Design, production, and service histories of our most popular subjects combined with top-notch color photograph.

Amongst the wide range of Buick cars built in this period there were some muscle cars for the enthusiast. These were the cars that added glamour to the Buick name. From being front-runners in the late 1960s emissions controls and tightening safety regulations gradually emasculated these cars in the early 1970s. The oil crisis of 1973-4 finally killed off the muscle car genre altogether. This book is a compilation of road and comparison tests, driving impressions, model introductions and performance data. Models covered are:- Skylark Special, Wildcat, Electra 225, Super Wildcat, LeSabre 400 Sport CoupT, Skylark Gran Sport, Riviera Gran Sport, GS400, California GS, GS430, Stage 1 GS400, GS455, GS455 Stage 1, GS350, GSX455, GSX455 Stage 1, Centurion, Century Regal.

The ultimate resource on classic muscle cars from GM, with extensive coverage of prototypes, experimental models, anniversary and pace cars, and specialty packages for street and competition driving.

A breed unlike any seen before or since, the powerful, stylish American muscle car defined an era in automotive history. This history traces the rise and fall of these great performance cars from their precursors in the 1950s through the seminal appearance of the Pontiac GTO in 1964 and then year by year to the end in the 1970s. Approachable and nontechnical yet deeply informative, it puts the bygone muscle car in its cultural and aesthetic contexts, describes developments in styling, performance and marketing, and revels in the joys of muscle car ownership in the 21st century.

American Muscle Cars features stunning historic and contemporary photography and offers a thorough chronology of this classic car's evolution from the 1960s to the present.

“Just what is a Muscle Car?” Road Test magazine asked in June 1967. The answer: “Exactly what the name implies. It is a product of the American car industry adhering to the hot rodder’s philosophy of taking a small car and putting a BIG engine in it. . . . The Muscle Car is Charles Atlas kicking sand in the face of the 98 horsepower weakling.” Unconcerned with such trivial details as comfort and handling, the vintage American muscle car was built for straight-line speed and quickly became the ride of choice for power-hungry racers and serious gearheads. In a country where performance was measured in brute force, a quarter mile at a time, the muscle car was the perfect machine. In the intervening years, these down-and-dirty, high-performing beauties have earned their place in the automotive pantheon. As prized by collectors and aficionados as they are by denizens of garages and drag strips, classic muscle cars now fetch upwards of a million dollars at auctions and feature in any story of America’s automotive glory days. The icons of muscle car art—including Camaro and Chevelle SS, the Hemi and 440-6 ’Cuda, Challenger, Roadrunner, Super Bee, GTX, Super Bird, Daytona Charger, Super Cobra Jet and Boss Mustang, Talladega Torino, Buick GSX and W30 Oldsmobile 442, and AMX Javelin—are all here, on full display in this lavishly illustrated volume, each described in a detailed essay followed by a gallery of portraits and special gatefold presentations that capture the art of the muscle car at its finest.