There is no car quite like an american muscle car. Throughout the history of the automobile, there have been those car owners who lived to customize and modify them. For this breed of driver, the factory specifications (specs) were rarely adequate for their taste.
They souped-up the engines, customized the paint-job and forced-on oversized chrome wheels, along with fat tires. These car buffs straightened the exhaust pipes, enhanced the suspension and created some of the first hotrods on earth.
It took a few generations of automakers to finally smell the rubber burning all around them. In 1962, the major American car companies decided to embark upon a manufacturing Mecca that would come to be known as the era of the American muscle car.
American muscle cars revolutionized the automobile industry in the 1960s. American Motors (AMC), Chrysler the Ford Motor company, Dodge, General Motors (GM) and Mercury all began to manufacture automobiles with large block engines that produced unprecedented amounts of horsepower.
These cars not only had more power, they looked much sportier then the average family sedan. Meanwhile, the Etzel and the Desoto had gone the way of the dinosaurs.
The cars of the early 60s were not much different than the sedans that dad or mom drove as the family car. However, in 1964 Pontiac unveiled for the first time, its newest model that would become perhaps the most legendary American muscle car of all.
The Pontiac GTO was ahead of its time. This car was definitely all muscle. The 1964 Tempest GTO set the stage for all other muscle cars to follow. This car was essentially the sportier version of the Pontiac 421. The GTO’s 389 engine created 325 hp at 4800 RPMs. The GTO was sleek, sporty and downright pretty to look at.
In 1964 other car companies would attempt to rival the GTO and arguably, some did. However, one of those models originated from one of the sister companies of General Motors. The Chevrolet Chevelle SS was probably the second best American muscle car of 1964.
An honorable mention can be given to the 1964 Dodge 426 Hemi. This Chrysler built muscle car boasted a 426-cubic inch Hemi-head V-8 engine. Though the 426 was sporty enough for the time, the GTO would rain the King of the Road in 1964.
As the 60s rolled on, American muscle cars rolled off the assembly line with sleeker lines, faster engines, brighter colors, shinier wheels and fatter tires. 1969 would be the pinnacle of the American muscle car era. Virtually every American automaker had designed and produced a muscle car that would turn heads everywhere as it rolled by.
From the AMC Hurst SC/Rambler, to the Oldsmobile 4-4-2, to the Mercury Cougar Eliminator and the Ford Mustang Boss, muscle cars where undoubetdly the most awesome automobiles on the road. However, the 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge would once again reign as the King of the Road.
The toll of the Vietnam war, the fledgling economy of the 1960s and the increasingly higher prices of American muscle cars, led to their ultimate demise. However, anyone who witnessed this golden era of the American auto industry longs for the days gone by. Though muscle cars have returned in some form through retro designed models, it is unlikely that the American muscle car era will ever really return in earnest.