Last week I emailed all of the F-Body owners who have displayed at Carlisle in the last 5 years. I heard you guys have what you need now but I hope my efforts helped

Ed

Hi Ed. Much appreciated! I haven't heard from anyone directly buy perhaps someone has contacted Bob or submitted an entry.
So far I know of 6 entries, which is a great start. Bob just sent out the eblast over the weekend announcing the display. That should bring in more leads!



Stepping Forward: Presenting MCACN Malaise Era Muscle


If you attended or watched the recent Mecum Kissimmee Auction, you witnessed history in the making. There is no doubt that the level of passion and enthusiasm for our hobby is at fever pitch. And it's not just because prime collector cars are selling for big bucks. I saw several emerging patterns that I think drive home the message that our hobby is expanding. And part of that expansion is bringing in a new breed of enthusiasts. And that is why we will be doing something very different this year. Allow us to present our new Malaise Era Muscle Invitational.


So what the heck is Malaise Era Muscle, you may ask? Well, for the most part it is the new breed of collectible cars that fall between the years 1973-1987. (The Malaise Era- an era where multiple oil crises affected cars being produced) This includes the General Motors Collonade cars, like the G.S. and the Laguna along with the Grand Am. For Ford it would be Mustang II Cobras and even SVO and Saleen Mustangs. Of course, there are quite a few from the Mopar Camp, like the gorgeous Magnum GT shown above, owned by our Malaise Era Muscle Host and MCACN staff member, Brad Schroeder.
Like many, Brad has other cars, like the Mr. Norm's Challenger T/A that he showed at MCACN last November. We got to talking a while back about the noticeable interest in these cars, along with the Trans Ams, Aspen and Volare Super Coupes and Street Kit Cars and so many others. It didn't take long to decide it was time to extend the invitation to the owners who may just be ahead of the curve on these cool cars! Sure, they may not pump out the ponies like the Muscle Cars we all love, but there is no doubt that they are bringing in new people, and I also know of quite a few high-end collectors that are jumping in, grabbing prime examples of cars (and trucks!) of this era.


While we had not even formally announced what we were planning, Brad was able to round up several prime cars to join us, along with his Magnum. I mentioned how I always liked the '75 Roadrunner, and he promptly found a gorgeous example. I put out some feelers, and the owner of the '79 Anniversary Trans Am responded. This super low mile unrestored original is definitely among the finest, and it is a 4-speed! And then I remembered one of our longtime supporters has several super low mile original '74 Z/28's. When was the last time you saw one of those? So we're off and running...
A few of the cars we would love to have in this gathering: the aforementioned Laguna and a King Cobra, perhaps a '73 454 SS Chevelle, Volare or Aspen Super Coupes and Kit Cars and how about a Monza Mirage with a V8 under the hood? A Cosworth Vega would be fun and come to think of it, Yenko and Baldwin-Motion built a few wild rides, even though the writing was not only on the wall, but demand was, well, nearly nonexistent.
So we know this may not be for everyone and some may scratch their heads, but the bottom line is that these cars are clearly coming into their own. Call it the "next generation" or whatever you like, but rest assured, when people start paying over 75k+ for clean original '77-78 Trans Ams, they aren't going away. And besides; we like to be leaders, not followers, and most importantly, we like to have FUN and help you bring back some memories.
If you own or know of a prime example of a Malaise Era Muscle car and would like to join us, please send pictures and information to bashton426@gmail.com. As always, we will accept only the best of the best and the rarest of the rare. We have no intention of lowering our standards, so if it isn't prime, please don't ask, and as always, priority will be given to factory stock vehicles, unless it is Day2 Dealer modified, aka Nickey and Yenko.
And speaking of the huge Kissimmee Auction, congrats to our Title Sponsor Mecum Auctions for not only setting records, but smashing them in so many ways. It was an amazing run and once again proves that Nobody Sells More Muscle Than Mecum...NOBODY! Congrats also go out to all of you that bought or sold out there! We know of a whole lot of happy MCACN participants that bought and sold vehicles, some that you will see at MCACN in November.

A lot of chatter on the web over this, now the mopar people are asking for cars the "community" has spit on (being polite) for years and years. Go figure. Must be money to be made off it now.

Actually this display was my idea and I'm not making a penny off it.
Believe it or not the seed of the idea started last summer when I was at a cruise and saw a Citation X11. I always thought those were butt ugly, but I was pretty fascinated seeing it as I couldn't remember seeing one of those in decades. Back in the day Citations were everywhere.
Then I purchased a Magnum later that summer, and thought maybe if acceptable I'd put it in the Mopar Alley display in the 2022 MCACN show. But I was thinking about even with all the shows and cruises I go to, how rare it is to see a Magnum? And I remembered that X11, and then thought of all the other cars from my adolescent and teen years of the mid to late 70s that have almost disappeared off the face of the earth.
I saw Bob at a show in October and told him my idea, and he said he was interested, and if I could recruit the cars for the feature, we will do it!
At MCACN the next month I discussed the display with a number of people there and everyone was really interested and enthusiastic about it. I guess I'm not the only one who finds cars of that time interested.
I've been involved in MCACN both as a participant and staff/volunteer almost since the beginning and am a huge fan. It's a challenge to come up with ideas and keep the show fresh every year when we are mostly concentrated in a 10 year era in automotive history. Bob does an incredible job with the cars and displays he comes up, but in the end you need more than similar FC7 hemi cudas and COPA Camaros and red Boss 9s every year to keep the show relevant.
I hope this display is successful and a lot of people enjoy seeing a number of cars they may not have seen for a long long time, like I experienced when I saw that X11 last summer.
Internet can chatter all they want, but that is the story straight from the horse's mouth.

Bill bought back a Kit Car that he sold a few years ago. I contacted him to let him know y'all are looking for one for next year. He's got the contact info.

UPDATE 1/29: I found a pic of his Kit Car. I remember back in the day, I saw only one of these on the road ever. VERY RARE.