Classic muscle cars are in demand even today. Some muscle car aficionados might argue, but there is one thing upon which they all generally agree: the 1964 Oldsmobile 442 was a premiere muscle car. Inspired by the Pontiac GTO made famous in song ("Little GTO"), Oldsmobile, a division of General Motors, decided to be the first to produce and sell "fullsize muscle" in a midsized model Cutlass.
According to online experts, the car came with the top engine available from Oldsmobile at the time, a 330 cid V8 with "the police package." The police package included a dual-snorkel air cleaner and high quality rod and main bearings. The car also had heavy-duty shocks and springs and even a rear stabilizing bar. The company called it the four-four-two package. Car fanatics might know the numbers stood for the four speed manual transmission, the four barrel "carb" engine, and the two (dual) exhausts.
Even when the specifications changed over the years, the name remained the same. Oddly enough, of all the General Motors A-body vehicles, the Oldsmobile 442 was never the bestselling automobile, nor was it technically the fastest. It was, however, famous for its excellent handling and balanced performance. The cars were produced through 1973 and the later Hurst and "W" editions became very popular.
Oldsmobile pulled out of the muscle car market after 1973. Although car buyers would still see the "442" name on different models over the next twenty years, none of those later automobiles could compare to the muscle cars manufactured in the sixties and early seventies.
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