What was the first true "muscle car"?

[camaro69boy]

I always thought it was the '64 Pontiac GTO but many others say it was the '62 Dodge Dart Max Wedge? I thought about it after seeing that question in a poll on http://www.iShowCars.com

[MrPbody]

This is a very debated issue. It all depends on how you define "muscle car".

Prior to the "internet", where people outside "the business" started a sort of "revisionist" history, a muscle car was an intermediate body with a "big car" engine. And yes, '64 GTO was it. John Z. DeLorean and Jim Wangers used the term to describe the car. I've always been of the school that if a name is used by an inventor, that's probably what it should be called...

In the last ten to twelve years, this has been redefined a number of times, and gone so far as to include cars such as Cobra, Corvette, Viper and a host of other non-muscle cars. The perception of the uninitiated is that ANY car with "muscle" is a "muscle car". Purists stick to the original definition.

Chrysler has even made the claim the early "300" was the first muscle car. It was not. It was what was known then as a "super car". Those are full-size cars with lots of power. 409 Impala (2 4-bbl. version), 413 Dart (also a full-size car, the early Dart), 421 Catalina, 406 Galaxie, etc. are all examples of factory "super cars".

"Pony cars" are Mustang, Firebird, Camaro, Barracuda, Challenger, Javelin, etc. I've seen "muscle car shootouts" where there was a Boss 429 Mustang and a Hemi Cuda, neither of which are muscle cars. In one, the ONLY true muscle car was the '69 GTO. The rest were sprorts cars or pony cars.

Road Runner, GTX, Charger R/T, Torino GT/Cobra, Cyclone GT, GTO, 442, SS396, Grand Sport, Rebel "Machine"... These are all true muscle cars. Note that not ALL Chargers are included, as many had 318s in them. From a purist point of view, no muscle car was ever built with a small block engine.

So, let the debate begin! In truth, it doesn't really matter, as "muscle car" is not a "legal classification", but a nickname.

Most recently, Pontiac sold a true muscle car in the GTO. Ford's claim to Mustang being a muscle car, is unfounded. It's like Chrysler taking credit for "the first sport utility vehicle" (in a recent commercial) and showing an old Jeep CJ-2. Chrysler had absolutely nothing to do with Jeep until they BOUGHT the company in the late '80s. Taking credit for Bantam's hard work, especially after the government screwed them out of the Jeep and gave it to Willys, is not only rediculous, but insulting and shows a complete lack of class and honor.

GTO is "The King", regardless of opinions, as it outsold all others combined through '69.

Jim

[MagicRat]

^^Excellent answer^^

I agree that the '64 GTO was the first, given the criteria of a muscle car.

Specifically the '62 Max Wedge was a specialized street legal race car. It was not widely manufactured or distributed. It also did not have a 'sporty' image, packaging or advertising.

The GTO was all of these. Furthermore, the GTO was hugely influential to the auto industry as a whole, and deserves the title.

[M3FordBoy]

^you know for as many times as i've seen that questoin asked/disputed it should just be a sticky at the top of the muscle car forum..."what is a musclecar?" or something to that effect. It could even go into how the "street deffinition" if you will has changed, and so on and so forth.