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Ford’s 105,932 Mustang sales in 2016 didn’t just edge out the Camaro and Challenger — they buried them, by more than 33,000 and 41,000 units respectively. What makes the number more impressive is that Ford won 10 of the 12 months that year, against a Camaro that had just been fully redesigned. The gap raises a real question: was this about product, or about how Ford sold it?
This 2003 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra convertible has covered under 4,400 miles since new, spending most of its life with a single Ford collector before landing at Vanguard Motor Sales. Under the hood is the supercharged 4.6-liter Terminator V8 that made this generation of Cobra famous, paired with a six-speed manual and a limited-slip rear end. The paint, top, and interior all read like a car barely broken in. Cars this clean rarely stay on a lot for long.
In Detroit, muscle cars roar back to life, echoing the spirit of ’69. Ford’s Boss 302 Mustang, once a track legend, now boasts 444 hp, ready to race BMW’s M3. Not to be outdone, Chevy’s Camaro ZL1, born from a dealer’s dream, revs up with a 550 hp supercharged engine. These revamped classics, blending nostalgia with cutting-edge tech, promise joy rides and new memories. Ready, set, let’s cruise down memory lane with a modern twist!
Keeping a hot rod or muscle car roadworthy depends on more than just good wrenching, it depends on an entire parts and restoration industry working the way it should. When that supply chain is healthy, everyday driving a classic gets a lot less stressful. Here’s a look at what that actually means for owners keeping these cars on the road.
At a small cruise-in show, a brand-new Shelby GT350 Mustang ended up parked in a grove of trees next to rat rods and restored classics, and that mix is exactly the draw. Local cruise-ins don’t need velvet ropes to pull a crowd; they just need cars people actually love. Here’s what keeps events like this one going strong.
Ford did not just refresh the Mustang for its 50th anniversary in 2015, it redesigned the car from the ground up, giving it an independent rear suspension the pony car had only briefly tested once before, on the limited-run 1999-2004 Cobra. The engine lineup got just as bold a shake-up, bringing back a turbocharged four-cylinder for the first time since 1993 alongside the familiar V6 and V8. It was proof that “muscle car” and “high-tech” did not have to be opposites.
When Ford unveiled the Mustang in the spring of 1964, it did not just launch a new model, it invented an entirely new class of car that Detroit would spend the next decade trying to copy. By 1965, buyers could choose from three different versions of the same 289 V8, from a mild 200-horsepower base engine to a screaming 271-horsepower HiPo. These photos, courtesy of Gateway Classic Cars, capture that first full model year up close.
Chrysler’s muscle car lineup is like a buffet of horsepower and style, with the sleek 300L kicking things off in 1965. The Dodge Charger, a true icon, doubles as a practical muscle car with its fold-down back seat perfect for impromptu camping trips. The Challenger, Dodge’s lavish sibling, offers nearly every power combo in the Chrysler arsenal, making it a muscle car lover’s dream. Meanwhile, the Plymouth Barracuda, predating the Mustang, races ahead with its unique fastback design.
A crowded parking lot, a driver trying to show off with donuts, and a split-second mistake that turned a car meet into chaos. Two two steele’s footage of a Mustang plowing into spectators captures the exact moment car meet culture’s biggest ongoing safety problem stops being a hypothetical and starts being a Mustang headed straight for a group of people who came to watch, not to run.