Top 9 Malaise-Era Muscle Cars

[raza1]

Malaise era is the time period from 1972 - 1982, when new emissions rules effectively put muscle cars of that era at shame in front of today?s compact car. Today, we take a look at such cars that were supposed to be powerful, but instead, were nothing but flashy paint and fancy stripes.

No 9. 1982 Pontiac Trans Am


If only, the Trans Am could replicate its wonderful and efficient aerodynamic performance under the hood. The 1982 Pontica Trans Am even got a starring role in Knight Rider as KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) but only due to its exterior. Under the hood, the car came with a 2.5-liter 90-hp four-cylinder engine standard. The other automatic model featured an engine boasting 165 hp.

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[raza1]

No 8. 1974 Pontiac GTO

The ?64 Pontiac GTO being widely regarded as the first muscle car, the 1974 GTO was embarrassing; it came with a 350 cid V-8 rated at just 200 hp, compare that to the previous muscle cars of the time, it was almost 200 hp short. To top that off, the exterior also made it look like something that really should remain indoors.

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[raza1]

No 7. 1978 Ford Mustang King Cobra

This was a limited edition version with only 4,313 units produced. It came with a deep air-dam, stripes, and a ?Pontiac Trans-Am style? cobra snake decal on the hood. The car boasted a V8 engine with only 139 hp. Compare that to today?s compact car and it?s pretty even stevens.

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[raza1]

No 6. 1976-1980 Plymouth Volare Road Runner

For a car that dominated the street and strip in 60s and 70s, the Road Runner was unfortunately reduced to just 160 hp by the mid 70s. Furthermore, there was a major recall of the vehicle owing to its rust-prone nature.

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[raza1]

No 5. 1980-1983 Dodge Mirada CMX

The Mirada CMX promised performance, due to its look, but in reality, the 360-cid V-8 under the CMX?s long hood made just 185 hp. The Mirada died in 1983 as sales of all Chrysler vehicles were in freefall.

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[raza1]

No 4. 1977 Chevy Monza Mirage

At 145 hp, this car really did not do much in terms of performance, but Michigan Automotive Techniques Corp put in some effort into the exterior as the car came with wide-body fender flares, spoilers, and striping that at least made it visually appealing.

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[raza1]

No 3. 1978 AMC Gremlin GT

Coming with fat fender flares, spoilers, body-colored bumpers, and wide 14-inch wheels with outline white letter tires, the Gremlin GT was disappointing at around 120 hp. On the inside, GTs had an aluminum-look dash but the performance really didn?t was that of a muscle car.

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[raza1]

No 2. 1980-1985 Chevy Citation X-11

Coming with an HO 2.8-liter V-6 rated at 135 hp, wider 215/60R14 tires, and a ?sport? suspension system, it wasn?t a bad package, but Citation was recalled numerous times owing to issues such as locking of rear wheels when applying brakes, causing the car to spin.

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[raza1]

No 1. 1980-1981 DeLorean DMC-12

A car that starred in ?Back to the Future? produces just 130 horsepower; you must be joking, right? Nope, that?s right; this iconic car had a V8 producing just 130 hp. It was in no way to be considered a muscle car; in fact it did not even do justice to its legendary role in the series.

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[supraman2jz]

With the exception of maybe the GTO and the Mirada, none of these were actually muscle cars. Sporty compacts maybe but not muscle cars.

1-The Delorean was an exotic-ish sports car with an all aluminium body.

2-The Citation X-11 was a pepped up version of the bland Chevy Citation. It was a FWD econo car. The Citation X-11 btw handled supposedly well because of the suspension upgrades.

3-The Gremlin again was a 3 door sub-compact. It was one of the cheapest cars to own at the time with very crappy build quality. Again, not a muscle car.

4-The Monza was a sports car. It was conceived with the idea of a Rotary engine fitted to it, but that was scrapped due to the new emission standards introduced. It was not a muscle car, but a 2+2 coupe mostly. Was also sold in hatchback and station wagon body styles.

5-The Mirada can be considered a muscle car, raced in the NASCAR series from 81-84, albeit unsusseccfully. It was slower than the competing Ford and GM cars because of inferior aerodynamics. It was pulled off from NASCAR in 1984-85.

6-Plymouth Volare Road Runner wasn't an actual Road Runner. It was just a package for the Plymouth Volare. The OG Road runner was a brute muscle car.

7-Mustangs were always Pony cars. In this case, the 2nd Gen was the weakest Mustang ever. It was actually built on a Ford pinto chassis. Google to see what a Ford Pinto was and you'll get the idea how bad these Mustangs were.

8-The 74 GTO was considered a muscle car. An easily fogettable muscle car.

9-The Trans Am was again a Pony car. Later 3rd gen Firebirds were pretty powerful though.</SPAN></SPAN>

[supraman2jz]

Also, some of the info in this article is not correct. For e.g. the Delorean never had a V8. It was always a V6, a Buick derived motor afaik.

[supraman2jz]

The ?64 Pontiac GTO being widely regarded as the first muscle car, the 1974 GTO was embarrassing; it came with a 350 cid V-8 rated at just 200 hp, compare that to the previous muscle cars of the time, it was almost 200 hp short. To top that off, the exterior also made it look like something that really should remain indoors.

The 74 was 200 bhp short of the original 64 goat because in the 60's, bhp was measured in gross not net. Gross BHP was BHP at the flywheel with all supporting ancillaries removed. That changed in 1973. That 400 bhp that the 64 GTO made would actually be around 280 ish in todays Net BHP.

[supraman2jz]

Those choked V8 engines of that time were low on bhp, but made pretty decent torque numbers. Despite the low hp numbers and heavy bodies, these cars were still fast for the time.

[sabbi8486]

That changed in 1973. That 400 bhp that the 64 GTO made would actually be around 280 ish in todays Net BHP.