| The Muscle Car | | Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2006 5:32:40 PM by Alex Molin | 
“Muscle car” or as sometimes referred to as “Pony Cars” are high-performance automobiles made primarily in Detroit from 1964 to 1974.
Car manufacturers placed a large V8 engines with super chargers and special exhaust in mid-sized cars. This started an intense competition between manufacturers to produce the most powerful and extreme vehicle. The outcome was a really fast cars with one major fault it was a gas-guzzlers.
Starting the muscle car trend was Pontiac with its Pontiac GTO. The car, which was more popular than expected, inspired imitations both in the true 'muscle car' class of intermediate vehicles such as: certain Mustangs, Camaros and some Chrysler’s models like the Challenger and also in the smaller pony cars such as: the Ford Mustang, Plymouth Barracuda and AMC AMX, and more luxurious and expensive vehicles such as the Buick Riviera.
The speed and high performance of the muscle cars where outmatch and attracted the attention of many drivers, however, the most appealing quality, in the eyes of young drivers was in fact the low price offered for those cars – a price they could afford.
In spite of their legendary performance, muscle cars were far from being perfect. Most had primitive brakes and suspension, and tires which were inadequate to handle the acceleration and speeds the engines made capable.
In 1973 the “energy crisis” started by OPEC oil embargo, combined with strict air pollution laws and insurance high premiums put an end to those gas-guzzlers cars which today are actively collected and restored. ... | |
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| | | NEW MUSCLE CAR AND CUSTOM MOTORCYCLE BUSINESS OPENS IN CENTRAL FLORIDA | | Posted Sunday, January 21, 2007 12:49:17 PM by Blog57 Team | | ORLANDO, FLORIDA: The strength and high performance of the classic American-made muscle cars of the late 60s and early 70s – the Hemi Cuda, Mustangs, Camaros, the Firebird, Mopars – this is the passion of Muscle Cars & Handle Bars. Recently opened in the Orlando area, the business is already one of the country's top full-service sales and restoration companies -- dedicated to producing the highest quality restorations at the best possible price and delivery. In addition, Muscle Cars & Handle Bars was recently named the Central Florida dealer for the very exclusive Swift Motorcycles. The company unveiled its new showroom and garage facility in November 2006. The Muscle Cars & Handle Bars facility offers a complete range of services not only for the collector/aficionado, but anyone that is a lover of finely crafted vehicles.... | |
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| | | Montoya eager for Cup debut at Homestead | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 6:51:16 AM by Blog57 Team | | Juan Pablo Montoya will make his Nextel Cup debut next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway if his NASCAR team can work out the logistics. Car owner Chip Ganassi said Sunday he has submitted an entry for the Cup season finale for Montoya, who has so far driven only three lower-tier Busch Series events. .... | |
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| | | Old muscle, new conscience at SEMA | | Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 6:54:31 PM by Blog57 Team | | Even as a celebration of American muscle cars took center stage at this year's mod-manic Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, an emerging sense of environmental responsibility was also evident. The most striking example of this was the world debut of the EcoJet concept car (shown above), a one-off collaboration between General Motors and noted speed nut and talk show host Jay Leno. The car, built around a Corvette Z06 aluminum frame, is powered by a 650-hp turbine engine (similar to a helicopter engine) that will rocket the 2,100-pound car off line with 585 pound-feet of torque. The "eco" part of the name comes from the fact that the car will run on biodiesel, a clean-burning fuel derived from renewable resources. "We live in an era where liking cars and the environment don't seem to mix," Leno said during the EcoJet's unveiling at the SEMA show.... | |
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| | | Goodyear's Carbon Fiber Tire Wins Award | | Posted Saturday, November 04, 2006 10:51:57 PM by Blog57 Team | | AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 3, 2006 -- Goodyear's newest tire, the Eagle(R) featuring ResponsEdge Technology(TM), was selected this week by the editors of Popular Mechanics for the magazine's Editors Choice Award during Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week in Las Vegas. The award was given "in recognition of outstanding achievement in new product design and innovation," according to the magazine. Only 17 automotive products were honored by Popular Mechanics with the Editors Choice Award, and the Goodyear Eagle ResponsEdge was the only tire selected. "A team effort between Goodyear engineers and marketers helps deliver technology that is relevant to the consumer's needs. Independent recognition such as this, along with strong consumer demand for our tires, confirms our success with products such as the Eagle ResponsEdge," said Bob Toth, marketing manager for Goodyear auto tires.... | |
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| | | Aerosmith jazzed about NASCAR affiliation | | Posted Saturday, November 04, 2006 12:53:27 PM by Blog57 Team | | Aerosmith kicks off a new relationship with NASCAR this weekend, and the guys are really excited about it. Frontman Steven Tyler said, "Other than being an astronaut, there are two things I can think of that can give you the same rush as sitting on a rocket: driving down the straightaway at Talladega at 200 miles an hour, and being the lead singer in Aerosmith.: Lead guitarist Joe Perry added, "Aerosmith and NASCAR on ESPN and ABC couldn't be more appropriate. 'Go faster' is our middle name. Between the five of us, we probably own 25 or 30 cars and half of those are American muscle cars. In fact, when we're off the road and we can't find (guitarist) Brad (Whitford), he's probably on the infield at a NASCAR race. This is a dream come true for us. See you at the races!"Aerosmith will shoot interview footage, promos, and live versions of the Rocks song "Back In The Saddle" at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on November 4th.... | |
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| | | Chrysler Has High Hopes for New Sebring | | Posted Tuesday, October 31, 2006 6:50:33 AM by Blog57 Team | | It's been a lean year at Town & Country Chrysler Jeep in the Portland, Ore., suburb of Milwaukie, but owner Ralph Martinez predicts that will start to change this week. Any day now, Martinez expects to get his first Chrysler Sebring, a midsized sedan that some industry analysts and Chrysler officials say is an important step toward turning the company around. DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group has been hurting of late. It lost $1.5 billion last quarter, sales of Chrysler cars and trucks are off more than 8 percent from last year and the company is studying its business practices, looking for ways to reduce costs. Its inventory, mainly of trucks and sport utility vehicles, is burgeoning, with nearly a six-month supply of some models despite offers of huge incentives. Excluding the Sebring, the Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep brands have only two models that get more than 30 miles per gallon of gasoline, in a year that has seen a rapid shift from trucks and SUVs to cars and more fuel-efficient crossover vehicles.... | |
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| | | Muscle-car business off to a speedy start in Monroe | | Posted Thursday, October 26, 2006 2:53:03 PM by Blog57 Team | | A Union County developer and a Charlotte-area businessman have teamed up to open a 9-acre operation in Monroe to restore, sell and store classic automobiles, with an emphasis on Corvettes and other U.S. muscle cars. Carlton Tyson, chief executive of the Tyson Group Cos., and Dale Ledbetter, the former owner of HonDoc auto service centers, have as many as 50 classic American cars at their Motorama Classic Cars site at 1601 Skyway Drive, the former location of the Dale Jarrett Ford dealership. .... | |
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| | | 2005 Toyota Camry LE from North America | | Posted Saturday, October 21, 2006 10:48:23 PM by Blog57 Team | | Hey! people I had owned 2 gm cars which was #1 1997 saturn sl2 and #2 1999 saturn sc2 and both were running fine until my 1997 sl2 hit 100,000 miles. my car started to die out and I had taken to the dealer and had my starter changed and others. then a couple of miles later it happend again. so I gave up on it and bought a 1999 saturn sc2 3dr it was fine at first, but about 80,000 miles my engine light came on. I took it in at the dealers and they said it had something to do with the computer and a couple of miles later light came on and my car started to stall and died out when I put it in reversed. now I own a 2005 camry le and so far so good. this car runs very smooth and very good on gas. I was even told that this car will last over 300,000 and I think it will just because it a t.o.y.o.t.a...... | |
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| | | 2006 Mustang GT Convertible is pure American muscle | | Posted Tuesday, October 17, 2006 10:53:35 AM by Blog57 Team | | The 2006 Mustang GT Convertible is a throwback to the muscle car era. It comes with a 4.6-litre V8, producing 300 horsepower and 320 lb/ft of torque. That is 50 per cent more power than the 289 cu. in. V8 in the original 1964 Mustang. A 4.0-litre V8 with 210 hp and 240 lb/ft of torque is standard on the Mustang. .... | |
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| | | Rebirth Of A Muscle Car: Dodge takes the challenge | | Posted Thursday, October 12, 2006 10:48:11 PM by Blog57 Team | | Nearly 20 years ago, Barry Washington stumbled across an unusual used car, a 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A. He didn't know much about it, other than that it had cool racing stripes, wild orange paint and an engine born for racing. He bought the car, though he recalls thinking that the price, $6,500, seemed far too high. So began a new life for the driver and the car, whose value today is comfortably in six figures. Not only was the Challenger T/A a rare model, it was especially an anomaly where Washington found it, near his home in Ketchikan, Alaska. Ketchikan is on Revillagigedo Island, reachable only by boat or plane. The town doesn't even have a Dodge dealer; the previous owner had brought the car in by ship. "I drove it around here every day for about 3 1/2 years," Washington said in an interview.... | |
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