Quad Motorcycle

Muscle cars are an important piece of American automotive history, although it was short lived. Many think of a muscle car as any car that is fast, but the true definition of a muscle car is an intermediate sized car with a large V8 engine, built between 1965 and 1973. Before 1965, most auto manufacturers mandated that a 330 ci or larger V8 engine could only be put into full size automobiles, but the Pontiac GTO in 1965 broke that rule, sort of. GM management decided to create a “GTO” package on the mid sized Pontiac Tempest which included a 389 ci V8, and this was not seen by upper mgmt until it was being sold by the dealers. And sold it did, with over 32,000 Pontiac Tempest GTO’s selling that first year, well above the planned 5,000, and the muscle car race was on.

 Muscle cars for sale other than the Pontiac GTO included the Chevrolet Chevelle, Ford Torino, and a new wave of cars categorized as Pony Cars. The definition of a pony car is a small sized model with very large engine. The term pony comes from the most successful pony car ever built, the Ford Mustang. Many believe the Mustang was the first pony car, but that title goes to the Plymouth Barracuda. By the late 1960′s, muscle cars had become heavier and more expensive so a new wave of muscle cars were being sold, stripped down models. These included the Dodge Super Bee and Plymouth Road Runner, models with few options which appealed to younger drivers due to the prices.

 After a few years of the muscle car, signs were pointing to the end of this trend. Insurance companies were catching onto the safety issues of muscle cars and raising the premiums out of reach for many muscle car owners, and new environmental and emission regulations was hurting performance. The last factor that ended the muscle car was the 1973 oil embargo. With fuel shortages across America, a gas guzzling V8 could not be sold well anymore.