When you think "muscle car," what's the first thing that comes to mind? (don't look up) Okay, look up. The winner, hands down, is the Pontiac GTO. The brain child of Jim Wangers and John DeLorean, the GTO stands alone as the very first car to utilize the muscle car concept which was, very simply, this; take a big block V8, preferably around 400 cubic inches,  and stuff it into a mid sized car like the Tempest or Chevelle. Add some heavy duty suspension and specialty tires, a trim package, and give it a catchy name. That's it; there is nothing else to the formula. Later on, when car makers lost their minds, they used the smallest cars available which produced such insane street monsters as the 396 Nova, Hemi Barracuda, 440 Magnum Challenger R/T, and the ever popular 428-429 Mustang. They also built Nascar types such as the Ford Talladega, Plymouth Superbird, Dodge Charger Daytona, and Charger Daytona 500, which featured a flat rear window along with other features designed for racing.

The GTO made everybody sit up and take notice. It also racked up sales beyond anything expected, which led to a legion of copycat cars. Over the next few years years  we saw the birth of the SS396 Chevelle, Buick GS400, Oldsmobile 442, (big block version)  Ford Fairlane GT or GTA, Gran Torino, Torino Cobra, and Mercury Cyclone GT. In 1967 Chrysler got on board with the Plymouth GTX and  Dodge R/T models, followed by the 1968 Road Runner and Dodge Super Bee (absorbed into the Charger line in 1971) , which were probably the best and fastest muscle cars ever produced. Despite road test figures, few cars made in Detroit could hang with a well tuned 440 Magnum or its bigger brother the Six Pack, especially if the engine was under the hood of the lightweight Challenger R/T or Barracuda. Oddly enough, there was never a Barracuda GTX although they did make the Cuda AAR, which came with a very potent 340 six pack. 

The concept changed a hair when Chevrolet introduced the Camaro in 1967 and immediately shoehorned the big 396  into the engine compartment. Pontiac quickly followed with the Formula 400 Firebird. Over at Ford, bigger was better for the Mustang and Cougar as well; they got 428 and 429 Cobra Jet motors and called themselves by such names as Eliminator,  Mach One, and Boss 429. When Chrysler introduced the Barracuda and Challenger, 440s and Hemis were quickly added to the option list. The 340 Dart GTS got the 383 as optional equipment, and 68  (figures vary somewhat) 440 Magnum GTS Darts were built as well. They were all sold through Mr. Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge.  8 are known to still exist. Try to keep that one in a straight line. Even better, 80 non streetable hemi Darts were produced for racing. 

Even AMC got in on the action with the Rebel Machine, Javelin SST, SCrambler, and AMX. Not that anybody really noticed, but they do have fans and some of the cars would surprise you if you took them lightly.

Engines for the mid size muscle cars got even bigger as years went on, resulting in 454 Chevelles, (I had one, nice car and very fast) 455 Olds 442s, 455 HO Pontiac GTOs, 455 Buick GSs, 428-429 Ford Torinos and Mercury Cyclones, and of course the Street Hemi GTXs and R/Ts. For 1972, the GTX lost individual model status and became an option package for the Road Runner.  See the Street Hemi section for more info and my opinions regarding the Street Hemi. It ain't pretty.

The whole thing came to a head in 1970 and shortly thereafter cratered. There were several factors involved, the biggest of which was the insurance industry. Tired of paying claims for teenagers and their victims whose bloody remains had to be scraped off the parkway with a snow shovel, (shades of 1957) they jacked up rates on muscle cars to the point where nobody could afford them. Prospective customers who called an agent and casually asked what it would cost to insure a 396 Nova were met by hoots of laughter followed by a dial tone. Some companies wouldn't take these cars under any circumstances. 

Emissions had also begun to rear its  ugly head, resulting in low compression engines, air pumps, catalytic converters, and the dreaded unleaded regular gas. Faced with these obstacles to performance, most car makers threw in the towel and phased out muscle cars. Add the gas crisis, and by 1974 they were extinct. The names were still utilized, such as the Chevy SS and GTO (now based on the Chevy Nova Ventura body), but the cars were now powered by small block low compression motors. As usual, the car makers caved to outside pressure and gave up on performance. 

Today, a "real" muscle car brings good money and only promises to bring more in the future. Unfortunately, with the value of these cars being so high, they are now doomed to historical museum status instead of being driven. Oh well, you can always buy a clone if you want a driver. That's about all they're good for, so pay accordingly. 

Just a few words about clones....imagine buying a very rare car like a Hemi Cuda and taking it to a car show, and forty clones show up? Do you think anybody would care (or even know) which car is authentic? How would you feel after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for the real thing, and a bunch of idiots park their home made cars next to yours? Counterfeit is counterfeit, and faking collector cars is no different in my estimation. Yeah, they tell you they're fake to avoid being sued when you buy one, but who cares?