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“The Muscle Car Era from Old to New”
By: Dave Stevenson
Do you remember the Mustangs, Firebirds and Camaros of the
late 60’s and early70’s? These
“Pony Cars” are probably the best-known examples of what were
considered factory “Hot Rods” or “Muscle Cars”.
Most Muscle car enthusiasts believe that the muscle car movement began
with the 1964 GTO and ended with the 1974 Super Duty 455 Trans Am.
In reality, “Hot Rodding” a car has probably been
around since the very first car was built back in the late1800’s but it
wasn’t until the late 50’s and early 60’s that the major car manufacturers
started to get serious about it.
Before organized racing, many performance car enthusiasts
would modify their cars with parts that they designed themselves. Since many of
these enthusiasts didn’t have the appropriate testing facilities at their
disposal, racing and testing new designs would sometimes and up on the street.
This could be out at an abandoned airstrip, a local cruise spot, or maybe
even at some desolate back road straight away.
The problems with this form of testing and racing were obvious.
Racing and testing modified cars on public roads was unsafe as well as
illegal.
In the beginning, Car manufacturers wanted to distant
themselves from the bad publicity associated with these activities.
Eventually these enthusiasts began forming racing organizations and car
clubs so that they could race and test their cars under controlled environments.
In organized racing, rules and regulations kept the racing fair and most
importantly, safer.
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As the
popularity of organized racing grew by leaps and bounds in the late 50’s and
early 60’s, Car manufacturers began to take notice and finally realize that
the exposure of their cars at various racing events could be good for business.
To take advantage of this exposure, Car manufacturers began to offer
special “performance packages” to their base model vehicles.
These “performance packages” allowed the general public to custom
order their cars with numerous high performance parts and options.
These custom ordered cars would then show up at race day with their proud
owners behind the wheels. What
better way for the Car manufacturers to show off the real world performance of
their best offerings?
Competition between Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and
others, led to many optional engines and performance packages.
By the late 60’s and early 70’s, a new car buyer had numerous factory
options available that could turn a tame grocery getter into a real drag strip
terror.
During these high revving times, factory big block engines
and performance gear sets could be stuffed into the smallest of body styles.
Stock Big Block 429 Boss Mustangs, 454 LS-6 Chevelles, and 426 Hemi Cudas
ruled the drags, posting easy 13’s on street tires while LT-1 Vettes, Shelby
GT-350’s and other light weight offerings pounded through the road courses
with ease. Deep pocket enthusiasts could order Big Block Vettes and Shelby
Cobras. These “muscled out sports cars” could terrorize most with
easy 12 second blasts with nothing but a set of slicks out back.
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Probably one of the greatest examples of the extremes taken
by the car Manufacturers during this period was the 1967 427 Vette.
This lightweight “Monster” was officially advertised at over 500
horses but in reality the number was well over 600 HP.
It has been said that these optioned out Vettes could easily dip into the
11’s with racing slicks. GM
probably under estimated the horsepower figure to hood wink the insurance
agencies or maybe even the other manufacturers.
Thanks in part
to the Oil/Gasoline crisis of the early 70’s, the last of the true Muscle Cars
began to fade by 1974. New emission
standards and high gasoline prices nearly eliminated the gas guzzling high
performance cars by the mid 70’s. Gone
were the rip snorting Muscle Cars of old and in was the new low emission and low
performance econobox offerings.
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Well-made, cheap and dependable foreign cars began to cut
into the overall car market, adversely affecting the American Car manufactures
for years to come. This is hard to believe but Ford actually dropped the V8
option Mustang for this year while Chevy put the Camaro Z-28 option on hiatus
for 75’ By 1975, even the fastest American Sports car was drowning in
emissions plumbing. The mighty
Corvette that once had 5-second 0-60 blasts in the late 60’s, could barely
muster up high 8’s to sixty. Times
were really bad in the mid 70’s but the use of Fuel Injection and computers to
curtail emissions would offer hope for the performance crowd in the 80’s.
The Muscle Car Era was gone by 1974 and it would take more
than a decade for the American car companies to get back into the swing of
things. By the mid to late 80’s,
new performance cars like the Buick GN/GNX, Ford Mustang 5.0/SVO, Formula
Firebird, and Iroc Camaro would cause a performance revolution. Advances in automotive technology by this time, allowed for
increased horsepower but with lower emissions.
Carburetors made way for Fuel Injection, while state of the art computers
electronically controlled emissions. Thanks to these advances, the new wave of
performance cars was now closing the gap between new and old.
Into the
90’s, horsepower and mileage continued to increase while emissions steadily
decreased. By the early 90’s,
Firebirds, Camaros, Mustangs and Vettes were all easily breaking into the 13’s
again, while super limited edition offerings like the ZR-1 Vette, 20TH
Anniversary Trans Am, Cobra R and GMC Syclone were all breaking into the 12’s
barrier with minor tweaking.
Fast forward to 2000 and beyond, some modern V8 performance
cars now offer better gas mileage than some of the 4 and 6 cylinders from back
in the 80’s. In addition, 6
cylinder pony cars now offer the same amount of power as some of the 8 cylinders
of not so long ago. Modern
technology has allowed Performance Cars to accelerate, handle and brake better
than ever. The days of going
straight really fast but backing off at the curves is long gone.
Modern performance stand outs like the Dodge Viper GTS, Chevy Corvette
ZO6 and Ford Cobra R can easily match or beat the performance of the best of the
Muscle Car Era but in a much more civilized manner. Performance Cars of today
may not be as loud and brutal, but they are certainly as potent.
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Growing up in the late 70’s and early 80’s, I use to
dream of a long gone time when Muscle Cars ruled the streets.
Now, in the new Millennium, The Muscle Car is back and in my opinion,
better than ever! Some may think
that the civilized approach of new technology has taken the fun out of
performance. Not true, just take a
look at the Viper, Prowler or any other retro performance vehicles on the market
today. The Viper is basically a
modern day Shelby Cobra, while the Prowler resembles the “Hot Rods” of
yesteryear!
Now that the Manufacturers are hitting the mark in terms of performance again, they’re bringing back the nostalgic styles and names of the long lost classics. For example, the ZO6 optioned Vettes of the early 60’s once ruled the streets and tracks of America. Fast forward to today, four decades later, you can order a brand new C5 Corvette with a ZO6 option at your local Chevy dealer and drive down to the local drag strip or road coarse and put a spanking on a many of foe. Hummmm, kind of reminds you of the good old days huh?
Which is better, old or new? I’ll take them both! I think that they both serve a purpose for the modern performance enthusiast. One could be used for everyday commuting, while the other could be used for weekend cruising. Now what would be my choices if cost were not a concern? I’ll take one 2001 ZO6 Corvette and one 1967 427 Shelby Cobra please! Maybe you could throw in a Cobra-R also, just in case one of the other two is out of commission! Santa, are you listening? I’ve been good all year long!
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