted out and the guy was asking $3000.     I know that A-bodies have for so long been kind of looked down upon, but being "entry level" mine had me hooked an now I have the Charger.   

[Ghoste]

But how does a top model well optioned 70 340 Duster compare in price to a top model well optioned 70 Hemi Cuda?    I'd venture even the highest valued 70 Duster is still entry level compared to it's 1970 muscle peers.

[Silver R/T]

I think that term would fit Nova perfectly

[triple_green]

Just a matter of perspective to the guy with two superbirds, my 68 Charger is an entry level muscle car.

[bull]

Just a matter of perspective to the guy with two superbirds, my 68 Charger is an entry level muscle car.

Yup, and to the uppity exotic car owners those birds are just a goofy-looking, ill-handling American gas hog. Still, a four door doesn't fit the muscle car bill on any level.

[Ghoste]

Now there's what we should really be debating, not the meaning of entry level but who in the hell believes a four door is a musclecar.  As for new Charger fans and owners understand that for the sake of argument I am talking about classic muscle.

[69_500]

Now there's what we should really be debating, not the meaning of entry level but who in the hell believes a four door is a musclecar.  As for new Charger fans and owners understand that for the sake of argument I am talking about classic muscle.

So you wouldn't throw one of the 1966 4 door HEMI cars into the classic muscle car category? I for one would. Or how about one of the 6 pac 1970 C bodies?

[bull]

Now there's what we should really be debating, not the meaning of entry level but who in the hell believes a four door is a musclecar.  As for new Charger fans and owners understand that for the sake of argument I am talking about classic muscle.

So you wouldn't throw one of the 1966 4 door HEMI cars into the classic muscle car category? I for one would. Or how about one of the 6 pac 1970 C bodies?

I wouldn't. Two doors only.

[Ghoste]

I think I'm with Bull one this one.  For me, there is a difference between a car with muscle and a musclecar.