What Defines a Muscle Car

Muscle cars are being defined in so many ways. There are people who think of a muscle car as a vehicle that was built before 1948 and some think that they are any cars that have a V-8 engine. If you look at the history of muscle cars, you find such cars as the 1970 Hemi Cuda, 1967 RS SS Camaro, 1969 Firebird and the 1969 Road Runner. These are cars that are fast, flashy, well built and American made.

In the mid 1960s, Pontiac decided to put a Bonneville 382-cubic-inch engine in a Pontiac Tempest. They added some chrome and sporty tires and named this car the GTO. This was the trend that sparked the American car companies to begin the true construction of what we call muscle cars. Ford, Plymouth and Dodge were sure to follow this trend. These cars are all made in America.

Modern day muscle cars include the 2008 Dodge Viper SRT-10 with the power of an all aluminum engine 90 degree V-10 with horse power of 59.54 bhp per liter and the 2009 Corvette with 638-HP 602 Liter supercharge all aluminum block with a V-8 engine. Even though they are muscle cars that are not made as strong. Muscle cars that were made in the 60s,70s and early 80s, were made of all steel. The cars these days are made of fiberglass, plastic and aluminum. American car manufacturers produce the cars that will always be known as muscle cars.