They’re tough. They’re masculine. They’re high-performance. Those words often come to mind when one speaks of the classic muscle car. These vehicles are considered some of the finest examples of the time when American automobile production had reached its zenith. The classic muscle car, with its trim design and unusual suitability for drag racing, has attained a fame that has earned it a place as one of the signature vehicle design movements of modern automobile history.

The classic muscle car design is one that does not emphasize power over appearance. Instead, the design embraces both the power of the machine and the aesthetics of the design. These cars have larger engines than conventional automobiles, are bigger than the average sports car, and have a toughness of frame that other types of cars don’t have. The typical definition of what a muscle car is tends to exclude any cars made outside Australia and the US, and even then, only cars made in the years between 1964 to 1973. Among some of the more popular models are the Dodge Charger, the Chevrolet El Camino, and the Plymouth Road Runner. Read the rest of this entry »