When I was growing up in the 70s 1st gen Mustang fastbacks and Mercury Capris (esp the v6 models) were pretty hip. Then there was a long dry spell where most young, hip car enthusiasts wouldn't be seen in anything that wasn't German or Japanese.
Fast forward to the present. Despite the fact that muscle cars are better than they've ever been, in our cosmopolitan area (San Francisco region) they've never quite shaken off that redneck association. But as I've been driving around lately, I've noticed something new: That dude who used to worship at the church of the M3/STI/Type R/GTI is often driving one of the hot Focus variants. It's kind of shocking, and darn good to see. It wasn't that long ago that smaller domestic cars were uniformly inferior and it didn't seem like they'd ever be competitive. But now that young guy who wants and can afford the hot new thing is willingly ensconced in a blue oval product.
Will wonders never cease!
