Muscle Car (cont.)

In the 1960's, the popularity of the old muscle cars grew quickly. It was during this time that Mopar - made up of Dodge, Plymouth ,and Chrysler, battled Ford for drag racing supremacy. The 1962 Dodge Dart 413 cu in Max Wedge could run a mile drag strip in 13 seconds, at over 100 miles per hour. GM's lineup in 1964 included muscle cars by Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, and Pontiac. Buick joined in 1965.

The C-300 could accelerate from 0 to 60 in 9.8 seconds, and could reach 130 miles per hour at top speed. It had a 300 horsepower, and was advertised as "America's Most Powerful Car". By 1957, the Rambler Rebel was the fastest stock car in America.

In 1964 and 1965, Ford had its Thunderbolts, and Mopar unveiled a new 426 cu in Hemi Engine. Also, Pontiac put out a GTO, which was an option package that had Pontiac's 389 cu in V8 engine, and a floor-shifted transmission, which has Hurst shift linage and a special trim. The GTO grew into a model in its own right in 1966.

AMC entered late into the muscle car market, but produced many great cars in a short time. The first of AMC's muscle cars came in 1965, with the Rambler Marlin, which battled the Ford Mustang and the Plymouth Barracuda. The Marlin didn't do well in sales, but the 1967 Marin and Rebel were both available in a car that was more pedestrian friendly, and this one did much better.

All in all, sales of real muscle cars ended up being modest by the Detroit total production standards. However, because so many small groups of people were interested in buying and racing muscle cars, the cars themselves and the models had value when it came to publicity as well as to bragging rights. Manufacturers continued to compete with each other during these years, as muscle cars rose to even higher and faster standards. This meant that consumers could choose from many different makes and models, to find the type of muscle car that would be best suited for their own needs. The horsepower war itself was peaked in 1970, when some cars were created that offered as much as 450 hp.

From those years on, muscle cars have become an international standard, with groups of drag racers and individuals collecting them to this day. Many feel that muscle cars were simply the beginning to the car collecting and racing hobby and sport, and therefore the muscle cars have continued to grow in popularity throughout the years.