Most of the classic American muscle cars were produced for roughly a decade starting in the mid 60′s. The production began to drastically decline in the mid 70s because of the big controversy over making these kind of powerful vehicles available to the public. Since many of these cars were being used in illegal street races, many insurance companies were charging premium rates for most muscle cars. One of the biggest nails in the coffin for the muscle car era was new emission control requirements to help prevent pollution. These regulations made it almost impossible for the manufacturers to produce true muscle cars.

Needless to say, the muscle car industry changed quickly because of these influences. Demand for muscle cars dropped due to the combination of the premium insurance costs and the rising costs the manufacturers faced when building them.

Since muscle cars were produced for a limited number of years, they are valuable items for collectors and are still highly desirable to those who enjoy racing or desire a quick, powerful, mid-sized car. Since the decline in the production of muscle cars, some automakers have attempted to bring the muscle car era back to life by producing powerful vehicles that resemble the legendary muscle cars, but in my opinion, they don’t hold a candle to classic muscle cars like the GTO, the Road Runner or the Chevelle SS.

Today we are seeing a resurgence of such muscle car classics as the popular Charger and Challenger. While many muscle car purists have frowned on these new muscle cars, calling them knockoffs, others have embraced them with open arms.

However, classic muscle cars can never truly be duplicated. There is just something about a beautifully restored Chevelle, Nova, Road Runner, etc, that makes it unique and draws you to it. It is vintage and it stands out. Both for its rarity and its raw beauty. That is something a new “muscle car” can never do.

As much as I love new muscle cars such as the Charger (4 doors though) and the Challenger, I will forever love the vintage muscle cars.

The design of the 1973 RoadRunner was changed to a large portion. It received new sheet metal and a new front and rear that were closer to a squared-up styling. This restyling along with changes to the engines, which were more constructed to be more fuel efficient and not as performance oriented, increased sales of the 73 RoadRunner by 40% in comparison to the 1972 model. The largest engine available for the 1973 Plymouth RoadRunner was a 318 CID V-8 with 170 hp that barely topped 120mph as top speed. No larger engines were produced after 1972. The available transmissions were still the same as before with the 3-speed TorqueFlite Automatic being the top transmission available.

The above mentioned lead many experts and muscle car enthusiasts to call the 1973 RoadRunner a car that had stepped away from its image as a muscle car. This was partially true, as one has to consider that the manufacturer needed to scale down engines to meet emission standards and the fact that no one was willing to buy a very strong car due to the high costs associated with such a vehicle. This forced Plymouth, or Chrysler, to re-think the idea behind the RoadRunner and adjust it accordingly. The car shouldn’t be viewed as a weak muscle car but rather scaled down muscle car.

Plymouth delivered the 1972 model with a new grille and matching tail lights, as well as new side marker lights. Critics often times mention that the 1971 side marker lights looked much better in comparison and that the 1972 lights were just another Chrysler generic without unique character. The 1972 RoadRunner was also delivered with optional bumper guards that featured rubber strip around the grille and the tail lights. The biggest difference was introduced in the suspension, rear axle ratios and tires sizes. The engines were modified as to achieve a drop in compression ratio to meet emissions guidelines. For the 1972 production year a 280 hp engine marked the heart of the newly introduced GTX package that replaced the Plymouth GTX. The legendary Hemi engine was discontinued for the 1972 model year.

In general the 1972 model year was the low for many manufacturers of muscle cars around the country. The issues that the country face due to the oil crisis, new emission laws and the connected economic down turn was experienced very harshly by the car manufacturers. Muscle cars were often viewed as a luxury for fun or as a toy, but in bad times many people decided to save their money instead of investing in a car that most people were not even able to fill with gas without paying through the teeth.. The increase in insurance premiums due to a surcharge for muscle cars was also a very important factor for the relatively bad sales numbers of the 72 RoadRunner.

The situation has changed nowadays luckily, as the 1972 RoadRunner is a very popular car for many enthusiasts. Despite the lower power output and speed many collectors favor this unique car due to its historic value and presence in the 1970s.

The 70 Barracuda was built on the E-body and was available as a 2-door hatchback coupe and a 2-door convertible. The design of the car was also profoundly changed, as the body was now wider and longer and resembled more the look of a traditional muscle car than pony car. This was a strategic move of Plymouth, as they wanted to design a good looking car that would be able to hold the big block engines that Plymouth had developed over the past years. This was the first Plymouth model in which both the 440Ci and the Hemi could easily fit without having to abandon luxury add-ons such as an automatic air conditioning system.

Plymouth offered a large selection of engines for the 1970 Plymouth Barracuda: Eleven different engines were available to the customer. The smallest engine was a 125 horsepower 198 cubic inch slant six, while the largest engine was the 426 cubic inch Hemi which produced up to 425 horsepower.

As far as different models offered, there were four in the 1970 production year. There was the base Barracuda, the Gran Coupe, the ‘Cuda and the AAR ‘Cuda. As you can tell from the names of the different models, each one was aimed at a certain buyers segment. The base Barracuda was aimed at the average customer looking for a good car within a budget. The Gran Coupe was aimed at the more luxurious crowd, offering a variety of add-ons offering more comfort. The ‘Cuda was aimed at the performance crowd. The car with the ‘Cuda set-up could easily race the quarter mile in less than 14 seconds (closer to 13 seconds in fact) due to the large engines that were able to be fitted into the new chassis. The problem with these cars is that the larger engines hampered the handling immensely. The last version the ‘Cuda AAR was aimed at the crowd who didn’t want to purchase the ‘Cuda for the reasons mentioned above: The AAR (All American Racer) offered better handling and similar straight line performance in comparison to the extreme ‘Cuda model.

Many experts in the muscle car field call 1970 the pinnacle year of muscle car performance and technology, as the general consensus was that the manufacturers reached their technological limit for this time period.

The changes that Plymouth introduced for the 1969 Barracuda included only minor features. The side markers were changed from a round shape to a rectangular; the grill received a change in design as well as the tail light. Again, as with almost every new production year, Plymouth made changes to the engines that were available. Besides the Formula S package, Plymouth also introduced the ‘Cuda package.

The ‘Cuda package was offered with the 383Ci, the 340Ci or the 440Ci engine. The ‘Cuda was considered a straight line racing model. The Formula S model was still available with the 383Ci and the 340Ci engines. The ‘Cuda was only available as a coupe, while the Formula S was also available as a convertible. Besides the large and powerful engine choices, the ‘Cuda package also consisted of a dual exhaust with chrome tips, a four speed manual transmission and an even firmer rally suspensions (compared to the Formula S rally suspension). Exterior wise, the ‘Cuda package also featured simulated hood scoops, a black grill as well as black accent stripes and black stickers showing what engine was placed under the hood.

The 1969 Plymouth Barracuda was a very brutal car. It was very fast and was able to sprint the quarter mile in under 14 seconds (if the 440Ci engine was installed). The price for this amazing performance was comfort or a comfortable ride though, as many luxury add-ons had to be left out due to space restrictions under the hood because of the large 440Ci engine. The 1969 Barraucda was often called a gentleman’s sports car but in reality it wasn’t as it did not offer anything that a real gentleman would purchase in a car besides the speed. The Barracuda was an amazing and very successful car on the race track, but because of Plymouths emphasis on speed and power and a true lack of comfort, they lost a great deal of potential customers.

All the changes the 1969 Corvette underwent were minor and there were no revolutionary changes. The only changes which were attended by the engineers were those that were mentioned by car owners and the automotive magazines. Thus the wheel was rendered an inch shorter and for a sum of $120 Duntov got a tooling  regarding the inner door panels which now could be opened up half an inch per side providing extra shoulder width.

The door knobs and the interior door handles were also taken care of and were only redesigned because of safety measures. The ignition switch which was previously mounted on the dash was moved towards the steering column and the newly mandated column lock combined with it would provide an additional level of security. There was also an advising light introduced which would let the drive know when the pop up headlights were not completely popped up.

When it came to the exterior the changes were also very minor. A return to the Sting Ray design had been experimented with. One other minor change was that of the door handles. The old ones were replaced with single lever door handles, and they had thumb operated push buttons. The headlights also had a new washing system and the windshield washer jets had been moved up to the wiper arms. The backup lights at the rear which were previously separated head now been incorporated with the inboard tail lamps. The frame had also been well taken care of and it was stiffened so that it provided less body shake and for improved handling, while the rim width got one inch up, to 8.

When it came to the engine, the changes were a little more obvious. Because the emission laws were strict and every car manufacturer had to stick with them, the small block of the Chevy was changed to just 3.48 inches, and thus the displacement was affected reaching from 327 to 350 CUB inches, on the 4 inch bore. Also the compression was down by a quarter point in each case and reached to 10.25:1 and 11.0:1. The engine’s peak power was also reduced by 200 RPM and reached at 4800 and 5600.

This classic new look wasn’t for everyone, as many old Corvette fans still loved the look of the old models and were disappointed with the new look model. Another concern was the pollution emission standards which were revised in 1968 and they featured new emission laws which had to be respected by all car manufacturers. So it was clear that now the engineers had to rework not only on the design, but on the fuel consumption and emission to make it stack up accordingly to emission rules or else risk suspended production.

The power train did not come with any modifications and it was pretty much the same as with the previous generations. One great difference was GM’s 3 speed Turbo Hydra Matic transmission substitution, for the older 2 speed Powerglide automatic. Another small change involved the car’s battery, which was moved behind the seats in order to have a better weight distribution and also in order to provide more space under the hood.

Also the side vent windows were completely removed and instead came the Astro Ventilation system which was by far superior. If in previous models the shoulder belts would come as an option which you had to pay for, now they were included as a standard. Other features this new 1968 model had were an electric rear window defroster, an AM FM stereo radio, a speed warning indicator, and a very much futuristic designed light monitoring system.

But for many people the Corvette’s redesign seemed to be too much and it was regarded by fans and enthusiasts as being excessive. They were right in one sense, for the excessive styling has burdened the car with another 150 pounds of weight.

As with all muscle cars, the engines that were offered for the 1971 Plymouth RoadRunner are probably the most interesting for many enthusiasts. The 1971 Plymouth RoadRunner was available with 6 different engines, the smallest being a 5.2L V-8 and the largest being the very legendary 7.2L V-8. The transmissions offered were the 4-speed manual transmission and, for additional cost, the 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission.

Nowadays many people argue that 1971 RoadRunner was not a very desirable car due to its design and b-body platform. The problem that often times was mentioned when it came to the cars bodies was that they looked too old and reminded many people of their grandmother’s car. Chrysler was very aware of new design trends in the future and thus started to design their cars accordingly and in later years, their efforts were rewarded. In the beginning though most people disliked the designs immensely.

The fact that Plymouth did not sell many of the 1971 RoadRunner was largely due to two developments that were completely out of the manufacturer’s hand: The first oil crisis that hit in 1971 and the ever-increasing surcharge on insurance policies that made a muscle car a very expensive car to own. Rising oil prices and rising insurance premiums hindered many sales and hit the muscle car scene pretty hard.

Chrysler and Plymouth came up with a gig to use the developments to their advantage and started an advertisement campaign that showed an actor dressed as an insurance salesperson stating that a only standard people pay the standard premium for their standard cars, implying that the 1971 RoadRunner was for people who wanted to be extraordinary. Unfortunately many people decided that money as more important and thus the 1971 RoadRunner was not able to repeat the economic success previous models had.

Despite all the misery that the 71 RoadRunner had to go through in its prime, many collectors and muscle car enthusiasts are searching for the car today to rebuild them or look for a rare RoadRunner in excellent condition.

The 1970 Plymouth RoadRunner was still based on the original 1968 body as a platform but brought changes to the exterior design again similar to the 1969 model. The grille was updated, the front fenders as well as the quarter panels were replaced and Plymouth added scoops on the rear end of the car. These scoops were non-functional though. The already popular Air Grabber option, which was originally introduced in the 1969 model year, was further improved to increase the performance of the car. A nice additional effect was that the car looked even more intimidating. Plymouth added a switch in the dashboard that allowed the driver to slowly raise the scoops on the hood, which then showed teeth that were designed to remind people of a shark.

Plymouth did not add any new engines to the series, so the engines that were available for the 70 RoadRunner were the same three that were last introduced for the 1969 model year. Plymouth introduced a new transmission though: The standard transmission was changed to a heavy duty three speed manual one, placing the former standard four speed transmission on the options list along with the TorqueFlite automatic.

The 1970 RoadRunner was the last one where a convertible was available. The total number made was recorded as 834. Experts often times referred to the 1970 RoadRunner convertible as being the better convertible in comparison to the 1969 version, as Plymouth offered more options and better parts for the 1970 version.

The total number of sales for 1970 RoadRunner was 41,000. This is a 50 percent drop compared to the previous year, where Plymouth sold almost 82,000 units. This left Plymouth still in second placed, behind the Chevrolet Chevelle. The decline was not only felt by Plymouth, but every car company that produced muscle cars. This is largely due to several insurance companies introducing surcharges on policies for muscle cars. The change lead to very high insurance premiums for muscle cars.  This increase in costs made the purchase of these high end vehicles a very undesirable one for many people. In addition to this, Plymouth probably cannibalized their own sales by introducing a lower cost but equal or even better performance muscle car called the Duster in 1970.

In the 1968 production year, Plymouth added a convertible to the production platform. Only ten of these convertibles produced received the infamous Hemi engine. Today, only three of these ten are known to exist.

Another technical novelty that was introduced in the 1969 RoadRunner was the so-called “Air Grabber” option. The Air Grabber option consisted of an air duct assembly that was attached to the underside of the hood. The assembly connected to two upward facing scoops that were placed in the hood. The two channels sucked air directly into the engine. Additionally, a lever was placed inside the dashboard that controlled whether the two scoops were opened or closed.

In addition to the two standard engines that were already available in the previous model year, Plymouth added a 440 CID engine. This engine was mainly produced in order to have the car qualified for a Super Stock racing class. The engine was capable of producing 390 hp. Technically, the engine was therefore almost as strong and fast as the Hemi variation. The option to choose between three very different, yet all very fast engines helped to make Plymouth a rising star on the muscle car horizon for many customers.

The 1969 Plymouth RoadRunner received many awards with the most popular probably being the Motor Trend Car of the Year 1969 award. The economical aspect was also astonishing concerning the 69 RoadRunner: In comparison to the 68 model, sales almost doubled from originally 45,000 to 82,109 sales in one year. Due to this large increase in the number of cars sold, the 1969 Plymouth RoadRunner was able to take the number two spot in the muscle car category as far as car sales went, just behind the Chevelle SS-396. The Pontiac GTO dropped to third place, lacking more than 10,000 cars behind.

The 1969 Plymouth RoadRunner is an unbelievably popular car until this day. Muscle car enthusiasts around the country are searching for rebuildable cars for projects or ready to drive cars. The 69 RoadRunner will always remain one of the biggest stars of the muscle car era.