The Hot Rod Era

The Muscle Car Era featured cars and trucks built between 1964 and 1972

Brass Car Era - Antique Car Era - Vintage Car Era - Classic Car Era - Hot Rod and Roadster Era

Muscle Cars are a product of the Classic Car Era. They evolved from the feverish consumerism that followed World War II, when bigger and faster were always better. Muscle Cars evolved by accident at a time when Detroit was trying to stop the invasion of imported cars with new, light-weight models like the Corvair, Falcon and Valiant.

Pontiac GTO

But as the national highway system grew and gasoline became plentiful, Americans wanted more power. More speed. And in 1964 Detroit bowed to consumer pressure by putting big block V-8's on mid-sized chassis, and giving them names like Camero, Firebird and Barracuda, common household names of the Muscle Car Era.

However, despite America's love for horsepower, the Clean Air Act of 1970 called for pollution control devices that hampered performance. And then the oil embargo of 1973 limited the supply of gasoline. By the time congress passed the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rule in 1978 the Muscle Car was gone forever.