The idea of installing a powerful engine in a post WWII mid-size car was introduced in 1957. The American Motors (AMC) Rebel showcased AMC?s new 327 in³ V8 255 hp with a 4 barrel carburetor (fuel injection was to be optional), thus making it the first American factory hot-rod hardtop sedan. The Rambler Rebel came with a manual or automatic transmission, and dual exhaust. The Rebel was promoted as the fastest four-door car in America from 0-60 mph and ran the quarter mile in 17.0 seconds. It was one of the quickest production automobiles at that time.

The popularity of the muscle car grew in the 1960s. Among these was the Pontiac Tempest. For 1964 and 1965, the GTO was an option package that included Pontiac's 389 in³ (6.5 L) V8 engine, floor-shifted transmission with Hurst shift linkage, and special trim. In 1966, the Pontiac GTO was no longer an option, and became its own model. The project, spearheaded by Pontiac division president John De Lorean, was technically a violation of General Motors policy limiting its smaller cars to 330 in³ (5.4 L) displacement, but it proved far more popular than expected, and inspired a host of imitations, both at GM and its competitors.

This marked a general trend towards factory performance, which reflected the importance of the youth market. A key appeal of the muscle cars was that they offered the burgeoning American car culture an array of relatively affordable vehicles with strong street performance that could also be used for racing. The affordability aspect was quickly compromised by increases in size, optional equipment, and plushness, forcing the addition of more and more powerful engines just to keep pace with performance. A backlash against this cost and weight growth led in 1967 and 1968 to a secondary trend of "budget muscle" in the form of the Plymouth Road Runner, Dodge Super Bee, and other stripped, lower-cost variants.

Although the sales of true muscle cars were relatively modest by total Detroit standards, they had considerable value in publicity and bragging rights, serving to bring young buyers into showrooms. Automakers saw these as halo models and some, such as the AMC Rebel Machine, were factory upgraded to be turn-key drag racers. The 1970 Machine even came with flamboyant and patriotic red, white, and blue reflective body graphics for maximum street and racetrack visibility. The fierce competition led to an escalation in power that peaked in 1970, with some models offering as much as 450 hp (and others likely producing as much actual power, whatever their rating).

The Dodge Charger, known for its appearance as the villan's vehicle in the movie BullittAnother related type of car is the car-based pickup. Examples of these are the Ford Ranchero, GMC Sprint, GMC Caballero, and one of the most famous examples, the Chevrolet El Camino.

Volvo 140 Owning Up to Its Personal Space in Automobile History
Kenneth McKinley

In its own history, Volvo is a Swedish world leading manufacturer of commercial vehicles, buses, and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and service, and this group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. Volvo Cars, however, which is the manufacturer of automobiles that we know at present, has since been owned by the Ford Motor Company starting the year 1999.

The name Volvo is a Latin word that means “I roll”. This name surely fits well as a description of their products – vehicles – that the company crafts. However, originally, it is a name for a ball bearing that was being developed by the company which, at that time, provided funding to a small number of employees for them to be able to set up the car manufacturing business. Today, the Volvo Group has been manufacturing vehicles in twenty five countries with its sales in more than 185 markets around the globe.

Some of the reasons why Volvo had took the initiative to sell the automobile manufacturing was because of the increasing development costs for new car models, added up with the fact that at that time it was a relatively small producer of such. Its strategy was then to grow as a truck manufacturer where it had a stronger market position. Now, Volvo the line of vehicles is included and part of the Ford Motor Company's line up.

The list of Volvo models could look seemingly endless with new models coming up out in the market regularly. A part of the list includes the Volvo 140 which consists of the models Volvo 142, which is a two door vehicle, the Volvo 144, which has four doors, and the Volvo 145, which is an estate wagon. This model was first introduced in 1967. The Volvo 140 series was the start of using a three number system for their crafts. It is some sort of acronym for the first number indicates the series, the second number displays the number of series, and the third number shows the number of doors.

The very first Volvo to feature the classic boxy look is the Volvo 140. This provided a lot of interior space, as compared to the Volvo Amazon. It also bore a radical new design with the only similar features to the Amazon being the split grill and some parts of the interior. The basic shape of the Volvo 140 lived into the 1990s with the 200 series. It used the same 85 hp engine, and then later was changed to the B20 engine. A 115 hp engine was also made available. Going back to 1966, the Volvo 140 had been awarded and had been named as the Car of the Year for that year by the Swedish magazine Teknikens Varld.

Volvo Parts and Used Volvo Parts provides you the best value for Volvo car parts online. It is considered as one of Internet's most powerful and advanced auto parts shopping systems.

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