The speed and power of the original muscle cars still boggle my mind. These cars packed a V8 engine in a lightweight, mid-sized body, and thus had amazing acceleration. These were the optimal racing cars, used in both legal and many illegal street races.

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.