This is the muscle car history to own--a richly illustrated
chronicle of America's greatest high-performance cars, told from their
1960s beginning through the present day!
In the 1960s, three incendiary ingredients--developing V-8 engine
technology, a culture consumed by the need for speed, and 75
million baby boomers entering the auto market--exploded in the form
of the factory muscle car. The resulting vehicles, brutal machines
unlike any the world had seen before or will ever see again, defined
the sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll generation.
American Muscle Cars chronicles this tumultuous period of American
history through the primary tool Americans use to define themselves:
their automobiles. From the street-racing hot rod culture that
emerged following World War II through the new breed of muscle cars
still emerging from Detroit today, this book brings to life the
history of the American muscle car.
When Pontiac's chief engineer, John Z. DeLorean, and his team
installed a big-inch engine into the division's intermediate chassis,
they immediately invented the classic muscle car. In those 20 minutes it
took Bill Collins and Russ Gee to bolt a 389 ci V-8 engine into a
Tempest chassis they created the prototype for Pontiac's GTO--and
changed the course of automotive history. From that moment on, American
performance cars would never be the same.
Featured cars represent all American automakers of the
time--Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, and AMC--as well
as landmark models like the Challenger, Charger, Road
Runner, Super Bee, Super Bird, 'Cuda, Camaro,
Chevelle SS, 442, Boss Mustang, GTX, Javelin,
AMX, and much more.
American Muscle Cars tells the story of the most desirable cars ever
to come out of Detroit. It's a story of flat-out insanity told at full
throttle and illustrated with beautiful photography.
