Reference
Birth and Death of The
Muscle Car
High.Performance.Individually,each
word means little.But when joined together,they become one of the best automotive selling
tools of all time.High performance vehicles grew out of the factories' need to improve
their racing machines.Every manufacturer wanted to be number one.Every manufacturer wanted
the latest model to roll into the winner's circle-whether that winner's circle was on the
two-lane drag strips of southern California or on a high banked NASCAR track.Racing rules
required that factories build a certain number of units of a particular engine for public
use before that engine could qualify for racing.This homologation rule gave birth to
limited,over-the-counter or special order packages such as Chevrolet's 1955 Super
Turbo-Fire 195hp 265ci V-8 or the popular 426 Max Wedge/Ramcharger package from Chrysler
in 1964.
The public appetite for high-performance grew strong
in the late 1950s and early 1960s.In 1962 Chevrolet introduced the first sport package on
its full sized Impala.Although the Super Sport package was mostly a trim option and came
standard with the lowly six cylinder powerplant,it laid the foundation for things to
come.With sales totals of nearly 100,000 units,the Super Sport showed that Americans
wanted a performance-image car.And because most SSs were optioned with the V-8 engine,the
car also showed that American drivers wanted performance to match looks.
Other auto makers sought to gain some of the
performance and youth market Chevrolet's Super Sport was tapping.Ford was fully involved
with the Mustang,but Lee Iacocca did not initially see the Mustang as a performance
model.Ford was committed to performance,but planned to base it on their full-sized
models.In the GM camp,Pontiac had,by 1964,developed a strong performance image with their
full-sized Super Duty and tri-powered Catalina and Bonneville,but few young drivers wanted
a high-performance "family"car.Pontiac's John DeLorean and marketing guru Jim
Wangers understood this,and they envisioned a new performance car aimed directly at the
youth market.
Wangers,an ad man with the agency then representing
Pontiac,believed that America's youth were bored with cars that looked like their parents'
automobiles.He felt that young drivers would snap up cars that were designed to appeal to
them.By taking a 389ci V-8 engine,adding a hotter camshaft and 421ci high-compression
heads,and placing it into a Le Mans body,Pontiac created the first true muscle car,the
GTO.
When the GTO's total sales topped 32,000 in the first
year,Detroit's other manufacturers scrambled to develop competing models.Chevrolet was one
of the first up,creating the 1965 Chevelle Super Sport by installing its new 396ci Turbo
Jet into the frame rails of the mid-sized Chevelle.
In 1966 both Chrysler and Ford each offered a muscle
car to tempt the public.Ford borrowed Pontiac's idea and installed a hopped-up big-car
engine (390ci V-8) into the engine bay of the Fairlane coupe and convertible and called it
the Fairlane GT (or GTA with the automatic transmission). Chrysler was putting the final
touches on the street version of the 426 Hemi,an engine that had taken all racing honors
the year before.Their Dodge division was also getting ready to introduce the
Charger.Chrysler would fully enter the muscle marketplace in 1967 with planned
introductions of the Plymouth GTX and the Dodge Coronet R/T,both aimed straight at the
GTO.
By 1968 all U.S. manufacturers,even American
Motors,had at least one high-performance image car.Chrysler added to its muscle car
lineup,creating two models that would ensure its place in the annals of automotive
history:the sleek,racy Dodge Charger and the budget hot rod Road Runner. Chrysler would
also up the ante by offering the 440 six-pack,the only multi-carbureted engine available
for a mid-sized car.
By the end of the decade,however,big brother,in the
form of the EPA, was flexing his muscles.Assisting him in driving the final few nails into
the muscle car's coffin were environmental activists and soaring insurance rates.
Many regard 1970 as the pinnacle year for
high-performance with all manufacturers making one final attempt to become the king of the
muscle cars.General Motors made mega-cube big blocks available in all of its
intermediates.Chevrolet released the 454ci 450hp V-8 in the Chevelle;Pontiac the 455ci
360hp V-8 for the GTO;and Buick the ultra GSX and its 360hp Stage I 455ci V-8.Ford
introduced the 429ci V-8 in Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet forms(the latter was rated at
375hp).Chrysler was the only manufacturer who remained confident of its performance
potential;it only added the 440 six-pack as an option across the board for its mid-sized
muscle cars.
1971 further weakened the survivors of the war that
raged against the muscle car.All manufacturers saw a fall in sales and performance(though
the 426 Hemi retained 1970's rating).The battle cry was changing.No longer did the masses
beg for a big block,full-on charger with steel twisting torque;the public's interest was
now in miles-per-gallon not miles-per-hour.By 1972 the battle was over.Gone were the
Hemis,the over 400hp powerplants,and the multi carburetors.Pontiac made one last effort
with the release of the 455 Super Duty option for the GTO and the Trans Am in 1973 and
1974.But for the most part,the muscle car war had come to an end.
The battle of the muscle car was a long and hard
fought one.Today,the models remain like fallen soldiers,with their names etched forever in
a wall of memories.
Looking for that special book? try
