I've owned 10 muscle cars, the first one purchased over a year before I got my driver's license. Officially, my first car was a 1967 Dodge Coronet 500 (in primer gray with no drivetrain), but my first real muscle car was a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T. That $200 car had no title, a seized engine and massive rust. We pulled it out of a junkyard with visions of turning it into a street hooligan, but when I found a complete and running 1969 Plymouth GTX I scooped it up and eventually parted out the dilapadated Charger (that car's tic-toc-tach is still spinning in my 1970 GTX's gauge cluster).
So why have I spent a quarter of a century buying, driving and wrenching on muscle cars? In a world rife with far more advanced and capable performance cars (one of which, a Ford GT, sits in my own garage) why do I continue to dabble in pushrods, carburetors and leaf springs?
Muscle car appeal is perfectly illustrated in the Plum Crazy 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE I purchased four years ago. First, the term "muscle car" comes from the look of these vehicles, as they invariably include bulging hood lines and hips, along with a wide stance and menacing grille. Few cars, with the exception of modern recreations like the new Challenger and Camaro, have recaptured those proportions and the associated hooliganism conveyed by muscle cars. Almost any modern performance vehicle can destroy an original muscle car in terms of sheer capability, but none offer the same bad-boy image.
Second, assuming you've got the thing running properly, this hooligan image is backed by a torquey, tire-shredding engine with a lumpy exhaust note. While the design and nature of muscle car performance is archaic by modern standards the expression of performance is as overt as a $200,000 exotic car. For gearheads looking to advertise their automotive enthusiasm in a cacophony of color, sound and smoke, a muscle car offers unbeatable expression-per-dollar value.
Finally, the muscle car era was the last gasp of non-government-mandated automobiles. Emissions standards? Crash standards? Color and taste standards? These didn't exist in 1965, but 10 years later they largely defined vehicle design. For example, anti-lock brakes and traction control serve valuable roles, but they also constrict the driving experience.
I would argue muscle cars existed in a highly unique time period. Technology had come far enough to give us high-powered vehicles right off the showroom floor, but not far enough to control how we used said power.
None of this changes the fact that a modern Ford Mustang GT will spank my 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T in any and every performance measure. And none of it changes which car will elicit the strongest responses if pull into a crowded car event right behind or right in front of that same 2010 Mustang GT.
All this is a long way of saying vintage muscle cars remain some of the coolest vehicles ever created. It's also why a 40-year-old Challenger get's to share limited garage space with my Ford GT.
By ahightower
on February 24, 2010
10:09 AM
"...unbeatable expression-per-dollar value."
Okay, I get it. Well stated.
By dscain
on February 24, 2010
11:42 AM
Karl, you explained my desire better than I ever could. Almost makes me want to cash out the kid's college fund and get one...
By dougtheeng
on February 24, 2010
12:17 PM
"Karl, you explained my desire better than I ever could. Almost makes me want to cash out the kid's college fund and get one..."
DO IT.
By estreka
on February 24, 2010
05:36 PM
I totally understand where Karl is coming from, but I just don't agree. I do appreciate muscle cars, but to me, the 90's were the golden era of the automobile for me.
There is no sexier car than the RX-7.
No bargain sports car like the Integra Type-R.
No elegance above the DB-7.
Few cars are more game-changing than the E36 M3.
To this day, there is no car more intimidating than the original Viper R/T.
This is a decade when Ferraris became supercars. When the automobile suddenly was expected to last beyond 100K miles. When truck payloads went crazy. When SUVs came into their own.
I do love muscle cars, I really do. I truly understand how Karl feels. Maybe it's an age thing (I never saw the 70s, much less the 60s), but I can think of no other decade that brought so much joy to my oil-filled veins.
Sorry for hijacking the post. :-)
By firstwagon
on February 24, 2010
08:16 PM
estreka has a good point. What defines a great car has more to do with what you grew up loving then the cars themself.
When I learned to drive in the 70's muscle cars from the 60's were cheap and plentiful. While they have their charm and thrills I also remember them for being the gas guzzelling, ill handling beasts that they really are.
I have fond memeories of the 80's cars. After the overweight,underpowered cars of the 70's the cars of the 80's were a blast.
The 1st VW GTI would runs rings around a muscle car on anything but the 1/4 mile. Cars like the early 80's Supra, RX-7 and Prelude showed performance cars could be fast, fun and for the very first time RELIABLE!!!!.
The 944 showed Porsche could build a good car besides the 911 and the 84 Civic family showed small cars don't have to be crude to be cheap.
Even Ford got it's act togeather and breathed life back into it's V8 to create the perfect cheap performance car the Mustang LX 5.0.
I had a great time in college back in the 80's and the cars of the day are what I remember best.
By huyracing
on February 25, 2010
05:25 PM
i see where you're coming from, but i'd rather drive something new. new cars will never look as good or perform without electronic intervention, but the fact remains that the new car will perform better with less headaches. i'm sure we all have certain older dream cars, but often times a dream is better left hanging on your wall or left as your background picture on your computer. (for you younger guys) you might just find that your dream has become a nightmare...
i would easily pick a new Challenger over the old... i would even pick a new Si over an old Integra Type R... (although I actually chose a GTI) my choices arent the rare choice that will get everyone's attention, but i can park it in a bad neighborhood and not worry what happens to it. it is unlikely that people would try and steal it and if they do, it is easily replaceable.
i argue that this makes a car more enjoyable... to be able to enjoy it and drive it everywhere without worries. it has all the creature comforts you want and it will start every time and be reliable. (in theory)
of course, i still haven't been able to sell my old unreliable car. lol.
By blackadder5639
on February 26, 2010
11:08 AM
I love the first Golf GTI!
By watt_d_fark
on March 23, 2010
12:25 PM
Hey, is that a 73 or 74 Scamp in the bottom picture (the orange car)?
My first car was a used 73 Scamp with a 318. When it RLS*, I could usually fix it myself with a screwdriver (turn the screws on the carb or use it to prop the choke plate open) or starter fluid!
Good luck fixing your modern car when it conks out on the side of the road!
*RLS=ran like sh!t, was a common abbreviation when I did time as a service writer back in the day