Muscle car

Muscle cars are high-performance automobiles made primarily in Detroit from 1964 to 1974. Car manufacturers placed large V8 engines in mid-sized cars, giving them quite startling (and, for their size, inefficient) performance and setting off intense competition between manufacturers to produce the most powerful and extreme machine. The 1973 OPEC oil embargo, stricter air pollution laws and insurance premiums killed most muscle car models, though they are actively collected and restored.

Related Topics:
Automobile - Detroit - 1964 - 1974 - V8 - 1973 - OPEC - Oil embargo - Air pollution - Insurance

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Although auto makers such as Chrysler had occasionally experimented with placing a high performance V-8 in a lighter mid-size platform, and full-size cars such as the Ford Galaxie and Chevrolet Impala had high-performance models, Pontiac usually gets credit for starting the muscle car trend with its Pontiac GTO, based on the rather more pedestrian Pontiac Tempest. Spearheaded by Pontiac division president John De Lorean, the GTO proved far more popular than expected, and inspired a host of imitations and a general trend towards performance, both in the true 'muscle car' class of intermediate vehicles, and also the smaller pony cars like the Ford Mustang, Plymouth Barracuda and AMC AMX, and more luxurious and expensive vehicles such as the Buick Riviera.

Related Topics:
Chrysler - Ford Galaxie - Chevrolet Impala - Pontiac GTO - Pontiac Tempest - John De Lorean - Pony car - Ford Mustang - Plymouth Barracuda - AMC AMX - Buick Riviera

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However, a large part of the appeal behind muscle cars was that they were mostly inexpensive models young drivers could afford. For instance, Chevrolet placed an extremely large 396 cubic inch (6.5 Liter) engine in its compact Nova. Mopar also had several low-cost models, such as the Dodge Super Bee and Plymouth Road Runner.

Related Topics:
Mopar - Dodge Super Bee - Plymouth Road Runner

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Between 1964 and 1970, Detroit auto makers were in competition for the bragging rights to the most powerful motor. Power numbers generally hit their peak in 1970; the Chevelle SS 454 from that year is generally considered to have had the highest advertised output, producing 450 horsepower (336 kW) from a 454 cubic inch (7.4 Liter) engine. By 1971, muscle cars began to fall out of favor and disappear, with one of the last muscle car holdouts being Pontiac's Trans Am 1973 and 1974 SD455 model (while the SD455 was considered the last muscle car, the Trans Am nameplate continued until 2002).

Related Topics:
1964 - 1970 - Trans Am

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Although the muscle cars' legendary speed on the straight-away was unmatched, most had primitive brakes and suspension (compared with modern vehicles and also European sports cars of the time), and tires which were inadequate to handle the acceleration and speeds the engines made capable. These inadequacies have all been to some degree addressed by after-market suppliers, of course.

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The notion that American cars have inferior handling was born from muscle cars. There is truth to that, however, in most cases, it is not due to inferior engineering, but rather the great size and weight of many muscle cars. Some of the smaller ones, like the Plymouth Barracuda, were notably agile, especially when equipped with smaller engines. In fact, the 340 'Cuda (as it is affectionately known), with the change of a few bushings, was easily competitive with smaller european sports cars on a a twisty road. Enthusiasts of European sports cars would argue that the fundamental approach of building performance cars by bolting very large engines into comparatively large and heavy cars was in itself a flawed engineering approach.

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