Muscle cars

[Mr.DJ]

Muscle cars

BOYS growing up in the 1970s applied the same kind of grades of excellence to their toys then as they do now.

So while today most would prefer a PSP over a Game Boy, boys back then would find their heartbeats quicken if they were given a Hot Wheels car instead of something equally as good but a little bit more familiar from Matchbox.

That was because Hot Wheels brought you souped-up American cars. Some of them we couldn't even say the name of - who knew how to pronounce Camaro so that it didn't sound like a lengthened version of Capri?

You had the manufacturers, like Ford, Dodge, Plymouth, Pontiac and Chevrolet and then you had the models: Chargers, Challengers, Road Runners, Mustangs and Barracudas. They were all such a long way from Allegros, Imps and other gutless wonders produced this side of the pond.

And then there were the engines. If it didn't have eight cylinders in V formation, Americans would never buy it. Not only did they look mean in their own right, but to this day nothing - and I mean nothing - in the world beats the sound of a V8 engine.

Of course, they had their faults, and plenty of them. "Yank tanks" weren't built for our streets. They were too big, too wide and drank entire oilfields in one go (in fact, the decline of the muscle car can be directly linked to the worldwide oil crisis in 1973). But put them in their natural environment, on a sun-kissed Californian street, racing lights to lights, and they were things of beauty.

There were lots of sports saloons and coupes (pronounced "coops" in the US) in the 1960s, but the real daddy of them all was the Mustang.

First introduced in 1964, the Mustang was one of the most successful cars in American history, selling millions (one of the reasons you can still pick up a classic in a decent condition for a reasonable £10,000 - although you'll have to ship it home) before it first came to our attention in Steve McQueen's breathtaking car chase in Bullitt.

A great car was made even better by Carroll Shelby, who introduced a race version with the distinctive twin stripes that ran from the bonnet to the boot over the top of the car.

Others followed. Pontiac's distinctive Firebird can also be seen in Bullitt, although it was to evolve into the truly awful Trans Am, as seen being driven by Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit. Chevrolet's Camaro was another '60s beauty ruined by the dubious styles of the following decade.

As was the Dodge Charger. You'll remember most fondly its '68 shape, and being driven hair-raisingly by the Dukes of Hazzard.

However, it was one of the fastest cars around, especially when equipped with a Hemi engine, the enormous power plant with hundreds of horses that was sometimes referred to as "Kong" or "the elephant".

There was its sister car, the Challenger, the co-star of arguably the best and the most underrated road movies of all time, Vanishing Point.

But for me, the greatest of them all was the 'cuda. It looked like a brute and it drove as if there were whirling dervishes under its hood, and as a boy you really needed to know about cars to appreciate it.

That reason alone gave it its exotic cachet and remains the reason I still want one today.

You can pick up a good one for between $30,000 and $100,000 on American eBay. Seems like I'm not the only Hot Wheels fan who still wants an original.
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Source: icWales.co.uk
by Duncan Higgitt
Apr 17 2006

[ChuckG]

I was a GM fan back in those days. Anything put out by Chrysler, was well yuck, in my opinion. I now look back on all the beautiful cars Chrysler produced and wonder "what the hell was I thinking?" Stupid on my part I guess.

I completely missed those days. I missed the street racing and the cruising and the and the drive-ins. Never had a muscle car all modded out. American Graffiti I was not. I just drove around in my Chevy small V-8's and thought I had a 'cool' car. Wrong!

The really cool cars were the Chargers, the Challengers, the Road Runners and especially the 'Cudas. I was there, and I look at these cars now and kick myself that I missed all that.

[x-40oz-x]

I'd give my left nut to live through the "muscle car era"
Back in those days i'd drive a 318 'cuda over the LS6 Chevelle any day.

[boogieman]

Having been a Mopar-a-holic since '63, all I can say is that those who missed it just can't comprehend how "magical" the era was. Imagine the Barret-Jackson muscle cars all on the streets, prowling, all the time! And the Mopars were a real force to reckon with. In high school, my '62 Sport Fury HT, 361, 727, was rarely challenged due to the number of "kills" we had! Then there were my '68 R/T Chargers, the '69-1/2 6-Pack Super Bee, the Road Runner, the '66 Hemi Charger, '70 Cuda, Dusters, Demons, A-Bodies, B-Bodies, 340's, 383's, 440's, Hemi's. What a great time to be a gear-head!

[Mr.DJ]

Yep, it was certainly a magical era. I'm just glad that I'm old enough to have experienced it, yet young enough to have also enjoyed it.

[Sublime 340]

Its cool to see it happening all over again [sortof, anyway].
'Exciting Cars from Detroit' has been oxymoronic until quite recently.
I hope soaring fuel prices and weenie liberal politicians don't kill it in the crib.

Again.

[AirfuelEddie]

I lived through it, luckily, some of my buds didnt! We had a lot of chutzpah back in the day, lots of high H.P., booze, chicks and of course the fuzz! It was a magical time to be young and free, I wish for the simpler times. Example: back in the day, 1960s to the late 70s in my "area",(Ind.) you get busted for doing a burnout or street racing, if you were cool and kept your mouth shut the cops would be pretty cool, if you mouthed off you would probably be busted and have your ass kicked.Today they just bust you and send you to financial Hell.

[mike the tiger]

As an ~old timer~, in my mind there is a difference between a ~MUSCLE CAR~ and a ~PONY CAR~. For example a CHEVELLE SS, a BUICK GSX, a CHARGER (2 door!), a SUPER BEE, a ROAD RUNNER...is a ~MUSCLE CAR~. A CAMARO, a MUSTANG... is a ~PONY CAR~.

I think that the new CHALLENGER ( mostly because of price, weight and size) should be considered a ~MUSCLE CAR~. It is not a ~PONY CAR~. I think that it is a mistake for the DCX marketing department to match the CHALLENGER against the MUSTANG and the CAMARO (price, weight and size). DCX should sell the idea ~THE MUSCLE CAR AREA IS BORN AGAIN AND WE ARE ALONE IN THIS CLASS~.

What is your take on that!

[Cuda340]

Originally Posted by mike the tiger

As an ~old timer~, in my mind there is a difference between a ~MUSCLE CAR~ and a ~PONY CAR~. For example a CHEVELLE SS, a BUICK GSX, a CHARGER (2 door!), a SUPER BEE, a ROAD RUNNER...is a ~MUSCLE CAR~. A CAMARO, a MUSTANG... is a ~PONY CAR~.

I think that the new CHALLENGER ( mostly because of price, weight and size) should be considered a ~MUSCLE CAR~. It is not a ~PONY CAR~. I think that it is a mistake for the DCX marketing department to match the CHALLENGER against the MUSTANG and the CAMARO (price, weight and size). DCX should sell the idea ~THE MUSCLE CAR AREA IS BORN AGAIN AND WE ARE ALONE IN THIS CLASS~.

What is your take on that!

The new 2008 Dodge Challenger should be considered a "Pony car."

The Muscle Car Club has the following comprehensive definition of muscle cars and pony cars:

"The term "muscle car" wasn't even used until the late 1970s, in the 1960s there were often called "Super cars" if called anything at all. A muscle car, by the strictest definition, is an intermediate-sized, performance oriented model, powered by a large V8 engine, at an affordable price. Most of these models were based on "regular" production vehicles. These vehicles are generally not considered muscle cars, even when equipped with large V8s. If there was a high performance version available, it gets the credit, and not the vehicle that it was based on. Examples: Buick GS, Chevrolete Chevelle SS, Dodge Charger R/T, Ford Torino/Cobra, Plymouth GTX, Plymouth Road Runner, Oldsmobile 442, Pontiac GTO.

In addition to fullsize and intermediate muscle cars, a number of smaller vehicles started appearing on the automotive performance scene. These new "pony cars" and compact cars are generally considered muscle cars only if they have the top of the line performance engines and options. Examples: Plymouth 'Cudas (no Barracudas), Dodge Challengers R/T (no SEs),Chevrolet Camaro (SS and Z28 models only), Ford Mustang (GTs and Boss only), AMC Javelin, etc."

For more information see:

http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclec...finition.shtml

[Cuda340]

Originally Posted by x-40oz-x

I'd give my left nut to live through the "muscle car era"
Back in those days i'd drive a 318 'cuda over the LS6 Chevelle any day.

'Cudas were the high performance version of the Barracuda. They came equipped with a variety of great engines: 340, 340 Six-Pack (AAR), 383, 440, 440-Six-Pack and 426. The Barracuda was the base model and was only offered as a 225 slant-six or 318.

There were no 318 'Cudas.