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Fast Cars, yeah it's a craze that has existed since the time of
the chariots is Rome! Although many believe that the Muscle Car Era started in the
1960's. Which is kind of correct. True, the term was first used in the sixties, but as early as the late 1940's,
America's youth were converting their automobiles into souped up Muscle Cars.
When the war was over, many young soldiers returned home and started
putting loads of cash into their cars. In those times, and like
the present, automobiles expressed the ultimate symbol of freedom and
independence. Why it happened? Who knows, there are many
opinions, Rock and Roll music was still a long way off. Anyway,
it started out quite basic and increased into full-blown chop
shops and performance shops very soon after. Though these cars
were usually referred to as Hot Rods because they came from the
manufacturers with quite low power and speed capabilities. It is
believed they could still be considered the birth of Muscle
Cars in America.
The fifties was a great time for the automobile, the
manufactures broke the mould and cars like the T bird, Corvette
and Chevy Bel-Air were released. Studebakers, which were
technologically advanced for their time, hit the market.
However, the inventing of the term was still to come.
What is a muscle car and
how did the phrase originate? The concept of owning a automobile
for more than
just getting about had been around from the start of the
century. Since the production of the first, people
were coming up with ways to obtain more power
and speed. By the late 60's the major car manufacturers had fine
tuned that art themselves. Starting with the 64 1/2 Mustang GT,
the remainder of that time in history gave birth to many
incredible and awesome cars. As manufacturers one upped the competition, the cars
increased their power. Leading to the creation of the era of American Muscle
Cars.
So totally
American in many ways, the 60's Muscle cars expressed more than
just a time in automobile history. Which were so original, are
still sought after to this day. The phrase Muscle Car stirs
memories of big block cars like the 426 Hemi Cuda, the Boss 429
Mustang, the Shelby 427 Cobra, or the 440 Roadrunner. Which it
should, however the phrase does include also those other performance cars of the
time with smaller blocks like the 351 Mustang Mach 1, 302
Z28 Camaro, Corvettes, Boss 302 Mustang, 340
Duster, to mention a few.
What makes a car a Muscle Car? If you lived in
those years, you probably already know. But if you were not
around to see the
American car manufacturers attempting to out do the competition with
larger, more advanced, quicker versions, there are some of the
typical features.
First off the car would be a limited
version of a street car, as like the Mach
1/GT's and the Boss 302 Mustang. Having some particular type of performance suspension
created for
going from 0 to 100 as fast as possible or to handle well on
a track or often both, like the Barracuda AAR. Also having some
type of high output motor or the largest motor that
could be squeezed under the hood, as were demonstrated with the Z28 Camaro or
the Boss 429 Mustang.
Why where they manufactured? Basically as like any car is that
people will purchase it. Though this is not always completely
true, as like the Boss 429, Ford
lost money on every car produced. They sold them to create a
better
performance image for Ford and to obtain NASCAR requirements for a minimum
number of the motors be produced in cars so it could qualify to be
raced on
the track. No better model to place the 429 engine in then than the Mustang. These Pony Cars of the mid to late 60's had
a huge influence on creation of the Muscle Car era. Ford and Lee
Iococca were correct when surveys told them the US market wanted more
original cars, with more
options and sportier cars. The young baby boomer public
wanted to order a car to their specific taste. Soon after the
first appearance of Ford's Mustang, Chevrolet brought out the Camaro and
the Pontiac Firebird, Chrysler produced the Barracuda/Cuda and
Plymouth released the Duster. Creating a time when every American Car
manufacturer had a Muscle car or two offered to the
public. Series II racing was introduced by the
mid-60's with the new pony cars. The birth of Trans
American Racing (Trans Am). American Motors even participated in
Trans Am races with the Javelin AMX. Ford released a more
stream-line Mustang in 1969 with an improved 302 motor to compete.
Coining the phrase "
Win races on Sunday, Sell cars on Monday", which went on until car insurance costs and an oil crisis
killed off demand for these awesome cars.
However as long as man have testosterone, the market for high performance
automobiles will never go away. At worse
it was stifled by the high cost of fuel and insurance. After
the oil crisis of the 70's settled down, special cars appeared
again that could be named Muscle cars. As like the Mustang
GT/Cobra, the Viper, the Camaros and
Trans Am Firebirds. The new high performance cars are in many ways
better and faster cars than those classics. The later
suspensions are much better, and the motors more exotic. Even
the tires far superior to what was offered back then.
As
far as car history goes though, the true Muscle cars came out of
the 60's and early 70's.
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