F-Body Europe

I want to know some more about the board members here!!

I can see some of the american military guys taking their love for american cars with them overseas, but how many europeans have picked an american car??? Also what do you think is the main appeal of them??

John

Edit: well this really isn't a poll, a short answer I guess

Sorry, Military. I wish I could stay.

Rob

Hey Rob, where is Giebelstadt in relation to Munich and Berlin???

John

German (half anyway), born and raised here ... wishing to get out of here, but probably won't happen any time soon ...
Guess I've wanted a nice US sports car quite some time, possibly caused by TV series and movies like Knight Rider or Smoky and the Bandit ... owned the 98 'vert sind '01, and the 79 since fall of '01 ...

I have lived in Europe all my life. Got Camaro, because it's fast for the money and I love that V8 sound.

Retired military and now working Civil Service. I got mine because 2002 was the last year and when Isaw a picture of the 35th LE, I just had to have one.

Though influenced by Knight Rider, Smokey & The Bandit, Cannonball Run etc, none of them would have made me buy an American car because, like most people, I believed they were gas guzzlers and would cost an arm and a leg to maintain. It's a myth that still persists in the UK no matter what you say.

In 1994, A friend of mine kept talking about getting a Camaro but lacked the b*lls to actually do it. At that time, like 99% of the UK, I didn't even know what a Camaro was. When I qualified in law, I thought I deserved a sports car and was looking for a Nissan 200SX, believe it or not (R4C will be laughing right now). Then I saw an ad for a black '85 Corvette and went to see it only because I wanted to wind my friend up about buying it. Unfortunately, having seen and driven it, there was no cure. I drove a Porsche 928 because I thought that would be better but it wasn't.

I loved that Corvette. It had a huge V8 rumble, 4 red tail lights, people gawped at it and the gauges were pure Knight Rider. It conveniently eschewed that stupid "image" that Porsches and BMW's had. I was the man they couldn't hang, the cop on the edge and the rebel without a cause all rolled into one. It was the perfect foil to a respectable job, a raw Ferrari without the hangups.

The Camaro was a natural progression although it has probably not found the same place in my heart as the Corvette. This is no fault of the car but rather a product of getting used to 5.7 litres as a normal mode of transport. I've also always loved cars that drive on their torque. In this respect, while I love the LS1's outright performance, I think I would often prefer the low down torque of the older V8s as they have more character.

Not sure I'd swop though but I have toyed with the idea of buying a C4 as well but perhaps I might only ruin the memory of the old one. Perhaps my standards are higher. However, the main reason I will probably not sell the Camaro (or at least will stick with American cars) is that they retain this individuality here in the UK, go like the devil possessed (isn't that a paradox?) and they still make more noise than anything else on the road.

Incidentally, my friend did buy his Camaro once I bought the Vette. One ride and he was hooked. He bought an '89 RS and progressed thru a '90 Z28 to his current '95 TA. He loves his car for much the same reasons (he's a cop). He recently gate crashed a Max Power rally and treated them to a 100 yard burnout (the rebel burns within us all). A few days later he was chatting to some lads who'd been watching and they were in awe. Which adds another reason for owning these cars - you don't get any of the disdain reserved for Porsche or Ferrari drivers.

We have a lot of American cars here in the UK. Some of the shows attract 5000 plus cars. The acid test is often that these people keep buying American cars and despite being tempted by other offerings occasionallty, still end up driving their V8s. There ain't no substitute....

I´m born in Germany and didn´t even join the german Bundeswehr
As 15 year old I bought a magazine about american cars and since this day I wanted such a car.

Nevertheless my first car was a fugly Ford Scorpio 2.0 and I did all mistakes you do with your first car fortunately with this rusty, but reliable car. And I began to love rear wheel drive, above all in winter...

2 years later I had enough money (and driving experience ) and bought a real car. I never believed all this crap most germans tell about american cars (without ever owning one), like LuS1fer already wrote about the UK: gas guzzlers, expensive maintainance, no spare parts available, unreliable, only driven by pimps and posers etc...
Of course I always wanted a big V8, but I didn´t know noting about german taxes, and I´m still student, so I bought this V6.
Sometimes (mostly on the 1/4 mile) I miss the power of an V8,
but nevertheless this car has still more displacement than most german cars

The main appeal of american cars?
IMO: Pure power, torque & they look even powerfull.
And they´re simple, but very reliable, easy to mod and to work on.
Well, mostly.

Hey Fastzntn, welcome to the board! I'm married to RT1 (Rob), who is probably rolling his eyes right now and mumbling something about the worst day of his life....Anyway, he's military and I'm here in Germany because I just can't get enough of this guy...(riiiiighhhhtt....really, we're happy . ) He's had his V6 since before we got married, bought it new in '95. I liked his car so much I bought my own, a '95 kick-ass Z28, last April. I love turning heads when I start my car. Actually, I think Rob and I are the only husband and wife, 2-FBody-driving household on this board. That's pretty cool! See you around.

Paula

Edited to add: Giebelstadt is about 3 hours north of Munich, and we haven't made it to Berlin yet. I'm guessing around 5 hours?

Hi there.

I guess i´m one of the exotic members here.

Hailing from the former Jugoslav republics, i spent most of my life here, meaning 26 years in Munich, Germany.

The fascination for american cars?

Hmm, as a kid, Knight Rider, for sure.

Kinda lost interest in US vehicles later on, so i ended up with a series like this:

1989 Nissan Sunny 1.3 60 hp (a mean little beater with more rust than metal) --> Destroyed
1992 Mercedes 190 2,3 16V 170 hpin AMG trim (ugh, i must have lost my mind then) --> Sold
1998 Honda (ouch! No foul eggs please) Prelude 2.0 133 hp
--> Big error, sold in 1999, lost five grand on that one
1999 Camaro Z28 <--- Ever found a nicer why to blow a ricer ?
---> Alive
1990 Beretta GTZ
---> Almost alive

Guess i´m a fanatic

Ram from Munich aka Dino

I was born in France and I allways lived here. My first car was a Peugeot 405 (1,9L, 110 HP); it was used but when you've got only a little money...
I had read many french magazines dealing with US cars since I was 14 (rods, customs, muscle cars) and it was my dream to own one.
When it has been time to get a new car, I have searched the two-door coupes available in France; I found some japanese cars, but when I saw the Camaro price, my choice was made.
The V6 has an unbelievable price/performance ratio. (and the V8 too, but got not enough money ... sorry ; maybe next car?)
I can wait a little for a V8, all I wanted is driving a US car every day, and it's done.

I love to drive a car that's different, too. When I drove it the first time, I was amazed how people was staring at it.

Hope I can buy a vette as a 2nd car one day.

I know its not a fbod, but you can't forget about the General Lee andthe Duke Boys who drove it. My first car was the car I was rushed to the hospital in minutes from birth, a 1979, 6.6L/403 TA. I remeber for years it sat out in the field with the cows and horses. Then that magical day on my 14th B-Day, I own my first car, and it was a fbody! After that and seeing Smokey and the Bandit, I started wearing a cowboy hat to school and have been made funevr since (but no civic wants a piece of that TA).

Thanks for the replies EVERYONE!!!!

I would have to say, all of you sound like true muscle car enthusiasts. You know you are one when you can't get enough power, or rumble of the motor. You find yourself blipping the throttle just to hear the motor rev up for no reason at all!!!

F-bodies in the US are very cheap. The craze now is SUV's, sport utility vehicles, or as I like to call them, Stupid Useless Vehicles. That is the reason these cars are priced low..... Seemingly no one wants to go fast anymore. If I meet someone that doesn't really like camaros, after they ride in my car they fall in love. It may not ride the smoothest, or the quietest, but it's fast, and has a damn nice stereo in it The car has it's own soul.

I bought my car a little over 2 years ago for $9400. It had 79,000 miles and had pretty much every option except for leather. That's the appeal of these cars, even a college student with a more or less part time job can afford one!!!

Aside from sport utilities, the other cars people my age drive over here are japanese cars...... There are sooooo many of them. They even made a movie about the generation that drives these cars. It's called "The fast and the furious". The darling of the import crowd here is the honda civic. Followed closely by acura integras, Mitsubishi eclipses, 300ZXs, and a host of others. Most kids will modify anything japanese. A lot of them over here think that they can put a cold air kit and an exhaust on their car and beat up on newer F-bodies...... Let's just say we have fun with them.

On another note- I know you guys have had your cars on the autobahn if you're in germany, how fast have you gone????

John

I'm in the UK. The fastest I went in my Vette was 142 as the motorways tend to be crowded most of the time. I wasn't 100% confident in my Camaro until I did the suspension. Fastest I've been so far is 135 but I know Jack's been faster than that on the autobahn.

In 1990 I got first time an opportunity to drive Camaro, it was almoust new 305 cid 5-speed model and to say I was Impressed is undertatement.
Fast forward eight years and after many European cars, some of them pretty nice (like Alfa Romeo 156 w. 2,5 V6) I was able to fulfil my long-time dream of getting Camaro as hobby car.

Within two years I made lots of modifications, getting all information from cz28.com and during last few years I have just driven my car daily during summertime and attended to local drag races and track events. It's not the fastest car here, but still gets lots of positive attention and I have never regretted getting it.

American military but had to chime in. 97 formula ws6. How fast have I gone? Couldn't really tell you. The 150 mph speedo was pegged. On a guess I'd say I was going about 160-165 mph. When I get my 355 built up again and in the car I'll let you know how fast she really is. I have a 200 mph guage cluster now.

Preach on brother John.

Rob

I really dont know how fast I have had my TA up to...probably no more than 120-125 so no real record breaker there, but it had plenty of RPMs to go yet.

My more important comment was going to be stating that I have driven probably more than 100 different cars in my time ranging from an MGB to a steam shovel (that was cool-just for fun). But none and I mean NONE of them have had the soul or the ability to make my heart beat like my Trans Am.

Thats all I got to say about that.

Patrick

I'm born and raised in The Hague, The Netherlands. I've been a car freak for all my life.
If I have to believe my mother, the first word I said was " auto" . Being al european I always drove european cars, Opels, triumph Spitfire, MGB, mercedes 350 SL, Porsche 924 and so on cuz they were easy to get and cheap.
After my first trip to the US I became completely nuts about American cars, but in those day american cars in the Netherlands were very rare and the people driving them were all kind of shady caracters. US cars were considired as regular pimp rides than. Thank god that has changed a bit.
In the mean while I started a family and needed bigger cars so I drove a 1977 AMC Matador, A 1985 Olds Custom Cruiser, a 1987 Buick Century Wagon and a 1995 Buick century Wagon.
Two years ago I started searching for a 1978- 1982 C3 Corvette als a hobby car, but I stumbled over the 1988 305 TBI convertible And I instantly fell in love with the car and bought it without knowing anything about Camaro's.
At this moment I'm in doubt wether to sell it and restart te search for the Corvette I always wanted or not.

Born in Germany and influenced by "Knight Rider" I've always liked those F-Cars. I read several tests about them in German car magazines which weren't always positive but all said the price/performance ratio of these cars (4th gen) is unbelievable. It had to be a V8 and a 6-speed manual which wasn't so easy as I wanted to buy a used car but didn't find a used 6-speed Camaro at that time, so I ended up buying a new one (which had some advantages, e.g. warranty).

Speed Question: Hmmm... I think I've done maybe about 265 km/h (that's 165 mph) on the autobahn, at least that was what was on the speedo...

Ben