It’s true. According to Kelley Blue Book’s list of most searched cars, perennial favorites the Honda Civic and Accord topped the list. The Prius came in at #8, within spitting distance of the Camaro which came in at #12. In fact, if you look at the different lists from websites across the web, muscle cars are pretty consistently high on the search lists, as are hybrids and fuel efficient models like the Smart ForTwo.

So can America have its cake and eat it too?

If you look at the Detroit Auto Show this year, every automaker was pushing its fuel efficient models. Just take a look at this list of 24 Green Cars that were at the show this year. But muscle cars remain near the top of many people’s most wanted list. Take Yahoo!’s most searched for list, which had the Camaro at #1, Mustang at #3, with the Dodge Charger and Challenger coming in at #7 and #8 respectively. So obviously, people are still interested in muscle cars.

So why all the green cars? Well, we need them, as the ridiculous gas prices of 2008 showed us, the days of cheap gas are rapidly coming to a close. Even now, gas is hovering near $3 a gallon in some places, and it isn’t even close to summer. The government also wants all the major automakers to have a fleet-wide fuel efficiency average of 35 mpg by 2010. That isn’t going to be easy to hit with the cars Americans are used to buying like SUV’s, pickups, and of course muscle cars.

These are the cars that capture our imaginations as well as emptied our wallets at the gas pump. Automakers finally seem to be catching on though, that muscle cars don’t have to be gas guzzlers too. Take the Camaro and Mustang. Both have 300+ horsepower V6 engines, and yet manage 29 and 30 mpg on the highway respectively. That is reasonably good gas mileage for any non-hybrid, and especially for two cars that have iconic names in the American lexicon.

Even the V8 muscle cars are getting much better mileage than they used to. Compare the 2000 Mustang GT equipped with an automatic transmission to a 2011 Mustang, also with an automatic. The 2000 model gets 16 mpg in the city, and 22 on the highway, while the 2011 gets 17 city and 25 on the highway. That doesn’t seem like much of a bump, until you compare the engines. In 2000, the Mustang GT had 260 horsepower and 302 ft-lbs of torque out of the 4.6 liter V8.

The 2011 Mustang GT gets 412 horsepower, 390 ft-lbs of torque, out of an engine that displaces 5.0 liters. Seems a lot better now, doesn’t it?

America loves muscle cars, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. But what will change is our perception of what the car makers owe us. After decades of mediocrity from the Big Three, it is about time we got cars that deliver thrills and decent gas mileage. This is a good start, but it needs to get better too.

And hybrids need to get more exciting. I was pumped about the CR-Z from Honda, until they released those figures. 122 horsepower, 38 mpg on the highway, and it weighs almost 1,000 pounds more than the car it was based on, the CRX. So it weighs more, goes slower, and gets worse gas mileage. No good. Even if it is a relative discount in the hybrid market, the production model seems to have lost the edge that make the concept look so cool.

I wonder though, will we ever see a hybrid muscle car? I see the potential, if only because of all the instant torque a good electric motor can deliver, and the money I save on gas could be used to make it even more badass.

Just sayin’.

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Thanks to some embargo breaking that’s already occurred, we’ve known for a week that the 2011 Ford Mustang GT would pack a brand new 5.0-liter V8 producing 412 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque. We thought those tidbits might hold over the internet ’till the official embargo date lifts early next week, but we were wrong and therefore are still awake at 1:30 AM on Christmas morning writing this post. Thanks to Jalopnik via MustangHeaven via BurlappCars, we have the first images of the 2011 Mustang GT and its new 5.0-liter V8.

You can read more about some of the engine’s details that have already leaked here, but let’s just take a look see at what we’ve got. Kudos to Ford for leaving the engine’s tippy top unadorned and we also dig those 5.0 badges on the engine and fenders. Nostalgia FTW

Ford has named Jamie Allison as the new director of its North American Motorsports programs. Set to replace Brian Wolfe, Allison has been working in Ford Racing for six years and has been with the Dearborn automaker for 22 years. While part of the racing group, Allison has worked in one of the more profitable segments of the business, selling racing performance parts. During his tenure Allison oversaw the launch of Ford selling turn-key race cars like the FR500C, the FR500S and of course the Cobra Jet drag race car.

The race car program has been very successful both in terms of sales and on the track, with both the 2008 and 2010 runs of 50 Cobra Jets sold out before the cars were even built. The announcement of Allison’s promotion came during a media event this week where Allison revealed the next product from Ford Racing, which you’ll here more about next week. Wolfe has been named to a new position in the product development organization.

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Thanks to a loose-lipped Facebookian that couldn’t help sharing insider information and a quick follow-up post from Inside Line, we can now confirm the return of the iconic 5.0-liter Mustang GT for 2011. Even better news is the fact that the Mustang GT’s new mill will crank out an impressive 412 horsepower.

By way of comparison, the 2010 Chevy Camaro SS has a 6.2-liter V8 with as much as 422 horses when mated to a six-speed manual and the 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8 has a 6.1-liter Hemi that offers 425 ponies. And remember, both of those rivals are considerably heavier than the Mustang.

As much as we’d like to unload more goods on the 2011 Mustang, you’ll just have to wait until Ford’s good and ready. Or someone blows another embargo, whichever comes first.

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It was quite a sight to take in, as there were Mustangs represented from the mid 60’s to ‘07 models. An ‘07 Shelby GT 500 SuperSnake caught my eye. I’ve seen about 4-5 real Shelby’s attend the event. Altho it had fairly good turnout, I felt it was not very well marketed locally. The major of Oakville was present, as was quite a few people of importance, whom I do not remember.

The cars were clean, and well prepared for the show. It is quote an accomplishment, considering some of them traveled hundreds of miles to be there. I’ve seen a Stang from as far as New Brunswick on the Canadian side, and Wisconsin from the U.S. side.

This event was something branded Mustangs without Borders. A new style, which in it’s first year provided great entertainment and a lot of nice machinery to be present in Oakville.

Hopefully the event will be repeated again, next year, without the rain.

If you’d like to see pictures of the event, click below.

1st set of pics

2nd set of pics

3rd set of pics

4th set of pics

The F-150, which has been the single best selling automobile for 16 years in a row is experiencing double digit declines in sales.  This is due to high gas prices and a weak economy.  I expect the sub-compacts and compacts, which have been successful in Europe will start making their way over here soon.  I also expect some smaller makes to gain territory into the North American marketplace soon.  This may end the dominance of larger type vehicles, with so many people making their buying decisions based on fuel efficiency.

I expect Chrysler, Ford and GM to continue to lose money in the coming years.  Probably 3-4 years at the least, until they can produce a turnaround plan, which effectively combats the current economic and environmental conditions we are faced with today.

Due to their workhorse characteristics, their endless supply of parts available, that have provided to be good groundwork for both small and big time tuners to get their start on. A clean fox can still bring in $20k in value, when a fairly new ’06 GT can be had for the same amount. Personally I feel that a large number of these vehicles have been butchered, but that does not stop people from buying them.

Elite production runs of the ’93 Mustang Cobra R have been known to bring in well over $60,000 in today’s economic conditions. That is a small miracle, considering one can buy a small house for $60k in some parts of the States.