Flex Time, Show Your Muscle.

A near and dear friend said it best, muscle cars are about standing quarter miles, blue jeans, and dime bars. So if you have lived under a rock the past few years you would not know who Richard Hammond is. You would not know he said this line, and you would never have watched Top Gear. So lets reintroduce you to the American way then. Muscle cars, they’re loud, they’re fast, and they are usually named after something cool. Muscle cars are what America’s speed addiction was built on, screaming down the boulevard in a big block Bel air, sliding around a corner in a Fire engine Red Mustang, or leaving that little Civic in the dust with a Corvette. From young to old this genre of cars has captivated everyone at one time or another, including myself.

So where did this all begin? Well the muscle car era is usually captured between 1965-1975. Now don’t get me wrong, there were muscles well before this golden age. Roll back to 1949 and find yourself next to an Oldsmobile Rocket 88. This basically is the baby daddy of the muscle cars we know and love today. Borrowing the engine from its larger companion the  Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight the high compression V-8 was now stuffed inside this well, Rocket. A light, sleek car unleashed on the streets. This was the perfect recipe for muscle. In the next years to come cars such as the Chevy Corvette would be released to roam the streets. Hitting the pavement in 1953 Chevy’s solid axle muscle car would continue to be the bully of the play ground. The nimble and light on its feet Corvette was a car not known to the American public, but other companies such as Ford would take notice. Ford Motor company had already been dabbling in the scene with cars like the Thunder bird but in 1964 the glass would break and a new breed of car would stampede onto the street. The Mustang was born and from 1964 to today America had a new image, loud, fast, and mean. The Muscle car era exploded. Cars like the Charger, Challenger, Camaro, Trans AM, Rambler, and Road Runner would follow. There was some problems in the 1970′s due to gas prices and the economy. Muscle cars started to become…….soft. Well if we jump forward past the 1990′s were the muscle car almost became the sports car we hit the 2000 mark.

Well whats to say now a days. Muscle cars still exist, the Camaro SS, the Trans Am formula and the Mustang Cobra. These three cars alone broke the mold. Muscle cars have now become advanced, they come with independent rear suspension, traction control, and V8 engines where some companies try to get fuel economy. Yes we are a long ways away from the 1960s and 1970s were you could cut your springs, change your carburetor and add some rear end gearing to your beast and take it to the streets. A lot of the cars are rolling out of the factory set up for your enjoyment. For instance the Shelby GT500 comes loaded and hitting the horsepower charts at 500HP! That’s a far cry from the saying there’s no replacement for displacement; well obviously there’s not but you can enhance it. Muscle cars speak to the American people and the craze has spread all over the world. Australia has their own bread, Japan is crazy for the Pony Car. Lets not forget Europe either, the V8 madness has been there for years thanks to some of our troops needing a taste of home. Muscle cars, the affordable car for the working person, always looming on the streets, and don’t play because they will leave you standing at a traffic light before your V-Tec can rev out.

Tags: Camaro Challenger chevy Corvette Dodge ford Muscle Cars Mustang Oldsmobile Rocket Trans Am