What's considered a Muscle Car?

[CamaroSpike23]

what does it take to be a muscle car?


does it have muscle?

yes.


its a muscle car.

its ALSO a sports coupe.

its a muscular sports coupe.



/discussion

[prasutagus]

Originally Posted by SyN

lol.. you clearly just don't get it. Did I ever say any of those pointless things you mentioned? WOW! Way to over analyze something that wasn't that complicated to begin with. Good Job guy! you're great! *sarcasm*

Anyways... actually had a Car and Driver magazine July 2008 issue with the SRT8 Challenger and the Mustang Bullit.. the front cover itself under the pic of the cars, on the left side of the magazine states Modern American Muscle Cars.. so I would go ahead and assume the Camaro falls in the same category if they're saying that about the Challenger and Mustang.

I'm sorry my answer didn't make sense to you. How do I not "get it"? I was trying to find out why it was important to you that you determine whether or not something is a muscle car. I didn't say that any of those answers applied to you, personally. Just relax! . Before a question can be answered, you have to know the criteria for how the question can be answered. In some cases, including this one, the criteria for answering the question is not obvious. If you're going to criticize my method, at least provide an alternative so that we don't have to keep guessing as to how to answer the question.

Besides, it sounds like you actually answer the question about why it matters in your second paragraph. You care about what a particular industry publication calls a car, therefore you go with that answer. That's a perfectly legitimate way of doing it.

[SyN]

Originally Posted by prasutagus

I'm sorry my answer didn't make sense to you. How do I not "get it"? I was trying to find out why it was important to you that you determine whether or not something is a muscle car. I didn't say that any of those answers applied to you, personally. Just relax! . Before a question can be answered, you have to know the criteria for how the question can be answered. In some cases, including this one, the criteria for answering the question is not obvious. If you're going to criticize my method, at least provide an alternative so that we don't have to keep guessing as to how to answer the question.

Besides, it sounds like you actually answer the question about why it matters in your second paragraph. You care about what a particular industry publication calls a car, therefore you go with that answer. That's a perfectly legitimate way of doing it.

I'm not basing anything on any one question.. its a simple question to everyone. What is considered a muscle car to you? that simple.. reasons to why you think the new camaro is a muscle car and reasons to why you don't think it is... what's your opinion? My opinion is that its a modern muscle car.. no one is going to change my opinion on that. I was just interested in what others opinions were and reaons to why they think the way they do..

[Supermans]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

You haven't read the V6 prototype Camaro reviews have you??

"And topping it all off, the Camaro essentially blows away its competition - the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger seem positively primitive in comparison, a couple of rough-edged, cost-cut, sedan-derived chunks of ordinary."

"The ride quality of the Camaro doesn’t even rate a comparison with the lesser Mustang, and it makes the Challenger’s handling feel plodding."

....I can't wait for the SS reviews!

Yep, the V6 almost rides like a Cadillac CTS that has the same engine in it..

[wjones14]

Is a Pontiac G8 a muscle car?

This car seems pretty underrated (much like the 2004-06 GTO), and to me it seems sort of in between a sports car and a muscle car, but it's not really either. It's not a pony car either. So, what is it?

[jeffny09]

a car with a six pack in the back

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by SyN

My opinion is that its a modern muscle car.

Hmm. Perhaps we should take a stab at figuring out what exactly is 'modern muscle'?

[BowtieGuy]

Originally Posted by wjones14

Is a Pontiac G8 a muscle car?

This car seems pretty underrated (much like the 2004-06 GTO), and to me it seems sort of in between a sports car and a muscle car, but it's not really either. It's not a pony car either. So, what is it?

BMW bitch slapping sport sedan.

[rickerda]

This is a very old debate, that has no right or wrong answers. In fact it can be debated if the ’65 GTO was the first American Muscle Car. But for this discussion we will assume that Pontiac started the Muscle Car craze in America during the 60s. The formula was simple, put a big block engine from a full-size car into a mid-size car. What they did was create a factory built “Hot Rod”. Like any great idea in the automotive industry, if it’s successful with one model, why not apply it to other models? So, while the first muscle cars of the ’60s were mid-size cars with big motors, other cars such as, the ’69 Mustang Boss 429, clearly used the same Muscle Car formula. In my opinion, any America car where the performance is the number one option, where it has far more horsepower then it needs can be called a muscle car. Anyone remember the ’84 Mustang SVO? Not a conventional muscle car but still the best Detroit had to offer at the time. The Muscle Car title does not extend to the whole model line it is reserved for the top performance models. The GTO is the exception since was a unique model without a lower model option.

[MikesZ]

Had a roomate who had an SVO ('84 I think) many moons ago...kept asking me to buy it but I was not into the turbo 4-banger idea at the time...he had it for a long time and couldn't sell it...advertised all over the place too...

[Zabo]

Originally Posted by jeffny09

a car with a case in the back

Fixed it for ya..

[manimsoblack]

I'm gonna say the new Mustang and Camaro are pony cars not muscle cars and the car turn fairly well as well as go fast straight. Not the Challenger though, the SRT-8 is all muscle.

[losjohnny]

I think we need to have a new category "Sports Muscle".

[Toyaholic]

Originally Posted by bobscogin

The "sports car" or "muscle car" label as applied to the Camaro is arguable. I started driving in 1965 and followed the development of "muscle cars" closely. By the definition we understood then, the Camaro is not a muscle car. In the early 60's manufacturers began producing intermediate size cars with smaller V8 engines. GM, in particular, had a policy that limited V8 engine size to 327 (plus or minus cubic inches), hence the 326 in the Tempest, 330 in the Cutlass, the 327 in the Chevelle, etc. GM did this to keep the intermediate size car sales from cutting into the more expensive full size car sales. If you wanted a 389 or 421 Pontiac, you had to step up to a full size, because before GTO the largest you could get in a Tempest was a 326. It was Pontiac's John DeLorean that first did an end run around the engine size limit policy by installing the 389 from the full size Pontiac into the Tempest, thus creating the GTO. All the other GM divisions soon developed their own intermediates with engine from their full size models. Thus, a "muscle car" was an intermediate size body given additional "muscle" by installation of a large displacement engine previously offered only in full size models. Obviously, much has changed since then, and the Camaro doesn't fit that category, so call it what you will but it ain't a "mucle car" in the classic sense.

Bob

That's how I understood it.

Kinda like this----