Power, speed and performance – those are the three major traits of a muscle car. When first produced, muscle cars were just pretty darn amazing because they combined the efficiency of a lightweight, mid-sized body with the performance of a high- power V8 engine and special design features that further increased the cars? acceleration capabilities. Because muscle cars topped all other vehicles in terms of power, speed and performance, they were ideal for racing.

Muscle cars were produced from the mid-1960s into the early 1970s, but the production of such beasts fell drastically due to a number of factors. First was the controversy over whether it was wise and responsible to make such powerful vehicles available to the general public, primarily due to road racing. Because muscle cars were often used irresponsibly, liability relating to them was pretty high which forced insurance companies to increase rates for insuring muscle cars. Emission control requirements intended to curb pollution also played into the picture making it near impossible for automakers to produce muscle cars that met the standards they had to adhere to.

Needless to say, the muscle car industry changed quickly due to these influences. Demand decreased because many ?would-be? buyers of muscle cars couldn?t fathom paying the enormous insurance rates for a high-power vehicle and automakers had to meet the challenges presented by pollution control standards.

Since muscle cars were produced for a limited number of years, they are valuable items for collectors and are still highly desirable to those who enjoy racing or desire a quick, powerful, mid-sized car. Since the decline in the production of muscle cars, some automakers have attempted to bring the muscle car era back to life by producing powerful vehicles that resemble the legendary muscle cars, but in my opinion, they don?t hold a candle to classic muscle cars like the GTO, the Road Runner or the Chevelle SS.

It will be interesting to see how the history of muscle cars plays out. Will present day automakers renew production of true muscle cars that are fast and powerful? Will there be enough demand to make muscle car production worth it to them? Or, will muscle cars continue to be limited to those classic models that were produced in the 60s and 70s?

Classic muscle cars are pretty amazing pieces of machinery. One that is restored and in cherry condition is really worth a lot of money. As time goes on, there are fewer muscle cars available which makes them even more valuable to classic car collectors and muscle car enthusiasts.

Anything Is Possible
David Atkin 

Have you ever wondered if you could have a certain thing done to your car, did you wonder if it had ever been done, chances are that it has been done, and it can be done again, chances are that you can have what ever you want on or in your car.

I've seen things that you wouldn't believe, things that I even thought couldn't be done, custom paint, custom sheet metal work, custom gage clusters, or just about anything that you want, I know people who settled for something less then exactly what they wanted, because they thought that it could not be done.

The fact of the matter is, if you can imagine it, then it can be done, I had a customer asking me just the other day, if he had to settle for an automatic transmission, because of the kind of custom work that he wants done on his car, and the answer is no, you can have any transmission in your car that you want, there are companies that specialize in building parts that will work in your custom car.

You just send in your specs, and your measurements, and tell them what you want, and they will build it for you, and then ship it to the company that's building your car, so you see, it doesn't matter what you want done, it is always possible, if you have patients and the money it can be done.

You can do anything these days, chop & channel, custom paint work, mega interior customizations are possible to do, you can buy a crate motor right from the factory with 670 HP, and fuel injection, if you want more HP you can always add a supercharger, and if that's not enough, well then nitrous is an option, but it's so hard on your engine.

There's heads that will give you up to 150 HP over factory units, and if you're a first generation camaro freak, well the tubular front suspension is awesome, and if that weren't enough already, now we have independent rear suspension, digital gage clusters, and the list just keeps on going, right in to the ozone.

For those of us who love custom cars, the scene is getting pretty hot, every day more things hit the market for your car, and if the shop that is doing the work on your car is good enough, then they can build you any hand made custom specialty things that you want for your car, you know, the one of a kind scuttle things that make people go HHHMM.

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