How about a nice rant?



As some of you may know, Amanda and I took the Stratus and the Laser to the mopar nationals this past weekend. This is our third nats together, and ive gone every year since 1994 (when they were held in indy..what a mess that was). anyway upon entering with the laser, we found that there was no show class for the laser. if we wanted to "show" either car, we would have to be in the late model front wheel drive modified class, basically against a bunch of heavily built SRT4s. so, a bunch of cars that are at most 4 years old, against a car that was built in 1991? brilliant. we entered both cars as "non judged show". while i saw other a few other stratus coupes rolling around brice, i did not see any at the track either racing or showing, and we were all through the grounds. i did not see ANY DSM based mopars anywhere, and i did not see any miradas, as mine was not there this year. i think that the mopar nationals should offer some sort of recognition to those who have unusually rare vehicles. why, you ask, since the laser and stratus arent even technically mopars? ill tell you why.



because the mopar nationals are dying. i would have to say that at least 75% of the participants at the nataionals are men, over the age of 40, and the group with which we attend (a group that takes up an entire block of a hotel) are all retired (i would estimate that they are all over the age of 60). there is one other guy in the group who is in his late 20s. i would say that the reason for this, is that the incredible cost of "mopar muscle", combined with the current groups refusal to recognize anything that wasnt made before 1975, is driving away younger participants. hell, the car club that my dad belongs to, didnt permit the mirada into their events for quite some time, as it is an 83, and they only recognize 75 and older...they eventually changed that, basically for the mirada and for a friend of my dads who has a SPOTLESS 78 magnum GT. ive spoken to my parents about it, and they have NO younger members. the few new members that they get each year are typically 'new' old guys. when i was a member of the club, there was NO ONE within 15 years of my age. they used to bitch about how the mirada was too loud...i told them if any of them could beat me on the track, i would make my car quieter...one guy tried with a 67 coronet RT, and i slaughtered him. there have already been members who have passed, and as the group continues to age, the once huge car club continues to shrink. the problem is that they arent willing to accept any newer cars, and the few 'newer' cars that come to the meetings or events, belong to members who also have vintage cars, such as one guy who has a grand national...but since its newer, they dont recognize it as a classic car. i have found that the same is true around here. we have tried to get involved with a mopar club, but they dont accept ANY of the vehicles that we own, and once the demon is here, we could get into one of these clubs, but i dont know that i want to be involved with a group of snobs like that.



the "mopars" that most younger people can afford right now, are going to be your unusual mopars, such as the f-bodies, which have become very popular. they have finally added a class for the f-bodies (volares and aspens for those who dont know) at the nationals for judging. also, the front wheel drive mopars and trucks are the most easily acquired vehicles for most younger people, but unless its an srt4 or a tacky riced out hemi ram, no one pays any mind to them.



we got a very good deal on the demon...we knew that when we bought it. but just to get an idea of why so few younger people are driving around in muscle car era vehicles, we took a spin on the old golf cart through the cars for sale area.



-a numbers matching 73 cuda with a 383. very clean car. $90,000.

-a rotted out 72 duster..in terrible shape inside