- Coffee & Cars permanently bans modern muscle cars from future events
- Mustang, Charger, Challenger, and Camaro are no longer allowed at meetups
- Decision follows temporary ban enforced in November 2023
Coffee & Cars, a well-known car meetup group based in Houston, Texas, has announced that modern American muscle cars will be permanently banned from all future events and meetups.
In a post shared to the @coffeeandcars Instagram account, pictures of a large crowd were accompanied by a caption that reads, “It all starts with you. These are the so-called ‘enthusiasts’ who have ruined our car gathering. Don’t complain when we do invitationals [starting from] today.”
The post goes on to say that modern muscle cars, namely the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, and Dodge Charger, would be banned for good. This follows a temporary ban introduced in November 2023 due to misbehaving muscle car owners spoiling the fun for everyone – drivers performing burnouts and needlessly revving their engines were leaving a sour taste in other eventgoers’ months.
Some Muscle Car Owners Think The Ban Is Unfair
At the time, many criticized the group for punishing all modern muscle car drivers, as not all Mustang drivers have the urge to crash when leaving a Coffee & Cars event. But, honestly, who can blame the organizers? Events like this aim to connect different gearheads, and that’s hard to do when unnecessary burnouts and revving spoil the ambiance. What’s more, there have been several instances of the now-banned cars putting people’s lives at risk simply because the driver wants to show off.
Sadly, this will affect sensible muscle car owners who want to be a part of the community. “What about the innocent Mopar enthusiasts like me who are just there for the right reasons?” wrote one user. Another Charger owner suggested an RSVP or vehicle-screening system, but that’s a lot of work for something that’s supposed to be a casual meetup.
Muscle Car Drivers More Likely To Drive Dangerously
Interestingly, most people support the ban. “They were warned several times. Nobody in Lamborghinis, Ferraris, [or] Porsches … [was] clowning with the antics,” responded one user.
Evidence suggests that muscle car drivers are likelier to engage in dangerous behavior. A study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that muscle cars have some of the highest driver-death rates of any vehicle on the road. Don’t think this has anything to do with their crashworthiness or safety features but how they’re advertised and how that plays into the minds of consumers. “The deadly record of these muscle cars suggests that their history and marketing may be encouraging more aggressive driving,” said IIHS President David Harkey.
Coffee & Cars hasn’t set specific model year limits. We’ve reached out for more information and specifics regarding the ban.
