Buy/Drive/Burn: 2019 American Sports Cars, Ace of Base Edition
Buy/Drive/Burn returns this week with three American sports cars in their most basic, purest form. The Big Three are represented here, and they don’t get any cheaper than this. No options or fripperies are allowed, and one must receive the Buy.
Start your (small) engines — it’s sports car time.
Ford Mustang
Ford’s perennially present Mustang entered its sixth generation for the 2015 model year. It’s assembled at the Flat Rock plant, which is in Michigan, and south of Detroit. Engines are of four or eight cylinders in The Current Year, as the Cyclone V6 bowed out in 2017. Our basic money means we select the cheaper fastback body style, with an EcoBoost-y 2.3-liter inline-four. Power resides at 310 horses and 350 lb-ft of torque. The six-speed manual sends power to the rear wheels. A good selection of no-charge colors are available at the base price of $26,490.
Dodge Challenger
Though Challenger’s lineage started in 1970, in 2019 it’s still in its third generation. The new Challenger is the same car underneath as the one offered in 2008, though FCA has made thoughtful and extensive updates in the years since. Assembled in Brampton, which is east of Downtown Canada, it’s built alongside the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. Even the most basic Challenger SXT comes with the nice 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, where 305 horsepower and 268 lb-ft of torque travel to the rear via the eight-speed automatic. FCA gives you some fun colors for free in the $27,340 base price.
Chevrolet Camaro
Though it took a break after 2002, the Camaro returned as a new model in 2010 and entered its sixth generation in 2016. The Camaro is assembled in Lansing, a suburb of Flint. It shares a factory with luxurious rear-drive Cadillac products, and is the only Chevrolet built there. Spending the fewest dollars as possible on Camaro nets a 1LS trim Coupe. Under hood is a 2.0-liter inline-four that’s turbocharged to 275 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. A manual transmission resides under the driver’s right hand, shifting through six speeds. Eight colors are available for the base $25,495 asking price, but only the red one avoids looking boring.
Three American sports cars on a budget; which receives a Buy?
[Images: Ford, GM, FCA]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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Buy the Challenger because it's the only one I feel I could live with on a daily basis. There's plenty of room for the detritus of life. Also, I find that I tend to prefer boulevard bruisers. The 3.6 is dreamy and the ZF is nice, having been behind both of those items in a current gen 300. Drive...the Camaro. I haven't had experience with one of these other than in a showroom and an auto show, so I'd be morbidly curious. I guess burn the Mustang, though it pains me because I've always liked the looks. I've test driven the 2.3 and I've driven my friend's 2017 GT. My curiosity has been sated. About 12 years ago when I was learning to drive a manual I drove my other friend's 98 Mustang GT. That was a hoot.
Burn the Camaro- I've never cared for any Camaro/Firebird. Yes, I know they are/were performance bargains. But the whole car felt like a bargain too. Today's rolling bunker style, even with the refreshed looks, does nothing for me. Drive the Challenger. If something were to happen to my VW tomorrow and I couldn't find an Alfa Guilia I wanted, I'd probably shop the Charger/300. I've always found them to be decent cars to drive, if just a tad too big. I'm not really a Challenger fan, but in the context of B/D/B here, the big Chrysler would be a drive. It's outward visibility isn't much better than the Camaro, but the whole package is a bit better. Buy the Mustang- To compliment the 89 GT Convertible in my garage. I've always felt the Mustang was the best all around "sporty coupe" throughout the years and the current car is no exception. The only thing that would keep a Mustang out of my driveway is the two-door aspect, I just would rather have a four door car, especially with two growing sons. But out of the 3 here, the Mustang speaks to me the most, in any guise.