Sure, there are lots of iconic muscle names in automotive history but I've gone for the names that once a muscle, stays as a muscle in modern times in alphabetical order; Camaro, Challenger, Charger, and Mustang.
Once as the underdog when it first emerged in the battle of the muscle cars dominated by the Ford Mustang, the Camaro tries to show what General Motors is capable of in this kind of civil war but whereas the Mustang reigned supreme as well as the Charger and the Challenger, the Camaro failed to do so and I understand that. Despite the Camaro's failure that led to its 2002 demise, the Camaro's coming back fighting as demonstrated by being Bumblebee in the Transformers movies and thanks to its newfound popularity, the Camaro won the hearts of many generations. Fame aside, let's not forget about how the unpopular first-generation Camaro came here which is like an ugly duckling turned into a swan with magnificent results and if it weren't for this, there wouldn't be a Bumblebee in the Transformers films.
The Challenger was once served as an alternative to the Charger and while the Charger was proven to be an icon apart from being General Lee in the Dukes of Hazzard TV show, the Challenger wants to follow its brother's footsteps by getting its shot of fame in Vanishing Point but sadly, it wasn't as popular as its Charger brother. Although today's Charger is a four-door saloon, the Challenger managed to come back as a modern day alternative to Mustangs and Camaros and just as we thought the Challenger is becoming the muscle car that never was in today's times, it managed to find its triumphant return to the road with the most powerful V8 car in the world as well as the first-ever 4WD muscle car ever produced. While the Challenger has a lot of tricks on its sleeves, the original is the car we should be thankful for because if it weren't for its presence, we wouldn't got the most powerful V8 car today.
The original Dodge Charger R/T holds no explanation because as I said before, the Duke boys drove one in the Dukes of Hazzard TV series as the General Lee, named after a Confederate soldier (which explains a lot from the highly controversial Confederate flag on the roof of the car). Although the Confederate flag remains one of the most controversial objects in history because of such background, a General Lee without it is like living like a complete poser. That's why fans want to keep it that way and I understand that. General Lee aside, this iconic Charger has been one of the forefront of The Fast and the Furious films and if I was Vin Diesel, I believe that the classic Charger remains a favorite. Sure, today's four-door Chargers also dominate the F&F films but credit goes to the Charger that is not only approved by the Dukes of Hazzard but also Dom from the Fast & Furious movies.
Lastly, the Mustang, and while Mustangs became one of the most iconic movie cars of all time since Steve McQueen drove one in Bullitt, the best of the first-generation Mustang goes to the Boss 302 because of its motorsport pedigree that traces back to its Trans-Am Racing and by surprise, the Australian Touring Cars. Pedigree aside, the Boss 302 remains one of the most respected Mustangs in the golden age of muscle cars and also of the most collectible Mustangs for the high-rollers with a restored Boss fetched a $530,000 price tag a decade ago.
These American classic muscles, they do more than just fireworks and grilles but also showing proof that America is great when it comes to flexing their big V8 muscles against the world. Sure, the whole world love to spit them up when they see one but when times change, they will see that cars like these are becoming the posters of the world superpower and soon, they will all bow down to their greatness. That all sounds scary but that's America to you, the land of the most powerful V8s in the world, and to celebrate American independence, time to get these muscle car icons the salute they truly deserved and this will be much more fun to see than fireworks and grilles.
Thank you America for the fast cars through the years!
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