The history of muscle cars
The Muscle Car industry was spawned out of the gradual increase in popularity of stock car racing (NASCAR) and drag racing.
The first car to be inspired by the need to create ever more powerful machines was actually in 1948 with the Oldsmobile Rocket 88. This car featured the first high compression overhead valve engine combined with a much lighter body and chassis design. By 1955 every car manufacturer was offering their own version of the V8 with some remaining legendary to this day.
Two of the engines that haven’t changed much since there original conception is the Chrysler Hemi, first manufactured in 1951 and the other is the small block Chevy which started manufacture in 1955.
Over the forth-coming years the car manufacturers entered into a battle not only over the engine performance but on the size of the cars. In the fifties the cars were huge with the size becoming a status symbol. This increase in size lead to ever more powerful engines being employed to ensure that the acceleration did not diminish. As with today’s market there are still individuals that want to go faster which lead to a thriving after-market performance parts industry.
In 1962 Dodge and Plymouth began to drop their heavier cars whilst Ford and Chevy started to offer an intermediate car such as the Fairline. The decrease in weight coupled with the lively engines led to Dodge and Pontiac performing very well on the NASCAR racing circuit.
When these cars were given over to the tuning enthusiasts the performance increase was phenomenal with Hot Rod recording a quarter mile of just 12.69 seconds and a stock setting 8 NASCAR records. These figures were fantastic marketing material and often quoted be sales people everywhere.
Pontiac’s timing of the introduction of the GTO was perfect. They completely misjudged how popular the car would be estimating sales at approximately 5,000 in the first year but actually selling 32,000. The main feature that distinguished this car from other Pontiac’s was that Engineers added the higher performance engine as an option. This allowed the designers to overcome the self imposed limitation of mid-sized cars not having engines bigger that 330 cubic inches.
It wouldn’t be long before other car manufacturers were hot on Pontiac’s heels with the introduction of the Chevelle by Chevrolet and Skylark from Buick.
As competition mounted it was all out war between the competing companies. Each company understood the importance of motor sports in the marketing of these vehicles. Ford in particular sparing to expense in producing some serious competition in rallies, international endurance racing and NASCAR races all over the country. One weapon in Ford arsenal was the introduction of the Ford Thunderbolt which was built for speed having a lightweight body and massive engine it wasn’t for the faint-hearted.
In 1964 Ford also introduced the Ford Mustang which came with a long line of options but not originally marketed as a Muscle car. The car was extremely popular and sold over 681, 000 in the first year of sales.
The battle of the car manufacturers continued into the 1970’s with the more an more powerful cars being introduced.
As the popularity of Muscle Cars increased there became greater concern over the safety of these cars on the public highway. The concern was particularly targeted at the young buyers and the effectiveness of handling, brakes and tire adhesion. This lead to the insurance companies raising the surcharges associated with these cars putting many cars out of reach to the target market. In 1973 there were also efforts to increase the cleanliness of the air which lead to lower octane fuels being introduced.
If you would like to have a muscle car wallpaper on your desktop to celebrate the golden era of the Muscle Car then you can find one in our new car wallpaper section.
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Crock-Pot SCCPVL600S Cook’ N Carry 6-Quart Oval Manual Portable Slow Cooker, Stainless Steel The Crock-Pot Cook & Carry Slow Cooker keeps up with your busy, on-the-go lifestyle. Turn the dial to âHighâ and get a hot meal, snack, appetizer or dip in no time. Set it on âLowâ and tonightâs dinner can cook while youâre at work. Or use the âWarmâ setting during a get together with friends so your dish stays ready to eat until the party is over. No matter… |
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Gold Complete Beer Equipment Kit (K6) with 6 Gallon Glass Carboy $79.99 Take your homebrew to the next level. The Gold Homebrew Kit has all you need to get brewing and adds a glass carboy for secondary fermentation resulting in a cleaner finished brew. Each Equipment Kit Includes: True Brew Handbook & Kit Instructions, 7.8 Gallon Fermenting Bucket, 1 Lid Drilled & Grommet, True Brew Rack & Fill kit, 6 Gallon Glass Carboy, Fermometer Fermentation Thermometer, Small Buo… |
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Wilton 3-D Cruiser Pan $10.16 Hit the open road with a car that shows your style! What a fun way to celebrate a new driver in the family, welcome travelers home or create the car of your dreams. Bake exciting 3-dimensional cakes, ready to customize for all occasions. One-mix pan is 11… |
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Blue’s Clues – ABC’s 123’s and More Collection $17.63 The Blue’s Clues “Best of” DVD box set will be featuring the following previously released DVD titles: “Blue Takes You to School”, “Shapes and Colors” and “Blue’s Big Band”. We will not be re-mastering these DVDs.Recommended Ages: 2 years & up… |
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Blue’s Clues – Bluestock $5.99 Today we’re having our very own musical concert, right in our backyard! It’s a concert filled with lots of our favorite Blue’s Clues songs, and we have some exciting animated celebrity guests on hand to add to the festivities.Toni Braxton joins Tickety to sing the Planets Song, Macy Gray and Periwinkle sing The Dance Song, and we have a very special reggae Mailtime with Mailbox and India Arie. Thr… |
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Speedway $4.88 Elvis looks sleek and cool in Speedway, a decided improvement over the pasty indifference he displayed in his middle-era range of pictures. The movie itself is standard Presley formula, with the King again playing a race-car driver, this time in trouble with an IRS agent (Nancy Sinatra) over his taxes. (There’s even a production number about taxes. Argggh.) On the plus side, a bunch of scenes are … |
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Great Racing Legends: Richard & Kyle Petty [VHS] $8.41 Benny Parsons interviews the “Royal Family of Racing”…Richard and Kyle Petty. Petty is the most well known name in racing today! With record breaking seasons from Lee, Richard and Kyle, these racing legends have dominated the circuits for over 50 years. Great racing pumps through the Petty veins. Lee Petty was a racing pioneer. He made a habit of making records and Richard made a hobby of b… |
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Herbie – Fully Loaded [UMD for PSP] $14.99 The simple pleasure of watching a living car squirt oil in a villain’s face just never goes away. Disney, in their effort to revitalize the Herbie franchise, has made the wise choice of not trying too hard–aside from a small bit of skateboarding action, just about every element of Herbie: Fully Loaded would fit right into the 1963 original (groovily titled The Love Bug) or its various sequels. Ma… |
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In Car 956 $34.50 The world of endurance/sports cars as seen through the eyes of Derek Bell at the wheel of the works Rothmans Porsche 956 (650 bhp). Featuring laps on 7 of the world’s greatest circuits with speeds up to 220 mph…. |
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3M 2091 P100 Particulate Filter, 1 Pair Per Pack $1.50 NIOSH approved for environments containing certain oil and non-oil based particles. Use with 3M(TM) Respirators 5000 Series or Cartridges 6000 Series with 3M(TM) Adapter 502, 3M(TM) Facepieces 6000 Series, or 3M(TM) Facepieces 7000 Series with bayonet filter holder…. |