The Demise of The Muscle Car

Pontiac owners around the United States are feeling nostalgic amid reports that cash-strapped General Motors will end one of its most coveted brands. Jean Lindsay of western New York fondly recalls the muscle cars in her family's driveway: Two 1967 GTOs. "I had two brothers, and they each had one of these cars," she said. "The GTO represented the suburban culture of its time, heavily laden with root beer and plain beer." "Those were the days of Bob's Big Boy [hamburger restaurant], when girls wore skates. Back then we pleasantly wasted gas looking for fun. It was a social thing."

Debuting in 1964, the Pontiac GTO s widely regarded as the original muscle car. It was a risky model in that it featured a big-block engine in an intermediate-size frame. The GTO's success not only buoyed GM but helped jumpstart the high-performance market for Detroit's Big Three automakers -- and ushered in the era of the vehicle as status symbol.

"It was a chick magnet, for God's sake. Even from a girl's standpoint," Lindsay said.

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On Monday, GM announced plans to cut 23,000 US jobs by 2011, drop its storied Pontiac brand and slash 40% of its dealer network. GM is taking drastic measures to stave off bankruptcy. The woman being interviewed by CNN seemed really hurt by the fact that Pontiac is being shut down. I have a few friends who are in love with their G6s. I don't know how they will get their cars serviced in 5 years or what company will receive their car notes. I guess all those things will come to light in due time.

A great deal of media attention has been devoted to the demise of Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, and Saab. The majority of this coverage centers around the affect those closures/restructurings will have on the economy. Thinking about the economy makes my head hurt because there is very little I can do to improve it. Consequently, my focus is on how the demise of these car companies will affect men who need nice cars to attract women. The woman in the article said that Pontiacs were chick magnets back in the days. I don't think they are in 2009, but I know that Hummers have the potential to spark a woman's interest in a guy. The guys I know who lack the ability to attract women with their looks and/or personality usually have tricked out cars. They cannot afford expensive foreign cars, so they soup-up Saturns, Saabs, and Pontiacs in hopes of getting some female attention. I guess those guys will be frequenting the Kia and Subaru showrooms in the very new future.

I am by no means God's gift to women and I have had my fair share of failures with the opposite sex. Moreover, I have been driving the same Mazda since 2000. However, I can consistently pull women in the 7-8.5 range without flashing material things. Polow da Don and his rap group, Jim Crow, created a song called "Hot Wheels", which talks about how nice cars can attract women. The song is a remake of Gary Numan's "Cars".

The ladies they choose
They love when I cruise
They all want to sleep with me
Because of 22's on my car
(Cars, cars, cars)
Some raw 24's, Avalanche wit TV's
When you get up inside
Don't spill no liquor on the seats of this car