Muscle Cars

       Now, if you are looking for a car that screams america, has absolutely no cornering abilities and is the fastest in a straight line, then the car for you is a muscle car.  The defining characteristics of a muscle car is a big screaming V8 engine, a live rear axle, a very small backseat and a loud exhaust.

      These cars came around in the late sixties with the emergence of the Ford Mustang, and Pontiac Firebird. From there, cars like the Chevy Camaro and Nova, the Dodge Charger, Plymouth roadrunners, Pontiac Barracuda , Oldsmobile 442, Ford thunderbird, and even the Chevrolet corvette evolved into a muscle car.  These cars were the perfect representation of the first golden age of cars in America and set the bar for all following models.  Some of the most legendary and coveted of these muscle cars include the Mustang GT 500's, the Chevrolet Corvettes,  Plymouth Superbirds and Hemi Barracudas.

      Not only are these cars found to be awesome and desired for from the sixties, but there has been a revitalization of the muscle cars in recent years.  Even though the Mustang never really went away, most people just wished they had for some time.  For example the Ford Mustang II with all 74 horsepower coming from four screaming cylinders of fury and freedom (yeah i'll pass, thanks) was quite possibly the worst car ever to be created and whoever authorized the production of such a disappointment to the mustang world was hopefully executed for it.  However, the last 15 years have seen a great number of mustangs that have lived up to that expectation set back in the sixties.  From the Terminator Cobra mustang in '03 and '04 to the GT 500 in 2013 and '14 with well over 650 horsepower.  The newest mustang takes the name to a whole new level however.  It takes a car that is good in a straight line and the engineers finally figured out what that silly contraption called a steering wheel is and they made it good on the track as well.

      Other companies that have been making a comeback in the muscle car world as well include Dodge and Chevy.  They too have begun to meet and raise the bar of expectation on their cars as well.  For instance, the Chevrolet Corvette has begun to rival European sports cars that have dominated the scene on the racetrack for as long as anybody could remember.  The camaro and dodge hellcats look mean as hell and can scare the crap out of just about any driver with power outputs reaching up to 707 horsepower from the factory.  Yeah, 707 factory horsepower.  That's crazy.

      I see no reason for any slowing in the progress that these muscle cars have made and i think that it is safe to say that we will see them around for a little longer this time as well.