Muscle Cars

Muscle car is a term used to refer to a variety of high-performance automobiles. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines muscle cars as "any of a group of American-made 2-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." A large V8 engine is fitted in a 2-door, rear wheel drive, family-style mid-size or full-size car designed for four or more passengers. Sold at an affordable price, muscle cars are intended for mainly street use and occasional drag racing. They are distinct from two-seat sports cars and expensive 2+2 GTs intended for high-speed touring and road racing. Developed simultaneously in their own markets, muscle cars also emerged from manufacturers in Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.

According to Muscle Cars, a book written by Peter Henshaw, a "muscle car" is "exactly what the name implies. It is a product of the American car industry adhering to the hot rodder's philosophy of taking a small car and putting a large-displacement engine in it. The Muscle Car is Charles Atlas kicking sand in the face of the 98 hp (73 kW) weakling." Henshaw further asserts that the muscle car was designed for straight-line speed, and did not have the "sophisticated chassis", "engineering integrity", or "lithe appearance" of European high-performance cars.

However, opinions vary as to whether high-performance full-size cars, compacts, and pony cars qualify as muscle cars.

The general trend towards higher performance in factory-stock cars reflected the importance of the youth market. A key appeal of muscle cars was that they offered the American car culture relatively affordable and powerful street performance in models that could also be used for drag racing. But as size, optional equipment and luxury appointments increased, engines had to be more powerful to maintain performance levels, and the cars became more expensive.

 

In response to rising cost and weight, a secondary trend towards more basic "budget" muscle cars emerged in 1967 and 1968. These included the Plymouth Road Runner, the "original budget Supercar"; the Plymouth GTX, which at a base price of US$3,355 offered "as much performance-per-dollar as anything on the market, and more than most"; and the Dodge Super Bee. Manufacturers also offered bigger engines in their compact models, sometimes making them lighter, roomier, and faster than their own pony-car lines.

The 340 cu in (5.6 L)-powered 1970 Plymouth Duster was one of these smaller, more affordable cars. Based on the compact-sized Plymouth Valiant and priced at US$2,547, the 340 Duster posted a 6.0-second 0-60 mph (97 km/h)time and ran the quarter mile in 14.7 seconds at 94.3 mph (151.8 km/h). This "reasonably fast" compact muscle car had a stiff, slightly lowered suspension which, in the view of Hot Rod magazine at the time, let the car "ride in an acceptable fashion". However, a retrospective article by Consumer Guide referred to "a punishing ride" and trim that was "obviously low-budget." The 1970 model came with front disc brakes and without hood scoops. The only high-performance cues were dual exhausts and modest decals. Tom Gale, former Chrysler vice president of design, described the car as "a phenomenal success. It had a bulletproof chassis, was relatively lightweight, and had a good power train. These were 200,000-mile (320,000 km) cars." Hot Rod rated the Duster "one of the best, if not the best, dollar buy in a performance car" in 1970.

 

American Motors' mid-sized 1970 Rebel Machine, developed in consultation with Hurst Performance, was also built for normal street use. It had a 390 cu in (6.4 L) engine developing 340 hp (254 kW)—a "moderate performer" that gave a 0-60 mph (97 km/h) time of 6.8 seconds and a quarter mile in 14.4 seconds at 99 mph (159 km/h). Early examples came in "patriotic" red, white, and blue. Jack Nerad wrote in Driving Today that it was "a straight-up competitor to the GTO, et al. ... the engine was upgraded to 340 hp (254 kW; 345 PS) a four-barrel Motorcraft carburetor and other hot rod trickery. The torque figure was equally prodigious—430 pound-feet at a lazy 3600 rpm. In this car the engine was practically the entire story." With four-speed manual transmission, the car "could spring from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 6.4 seconds..." In Nerad's view, the car "somehow, someway deserves to be considered among the Greatest Cars of All Time." An article in Mopar Muscle said, "by far the most stunning thing for a car with this level of performance and standard equipment was the sticker of just US$3,475."

For comparison, the "plain wrapper"1969 Plymouth Road Runner, Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year, ran a 14.7 quarter at 100.6 mph (161.9 km/h) with the standard383 cu in (6.3 L) engine after the addition of a high-performance factory camshaft plus non-standard, high-performance induction and exhaust manifolds, carburetor, and slick tires. In this form the car cost US$3,893. In 1968, Dodge's $3,027 Super Bee ran a 15-second quarter at 100 mph (160 km/h) on street tires with the same engine, only stock.

Hot Rod magazine categorized the 340 cu in (5.6 L) 1968 Plymouth Barracuda 4-seater as "a supercar, without any doubt attached...also a 'pony car', a compact and a workhorse" with enough rear seat leg- and head-room for "passengers to ride back there without distress", and "a flip-up door to the trunk area for ferrying some pretty sizeable loads of cargo". It could run a quarter mile in 13.33 seconds at 106.50 mph (171.40 km/h)on the drag strip. The base price was $2,796.00; the price as tested by Hot Rod was $3,652.