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The muscle car era was still in full swing when the Plymouth Road Runner was introduced for the 1968 model year, but many aficionados felt as though the whole ethos of the true muscle car was being lost. The original idea at the core of the muscle car was to provide a vehicle that was basic in appearance, options and appointments so that the majority of the money spent on the car went into improving its performance. The end result was a vehicle that packed a lot of punch under the hood that was at the same time affordable to most consumers. And this would especially include younger buyers who wanted the speed but may not have had a lot of money to spend to get it. As the sixties progressed, the industry started to stray from this formula by offering more complicated cars with additional bells and whistles that subsequently carried larger price tags.
1969 Motor Trend Car of the Year: The Plymouth Road Runner
The peak of the the muscle car era is generally considered to have taken place between 1964 and 1972, and the reason for the decline of these cars wasn’t that they were no longer popular. The introduction of unleaded gasoline led to reduction in engine size and performance, and cars were engineered for better fuel efficiency and emissions reduction rather than speed and power. 1969 was one of the last years for the true muscle car, and it was the second year of production for the Plymouth Road Runner.
The Plymouth GTX was an American muscle car produced from 1967-1971. The 1967 Plymouth GTX, originally launched as the Belvedere GTX, shared it’s basic body design with the stylish Plymouth Belvedere. It was seen as a “gentleman’s muscle car” for it’s combination of muscle car power and built-for-comfort street car design. The stock engine for the GTX was the “Super Commando 440,” a 375 horsepower monster made by Plymouth. The state-of-the-art MOPAR 425 horsepower 426 Hemi engine was available as an upgrade.
1958 Plymouth Fury
As one of the most famous movie cars, the 1958 Plymouth Fury has an intimidating look that causes people to turn heads, to this day. Stephen King brought extra fame to the car in his book Christine, which later adapted into a movie. In the story, Christine is the name of a possessed vehicle that takes over her owner, Arnie.
When the car was released, it came with a price tag of $3,032, making it the most expensive Plymouth, for that model year. The V8 engine that produced 225 horsepower at 4,400 rpm. The two door hardtop had a three speed manual transmission. Only 5,303 units were produced, which was significantly fewer than the previous model year.
When Plymouth unveiled the Road Runner in 1968, the response was overwhelmingly positive and it still remains among the most popular of muscle cars. Because of its success, it was only natural that Plymouth attempted to up the ante shortly following its release. The Plymouth Superbird came along in 1970 and it served as a modified version of the ever-popular Road Runner. It was built with the intent to appear in the NASCAR circuit, and as a part of the NASCAR rules, there had to be street-legal versions of this beauty.
The Durable Dodge Dart
If you were a young driver looking for an inexpensive used car in the late 1970s, your elders were invariably going to recommend that you try to find yourself an old Dodge Dart. Now these sixties-vintage Darts were not going to turn many heads or have any cheerleaders asking you for a ride home, but they were reliable, durable, economical, and easy to repair.
10 of the Most Famous Cars in Movies
What classic car enthusiast doesn’t love watching a movie with a wild, rip-roaring chase scene or a loud, growling drag race? What car aficionado doesn’t pay more attention to the car and its specs in a movie rather than the plot? Here we are going to pay homage to those movie-watching car lovers by taking a look at 10 of the Most Famous Cars in Movies.
10. 1972 Ford Gran Torino – Gran Torino (2008):