10 wimpiest muscle cars ever

[HemiDog]

Fun quick read... 
http://autos.yahoo.com/news/10-wimpiest-muscle-cars-ever.html

['Cuda Hunter]

There sure is some ugly cars in there.

[moparmaniac59]

WOW, I would have NEVER considered some of those cars as a "muscle" car. Such as an AMC Gremlin?? Are you kidding me?? 



                                                                            Matt B.

[CID440]

Me too,  gremlin, mirada, citation and delorean never claimed to be muscle cars.  I'll confess, I've always liked the look of the Monza. 

[hpe600rt]

 

[Road_Runner]

 

The Citation was a front wheel drive transverse mounted 4 cylinder and the author considers it a muscle anything?  Really?  I agree on some of the posers: Volare based Roadrunner (available with a slant six), early 3rd gen Firebirds/Camaros, the 74 GTO, etc. but the rest were never considered muscle cars especially at the time.  Just because Detroit offered a car with stripes didn't mean it was meant to be a musclecar...

Later, Jim

[AARCUDADEN]

None of those were muscle cars by any means  But i have a soft spot for Grimlins 

[MEK-Dangerfield]

I never knew Delorean's have V-6 engines.   

[tommyg29]

I used to love the monza too, and yes it had an available v-8 in that little car. It did look cool in that IMSA like trim. A friend had one with that huge spider graphic on the hood.
But, our cars were truly among the last of the "real" muscle cars. A lot of people have forgotten, or never lived through the mid 70s, with once proud v-8s strangled to a fraction of their former glory. The article is spot on when it says that a lot of todays economy cars would outrun the "muscle" cars of the mid-late 70s. Even vettes and the big block trans ams had been totally neutered.
Black days for auto enthusiasts.

[Super Blue 72]

   I liked the Monza also!  Loved the Mirage version and the Spyder.  I actually have several Monza models from when I was a kid.



Ok, so they weren't really "Muscle cars" but with the exception of the Citation, Delorean and the Magnum, those were semi light cars that came from the factory with little smogger V8s in them.  Add a little bit of cubic inches and up the compression and those cars can be kinda quick.  Pop a 400hp 340 or 350 in one of those cars and it'll be quick.  Actually, their size vs weight can be a little deceptive...

I don't know the numbers but that little Mustang II series actually sold really well.  But then again, there weren't many choices.  A friend had a done up Cobra II, quick little car.

The '74 GTO was cool, a step up from it's Nova cousin IMO, because it came with a shaker hood scoop borrowed from a Trans Am.  It could also be had as a hatchback that year.

['Cuda Hunter]

Now I have to give the GTO props.  Still a big block car as a 350.  Minor upgrades will make that car pretty fast.
I have a buddy with one of those that he put a 455 in.  That car is seriously fast.
Definitely a step up from the nova. Better looking than the camaro and firebird in 74.  Not 73 or course.

Being mainly a pontiac guy in my early car years, I have never seen a hatch back on those ventura's ( i have always called them ventura's).
That's a pretty cool option.

[Super Blue 72]

Yeah, that hatchback is cool, IMO.  Could imagine folding down the rear seats and laying in back listening to some tunes on a sunny day.  Notice the location of the rear speakers?  Direct acoustics... 

I think some Novas had that option but I like the little GTO better.  Love the shaker!

[Topcat]

The Cosworth Vega could be on that list too. Still, a unique early idea back then.

[AARCUDADEN]

The Cosworth Vega could be on that list too. Still, a unique early idea back then.

Good point Topcat

[tommyg29]

The cosworth vega did not have a v-8. In fact most if not all of these cars were not available with true big block engines.