GTO muscle car myth
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So do any of those similar thinkers or those, who, on the general "say so" of supposed auto aficionados, believe their claim that the "muscle car" never existed until Pontiac invented the GTO, have an answer for the 1955 and up Chrysler 300, Plymouth Fury, Dodge D-500 and DeSoto Adventurer? These were sometimes called "super sports" long before Chevrolet copyrighted that moniker for their line of muscle cars ''(could use more detail on Chevrolet's intellectual property rights to the term "Super Sport".)'' | So do any of those similar thinkers or those, who, on the general "say so" of supposed auto aficionados, believe their claim that the "muscle car" never existed until Pontiac invented the GTO, have an answer for the 1955 and up Chrysler 300, Plymouth Fury, Dodge D-500 and DeSoto Adventurer? These were sometimes called "super sports" long before Chevrolet copyrighted that moniker for their line of muscle cars ''(could use more detail on Chevrolet's intellectual property rights to the term "Super Sport".)'' | ||
| − | The SS Chevies predated the GTO. | + | The SS Chevies predated the GTO. 1961 Super Sports were originally performance cars but soon became appearance packages with optional engines. You could buy a Chevy II Super Sport with an inline six in it (there are a few around that have been documented)! ''(link to documentation here)'' |
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==The term "Muscle Car"== | ==The term "Muscle Car"== | ||
| − | + | Early high performance cars were expensive and usually called "Supercars" by the auto press. | |
| − | The | + | The beginning of the "Muscle Car" era is accepted as the GTO introduction in 1964. The GTO allowed Pontiac to continue its performance image after GM banned racing participation (due to media attention during Senate anti-trust hearings). The LeMans received the 389 CID engine against GM internal policy limiting intermediate cars to 330 ci and became the GTO option. The risk taken by Pete Estes and John DeLorean with their careers was justified by sales of about 50,000 highly profitable cars against a target of 5,000. Both eventually became Chevrolet Division heads. |
| − | + | Once the sales success was shown, the GM rule of 1 ''rated'' HP per ten pounds was created to placate the Board of Directors. Hence small HP rating increases for clearly upgraded engine options. See the 400 RA3 at 366 HP versus RA4 at 370 HP in 1969 & 70 even though head and camshaft changes were significant. | |
| − | Where did that put the aluminum-nosed Dodge Polara, Valiant and other factory | + | Where did that put the aluminum-nosed Dodge Polara, Valiant and other factory MoPar drag cars? Or even the Super Duty Pontiacs? they definitely met that requirement, and some were street legal and all were ordered through the dealerships. |
For most of these mentioned MOPAR drag cars, less than 100 of each car model was built. ''(confirm and expand)'' | For most of these mentioned MOPAR drag cars, less than 100 of each car model was built. ''(confirm and expand)'' | ||
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