Muscle Car: What's a muscle car?

[Gary Wells]

Currently showing at your local "Old Folk's Retirement Home":

[Murray B.]

The original meaning of "muscle car" if memory serves, is a Detroit mid-size automobile with high-compression big block engine. The smallest engine that I remember was the 389 in the "Goat" and the largest was the 454 or maybe the 455 (i'll have to check).

[-Josh-]

60's and 70's midsized cars with small block and big blocks. And if they had an I6, that got taken out and replaced by a V8

[Murray B.]

The term muscle car means different things to different people but since I was around in the sixties I can describe what it meant to me back then. This is also a defintion held by many other old timers.

For example to quote Jim Capisano, "In 1964 the Pontiac GTO was unleashed ... The muscle car was born..."("American Muscle Cars")

So what was so special about the "goat". It was a mid-size (Tempest LeMans) car with a big block, high-compression 389. The engine, built to move full size station wagons, made the goat fly without harming driveability. Usually the GTO is considered the prototype "muscle car" but this is only one, albeit common, definition.

Please note that "muscle car" is short for American muscle car which automatically excludes all Asian and European automobiles. They may be hot cars but they ain't muscle cars no matter how much their owners want them to be.

[Hypsi87]

Originally Posted by Gary Wells

Currently showing at your local "Old Folk's Retirement Home":

I second.
Also, the GN is in hemmings top ten MUSCLECARS to collect list.

[PMDtempest]

whats with all the T-Types and GN's?

[-Josh-]

They're awesome