Classic Cars, Trucks, and Motorcycles - History, Pictures, and Information

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Muscle Car History

Although short-lived, the Muscle Car era gave us some of the most collectible models in classic car history. Designed for straight-line speed, they lacked sophisticated chassis, brakes, and suspension, but were durable, affordable, and fast.

Pontiac wasn't the first car company to drop a big motor in a mid-sized car (Chrysler had done it in the Fifties), but they were the first to market a mid-sized car with a big motor. Rivaling anything on the road in straight-line acceleration, the 1964 Tempest-based GTO was wildly successful, prompting others to use the same basic formula. Every U.S. car manufacturer began packaging a factory hot rod with youth-oriented advertising, bringing about the muscle car phenomenon of the Sixties.