What is a muscle car?
There are many different definitions of what qualifies as a muscle car. The broadest definition is any car with a large and powerful engine and a beefed up suspension. Upgraded interiors, fancy paint schemes and nicer wheels and tires are also usually part of the package. Using this definition, huge cars like the 1970 Impala and even compacts like the 1964 Chevy Nova made the list. There is even room for pony cars like the Camaro and Mustang. The mighty Corvette qualifies as well.
Throughout the 35 year history of the Firebird, the car was nearly consistently revered for both its styling and the performance it offered. With that said, there were definitely better and worse years for the car in terms of both.
Part of the M.O. of being a car guy or gal is arguing about which car is “best.” And there are many factors that can make up the definition of that elusive term – “best.” But citing stats and specs, year models and options and even throwing in a little (and sometimes a lot of) personal opinion is all part of what being a car enthusiast is all about. It’s a continuing discussion, and our opinions change over time as we learn more information and our tastes change.
Will there ever be agreement? No, of course not. If any two top 10 lists of Mustang models were identical, we’d think something suspicious was happening.
Camaro is not only a classic addition to the Chevrolet lineup, but one of the classic American cars of any brand. Introduced in 1967 as a competitor to the Mustang, it would become known as one of the great pony cars. In fact, after the other pony cars had been discontinued by the mid-1970s (AMC Javelin, Dodge Challenger, Plymouth Barracuda) and the Mustang had been re-imagined as compact car with the introduction of the Mustang II in 1974, only the Camaro and its cousin the Pontiac Firebird remained to carry on the pony car torch.
By the mid-1980’s car buyers were looking for real muscle cars once again. Pony cars had survived the oil shocks and the new emission rules and the Corvette remained America’s favorite sports car. However, for those wanting a performance car with a real back seat there weren’t any decent options. In the mid 1980’s General Motors tiptoed back into the mid-size muscle car market. Chevrolet introduced the Monte Carlo SS in 1983 with a toned down small block. Oldsmobile reintroduced a similarly equipped Hurst Olds 4-4-2. But the real news happened at Buick. Buick was looking for a way to showcase their new V6 turbo-charged engine. The result was an all black, asphalt ripping, track dominating, modern muscle car that became a legend.
Muscle cars have always been special machines. The magic ingredients have always included a large engine and a light weight body. When the American auto builders mixed these two ingredients the results were legendary.
Some automotive historians trace the origins of the muscle car all the way back to when Oldsmobile stuffed a 303 cubic inch overhead-valve V8 into the 1949 Rocket 88. The car produced a whopping 135 horse power. Amazingly, that’s all it took to be king of the performance hill in 1949.
by Bill Holder and Photos by Phil Kunz
Submitted by: Muscle Car News Magazine
High performance and low cost were Plymouth's design goals for a brand-new model in 1968. The company believed that the time was right for a factory hot rod for the youth market, and its guess was right on the money. It would have the macho name of Road Runner.
It was also a very "B Body" budget-friendly machine which made it another very important reason for purchasing. The high cost ruled out many of the muscle cars of the era.
Below is a quick summary of some of the performance statistics we have gathered for the Chevrolet Corvette over the course of its production run. Included are a 0 to 60 times and quarter mile times along with the sources for those times.
Below is a quick summary of some of the performance statistics we have gathered for the Chevrolet Chevelle over the course of its production run. Included are a 0 to 60 times and quarter mile times along with the sources for those times.
Below is a quick summary of some of the performance statistics we have gathered for the Pontiac Firebird over the course of its production run. Included are a 0 to 60 times and quarter mile times along with the sources for those times.
We scrubbed our database of over 1500 track results and came up with a list of the twelve fastest muscle cars from the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Below is a quick summary of some of the performance statistics we have gathered for the AMC AMX over the course of its production run. Included are a 0 to 60 times and quarter mile times along with the sources for those times.
Below is a quick summary of some of the performance statistics we have gathered for the Plymouth Barracuda over the course of its production run. Included are a 0 to 60 times and quarter mile times along with the sources for those times.
Below is a quick summary of some of the performance statistics we have gathered for the AMC Javelin over the course of its production run. Included are a 0 to 60 times and quarter mile times along with the sources for those times.
Below is a quick summary of some of the performance statistics we have gathered for the Plymouth GTX over the course of its production run. Included are a 0 to 60 times and quarter mile times along with the sources for those times.
Below is a quick summary of some of the performance statistics we have gathered for the Pontiac GTO over the course of its production run. Included are a 0 to 60 times and quarter mile times along with the sources for those times.