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Only one of the four Trans Ams built for Smokey and the Bandit survived filming intact, yet the movie still helped turn a slow-selling Pontiac into a sales phenomenon. Discover what really happened on set, how the film rescued the Trans Am’s reputation, and why Burt Reynolds’ personal cars still draw huge money at auction.
The Camaro IROC-Z name is making a comeback, and this deep dive sits down with the person behind the revival to break down full pricing and details. Creator Mark had to publicly clarify one important detail: this isn’t an actual IROC-Z race series returning, but rather driving classes and a charity event for owners. For a badge this beloved in muscle car circles, getting the details right matters enormously. Find out exactly what buyers are getting with this revival, straight from the source.
FCA’s Cuda trademark filing wasn’t an isolated move — it followed a 2015 filing for the full Barracuda name and was registered under the same trademark classes used for physical badges and decals. Trademark filings don’t guarantee a car gets built, but the pattern suggests FCA is protecting the name for more than nostalgia. The most likely destination, if it ever lands on a fender, may be Dodge’s electric performance lineup rather than a gas-powered revival.
Lokar’s Muscle Car Shifter Knob is built to replicate the look and feel of a factory GM shifter closely enough to fool most people at a car show, and it won SEMA’s award for Best New Interior Accessory Product. The install is straightforward but order-dependent: the shifter has to be in Park, the set screw inside the knob has to stay untouched, and the adapter housing has to be held steady while tightening. Here’s exactly how to avoid the mistakes first-timers usually make.
Ron Reolfi was nineteen when his 1968 Chevrolet Camaro was stolen from an Ohio parking lot in 1981 — and he spent the next three decades assuming it was gone forever, chopped for parts or repainted beyond recognition. Then a photo showed up in his father’s inbox, and a car that vanished for a generation came home. Watch to see how it happened.
Some of the most memorable car chases in film history were built on practical stunts, real streets, and drivers pushing muscle cars to their limits — no green screen required. From a 1968 Mustang tearing through San Francisco to a 300-driver pileup on the streets of Paris, these scenes set a bar modern CGI still struggles to match. Here’s a closer look at the chases that earned their legendary status.
Revology Cars builds brand-new reproductions of 1967 to 1970 Mustangs and Shelby GTs from the ground up, powered by Ford’s modern 5.0-liter Coyote V8 making up to 600 horsepower. Founded by Tom Scarpello, who ran Ford’s Special Vehicle Team and raced Mustangs since 1982, Revology was the first company Ford ever licensed to build reproduction Mustangs, and remains one of only four companies authorized to build licensed Shelby GTs today.
A pickup truck driver surrounded by motorcyclists at a red light pulled a gun, and the confrontation was caught entirely on camera. Ricky Thornton later told Inside Edition he felt cornered and didn’t know whether any of the riders around him were armed. The footage went viral before his side of the story ever reached the public, and it raises a question dashcam clips rarely answer cleanly: who was actually the aggressor here?
SpeedKore’s 1970 Dodge Charger ‘Tantrum’ swaps the usual big-block Mopar power for a 9.0-liter Mercury Racing marine engine, a twin-turbo, dual-overhead-cam V8 borrowed from offshore racing boats and making a claimed 1,650 horsepower. The Wisconsin shop wrapped that drivetrain in a full carbon-fiber body and backed it with a Tremec T56 six-speed manual, creating one of the most unconventional restomods in the muscle car world. Its profile only grew from ties to the Fast and Furious franchise, cementing Tantrum’s status as a SpeedKore signature build.
Elon Musk first confirmed the Tesla Model Y would share its platform with the Model 3 sedan on a quarterly earnings call — but the crossover didn’t actually reach the public until its March 2019 unveiling, with production following in January 2020. When it arrived, roughly 76% of its parts were shared with the Model 3, and Tesla offered four powertrain configurations plus an optional third row. Here’s how the promise from that call actually played out.
The 2017 BMW i8 paired a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine with an electric motor and a 7.1-kWh battery to produce 357 horsepower, all-wheel drive, and a 4.2-second 0-60 time — while still returning 76 MPGe combined. A carbon-fiber passenger cell and 15 miles of electric-only range rounded out a formula no other automaker was really attempting at the time. Here’s how BMW’s plug-in halo car actually worked under the skin.
Lebanon Ford’s LFP 550 package took the four-cylinder Mustang EcoBoost from its factory output to a claimed 550 horsepower using a larger Borg-Warner turbo, a bigger intercooler, and a custom Cobb Accessport tune built with VMP Performance. Buyers could get it factory-installed for ,995 or retrofitted onto an existing car for ,699, with one catch: the upgrade voids Ford’s factory powertrain warranty. It’s a bet on the dealership’s tune over Ford’s engineering, and for horsepower-per-dollar shoppers, plenty were willing to take it.
Tireco’s Milestar Streetsteel tire is aimed squarely at classic American muscle cars, hot rods, and vintage trucks, with a checkered-flag sidewall and steel-belted construction built for occasional weekend driving. The company’s own path to that niche is unlikely: it started in 1972 selling bicycle tires before working its way through trailer tires, motorcycle tires, and finally a dedicated car and truck brand. Here’s how a bicycle-tire company ended up making rubber for classic muscle cars.