To many people, the greatest fight of all time took place on October 1st, 1975. It was when Muhammad Ali went to war with Joe Frazier. This 14 round conflict was so devastating that after winning the fight, Ali described the battle to be as close to death as he had ever been. As incredible as that fight was, it does not even hold a candle to the actual greatest fight of all time. I am talking about a fight that started in 1967 and is still going on today. It is the battle between the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro.
Why is this the greatest fight of all time?
This fight isn’t a conflict between two people. It is a war fought by two of the largest auto manufacturers and millions of owners around the world. The Mustang and the Camaro define every facet of the term “American Muscle”. They are cars built to be badass right out of the dealer showroom. Owners can build either car to be the fastest of the fast, street slaughtering, fire breathing, monsters. Some of you might be wondering why I have not included any of the imports as competitors in this battle. Well, please allow me to answer that question. They call it “American Muscle” for a reason. There is no import that can fight with American Muscle. Mustangs and Camaros will rip through imports like wet paper. Take your ricer to the track and put it up against one of these warriors and you will learn exactly how breakable your car really is. Sure, You may get a couple good runs before something breaks. American Muscle like the Mustang and Camaro will be racing down the strip long after the tow truck drags that piece of aluminum foil you thought was a fast car to the nearest dealer to replace the clutch or the rod you just threw. It is the greatest fight of all time because Mustang and Camaro were built to fight each other. Nobody else is worthy.
Horsepower is a weapon
Horsepower is the fist and tires are the gloves for the clash of these badass freaking road warriors. The Mustang came out first in the second half of 1964 and was stamped a 1965. The Camaro came out in 1967 and the bell rang. Round 1! Chevrolet was throwing punches well before the Camaro even hit showroom floors. When reporters asked GM executives what a Camaro was they said, “it is a small vicious creature that eats Mustangs”. Tell me that doesn’t sound like pre-fight mud slinging. American Muscle people! It is the reason Toyota stopped building the Supra. It is why the Nissan 370 has no idea what the front license plate of a Mustang or Camaro even looks like.
So…..from 1967 through the first part of 2002, there was blood everywhere. For those of you who are just concerned with sales figures, it might look like the Mustang was winning. According to a nifty little graphic provided by Car and Driver (Click For Chart), the Camaro only outsold the Must 7 years between 1967-2002. That isn’t a whole lot. BUT! Sales figures have nothing to do with the fight! The fight takes place on the streets and race tracks around the country. If a Mustang and a Camaro come to a traffic light at the same time, there will be a fight! Heck, from 2003-2009 they didn’t even make a Camaro. Why? It doesn’t freaking matter why! The fight was still going on. There was blood dripping from the eyes and mouths of Mustangs and Camaros around the country. Just because Chevrolet stopped making Camaros didn’t mean that there wasn’t a Camaro ready to whip a Mustangs ass at the track! It was a very violent era and a large number of imports got murdered along the way. Which really isn’t a bad thing. They kinda sound like bees. Bees are annoying.
Camaro returned in 2009
The mustang launched its highly successful retro look in 2005. It was a pretty big hit with Stangers. I remember that it felt very nostalgic with that model year. Some would say that the Camaro came back because of the success of the retro Mustang. I say RUBISH! The Camaro came back because it needs to be in the ring trading punches with its life long adversary. The Mustang was standing in the middle of the ring talking smack to the Camaro. It was saying things like, “Come back and fight”, “Are you afraid”, and “I pity the fool”. Yeah, when the Camaro came back in 2009 is when these two cars started to take the definition of American Muscle to a scary place.
The fight is a little different in 2021
2021 is without a doubt the best time in history for those of us who love American Muscle. These two cars have gotten so powerful that they can pretty much rival any car on the planet. It is a different fight between the Mustang and Camaro today. They have each taken a different path to power and performance. In regard to power, Camaro has the LT1 with a 455hp engine and Mustang has a 5.0L 480hp engine. Both are pure badass American muscle. It is interesting that Chevy went with cubic inches while ford when with technology in a smaller displacement. The fight will never end and I will always be a player. I have one, ask me what car I drive and I will show you my monster.
Special thanks to the imports! Seriously!
I would like to give a special thanks to all the import sorts cars out there. Every father is especially thankful. They can rest knowing that their sons and daughters are safe while driving these slow, pointless cars, that decorate the rear view mirrors of Mustangs and Camaros. Don’t believe it? If you asked for a Mustang or Camaro as your first car what would your parents say? They would say, “NO! You are getting a nice, safe, Subaru.” I couldn’t agree more. A Subaru is a safe car. You have to be fast to be dangerous.