Which muscle car is ugly?

[Danny Boy]

Butt ugly rear and unbelievable poor engine (180hp?)

 

[DeltaV]

Kind of hard to figure how after 4 pages it hasn't been brought up that the term Musclecar was originally coined by - take your pick - Brock Yates, C&D Magazine, Pontiac with the GTO, to mean an intermediate sedan/hardtop with a large motor. Pony cars, sports cars and full size cars were never correctly called Musclecars, much less 4 & 6 cylinder economy cars. I think most people retroactively included earlier high performance cars like the 49 Olds, 409/427/406 full size cars, 383/413/393/426 Mopars, early large engine Pontiacs, etc, etc. Some cars were termed Supercars - some Corvettes and Cobras would probably fit, but that’s a different story. But never heard anyone back in the day call a Mustang or Challenger or Camaro as a Musclecar, except in the loosest of references.

Brock Yates. Miss that guy!
R.I.P.

https://revsinstitute.org/news/race...he-defining-automotive-journalist-of-his-day/

 

[Photon440]

Then there was that old road test icon - Tom McCahill who, in a 1961 road test wrote of the 1962 Thunderbird: "The performance of the T-Bird Road remained largely unchanged since 1961. The standard engine of 390 cubic inch V8 with 300hp gave the Thunderbird enough speed for a typical buyer of the T-Bird, though not a Muscle Car."

 

[Richard Cranium]

All of the Daytona's sold with no problem, it was the Superbirds they had trouble selling. They made 1935 Superbirds verses 503 Daytona's. Keep in mind that during the time they were built, that stock car racing was mostly a south eastern United States sport, and was just starting to be televised so people in other parts of the country didn't really know what to make of these bizarre looking Mopars. As far as being bought up cheap in the 90s them and Hemi cars were always around 5 to 10 grand beyond my reach even back then.

That’s true. I remember the Spade Daytona (unrestored) being for sale in the early 80s for 14 grand and a 70 Hemi Cuda convertible for 10 grand. Sounds cheap today, but back then it was all the money in the world.

 

[DeltaV]

Ford Maverick Grabber are unattractive. Some might consider it a muscle car.

 

[Richard Cranium]

In the muscle car era, 1964-1971, there really aren’t many, if any, muscle cars from the big three that you would consider ugly.

 

[DeltaV]

In the muscle car era, 1964-1971, there really aren’t many, if any, muscle cars from the big three that you would consider ugly.

What? Retirement has turned you into a Diplomat?

 

[Photon440]

Ford Maverick Grabber are unattractive. Some might consider it a muscle car.

View attachment 1279699

Most were six cylinder, some had the optional 302 two barrel engine. Go race that moped!

 

[WileE]

In the muscle car era, 1964-1971, there really aren’t many, if any, muscle cars from the big three that you would consider ugly.

From real time experience, when this restyle was introduced, it was widely regarded as an abomination back in the day.

 

[SteveSS]

View attachment 1279721 From real time experience, when this restyle was introduced, it was widely regarded as an abomination back in the day.

Okay, remember in the original post the '70 Coronet was off-limits. J/K I know some don't like it but I love it. I'm going to repeat a story here. In high school, about 1975 my friend Terry had a 1970 Super Bee. His dad owned the Mopar dealership in town. It was Root Beer Bronze with a white top and a white interior. He had monster air shocks with huge wheels and big meats on the back end. 440 with a pistol grip 4 speed. I loved that car. Terry was a great guy. Down to earth, not stuck up. I bumped into him through college and a few times afterward. He must have been around 40 when he killed himself. I was our senior class president and I always made it a point to write to the family members of our classmates that passed. I wrote to his parents and mentioned how when I was around Terry he was always smiling. I recalled that day in the high school parking lot when we boys were surrounding that Super Bee ogling it and asking if they could drive it. Terry said no, the competition clutch was hard to handle. But he sure was smiling!

A friend told me later his parents had that letter framed and hung it in their house. I never got over my love for those cars and as you know I bought the '70 Coronet about 4 months ago. It needs a lot but it's complete and not rusty.

 

[WileE]

Okay, remember in the original post the '70 Coronet was off-limits. J/K I know some don't like it but I love it. I'm going to repeat a story here. In high school, about 1975 my friend Terry had a 1970 Super Bee. His dad owned the Mopar dealership in town. It was Root Beer Bronze with a white top and a white interior. He had monster air shocks with huge wheels and big meats on the back end. 440 with a pistol grip 4 speed. I loved that car. Terry was a great guy. Down to earth, not stuck up. I bumped into him through college and a few times afterward. He must have been around 40 when he killed himself. I was our senior class president and I always made it a point to write to the family members of our classmates that passed. I wrote to his parents and mentioned how when I was around Terry he was always smiling. I recalled that day in the high school parking lot when we boys were surrounding that Super Bee ogling it and asking if they could drive it. Terry said no, the competition clutch was hard to handle. But he sure was smiling!

A friend told me later his parents had that letter framed and hung it in their house. I never got over my love for those cars and as you know I bought the '70 Coronet about 4 months ago. It needs a lot but it's complete and not rusty.

That's fine, I'm just stating a fact. Whatever someone likes, for whatever reason, is cool, and your reason is as good as any, who cares what anyone else says ? What you like is most important. Enjoy the car, that's what matters !

 

[chargervert]

Okay, remember in the original post the '70 Coronet was off-limits. J/K I know some don't like it but I love it. I'm going to repeat a story here. In high school, about 1975 my friend Terry had a 1970 Super Bee. His dad owned the Mopar dealership in town. It was Root Beer Bronze with a white top and a white interior. He had monster air shocks with huge wheels and big meats on the back end. 440 with a pistol grip 4 speed. I loved that car. Terry was a great guy. Down to earth, not stuck up. I bumped into him through college and a few times afterward. He must have been around 40 when he killed himself. I was our senior class president and I always made it a point to write to the family members of our classmates that passed. I wrote to his parents and mentioned how when I was around Terry he was always smiling. I recalled that day in the high school parking lot when we boys were surrounding that Super Bee ogling it and asking if they could drive it. Terry said no, the competition clutch was hard to handle. But he sure was smiling!

A friend told me later his parents had that letter framed and hung it in their house. I never got over my love for those cars and as you know I bought the '70 Coronet about 4 months ago. It needs a lot but it's complete and not rusty.

A guy on Moparts posted a 67 Pontiac design studio drawing that was the 70 Coronet to a tee,right down to the grille mesh. The only difference was a Pontiac beak and emblem between the bumper loops. It's a safe bet to take that this designer ended up working in the Dodge Styling department by 1970. The drawing was a dead ringer.

 

[Kern Dog]

I love Mopars but I'm a realist. Not all were styling home runs.
I don't care much for many models built before 1966. The Imperials are gorgeous though...any year, any body style. I love them all.
Early A body? Uhhh, no thanks, especially the Valiants. Hideous toads from 1960-66. I've owned a few against my will. They just fell into my lap, so to speak and I only owned them because I got them cheap and made some money on the sales of them.
Early B body? Same. The 66-67 B body styling has grown on me though. The 71-74 Charger looks better to me than the same year Plymouths. Nothing tops the 68-70 B body in my opinion.
The 60-62 Darts are not attractive to me from any angle but I respect the mechanical aspects of those cars.
For me, 1967 was THE year that the A body platform was finally getting it right. 1966 for the B body.
I've never been all that crazy for the E body cars.

 

[OKDart]

I love Mopars but I'm a realist. Not all were styling home runs.
I don't care much for many models built before 1966. The Imperials are gorgeous though...any year, any body style. I love them all.
Early A body? Uhhh, no thanks, especially the Valiants. Hideous toads from 1960-66. I've owned a few against my will. They just fell into my lap, so to speak and I only owned them because I got them cheap and made some money on the sales of them.
Early B body? Same. The 66-67 B body styling has grown on me though. The 71-74 Charger looks better to me than the same year Plymouths. Nothing tops the 68-70 B body in my opinion.
The 60-62 Darts are not attractive to me from any angle but I respect the mechanical aspects of those cars.
For me, 1967 was THE year that the A body platform was finally getting it right. 1966 for the B body.
I've never been all that crazy for the E body cars.

The 1960-61 Dart is still from the forward look era, '62 was the next body style. I'd love to have a 1960 in a 2 door hardtop only though. They had the best roofline of any car in that era. Top pic: 1960, bottom pic: 1961.

 

[OKDart]

View attachment 1279721 From real time experience, when this restyle was introduced, it was widely regarded as an abomination back in the day.

Too bad the prices of them don't reflect that. I'd love to have a turn key '70 Superbee or R/T, but they go for a lot more than I'm willing to pay.

 

[Richard Cranium]

What? Retirement has turned you into a Diplomat?

I'm being kind (for a change) to those here who may own a certain 1970 Dodge.

 

[chargervert]

I love Mopars but I'm a realist. Not all were styling home runs.
I don't care much for many models built before 1966. The Imperials are gorgeous though...any year, any body style. I love them all.
Early A body? Uhhh, no thanks, especially the Valiants. Hideous toads from 1960-66. I've owned a few against my will. They just fell into my lap, so to speak and I only owned them because I got them cheap and made some money on the sales of them.
Early B body? Same. The 66-67 B body styling has grown on me though. The 71-74 Charger looks better to me than the same year Plymouths. Nothing tops the 68-70 B body in my opinion.
The 60-62 Darts are not attractive to me from any angle but I respect the mechanical aspects of those cars.
For me, 1967 was THE year that the A body platform was finally getting it right. 1966 for the B body.
I've never been all that crazy for the E body cars.

I agree,Plymouth could have owned the pony car market,if they has made a whole new car instead of putting a fastback window on an already ugly car! They didn't learn from their mistakes and did it again with the first generation Chargers,but atleast the 66 Coronet was a good looking car to begin with. The 64 Valiant not so much.

 

[Hey-O]

The roof line on this car is a home run. The C post is one of the biggest reasons I own this car. Subframe connectors are a must. IMO

 

[Darter6]

I love Mopars but I'm a realist. Not all were styling home runs.

Holds true even now.

 

[AR67GTX]

The model year 1970 was sort of a change up in styling for a lot of intermediates (ie. real Musclecars). There were several, including the Coronet with controversial styling that took a little while to warm up to. Another was the 1970 GTO. When I first saw one I labeled it the frog for the bumper/grill. Two years later I owned one and really liked it. The Torino GT and Cobra was another one - probably almost as large as a 63 Galaxie and with a completely uninspiring interior. Only those big 429 engine options salvaged it. The 70 Chevelle styling was a set back for me in comparison to the 68/69 styling. But who cared when you could get a 454. The 70 Roadrunner/GTX was one of the few 70 styling changes that I liked from the start and the triple deuce carb system was more available.