Two Musclecars from the General
A Pontiac GTO convertible from circa 1970-72 and a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro RS share driveway space. They're both from an era in which General Motors was still the No. 1 auto maker and captured the imaginations of the car buying public.
Model year 1970 was the year in which GM finally allowed their intermediate size cars to have engines larger than 400 cubic inches. The '70 Chevelle SS, Pontiac GTO, Olds 4-4-2 and Buick GS models could then be had with the 454/455 cubic inch V8's.
Then soon afterwards in the mid 1970’s, things took a downturn. There seemed to be a ‘perfect storm’ of stricter emissions limits with lower compression and reduced power, high insurance costs, ungainly tacked-on 5 mph bumpers and declining assembly quality that made the successors to these cars seem relatively dismal compared to what they were just a few years before. Add the OPEC oil embargo to the US with its resultant long gas purchasing lines from panic buying among American consumers and spot shortages making driving only a necessary but angst-ridden activity.
In 1980, GM introduced their front-wheel-drive X-cars which proved to be less than stellar in many ways. They were certainly far from being 'cool' cars as the General's muscle cars once were.
Two Musclecars from the General
A Pontiac GTO convertible from circa 1970-72 and a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro RS share driveway space. They're both from an era in which General Motors was still the No. 1 auto maker and captured the imaginations of the car buying public.
Model year 1970 was the year in which GM finally allowed their intermediate size cars to have engines larger than 400 cubic inches. The '70 Chevelle SS, Pontiac GTO, Olds 4-4-2 and Buick GS models could then be had with the 454/455 cubic inch V8's.
Then soon afterwards in the mid 1970’s, things took a downturn. There seemed to be a ‘perfect storm’ of stricter emissions limits with lower compression and reduced power, high insurance costs, ungainly tacked-on 5 mph bumpers and declining assembly quality that made the successors to these cars seem relatively dismal compared to what they were just a few years before. Add the OPEC oil embargo to the US with its resultant long gas purchasing lines from panic buying among American consumers and spot shortages making driving only a necessary but angst-ridden activity.
In 1980, GM introduced their front-wheel-drive X-cars which proved to be less than stellar in many ways. They were certainly far from being 'cool' cars as the General's muscle cars once were.