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The very first muscle car ever!
Any one have any thoughts as to which "one" paticular car it was that started the whole muscle car era?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Fireball22 on
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Even though I'm a Ford guy and would like to claim that the '62 406-powered Galaxies started things off, it was a very limited platform. So, I gotta say that the '63 GTO was the real one that started the Muscle Car era, followed closely by the '63-1/2 Galaxie when the 427s started making noise.
But, being a Ford guy, if I really wanted to push the envelope I'd suggest that the supercharged '57 Fairlanes were the first Muscle Car, but I'll bet I'd get plenty of doubters there.
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Permalink Reply by Russ Luther on
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I guess I would have to say the early 50's mopars actually started the muscle car era, with the introduction of the hemi. Even in the big boats they put them in they still were really fast.
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Permalink Reply by Joe's 67 Camaro on -
What, exactly, IS a Muscle Car, anyway?
Well, that it certainly one of the most subjective automotive categories, and sometimes the most debated. Ask 10 different people what a muscle car is and you'll likely get 10 different answers. A Muscle Car, per se, is a 2-door intermediate coupe with a big-inch V8 engine and rear wheel drive built between 1964 and, at the latest, 1974 - something I think all gearheads more or less agree on. The line, however, is anything but clear. Here are a few examples:
Is a 1967 Pontiac GTO a muscle car?
Yes!
Is a 1968 Dodge Coronet Super Bee a muscle car?
Sure!
Is a 1970 Ford Torino Cobra a muscle car?
Absolutely!
BUT...
Is a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 a muscle car?
Hmmmmm.... could be.
How about a 1964 Ford Galaxie XL 390?
Well it does have a big block...
Could a 1967 Buick Wildcat 430 be considered a muscle car?
I suppose it could be considered one in some circles...
See what we mean? This is where the "blurred" line comes in. The popular belief when it comes to muscle cars is that while there are a few exceptions, they basically started coming of age in 1964. The most subscribed-to notion is that GM led the way with the 1964 Pontiac GTO, along with the Chevrolet Chevelle SS, Buick Skylark GS and Oldsmobile 4-4-2 that also debuted that same year (and were all based on the same platform).
Ford and Mercury, on the other hand, didn't really have anything in 1964 by way of a "true" muscle car in the same vein of, for example, the GTO. The pedestrian Fairlane and Comet weren't much of a threat at that time (yes, they did have a very limited-edition Thunderbolt Fairlane, but that car was hardly mainstream). Chrysler didn't have much either until 1966, when it redesigned the Coronet and Belvedere/Satellite. So one can conclude that while GM got the lead on introducing mainstream muscle cars to the general public, it wasn't until 1966-67 when Ford and Chrysler officially got in the game as well as true competition.
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Permalink Reply by Lloyd on -
From what I see and read in these post is that most people believe that the so called "Muscle Car" started around the early '60's. But are we all not leaving out some pretty strong older brothers, the ones that really started it all? Take the shoe boxes from Chevy, the '55 thru '57 Belairs. They may not have had Big Block Engines, but they did in my book start the Muscle Car revolution. And Ford had the '55 thru '57 Thunderbirds and '56 thru '58 Fairlanes.
The big block engine may have not really come on to the scene until the mid '60's, but I truely believe that these cars started the so called "Muscle Car" revolution. I know that there are probably others out there that I may have not mentioned, these just came to my mind first.
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