Originally Posted by Woody09

Funny, I never thought of a Corvette as a muscle car any more than I think of a Ferrari or Lamborghini as one. Maybe it is, though. Especially the late 60s Corvettes. It's a great car that has muscle, but as a 2 seater you can actually turn? I still don't think so. I just sold a 400 HP Z28 "go fast car" to order a MINI (my kids may never forgive me!), and I didn't think of that as a muscle car either.

The muscle car died in about '72, and can't be resurrected. Computer control, smooth idles, and the ability to actually turn and stop, all take the adventure out of driving that muscle cars provided. They had their time, and the current versions (Camaro, Challenger) will last a couple more years, before they go away. I will smile and wave goodbye as I disappear down a nice crooked road, having found another equally entertaining way to thoroughly enjoy the privilege of driving. That doesn't mean the MINI is a muscle car, in my opinion. It is a completely different, yet equal kind of fun. Not to mention a LOT safer!!!

You can't redefine an icon to make them fit current rules! It is what it is.

Originally Posted by SoldierNurse

I agree, a C4 - C6 Corvette ain't a Muscle Car, rather a Sports Car. For reasons too numerous to mention here, I'm enjoying my 09 MCS w/JCW TK far more than the 01 Corvette [heavily modded w/480bhp] I sold.

However, since my 09 MCS has back seats it is definitely not a sports car, even when I fold them down to fool myself into thinking it is a sports car.
Yet, my Silver Critter is one fun little, mighty ride.

Originally Posted by SmokeM

Great read!

Although, I don't know if I'd call any of those cars a "Muscle Car". I owned a 69' Camaro back in the day. That car cannot be compared to the muscle cars of today. It went beyond HP, it was the whole experience. The lumpy engines, the raw handling and sound sensory overload when driving, defined that class of cars.
It was raw as all get out. But it was a good kind of raw. The same kind of raw like your first bite of that perfectly done semi-raw steak. Or the first biting cold raw of the season in the Northeast. It wakes you and then slaps you and then slaps you some more and then sends shivers down your spine. I don't feel that with the Mini. The Mini is more refined in delivery and handling and includes cup holders and mood lighting. With the Muscle Cars, you smelled like fuel when you stepped out of the cabin....Two totally different experiences.

I wish they wouldn't call these types of cars "Muscle Cars" as that term should be reserved for that wonderful era. They have to come up with this generation's own name to define the high HP cars of today.

Originally Posted by Dwell

Amen.

You said it perfectly.

I drove a 68 Camaro SS about a year ago. Sinfully loud, rough, completely bad a$$ to the bone- leave that level of cool to its own category.

Its beyond awesome.

I love my Mini, but come on, most muscle cars are a league all their own. They should leave it that way.



Beautiful!