And do you even really care?
Recently I was sent a rather entertaining article from some website I’ve never heard of before. The article analyzes just how safe three modern American muscle cars are. That of course means looking at the Chevy Camaro, Dodge Challenger, and Ford Mustang. As for the Dodge Charger, it apparently isn’t a muscle car because it has too many doors or the author has never heard of it before – either one is a definitely a possibility. But I digress.
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One question which isn’t asked right up front is do people who are shopping for a new muscle car really care that much about which is safest? From my experience in the auto industry, safety is a huge factor when people are shopping for a family vehicle like a minivan or a three-row SUV. After all, if you’re going to cart your kids around in a ride, you want it to keep them safe.
When it comes to muscle cars, things change some. Top priorities are usually performance, how cool the car looks/sounds, what kinds of aftermarket customization options are available, what kind of reputation the car has, and to a degree what kinds of creature comforts are available.
Sure, there are guys (and women) who are wedging a car seat in the back of their Mustang. But let’s face it, those people are outliers. Most reasonable individuals want at least something with four doors so they can easily get the kiddos in and out. That’s why including the Dodge Charger would’ve been interesting in the analysis because it’s the most family-friendly muscle car in production at the moment, thanks to Chevy killing the SS sedan a few years ago.
Anyway, the article just lists off the results of IIHS and NHTSA safety tests, so it’s pretty bland reading. Maybe I give people too much credit, but both organization’s websites are really easy to navigate, so I figure most anyone can look up this info with minimal effort.
Finally, after listing off all that info in the longest, driest way possible… that’s it. No conclusion about which is the safest modern American muscle car is drawn, you’re just left with the list of NHTSA and IIHS crash test results. Maybe that’s the point. Nobody really cares what’s the safest option according to all those tests. Or maybe the author forgot to wrap everything up and put a nice bow on top. All I have to say is he or his editor probably doesn’t realize most muscle car shoppers don’t care too much about the topic, so few if any will ever make it to the end of the article and it’s probably for the best.
Check out the article for yourself here.
