The History and Evolution of Muscle Cars: A Look Beyond the Traditional Designations

As a child growing up in Atascadero, California, I spent countless hours attending cruises with my family, where the majority of cars on display were from the 1960s and 1970s. This sparked an interest in these boxy, powerful, and loud machines that quickly became my passion. However, after starting work at this channel, my focus shifted to muscle cars, which were largely limited to traditional designs.

However, with recent market trends suggesting a decline in new muscle car models, I began questioning what truly defines a muscle car. The assumption is that only one or two specific types of cars meet the criteria. But what if I told you that muscle cars are still being produced, albeit under different names? In this article, we will delve into the history of these iconic vehicles, explore what characteristics define them, and challenge conventional wisdom by suggesting that a crossover can also be considered a muscle car.

The Origins of Muscle Cars: A Detroit Story

To understand where muscle cars came from, let's take a step back to the 1960s in Detroit, which was (and still is) a hub for the automotive industry. The city's location at the crossroads of half the population of the United States made it an ideal place for car manufacturers to innovate and compete with each other. One car that is often credited with starting the muscle car era is the Pontiac Lemans GTO, released in 1964. This high-performance package combined a big engine with a small car, which proved to be a winning combination.

The GTO's success can be attributed to its unique blend of power and affordability. By pairing a large V8 engine with a compact body, Pontiac created a vehicle that was both fast and accessible to the masses. The Lemans GTO's innovative design paved the way for other manufacturers to follow suit, leading to an explosion of muscle cars on the market.

A New Definition: Beyond Traditional Designations

While traditional muscle cars are often associated with specific designs, such as ponies or muscle-back sedans, it's time to expand our definition. A crossover can also be considered a muscle car if it meets certain criteria. But what exactly constitutes a muscle car? To answer this question, let's examine the ground rules for defining these vehicles.

In 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) established guidelines for classifying vehicles as high-performance cars. According to the NHTSA, a vehicle must have:

* A minimum horsepower rating of 200

* A peak speed of at least 115 mph

* Use engine technology other than fuel injection

While these criteria are not exhaustive, they provide a starting point for understanding what defines a muscle car. It's essential to note that these guidelines were created with the purpose of promoting safety on our roads and do not necessarily reflect the original spirit of muscle cars.

Conclusion: The Future of Muscle Cars

As we look to the future, it's clear that traditional muscle cars are becoming less prevalent. However, this doesn't mean that the concept of a muscle car is dead. Instead, manufacturers are finding innovative ways to produce vehicles that embody the spirit of these iconic cars without adhering to strict design guidelines.

At this channel, I believe that a crossover can be considered a muscle car if it meets certain criteria, such as producing significant horsepower and engaging in performance-oriented features. By expanding our definition of what constitutes a muscle car, we can ensure that the next generation of high-performance vehicles continues to evolve and innovate.

A Message from Off The Record

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In conclusion, the definition of a muscle car has evolved over time, and it's essential to expand our understanding beyond traditional designations. By embracing innovation and creativity, we can ensure that high-performance vehicles continue to thrive in the market.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(upbeat music)- When I was a kid backin my small hometownof Atascadero, California,I used to go to cruisenight with my family.This is when I startedbecoming interested in cars.Most of the cars werefrom the '60s and '70s.So naturally, I became obsessedwith these boxy, powerful, loud machines.Until I started working at this channel,muscle cars were prettymuch all I cared about.But nowadays, it seems thatthere are less and lessnew muscle cars on the market.In fact, I would arguethat there's only onetraditional muscle car left.What if I told you though,that muscle cars are still being builtonly no one would ever call them thateven though on paper,they are muscle cars.Well, today we're gonna take a short lookat the history of these fine machines,find out what actually defines muscle car.And then I'm gonna convince youthat a crossover can be one.I made a graph.(upbeat music)Thank you to Off The Record for sponsoringthis episode of Wheel House.(upbeat music)- And then you could just,so then we'll just resetback in the same spot.- Imagine this, you'redriving down the highwaygoing one, two, 10 miles anhour over the speed limitand you're finally running pony carbut what's that behind you?Are those sirens?- Not again, I can't afford another ticketor be subject to increasing insurance feesover the next three years on top of that,there's gotta be a better way.- Don't plead guiltyto that ticket, Nolan,fight it with the help of Off The Record.Off The Record connects youwith local experienced lawyerswho will fight the ticket on your behalf.They have a 97% success rateof keeping that ticket off your record.Oh, what? That's not good enough.They also have a money back guaranteeif they are unable to getthe ticket off your recordor get the fees reduced.- Thanks Off The Record.Go to off the record.com/donutor click the link in thedescription below to get 10%off your first ticket today.Take it away, Nolan.- So what are the actual parametersthat defines a muscle car?We're gonna look at the ground rulesfor what defines thisspecific type of car,but first, let's findout where they came from.And to do that, we're gonna have to goback to 1960s, Detroit- Detroit, the crossroadsof half the populationof the United States.- People usually give creditto the Pontiac Lemans GTOfor starting the muscle car era.The high performancepackage combined Pontiac'sbiggest engine with their smallest car.The GTO was a hit and GM'sown heritage center websiteboasts that this car"started the muscle car era."But I only half agree.In the decade prior to the GTO,a lot of manufacturers were experimentingwith the big engine, small car formula.As early as 1949, Oldsmobiledropped the Rocket 88a relatively lightweight V8 powered coupethat was meant for the dragstrip.Two years later, Hudsonreleased the Hornetwhich had a superpowerful inline six engineand a low center gravity,which made it greatfor NASCAR's fledgling dirt ovals.In 1952, the Hudson won 27 ofNASCAR's 34 events that year.Amazing.Finally in 1957, Ramblerreleased my favoriteproto muscle car, the Rambler Rebel.this funky looking four-doorhad a V8 mo powerfulthan anything Chevy wasputting out at the time.And it was the fastest sedan in Americawith a zero to 60 of 7.2 seconds.All of these cars predated the GTO.And even though they'reprobably not what youwould typically considerto be muscle cars,they proved that the demand was thereand helped convince Pontiacthat the GTO was a good idea.(upbeat music)Racing on both ovals and the dragstripwas really important to thepopularity of the muscle car.It was basically the main componentin generating sales especiallyin those early years.You win on Sunday, sell on Monday.And as it happens, drag racing and ovalsmean you're going in a straightline for most of the timeexcept for NASCAR whereyou're turning left.Going fast in a straight line is a keyingredient in the muscle car recipe.If a car handles well,that makes it a littleless muscly in my eyesbut it's not a total disqualifier.A third motor sport forced muscle carsto get light on their toes.It was called Trans-Am racing.The SCCA first organizedthe trans-Americansedan championship in 1966.Through the years, the field was dominatedby cars like the Ford Mustang,Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger.These cars were a little differentthan your typical muscle cars.The Mustang and Camaro werewhat's called pony cars.They're smaller and more tossablethrough the turns, butmuscle cars nonetheless.That being said, I thinka good handling carcan still be muscle car.It's just a different kind of flavor.With that history in mind,let's take a look at a checklist of whatevery muscle car of the time had in commonwhich will give us a baseline definition.Number one, they were allfront engine rear wheel drive.Two, they were all quick for the time.Three, they all had four seats.And last but not least,they had big old engineswith plenty of power.I think these four featuresare the foundation of the muscle car.Now imagine a car has all the basemuscle car ingredients but only two seats.Does that make something likethe new Superon a muscle car?What about the Jaguar F type?What about the Viper?Since all these cars only have two seatstheir practicality isweakened considerablymaking their focus purely ondriving even more apparent.They're not muscle cars,they're sports cars.The exception to thetwo seat rule is trucks.I do believe that rigslike the Ford lighteningand the Dodge little red expresscan be considered muscle trucks.Yes, they only had two seats,but you could lay apallet of Wrangler jeansin the back making them very practical.So let's talk about doors for a second.For a very long time, Ibelieve that muscle carscan only have twodoors.But as you look back in the history,I'm not so sure that holds up anymore.The Oldsmobile Rocket88, that I just mentionedthe one that started it at all,it was available with four doors.The Rambler Rebel that I loveso much, also had four doors.I think the debate really boilsdown to personal preference.If you give me the choicebetween an Impala coupe versus sedanI'm gonna choose the one with less doors.They're just cooler lookingbut that doesn't make thesedan any less muscly.So we've covered seats.We've covered doors.Let's talk about hatchbacks.It's not a feature you'dassociate with the muscle car.It's usually reserved forcompact cars and minivans.Admittedly, there are not manymuscle cars with hatchbacks.But I counter with thisvery prominent exampleperhaps one of the mostpopular muscle carsin the US, the Fox-body Mustang.Available both in themore traditional notchbackand with a big old clamshell, the Fox-body kicks asson the dragstrip and at getting groceries.It's a very useful car, stillvery muscly at the same time.So just to reiterate:rear wheel drive,four seats,quick for the time and can be a hatchback.I think we're ready for the grid.(instrumental music)Here's my graph with certain carsblocked out to be revealed later on.At the center of our muscle car matrixis the current Dodge Charger RT.This four-door bruiser isubiquitous across the USand has every quality of a muscle car.It looks the part.It's quick in a straightline, it's affordableand very practical when it needs to be.It's the center of the muscle car market.But why did I put it in the middle?Well, our X axis is a spectrumof practicality and styling.At the very right is Coke bottle.The term used to describe the shapeof cars like the current Dodge Challenger,the late '60s Chevy Chevelle,and the second gen Ford Mustang.I don't really know why theycall these cars Coke bottles.They don't really look like bottlesfrom any angle, maybe from the top.I'm not exactly sure.You can debate in the comments.To the left is the hatchbackside of the spectrumwhere I put the Fox-body hatch.The Y axis is a lot easier to explain.You got mo powa at top andlow powa at the bottom.With these parameters in place,the matrix can be splitinto four quadrants.In quadrant one, you've got cars that leanto the Coke bottle sideof styling with mo powa.These can be consideredtraditional muscle carsyour Challengers, your GT 500s,your Oldsmobile 442s.These are the cars that would beright at home at cruise night.In quadrant two, we havelow powa Coke bottles.I would not consider carsin this quadrant to be muscle carsbut they are muscle car-inspired.Cars I would put in hereare mostly Japanese.As the Japanese sportscars of the '70s and '80slooked like slimmed downAmerican muscle carswithout the V8 under the hood.Look no further than the Kenmeri Skyline.This little guy debuted in 1973at the peak of the muscle car crazeand borrowed the Cokebottle styling to a tee.The Kenmeri is like a7/8th scale 71 challenger.I love it.And that's not the only example.Toyotas Mark one CelicaLiftback is a dead ringerfor the 68 Mustang Fastbackfrom the side, anyways.And Toyota didn't stop there.They really love thatmuscle car aesthetic.The Mark two super andJames Pumphrey's own AE86also had very muscly dimensions.They just weren't that quick.So that takes us to quadrant three,the hatchback leaning, low powa cars.Well, they're not muscle cars, right?Any car with lower power, a hatchbackand most likely four doorsprobably isn't even rearwheel drive and would struggleto meet the quick Ford's time requirement.I don't have much in that quadrantbut I do have one very weirdexample that I wanna mention,The AMC Gremlin.the AMC Gremlin wasfamously first sketchedon the back of an airline barf bagand had the misfortune oflaunching on April fool's day.No wonder people thoughtthis thing was a joke.While the early six cylinder Gremlinsare certainly not muscle cars.That discussion gets alittle more difficultwhen you remember the 1972 Gremlin Xpowered by a 304 cubic inch V8,good for zero to 60 in 8.5 seconds.Now, I'll admit that's not competitivewith muscle cars from that same year.So I don't know if I'dcall it quick for the timebut it was still a compact car with a V8.And that's pretty rad.For fun, I Googled Hellcat Gremlinand I found this poston John G's Mopar page.Just look at this thing.Shine on you crazy diamond, shine on.Let's talk about the carsof quadrant number fouror as I like to call themmuscle cars in disguiseor cars that might get me hate mail.I haven't decided which.The crossover segmentis pretty interesting.What started out as carsfor people who like sedansbut wanted to sit high up like an SUVhas become the foremostsegment in the industry.And guess what?There are sneaky little musclecars hiding in this segment,if you're willing to bendthe rules just a little bit.Now, I'll be honest with you guys.I was going to name this video,this Infiniti crossover isa muscle car, I'll prove it.Butthe problem is the FX 35I was gonna use as anexample, just didn't work.It is front engine, rear wheel drive.It's basically got four seatssince the middle rear seat is uselessand it's quick for it'ssegment, not for the time.That's the problem.The 2012 FX 35 could dozero to 60 in six seconds.For comparison, the challenger RTfrom that same year coulddo it a second faster.That's a pretty wide marginnot close enough for me tosuccessfully make the argumenteven though I really, really wanted to.But I still think there are a fewcrossover muscle cars out there.Since the segment is growing so much,manufacturers are pumping upthe performance to standout.In 2009, Infiniti released the FX50which thanks to its five liter V8could do zero to 60 in 5.1 seconds,which is four tenths fasterthan the Challenger RT that year.The reason for this speed is somethingI haven't mentioned yet.And it's an advantage, Ithink, disqualifies a carfrom being a muscle car,all wheel drive.If it weren't for that little asterisk,I would have gotten away withmy cheeky clickbait titlebut I just couldn't do it.The AMG GLE 63 Scoupe has all the swaggerand beefy proportions ofa fastback muscle car.And the 603 horsepower V8 will scoot youfrom zero to the Erewhonmarket in 3.7 secondswhich I will say is quick as heck.But it can only do that,thanks to the grip affordedby all wheel drive.There's an arm race happeningbetween all the luxurycrossover manufacturersover who can build thebaddest and fastest machineand that secret sauce that all of them useis all wheel drive.The Porsche Macan, the Audi QA, the Uruswhatever X car BMW makes right now.They can all do numbersthat would embarrass ourfavorite muscle cars.That's only because all four wheelsare putting that power to the ground.But that's not to saythat there aren't carsin the fourth quadrant that qualifiestruly undercover muscle cars.The rear wheel driveversion of the Kia Stingerdoes zero to 60 in 4.7 seconds.That's quick and it's practicalas heck with that lift back.Another car I haven't mentioned yet,I think that the BMW M2 competitioncould be considered a muscle car.It's one of BMW's smaller carsbut it's got a big engine.It's capable of zero to 60 in3.9 seconds, that's insane.Looking at the muscle car matrix,I think it's safe tosay that the definitionof a muscle car has shifted over time.At first, they were bigsedans with big motorsmade for American dirtovals and airstrips.Then the Coke bottleformula hit its strideand became the blueprintfor all sorts of carsboth here in the States and abroad.Obviously, quadrant one ishome to the true muscle carsyour Challengers, Chargers,Mustangs and Camaros.Sadly, there's not a lot oftrue muscle cars left today.But if the four seat rearwheel drive quick Ford's timemuscle car ever does leave us,I think the muscle car spiritis gonna live on in other stranger forms.Today, cars can be musclecars within their own segmentsgiving drivers the screaming stoplightthe stoplight experience of yesteryear,with all the comfortand blazing performanceonly possible with today's technology.And I think that's pretty sick.Let me know what youthink in the comments.Can a Crossover be a muscle car?I think I made a pretty good argument.So I wanna know what yourfavorite oddball muscle car is.Maybe there are some glaringexamples that I totally missed.I'd like to hear it.I wanna be in the comments with you guysdiscussing it which I will be.Check out the Donut Underground.If you want to get somebehind the scenes videos,access to a private discord andexclusive stickers and such.We're not putting any regularstuff behind a paywall.This is just for the hardcore Donut fans.Be nice. See you next time.(instrumental music)- Hey, what's up, you guys.It's Pumphrey from thefuture i.e the real Neo.Present Pumphrey sent me back in timeto let you know thattoday, Cyber Monday 2020everything on DonutMedia.com is 25% off.I guess it's a discountif you want some shirtsor hats or whatever.I gotta go save the world.(game show music)This is a laser gun.I got a plug in the back of my head.(game show music)