TOP 5 MUSCLE CARS

The Pontiac GTO (Gran Turismo Omologato) is an automobile built by Pontiac in the United States from 1964 to

1974, and by Holden in Australia from 2004 to 2006. It is often considered the first true muscle car. From 1964

until midway through 1973 it was closely related to the Pontiac Tempest and for the 1974 model year it was based

on the Pontiac Ventura. The 21st century GTO is essentially a left hand drive Holden Monaro, itself a coupe variant

of the Holden Commodore.

The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. One of America's

most successful nameplates, the Impala became the best-selling automobile when full-sized cars dominated sales.

History

Ed Cole, Chevrolet's chief engineer in the late 1950s, defined the Impala as a "prestige car within the reach of the

average American citizen." From 1958 until 1965, the Impala was Chevrolet's most expensive full-size car. In 1965,

Chevrolet introduced the more-expensive Caprice. In the late sixties, the Impala was typically positioned just

below the top luxury trim, the Caprice, and above the more economical models like the Biscayne or the Bel Air.

The Impala, named for a southern African antelope, is most readily distinguished by having three pairs of taillights,

where most contemporary cars have two. It competed in the market against other full-size cars such as the Ford

Galaxie 500 and the Plymouth Fury.

The Dodge Charger was a model of car produced by Dodge. The 1966 to 1974 Chargers were sporty models based

on the Chrysler B platform that could be ordered with high-performance options. The 1975 to 1978 Chargers were

based on the Chrysler Cordoba. The Dodge Charger R/T was one of the largest muscle cars available in the 1970s.
Birth of the Charger

In 1964, when the Pontiac GTO started the American muscle car era with strong sales, the rest of GM's divisions

were quick to jump on the muscle car bandwagon. Buick followed with the Gran Sport and even Oldsmobile

brought out the 442. Dodge, despite putting out cars that could meet or beat these cars on the street or strip,

didn't have a performance image muscle car of their own.[citation needed] Even with available performance

engines, the Coronet's styling and image was considered by most to be "conservative."

The Oldsmobile 442 (pronounced four-four-two) was a muscle car produced by the Oldsmobile division of General

Motors. It was introduced as an option package for F-85 and Cutlass models sold in the United States beginning

with the 1964 model year. It became a model in its own right from 1968 to 1971, then reverted to an option

through the mid-1970s. Oldsmobile revived the name in the 1980s on the rear-wheel drive Cutlass Supreme and

early 1990s as an option package for the new front-wheel drive Cutlass.

The Ford Galaxie was a full-size car built in the United States by the Ford Motor Company for model years 1959

through 1974. The name was used for the top models in Ford’s full-size range from 1959 until 1961. In 1962, the

Galaxie name was assigned to the lowest-priced full-size Ford. The Galaxie 500, and Galaxie 500/XL names were

introduced in 1962. Year 1965 saw the introduction of the Galaxie 500/LTD, followed by Galaxie 500 7-Litre in
1966. The Galaxie 500 part was dropped from the LTD name in 1966, and from the XL name in 1967 however the

basic series structuring levels were maintained. The "regular" Galaxie 500 continued below the LTD as Ford’s mid-

level full-size model from 1965 until its demise at the end of the 1974 model year .