The Death Of The Muscle Car My First Case
It happened back in the 70s, but the evidence was still there. It was the case of the disappearing horsepower and this is what happened.
In the era of the muscle car power was everything. It didnt matter what it was, sports car, family car, pickup; it had the biggest V-8 possible stuffed under the hood. Cubic inches were king and advertised power was astronomical. These cars could kick sand in the windscreens of anything else on the road.
But then horsepower seemed to disappear overnight!
Take my favourite muscle car, the Ford Mustang. The macho models had V-8s, though meeker models came with an inline six. The biggest six had 200 cubic inches and 155 hp in 1969/70.
What did the V-8s punch out? The most powerful 351 gave 300 hp in 1970 and the 427 gave a massive 390 hp in 1968. But by 1973 the most powerful Mustang had a 351 V-8 with just 156 hp. Almost half what it had in 1970, and only one horsepower more than the 200 cu in six of 1970! As for the Mustang II of 1974, we wont even go there.
The story was similar with the other manufacturers. What was going on? It just didnt add up. Could I...