The Gas Crisis Killed These 4 Muscle Car Legends Too Soon

One of these cars was among the last to offer the legendary 426 Hemi, and fewer than 150 buyers got one. By the early 1970s, rising insurance costs, tougher emissions rules and then the 1973 […]

One of these cars was among the last to offer the legendary 426 Hemi, and fewer than 150 buyers got one. By the early 1970s, rising insurance costs, tougher emissions rules and then the 1973 oil embargo had turned the muscle car boom into a bust. Here are four of the legends that went down with it, counted down from number four to number one. Watch the video above, then read on for the details.

#4: 1974 Dodge Challenger

The first-generation Dodge Challenger ran from 1970 through 1974, and by the final year the glory days were long gone. The mighty Hemi and big blocks were history, and the biggest engine on offer was a 360 cubic inch small block. Rising insurance costs, tougher emissions rules and, in 1973, the oil embargo changed what buyers wanted. Sales faded, and Dodge ended the original Challenger after 1974. It was a quiet end for a car that launched with some of the wildest engines ever offered.

#3: 1974 Plymouth Barracuda

The Barracuda started in 1964 as a fastback version of the Valiant, and by 1970 it was a full-fledged muscle car on the same E-body platform as the Challenger. By the mid-1970s the market had collapsed. Gas prices were climbing, insurance surcharges punished performance cars, and emissions rules choked engine output. Production of the Barracuda ended in 1974, taking one of Plymouth’s most famous nameplates with it. The final cars were a shadow of the legends that came before.

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#2: 1972 Pontiac GTO

The GTO invented the muscle car craze in the 1960s, but by 1972 it had been demoted from a model in its own right to an option package on the LeMans. Insurance rates had soared, emissions regulations were tightening, and automakers began quoting horsepower in the more realistic net measurement, which made power numbers look dramatically lower on paper. The legend that launched an entire era was fading, and Pontiac’s performance image would never be quite the same again.

#1: 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda

The 426 Hemi, rated at 425 horsepower, was the most feared engine of the muscle car era, and 1971 was the final year it was offered. Fewer than 150 Hemi Cudas were built that year, which is why a 1971 Hemi Cuda is among the most valuable muscle cars on the planet. Insurance costs, emissions regulations and the move to lower-compression engines doomed the Hemi, and the 1973 oil embargo finished the job. Muscle’s greatest engine disappeared almost overnight.

That is our countdown of the muscle cars the gas crisis killed. Which loss hurts the most? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe to Muscle Car Fan on YouTube for a new countdown every day.

Image credits: 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda.jpg by No machine-readable author provided. Sfoskett~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). (CC BY-SA 3.0) · 1971 Plymouth Cuda 440-6 Hardtop (24452748914).jpg by Sicnag (CC BY 2.0) · 1972 Pontiac Le Mans Hardtop Coupe with GTO option.jpg by GTHO (CC0) · 1974 Plymouth Barracuda, rear right, 06-16-2024.jpg by MercurySable99 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · 1974 Dodge Challenger (26149484007).jpg by Bob P. B. (CC BY 2.0). Facts from Wikipedia.