The muscle car era, and the era that immediately preceded it, are a
unique window in time; it is one that we will not likely see again.
Post-war USA was a place where people wanted to move on from the horrors
of conflict, to embrace an era of peace, and to pursue, well, all sorts
of things. A whole generation was entering a new prosperity, with home
ownership on the rise, gainful employment increasing, the building of
suburbs, and a new interstate system connecting everyone. That all
helped increase our dependence upon, and in turn, deepen our love affair
with the automobile.
It started in the 1950s, when automakers realized that if they made
their cars more powerful than brand X and won races on the weekends as
well, sales would follow those victories into the dealership. Not
everybody was enamored with all this new-found performance, however, and
throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, a struggle developed between
building faster automobiles and appearing responsible and promoting the
cause of safety. This led to racing participation on an all-out
corporate level, followed by voluntary self-imposed and publicized bans,
back-door cheating on said bans, and then investing in performance again.
A byproduct of all this activity was some really fascinating and
exciting cars. Detroit Muscle: Factory Lightweights and Purpose-Built
Muscle Cars follows the evolution of the fastest, most powerful, and
exciting vehicles of the era, in both drag racing and NASCAR. From early
Hudson Hornets, to the birth of the Hemi, to aluminum and fiberglass
panel sedans, to lightweight special-order muscle cars ready to race
from the factory.
• Covers the muscle car era and the decade of performance leading up to
it
• Provides info on not just muscle cars, but specially built performance
cars as well
• Puts all performance efforts of domestic manufacturers into
perspective from 1950 to present
About the Author
Charles Morris is an auto enthusiast and a die-hard Ford fan who has
written scores of articles for Ford car magazines. A drag racer since
1966, Morris has been a crewmember for a Top Alcohol Funny Car and a
Pro/ Stock team; he has also run cars in Stock, Super Stock, and
Nostalgia Super Stock classes. He was a 2006 inductee into the USA 1
Nostalgia Dragfest Hall of Fame.
