During the 1960s and 1970s Detroit auto makers used the term “Muscle Cars” in their marketing to refer to small cars with very large engines. It appealed mostly to younger buyers who were most interested in a car’s performance.

In the 1960s Pontiac created the GTO which used the body of their Pontiac Tempest and added a 389 cu. in. engine. The Pontiac GTO is considered to be the first Muscle Car.

One of the most famous cars in the movie world, was the model DB5 thatwas manufactured by Auston Martin.

The Corvette model SS came out in March of 1957. The engine was a 283V8, with aluminum heads, fuel injection and it developed over 300 hp at6400 rpm.

During the early 1970s Air Pollution Legislation was introduced that forced manufactures to produce engines that ran cleaner and on unleaded fuel. This decreased the performance of Muscle Cars greatly. Also the energy crisis of the time drove up gas prices. In addition, car insurance companies began to raise their rates for performance cars.