Muscle Cars and Their Characteristics

Muscle car is usually used to refer to a variety of high performance automobiles. The term usually refers to American made mid-size cars of the late 1960's and early 1970's with two doors and rear wheel drive. They were generally equipped with large, powerful V8 engines and were priced accordingly. They were for street use and drag racing, unofficially and officially.

AMC, Buick, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Mercury, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, and Pontiac all made their marks in muscle car history with their own ideas of what people wanted. They all had common characteristics that tied them to the muscle car mantra. Some of these were the size of their engines, speeds at qualifying times, types and sizes of carburetors, and transmissions. The sportier body types helped. They are still out there, a lot of them refurbished to original (or better) condition. Moreover, they are still turning heads like they did thirty years ago.

They have “rod runs,” “burnouts,” and car shows so the owners of these magnificent vehicles can show off their pride and joy. Those of us that lived in that era have many fond memories brought back when we see these beasts, and the younger generations are learning a large part of automobile history. What a way to learn! Due to performance, expense, and other things, most of these fell by the wayside in the early 1970's. However, this century is seeing an increasing number of comebacks with Dodge apparently leading the way. Increased safety factors, newer technologies, and some retro styling are bringing muscle cars back with a vengeance, with other car manufacturers following suite.