Simmental and Hereford cows (n = 74) were inseminated with semen from purebred Angus bulls from the 1960s or with semen from purebred Angus bulls from the 1980s. The F1 calves provided the foundation for two investigations, one addressing growth and carcass characteristics, and another measuring the impact of sire generation on lipid metabolism and adiposity. Calves sired by the 1980s-type bulls had greater (P < .05) birth, weaning, and final live weights and carcass weights. They also had larger (P < .05) hip heights and hip widths at weaning and larger (P < .05) hip heights and lower (P < .05) body condition scores at slaughter. There were no differences (P > .05) in any measure of fatness between groups (adjusted fat thickness, kidney, pelvic, and heart fat, or marbling scores), but yield grade was higher numerically (P < .1) for the 1980s steers. The second aspect of this research addressed the influence of different generations of Angus sires on specific carcass traits and adipose tissue metabolism. A subset of six steers for each generation type (from Simmental cows) were selected and samples were collected at slaughter for measurements in vitro. For both generation types, intramuscular (i.m.) adipocytes had lesser (P < .05) cell volumes than subcutaneous (s.c.) adipose tissue. Correspondingly. i.m. adipose tissue exhibited lower (P < .05) rates of 14C-labeled acetate incorporation into lipids as measured immediately after slaughter. Intramuscular and s.c. adipocytes from 1980s-type steers were smaller (P < .05) than those from the 1960s-types steers, with correspondingly more cells per gram of tissue.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)