GM | Muscle Car Fan

Classic 1987 car dashboard with turbo boost gauge and RPM meter.

Retro Review: 1987 GM Muscle Cars: SS,

MotorWeek’s retro review of 1987’s GM muscle car lineup, headlined by the turbocharged Buick Grand National, has become an unlikely favorite for a very specific reason: the comments are full of viewers whose skeptical parents dismissed these cars new, only to come around decades later once the numbers finally sank in. Behind the period-correct broadcast delivery sits a real engineering story about squeezing genuine performance out of the tightest emissions era muscle cars ever faced. Watch the full segment to see 1987 performance judged entirely on its own terms.

Pontiac Firebird 1967 images

by Ross Mills

Pontiac let the Camaro launch five months first in 1966 just so Firebird engineers could fix what Chevy got wrong — better weight balance, standard traction bars, real attention to detail. Buyers had a genuine choice in 1967 between a clever overhead-cam Sprint six and GTO-sourced 400 V8 muscle, and the sales numbers make it obvious which one actually won.

Classic red vintage car with chrome details in a showroom.

1967 Chevrolet Impala SS Convertible

by Kiril

A full-size family convertible that runs 15.8 seconds in the quarter-mile shouldn’t exist by most 1960s logic, but Chevrolet built exactly that when it slotted the Z24 Super Sport package onto the Impala for 1967. Hidden under understated styling sat a genuine 427 big-block rated at 385 horsepower, installed in only 2,124 Super Sports that year. Read on to find out how rare a documented convertible like this one actually is.

Green sports car speeding on a mountainous road.

The 2017 Chevrolet Camaro 1LE Is a Track-Ready Sports-Car Bargain

by Kiril

Chevrolet actually builds two distinct 1LE track packages on the Camaro, a 335-horsepower V6 version and a 455-horsepower SS version, sharing the same Magnetic Ride Control suspension and Brembo brakes but differing underneath in ways most buyers never notice. Read on to find out how the V6 1LE holds its own against far pricier machinery on a demanding circuit like Willow Springs.

1967 red Camaro Cherokee convertible showcased at Muscle Car Week.

Breakdown/Review: 1967 Camaro “Cherokee” Concept Show Car

by Wes

Long before the 1968 Corvette reached showrooms, GM design chief Bill Mitchell used a one-off 1967 Camaro convertible called the Cherokee to test styling ideas that would define it. Muscle Car Of The Week talks with restorer Charley Hutton about bringing the car back, including bumper and color details subtle enough that even longtime Camaro owners miss them. Watch to see the concept even collectors rarely know exists.

Buick Riviera 1963 images

by Ross Mills

The 1963 Buick Riviera almost wore a Cadillac badge instead, GM’s styling chief originally designed it as a LaSalle-branded personal luxury coupe before Cadillac passed and Buick claimed the project. Deliberately limited to 40,000 units to preserve its exclusivity, the Riviera paired genuine luxury styling with a 325-horsepower Nailhead V8 capable of 0-60 in around 8 seconds. It’s a car built on a rejection that turned into one of Buick’s most important models of the decade.

A black Dodge Charger RT performing a burnout at a fast and furious event.

Fast And Furious’ 1970 Dodge Charger R/T – Drag Race!

by Wes

One of the actual Dodge Chargers used on screen by Dominic Toretto in the original Fast and the Furious now belongs to an Italian collector — and in 2015, he did something most owners of movie-used muscle cars never risk. He ran it down a real quarter-mile at Rivanazzano’s dragstrip in Italy. The pass has racked up nearly six million views since, mostly from people who can’t believe he actually did it.

A classic 1970 Buick GS 455 muscle car in vibrant blue.

1970 Buick GS 455 Stage 1 – Top Of The Heap

by Wes

1970 marked the final year of high-compression muscle before emissions regulations and an unleaded fuel mandate changed everything — and this breakdown argues the real winner of that last great year came from an unexpected place. The Buick GS 455 Stage 1 quietly out-torqued nearly every rival on the market, backed up by a factory performance package most people never associated with Buick. One recent owner’s comment about a first ride with his daughter says it all.

Classic red convertible sports car with sleek design.

Trivia #06 Horace and John Dodge

by Ross Mills

Long before the Hemi, Dodge started as a bicycle-parts patent and a Detroit machine shop making stove parts. Horace and John Dodge built their fortune as Henry Ford’s exclusive parts supplier, sometimes paid in stock instead of cash, before striking out to build cars under their own name in 1914. Their story ends almost as fast as it began.

Chevrolet Impala 1961-1964 Third generation

by Ross Mills

The third-generation Impala arrived in 1961 looking like nothing Chevrolet had built before, and it produced two body styles that collectors now hunt specifically because almost nobody wanted them when they were new. It also produced a 409 that got its own hit song, a dashboard where the temperature gauge was replaced by a warning light, and a 1964 engine option good for 425 horsepower. Read on for what separates the good years from the great ones.

Classic black convertible muscle car with hood open in a showroom.

Favorite Convertibles From The Brothers Collection

by Kiril

210 episodes into covering the Brothers Collection, Muscle Car of the Week finally ranks the convertibles — pulling from a 1967 Mustang K-code, a 1964 Plymouth Satellite 426 Wedge, a fuel-injected 1959 Corvette, and a 440 Six Barrel ‘Cuda in Tor-Red. Each car represents a different era and manufacturer’s approach to open-top American performance. The comments are already split over which one deserves the top spot. Watch to see the full lineup and decide which convertible you’d pick.

Air Bags

by Ross Mills

The airbag was patented in the early 1950s, yet not one classic muscle car ever left the factory with one. General Motors tried offering it in the 1970s, Mercedes-Benz finally made it work on the 1981 S-Class, and dual front airbags did not become mandatory in the United States until 1998. Read on to find out why an idea that existed before the GTO took nearly three decades to reach a dashboard, and what that means for anyone driving a classic today.

Classic two-tone 1950s vintage car in pristine condition.

Chevrolet Bel Air 1958 images

by Ross Mills

Chevrolet sold more than 1.2 million cars in 1958, and the Bel Air line, now sitting one rung below the brand-new Impala, accounted for nearly half of them. Underneath its redesigned, baby Cadillac styling sat a new frame and an engine lineup that stretched from a mild six-cylinder up to a freshly introduced big-block V8.

Muscle car with open hood showcasing its engine.

They Were BORED with LS’s! – NEW World Record!

by Wes

Doug Cook and the team at Motion Raceworks skipped the well-worn LS platform for something almost nobody had real data on: GM’s Gen V LT4. With virtually no seat time on the new combination, they walked straight into Hot Rod’s Drag Week 2017 chasing a record, and immediately ran into wiring harness gremlins that nearly derailed the entire attempt. See how a team with no playbook turned a fresh, largely undocumented engine build into record-setting territory.

Polished engine bay of a classic car with chrome and red accents.

The Original Super Chevy Show hits Martin Michigan Hard! – Huge Gallery

by Kiril

The Original Super Chevy Show’s stop in Martin, Michigan runs on a track with real history: US131 Motorsports Park started life as Martin Dragway back in 1962, long before a million renovation turned it into today’s national-touring-ready facility. The event’s entry rule is just as distinctive, any car can compete, even a Mustang, as long as it’s GM-powered. Here’s what made this particular weekend more than just another drag meet.

Posts Tagged: GM