Look into this fascinating book to discover the intoxicating world of muscle cars. Includes information on models, facts, and other interesting information on America's pride and joy.
Hidden in garages or screaming down streets, muscle cars still turn heads. The All-American phenomena are loud and proud. Get a glimpse of your favorites here!
Just what is a Muscle Car? Road Test magazine asked in June 1967. The answer: Exactly what the name implies. It is a product of the American car industry adhering to the hot rodders philosophy of taking a small car and putting a BIG engine in it. . . . The Muscle Car is Charles Atlas kicking sand in the face of the 98 horsepower weakling. Unconcerned with such trivial details as comfort and handling, the vintage American muscle car was built for straight-line speed and quickly became the ride of choice for power-hungry racers and serious gearheads. In a country where performance was measured in brute force, a quarter mile at a time, the muscle car was the perfect machine. In the intervening years, these down-and-dirty, high-performing beauties have earned their place in the automotive pantheon. As prized by collectors and aficionados as they are by denizens of garages and drag strips, classic muscle cars now fetch upwards of a million dollars at auctions and feature in any story of Americas automotive glory days. The icons of muscle car artincluding Camaro and Chevelle SS, the Hemi and 440-6 Cuda, Challenger, Roadrunner, Super Bee, GTX, Super Bird, Daytona Charger, Super Cobra Jet and Boss Mustang, Talladega Torino, Buick GSX and W30 Oldsmobile 442, and AMX Javelinare all here, on full display in this lavishly illustrated volume, each described in a detailed essay followed by a gallery of portraits and special gatefold presentations that capture the art of the muscle car at its finest.
A breed unlike any seen before or since, the powerful, stylish American muscle car defined an era in automotive history. This history traces the rise and fall of these great performance cars from their precursors in the 1950s through the seminal appearance of the Pontiac GTO in 1964 and then year by year to the end in the 1970s. Approachable and nontechnical yet deeply informative, it puts the bygone muscle car in its cultural and aesthetic contexts, describes developments in styling, performance and marketing, and revels in the joys of muscle car ownership in the 21st century.
As cool as classic muscle cars might be, they're only as good as the automotive technology of their era. That's where this book comes in. With clear, easy-to-follow instructions, this guide shows how to give your car all the muscle of today while preserving the classic styling of your muscle car. In this updated and fully illustrated edition of his popular handbook, veteran overhauler and automotive writer Jason Scott takes readers through the step-by-step improvements that will add more power, style, and handling capability to any classic muscle car. Full-color photos accompany Scott's detailed instructions, covering bodywork and interior restoration, engine enhancements, transmission and axle swaps, suspension, steering, chassis and brake upgrades as well as many other changes that will restore-or maintain-a muscle cars identity while making it perform as if it were built only yesterday.
Since their introduction in 1964, American muscle cars have been closely associated with masculinity. In the 21st century, women have been a growing presence in the muscle car world, exhibiting classic cars at automotive events and rumbling to work in modern Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers. Informed by the experiences of 88 female auto enthusiasts, this book highlights women's admiration and passion for American muscle, and reveals how restoring, showing and driving classic and modern cars provides a means to challenge longstanding perceptions of women drivers and advance ideas of identity and gender equality.
Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.
Trends in automotive modification come and go, some outlandish, some practical. Currently, the trend called "Pro Touring," while expensive, definitely leans toward the practical. Originally a term coined for GM cars, the term Pro Touring has come to mean a style of all cars, and many eras. Pro Touring is essentially the art of adding modern technology to aged designs, creating cars that stop, start, handle, drive, and behave just as modern performance cars do. You can do this in many ways and choose from many suppliers. Detroit Speed is at the forefront of the Pro Touring movement. Both a parts manufacturer and car builder, the company is in a unique position not only to design and manufacture parts, but to build cars and test the parts for their effectiveness on the street and track. Kyle and Stacy Tucker have put their considerable skill in engineering and market savvy to create a unique company to lead the Pro Touring movement. Not only do you learn about the history of the company and how they design their performance parts, install sections cover front sub-frame assemblies, rear suspension assemblies, wheel tubs, fuel system upgrades, brake upgrades, driveline upgrades including an LS swap, cooling system upgrades, and more. The featured cars are customer builds as well as DSE test cars, which include a host of different Chevrolet products, a 1966 Mustang and a 1969 Charger. Detroit Speed’s How to Build a Pro Touring Car is a vital edition to every performance enthusiast’s library.
As the muscle car wars developed in the early 1960s, auto manufacturers scrambled to find catchy marketing campaigns to entice the buying public into their dealerships. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, with all their divisions, as well as AMC and Studebaker, inevitably sank billions of dollars into one-upmanship in an effort to vie for the consumer's last dollar. Automotive writer Diego Rosenberg examines the tactics and components used by manufacturers in waging war against one another in the muscle car era. Manufacturers poured millions into racing programs, operating under the principle of "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday." Cars were given catchy nicknames, such as The GTO Judge, Plymouth Roadrunner, Cobra, and Dodge Super Bee. Entire manufacturer lines were given catchy marketing campaigns, such as Dodge's Scat Pack, AMC's Go Package, and Ford's Total Performance. From racing to commercials to print ads, from dealer showrooms to national auto shows, each manufacturer had its own approach in vying for the buyer's attention, and gimmicks and tactics ranged from comical to dead serious. Selling the American Muscle Car: Marketing Detroit Iron in the 60s and 70s takes you back to an era when options were plentiful and performance was cheap. You will relive or be introduced to some of the cleverest marketing campaigns created during a time when America was changing every day.