Muscle Car
1970s Fast Muscle Cars For The Family
By Mark a Weisseg
Yes my munchkins, back in the 1970’s cars like this were considered fast. Yes, they had monster V8 engines but really were not all that swift,especially compared to some of their counterparts only a few years before.
If you wanted real power you had to buy a GTO, Camaro, or maybe a Charger. But as all of you can attest when we were young crumb crunchers there was no way Dad and Mom were having any of that. Certainly Dad would have preferred a hot rod in the garage but Mom would have his balls tied to the clothes line. the reality for most people were regular rides, especially in the family situation.
We like many other families were station wagon people. That’s how we rolled. As time went on I think Dad still had the itch for real horsepower but now he was too old. Darn shame as the guy was a motor head and loved cars. He would be stunned at what I have done and more than likely would be with me all the time. Like many fathers of the day they went to war and came back and started a family with that all their dreams landed up on hold as they made babies. But, Dad had that twinkle. He bought a few four door cars that had big V8 engines and enjoyed the power.
Thinking back to my neighborhood I don’t think there was a single family where the father had himself a hot rod. It would have been considered stupid. Today, that is very different.
Many men in there 50’s are buying the dream car they wanted as young adults. I am one of those. But, I did not stop with one car I kept going. Dad would have been proud.
He would think I was crazy but deep down he would have loved it. I hope you guys out there today share your hobby or love of the car with your son or daughter. You might not think they are listening but they are. The hobby trickles down, even if they passively watch and listen. It may not even happen for many years, but sometime in the future, they too will get the itch for a lovely V8.
The other shame is that Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and many more are gone. Today foreign cars are not considered foreign. Most are built right here in the USA and many people buy them with that in mind. Back in the 70’s and 80’s it was almost a sin to buy one. But, slowly over time they proved themselves worthy. They also made the Detroit big three wake up and start building better cars. The youngsters today don’t know about the days in the 70’s when we had gas rationing, gas shortages and were told by the liars we would run out of oil and gas soon.
We sweated the details and better cars were built. Technology found the oil in huge massive quantities and that same system found ways to extract it. Our globe is full of oil and there are no shortages of oil fields. Just a shortage of ideas to correctly use it, but that’s another story.
Today, we have a wealth of vehicles from the vintage to the brand-new which all uphold the muscle car tradition and are accessible to everybody. Well, those with the will, determination and tenacity to care for these vehicles and maybe turn some of them from rusted wrecks into the beauties that fetch high prices at auction. If you’re just passed your driving test to the oldest out there, you can still enjoy the hobby in some capacity. You just need to get out there and try it.
For all muscle car parts – http://fastmusclecar.com/muscle-car-parts/
1 Comment