Best Muscle Cars
The Most Searched Muscle Cars
By Dave Ashton
Let’s be honest, searching online for your favorite muscle car is a common activity. We may be whimsically windowshopping or in the market for another car to clog up the driveway. Either way, there are a ridiculous amount of searches performed every month to find muscle cars online. The guys over at Budget Direct Car Insurance have compiled a list of the most searched muscle cars online and from each country.
Most Searched Muscle Cars
The full list comprises 50 vehicles, with the most searched monthly vehicle being the Pontiac Firebird in the United States with 111,000 monthly searches. Pontiac also claims the second spot with the GTO having 82,000 monthly searches from the United States. The next muscle car on the list is the Plymouth Barracuda at number 6 with 75,000 monthly searches from the United States. The AC Cobra also gets in the top 10 at number nine with 56,000 monthly searches from the United States.
The entry which was completely unexpected was at number 12 with the Pontiac Fiero having 48,000 searches per month in the United States. Although the Fiero was a small two seater built in the early eighties with a 2.5L engine, not exactly the height of the muscle car era, it’s still a very popular model.
The Pontiac Trans Am receives an entry at the 21st spot, but then it’s down to the 34th spot for the Plymouth Superbird, the Oldsmobile Cutlass at 43 and the Oldsmobile 442 at number 49.
The Pontiac Firebird: The Most Searched Discontinued Muscle Car
Nostalgia seems to play a big part in the number of searches performed online. The Pontiac Firebird has been front of mind for many years, mostly due to its numerous film and TV appearances. The Smokey and the Bandit movie franchise helped the car cement its iconic status. But then it leads to the question of why the Dodge Charger wasn’t included which was heavily featured in the Dukes of Hazard as the General Lee.
Most Search Vehicles by Decade
The list concerning the most-searched muscle cars by decade throws up some slightly different placings. The number 1 spot for the most desired extinct sixties car goes to the Pontiac Firebird again. But the Pontiac GTO comes in second place with the Plymouth Barracuda coming in 3rd and the AC Cobra number four. The top 10 in this category also features the AMC Javelin at number seven and the Mercury Cougar at number eight.
Conclusion
The fun thing about these types of lists is the unexpected entries. The average muscle fan would probably pick completely different contenders. But in reality, the vehicles that stay in people’s consciousness the most can be completely mundane. For instance, the AMC Pacer gains the overall number 15 position and the AMC Gremlin comes in at number 23. I wonder if the AMC Pacer gets so many searches as it was featured in the Wayne’s World movies.
On another note, and probably the most surprising entry is the British Reliant Robin at number 11, with the most searches coming from the United States. We think the reason why this quirky little three-wheeler car doesn’t have all its searches coming from it’s native UK is that the car was essentially s***t.
Yes, it looks cute, but the thing could roll over, at most had an 848 cc engine, but you could drive one with a motorcycle license. In the UK, the Reliable Robin hit popularity as it was heavily featured in the comedy series Only Fools and Horses(just do a search for ‘Reliant Robin Del Boy’).
Back to the story at hand, the Pontiac Firebird is clearly one of the most popular muscle cars. Although the car stopped production in 2002, it had a good run from 1967, featuring some of the most iconic shapes in car history. The ‘screaming chicken’ logo on the hood is also iconic, being almost a symbol for nineteen-seventies car culture.
0 comments