PURPLE PATCH

Welcome to our May issue – I don’t know about you, but it feels like this year is flying by; maybe it’s the contrast with the last two years’ glacial pace caused by lockdowns and Covid. This month’s magazine features not one, but two purple muscle cars. This wasn’t deliberate, it’s just a bit like the old bus analogy – we had one then another one turned up very shortly after and we just had to share them both with you.

In some ways they represent different ends of the muscle car spectrum. The ’67 GTO is nearer the beginning of this halcyon period, while the ’72 ’Cuda the end. And that’s the funny thing, the muscle car era barely lasted a decade, yet it’s the era that many enthusiasts wax lyrical about or obsess over… I wonder in the future if the era we’re living through now will be referred to as the Second Muscle Car wave?

After all, you can buy outrageously powerful Camaros, Mustangs, Corvettes and Challengers today… will that be the case in a decade? Hmmmm, what do you think?

Also kicking off this month is the story of my own muscle car’s restoration; it was something I knew eventually I would have to undertake, but I’d been procrastinating about for years, but then events overtook me and I was forced to bite the bullet. There is something quite nice about having a scruffier car, as it means you can enjoy it more without worry. “Another ding? Nah, who cares…!” With an immaculate car, a lot of the fun evaporates, as worries about scratches or worse come to the fore. Well, I hope you’re looking forward to a summer of fun, getting out and enjoying your vehicles!