Thanks to the hard work of Jeff Ford and the Autorestomod.com crew, we have video coverage of the 7th Annual All-GM Oktoberfest show at Silver Springs Theme Park, as well as the Friday cruise to Cedar Key from our NPD location in Ocala, Florida.

Click here ~~> All-GM Oktoberfest show 2012

Derek 

In part 1 on this topic, I discussed the crazy prices that some cars are
commanding at car auctions. Paying north of one million dollars for a car that
didn’t even pass the four thousand dollar mark back in 1970 seems crazy, but it
happened. And the “trickle-down effect” took hold on many private sellers, thinking
with the mindset that their clapped out shell was worth a chunk of change. The
average guy would nearly be forced into buying a project, if anything at all,
because of the cost of even a shell. So, I posed the question “Is there an
upside?” to the auction madness?

Just like most things in life, having a little more than you currently have is never a bad desire. Having seconds on desert; some extra time on the weekend before the work week starts again; a little extra money to buy something. The last one always seems to come into play, and it’s been highlighted more in the last decade in the automotive market than ever before. 

After seeing the fit and finish of existing 1970-78 Camaro dash pad reproductions, National Parts Depot made the decision to construct a brand new reproduction worthy of your 1970-78 Camaro restoration. From the stitching detail to the texture and sheen, no detail was missed on this OE-quality exclusive reproduction. Plus, we added additional reinforcement to create a pad that will stand the test of time. Available in black finish, with or without air conditioning.

Click here to view and purchase through the NPDLink website.

I was exposed to the car hobby from an early age. Having a father that was a mechanic, then a salesman, and finally a lease and fleet manager for a variety of General Motors dealerships gave me the inside track to some interesting stories! My dad also exposed me to the racing culture, specifically the drag racing cult. As I grew up...

After 7 years in association with Silver Springs Theme Park to host the All-GM Oktoberfest car show, National Parts Depot regrets to announce that the 2013 edition of the show will not take place. As of February 2013, an agreement was reached to transfer control of the park from current lease holder Palace Entertainment to the state of Florida, which will begin on October 1st, 2013.

National Parts Depot feels that trying to put the All-GM show together with so many unresolved and potentially-unfinished projects on the table, as well as a transfer of leadership less than one week before the proposed show date, could prove troublesome. As a result, we are working towards the possibility of bringing the All-GM Oktoberfest show back to Silver Springs Theme Park in October 2014, and we are still hoping to host our Ford & Mustang Roundup in January 2014 without interruption.

We will post updates to the website as soon as they become available on the 2014 show.

Does seeing this picture of a 1967 Camaro project give you ideas, or
make you want to keep scrolling? That’s the great thing about the car hobby;
there are numerous ways to enjoy it. At the age of 14 when I got my first car,
I looked forward to the little projects and working on it. Having a father that
encouraged learning more and more about car stuff, it seemed natural. Flash
forward 16 years....

Last minute ideas can sometimes give you a result you’d never expect. I’ve come from using 110 and 35 mm cameras to the latest in digital technology, and I’m still amazed by what I’ve overlooked in the past on photos. Easter was only a few days away when National Parts Depot MIS director Robert Gunn suggested the idea of doing something for our Facebook page for the Sunday holiday. After the egg and bunny ideas had come and gone...

A new offering in our Fox body Mustang inventory, this
OE-correct battery hold down clamp will replace your broken, rusted or missing
original on all 1979-86 Mustangs. Featuring all the correct stampings in the
original yellow zinc plating, this exact reproduction will not only match the
originals in look but in fit and function as well. Click here to view and purchase
through the NPDLink website.

With
over 100,000 different part numbers in stock, you might think almost an entire
car could be built from our inventory at National Parts Depot. But we don’t
stop there, since there are always new products hitting the market, and one of
those could be the difference towards your ride earning that coveted car show
award, being the final step towards a first cruise, or improving upon your
current weekend toy. So make sure to check out our blog for new products for
your restoration needs! 

It’s not a shock that the car hobby landscape has significantly changed in the last few decades. Participation at car shows, races and cruises are still holding true in most areas, and I’ve personally witnessed some event counts still on the rise. But once you walk away from the event-style organization, the lack of participation is eye opening. This is where the efforts are truly needed. I grew up used to seeing cool muscle cars out on the street, and I was born after the muscle car boom had been somewhat cooled by the smog police. But as Y2K came and went, it seems fewer classics were on the road, as well as Fox-body Mustangs, unless an event was nearby. Daily driving anything over 10 years old was the exception rather than the norm, and as gas continued to rise, that trend shows no sign of slowing. The way I see it, everyone needs to take the initiative to pass on our hobby to the next generation. Take someone to a show, for a ride in a classic (most Fox Mustangs now qualify for that status), or even to a race. That single experience can be all it takes to keep our car-rich way of life alive.

Thanks for reading; tell us your thoughts by leaving a comment or submitting feedback here. 

Derek

To wrap up the question of whether muscle and pony cars days are numbered, I had mentioned that 500 horsepower cars were becoming in greater supply and a 35 MPG standard in the same sentence. Gas was nearing three dollars a gallon for regular 87 octane; would this mean current muscle cars like the 515 horsepower Z06 Corvette and 500 horse Mustang Shelby GT500 could be on borrowed time? Would the upcoming 638 horsepower ZR1 Corvette face the chopping block, and would the big three have to give in to economy above performance on their future check lists? “High performance vehicles such as this may actually be legislated out of existence” Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter mentioned when referring to the ZR1 and the CAFE standards coming. So was it a doom and gloom future?

My family has vacationed in Maine since the 1970s, and in 2009 I got a few indicators that could show the muscle car and pony car future status. Isleboro is a small island off the coast of Maine, and unless you own a boat, a 30 minute ferry ride is required to experience their way of life (the island's lighthouse is pictured). Even in this remote of places, I was able to see muscle cars every day. In one weeks time, I saw two 1970 Chevelles, a ’68 and ‘80 Camaro, and a few days before I left, a spanking new 2009 orange Dodge Challenger came in. All this on an island less than is 25 miles from end to end, and only containing one place to purchase gas. Might seem crazy, but those owners are still cruising and living the dream of having a muscle car in their life. They gave me hope that our hobby will continue to survive for future generations. 

Thanks for reading; please advise us how we’re doing by leaving a comment or submitting feedback here. 

Derek

Continuing on the question I posed above, the muscle car didn’t have a bright future in the 1980s, but the “pony car” wars revved back up late in the decade, the Camaro, Firebird and Mustang were getting the attention again, and the public responded. If you checked the right boxes and could drive them, 13-second times with sticky rubber and a few bolt-ons were the result. Some were even getting the job done without a single modification. The feelings from the old days was coming back, days when you saw gearheads driving their weekly commuter to the track and making lap after lap with big grins and going to work Monday with rubber on the quarter panels. Through the 1990s and into Y2K, the power kept increasing to the point people could buy cars with nearly double the MPG of the hot rods of the 1960s and 70s while clicking off 12-second times as delivered without the need for drag race only tires. As the years continued to speed past, family sedans packing 400 ponies and sports cars pushing past the 500 horse mark started becoming the norm rather than the exception. If you could work the gears on time, all that stood between you and a 10-second time slip was a set of sticky tires, all in a showroom fresh car sipping fuel to the tune of 20-plus MPG. But the party got a big warning on December 18th of 2007 when a change that could start the end of our current muscle car phase was introduced. An energy bill passed through Congress and the Senate requiring a 35 MPG CAFE standard for automakers, and although this is the first increase in average fleet fuel economy in 32 years, does it signal the muscle car’s best days will soon be behind us? I’ll finish this subject up in part three.

Let us know how you like the new blogs by leaving a comment or submitting feedback here.

Thanks for reading!

Derek

There’s no denying that despite the price of gas rising and the 35 MPG CAFE standard for automakers to reach by the year 2020, the muscle car lifestyle is still enjoyed by tons of people. Although I was born in the mid 1970s and wasn’t able to buy the 60s and early 70s muscle brand new off the showroom floor, I still have a deep rooted love affair with those cars. I could only imagine the fact that you could walk into a dealership and take your pick from some truly awesome cars with horsepower and torque topping the 400-plus figures. Tune them up, slap on a set of headers and on the excuse for sticky tires of the day you’d see thirteen and twelve second times a plenty. But as many car nuts are well aware, smog equipment, a gas crunch, and buying cars for their looks became the norm in the 1970s and 80s. Depending on where you get your information, the fastest production vehicle in the 70s wasn’t a car, it was a truck! That’s right; the “Lil Red Express” Dodge Truck was faster than even the Corvette of the time. But a change was around the corner, and I’ll explore that in part two.

Don’t forget to tell us how we’re doing by leaving a comment or submitting feedback here.

Thanks for reading!

Derek