The devil, they say, is in the details. And in the details of American Muscle cars, there is an astounding amount of devil.
Forget about loud paint and louder pipes. It's the scoops and badges, hood pins and racing stripes, big wheels and cue-ball shifters that hold our attention and make muscle cars so special. They separate big-engine special editions from the rental-queen volume sellers. They grant the bearer entry to an elite brotherhood of other guys who get it. And every now and then, they make sure the hood doesn't fly into the windshield.
Often lost in the smoke and the scream, these muscle car details, sweated by designers and prized by enthusiasts, deserve their moment in the spotlight.
This is The Art of American Muscle.
Enjoy.
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says:
05:39 AM, 05/24/2010
I just finished reading the "The Art of Exotic Cars" article and followed the link to this article in the hopes it would be just as interesting. This is a very shoddy, lacluster editorial piece. Not one caption for all the pictures. Then again, the pictures are so bad, they aren't really worthy of a caption. :( In the exotic cars article, they wax poetic in the captions about each car yet, here, they said nothing at all. Why'd they even bother with this article?? Just goes to show that American cars still can't get a fair break in the magazines. The Viper and ZR1 basically only got an honorable mention in the other article. Sad, really.
Rage0329 says:
04:56 PM, 04/19/2010
Who don't get what?
Not everyone wants to drive a lunchbox with a lawnmower engine to work.
rj_5000 says:
01:26 PM, 01/29/2010
"They grant the bearer entry to an elite brotherhood of other guys who get it."
That should be "guys who dont get it".
canadaphant says:
12:10 PM, 01/29/2010
A Jeep SRT8 would jump a ZR1 or a Ford GT off the line? Or what appears to be a centrifugal-supercharger'd Challenger? Not a chance. I know, I know, AWD vs RWD-it doesn't matter when there's a 1000 lb, 200 hp deficit. Still, would have been nice to see it and a few others in this gallery.
matt310 says:
07:58 AM, 01/29/2010
The Jeep SRT-8 would jump any of these cars off the line. Why is it not here?
hybris says:
07:00 AM, 01/29/2010
@isend2c
Actually there is a Sport truck in the line up the Roush F-150. Beyond that there aren't too many factory sport trucks out there.
nomercy346 says:
01:40 AM, 01/29/2010
imo, most of todays stuff is lame compared to the details of the old muscle cars. super bee/road runner badging, air grabber hood, cowl induction, shaker hood,...
isend2c says:
09:26 PM, 01/28/2010
This is sadly one of my least favorite sets yet. There's wayyy too much Mustang in it. No Viper? No sport trucks? I mean, they're not true muscle cars but they have the same concept: fast in a straight line.
The worst part of this whole series, is the close up on the Challenger SRT-8's hood, showing the carbon fiber sticker.