Wrong. Actually Buick Motor Division created General Motors in Flint Michigan.I toured the historical G.M. Museum personally with Denny Manner. But I realize you’re just joking…
Ok, yes rather vague. I meant Lennie put Buick in the drag racing World. Jim Bell noticed how well he was doing even before the muscle cars came out. But you’re right, Pontiac is known to start the muscle car craze.
There was plenty of muscle in the very late 1950s and early 1960s. I was witness to the first stock Ford to hit 100 MPH in the 1/4 at Amelia Earhart Field in Miami (Hialeah), Florida in early 1961. It went 14 flat at 100 MPH and all the Ford faithful finally saw a Ford able to compete with the venerable Chevy 409. The engine was the new 390 with 11:1 compression rated at 375 HP. (Gives one an idea of how under-rated the '70 Stage 1 was at ONLY 360 HP). There were lots very fast full size cars before the GTO while the goat introduced the era of big block motors in intermediate cars.
...loved TV Tommy's T. Back in the day, wanted to build one just like it. Alas, life got in the way...
I found a variety of definitions of the term "Muscle car." Some said that it had to be a two-door with a big engine. The American Muscle Car Club has no two-door requirement but the car must have a big engine. The AMC has an online list of what they consider to be Muscle Cars. I confess that there were a couple that I disagreed with, and also a couple that I believe were overlooked. The one that I absolutely disagreed with were full-size Fords with the 390 and bigger engines. If they had said the 390 Police Interceptor engine and above I would have been OK with that. The juicy-lifter 390s are boat anchors.
...while there are and "always" have been production cars with "muscle," the phenomenal success of John DeLorean's idea of stuffing full-size '64 Pontiac big block V8s into intermediate-size 2-door Tempests, which all GM divisions with intermediates, copied in '65, I'm sticking with the arguable "muscle car" definition as a GM intermediate with a full-size car big block V8. Thanks, John D for a great time...
Just a qurky note. My first new car was a 1964 Pontiac GTO 4 speed. I was 27 years old knew nothing about Drag Racing I just liked the car...
I don’t recall what year the term “musclecar” was originated but all during the 1960s that term didn’t exist. They were called “Supercars”.
Just to clear up the seemingly confusion . It wasn’t meant about muscle cars in general. It was meant about Buicks start into the muscle car World. But it’s fine. Continue on…
...I was hooked when a buddy showed up with his brand new '64 GTO 4-speed that he wanted me to drive...
This is just my response/general understanding. IF there was a start of the so called "Muscle Car" craze I feel/think it started with Buick for the 1932 Model year with the model 56S. It was the smaller body with a bigger/larger engine than was available in the smaller series cars. Just my thoughts. Tom T.
