Muscle cars are an important piece of American automotive history, but it was short lived. Many think of a muscle car as any car that is fast, but the true definition of a muscle car is an intermediate sized car with a large V8 engine, built between 1965 and 1973. Before 1965, most auto manufacturers mandated that a 330 ci or larger V8 engine could only be put into full size automobiles, but the Pontiac GTO in 1965 broke that rule, sort of. GM management decided to create a “GTO” performance package on the mid sized Pontiac Tempest which included a 389 ci V8, and this was not seen by upper mgmt until it was being sold by the dealers. With over 32,000 Pontiac Tempest GTO’s selling that first year, well above the planned 5,000, and the muscle car era was on.
September 7, 2010
July 6, 2010
Dodge Dart
Introduced in 1960, the Dodge Dart started out as a full size model passenger car but by the late 1960’s the Dart was a formidable muscle car. The Dart was created by Dodge to compete in the lower priced area of the market. The GT version was released in 1963, and the Dart was changed to a compact model. (more…)