Muscle cars were the very cause of their owners being dubbed "factory hot rodders!" The first car to be called a Muscle car hit the American streets in 1964 and was a product of the Pontiac Division of General Motors. It was called the Gran Tourismo Omalagato - the infamous GTO. In 1965 all the GM cousins came to the table with their own versions of factory hotrods. Buick had the Gran Sport or the Buick GS, which sported a 401 cubic inch engine in a Buick Skylark body. Oldsmobile had the Olds Starfire 4-2-2 and Chevrolet had the Chevelle Super Sport.

All of these cars employed large displacement engines in lightweight bodies and had posi tract rear ends. Most came with four-speed transmissions and in the beginning, only a few were ordered with air conditioning. Automatic transmissions were available. Carburetion amounted to, as a minimum, a four-barrel carburetor. Most had as options, multiple carburetor configurations.

Muscle cars also came with tighter suspension systems than a family sedan, making them a bit rougher riding. This was provided to maximize its traction and to help keep it on the road. The softer, spongier suspension of the larger family cars was actually less safe, though more comfortable.

Much of the muscle car's punch came from the rear end ratio. While a standard street gear for a car from that era would have been about a 370 to a 390:1 ratio, the big ratio among muscle cars was 4.11:1. When the torque from a large displacement engine, highly revved, was routed through a differential with a 4.11:1 ratio and then straight to the wheels, the car catapulted from a dead stop. Due to the posi-tract rear end, both rear tires pulled evenly.

The muscle car was sold as an out-the-door hotrod, requiring no mechanical knowledge on the part of its owner. Serious hot rodders would usually scoff at them, not because their car was slow, it certainly wasn't, but because they didn't build it themselves.

Other fast cars existed, but none tried to enter the muscle car field until the first Pontiac GTO was on the street. Probably, the meanest of the muscle car group was the 426 cubic inch hemispherical head (Hemi) engine in either a Plymouth or Dodge. The hemi was invented in the 1950s as a smaller displacement engine and used for several years in various sizes before it was upgraded to 426 cubic inches. When a person refers to a Hemi, he is usually referring to the 426 cubic inch Hemi, the engine that won so many victories for Richard Petty. One of the finest of the muscle car group was the Dodge 426 Super Stock. It should be remembered that Chrysler produced a 426 cubic in wedge engine that was also used in Plymouths and Dodges. The Dodge 426 Super Stock was the big dog's chew bone, the little pups just needed to stay away! Refer to a line from Jan and Dean's Little Old Lady From Pasadena " Sitting in her garage - is a brand new, shiny red Super Stock Dodge".

Ford was prompted to build a series of muscle cars following the advent of the GTO. Among them were several mustangs and Torinos. There was a Shelby GT 350 and a Shelby GT 500, designed by and named for Carol Shelby. By the end of the sixties, Ford could boast some very serious muscle cars, the Mustang Cobra Jet, sporting a 428 cubic inch engine.

The characteristics of a car to be considered a muscle car were generally, as follows:
Factory built for competition
Large displacement, light weight
Stronger suspension
Posi-traction rear end
High rear end ratio
Factory tachometer
Wide oval tires

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