Please Help
turbohcar
01-30-2004, 10:44 AM
Hello, I am asking the help of this car forum for an English paper that I am writing for my college class. I need the opinions of a group of people on what their opinion of a muscle car really is. Some people today would say that the definition of muscle cars has turned into high performance imports and smaller cars. Others would say that the definition has never really changed and that muscle cars will always be the high performance cars of the 50's, 60's, and 70's. The purpose of this paper is to argue a point so I need all differing opinions you have and the more biased or outrageous the better. But please have some reasoning to your opinion. I thank you to all those that help out and thanks for the space and you will be credited in the paper for the information. Email all opinions to killerbmaverick@hotmail.com Thanks again and if you want I can post the paper or link it back to this site for those of you that want to read it.
Brett
1991 turbocharged Eagle Talon
1997 Chrysler Sebring LXi
1979 Chevrolet Scottsdale 350ci
Brett
1991 turbocharged Eagle Talon
1997 Chrysler Sebring LXi
1979 Chevrolet Scottsdale 350ci
BlkCamaroSS
01-30-2004, 08:25 PM
The definition of a muscle car has never changed. That's why there's so many genres to racing. All are able to be true to their heritage, while they can all race against each other...
MagicRat
01-31-2004, 05:51 AM
I would be inclined to agree. Are we just talking about definitions here, or about the enthusiast car market.
Back in the '60's there was a distinction between muscle cars and other cars. The term really is part of '60's culture and does not apply to the '50s, although it has been applied retroactively.
A muscle car originally meant a mid sized domestic car with a high powered engine usually taken from the full sized car line. More performance came from having less weight to haul around.
Up until the early '60's most high powered cars, such as the Chrysler 300, Chevy Impala SS409's etc were full sized car.
There were some exceptions such as the 1957 AMC Rambler Rebel with a 327. This was the fastest car of the year, tied with the Corvette, but it did not have a performance image or a marketing effort to develop a youth oriented performance package.
However, it was not until the 1964 Pontiac GTO that the strong marketing and advertising effort was matched with a car equipped to be a true muscle car. After that there was a flood of mid sized cars with the big engines and the support of the advertisers and marketing to promote the performane muscle car image.
However, even by the late 60's the market became stratified. A distinction was made between the mid sized muscle cars and the high performance comacts such as the Mustang and Camaro. These were called 'pony cars' as they were distinct and actually went after a slightly different market segment.
The true muscle car disappeared in 1973, and only reappeared briefly with such specialised products as the Buick Regal Grand National of the mid'80's.
Pony cars survived after 1973 and have been in continuous production ever since, with the best examples still being the Mustang (the originator of the concept) and until very recently, the Camaro / Firebird.
The smaller performance cars and the fast imports that appeal to younger enthusiasts today are not muscle cars. They are much closer to the 'pony cars' of the 60's and 70's in concept and execution. Therefore, to use '60's terminology, they are actually 'pony cars' not muscle cars. However, they are a distinct market from the present day Mustang / Camaro and are actually deserving of their more modern term 'Import Tuner' etc.
Personally, 'Rice Rocket' is my favourite, although this is considered to be quite derogatory in some circles.
Class dismissed.
Back in the '60's there was a distinction between muscle cars and other cars. The term really is part of '60's culture and does not apply to the '50s, although it has been applied retroactively.
A muscle car originally meant a mid sized domestic car with a high powered engine usually taken from the full sized car line. More performance came from having less weight to haul around.
Up until the early '60's most high powered cars, such as the Chrysler 300, Chevy Impala SS409's etc were full sized car.
There were some exceptions such as the 1957 AMC Rambler Rebel with a 327. This was the fastest car of the year, tied with the Corvette, but it did not have a performance image or a marketing effort to develop a youth oriented performance package.
However, it was not until the 1964 Pontiac GTO that the strong marketing and advertising effort was matched with a car equipped to be a true muscle car. After that there was a flood of mid sized cars with the big engines and the support of the advertisers and marketing to promote the performane muscle car image.
However, even by the late 60's the market became stratified. A distinction was made between the mid sized muscle cars and the high performance comacts such as the Mustang and Camaro. These were called 'pony cars' as they were distinct and actually went after a slightly different market segment.
The true muscle car disappeared in 1973, and only reappeared briefly with such specialised products as the Buick Regal Grand National of the mid'80's.
Pony cars survived after 1973 and have been in continuous production ever since, with the best examples still being the Mustang (the originator of the concept) and until very recently, the Camaro / Firebird.
The smaller performance cars and the fast imports that appeal to younger enthusiasts today are not muscle cars. They are much closer to the 'pony cars' of the 60's and 70's in concept and execution. Therefore, to use '60's terminology, they are actually 'pony cars' not muscle cars. However, they are a distinct market from the present day Mustang / Camaro and are actually deserving of their more modern term 'Import Tuner' etc.
Personally, 'Rice Rocket' is my favourite, although this is considered to be quite derogatory in some circles.
Class dismissed.
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