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American Muscle!
Courtesy of:
Hawaii Motorbeat Monthly
By
Paul Maddox
The posters you see at the right are
actually the art from billboards Chevrolet recently put up all
around Detroit. They celebrate Chevrolets classic cars of the 50s
and 60s, back when every make was clearly different from its
competitors thanks to the outrageous styling departments at Ford,
GM, Chrysler and even Studebaker.
The high water mark for Ford was
actually the 40s; Chevy dazzled us all in the 50s and Chrysler ruled
in 60s, not only with style, but also with brute Hemi horsepower.
There is no doubt that hot rodding
began with Fords. Henry himself loved souping up his 4-bangers; and
he spent a fortune getting the famous flathead V-8 to work so every
man could have more power than he needed in his 30s sedan, roadster
or coupe.
But by the early 50s it was Chevrolet,
with guidance from Zora Duntov, that powered to the forefront with
its 265 ci overhead valve V-8 ~ especially the Power Pack version
with dual exhaust and 4-barrel carb in the stunning 1955
Chevy hardtop. And while 56 was a good year as well, it was the 57
Chevrolet, now sporting fuel injection (!), that turned out to be
the all time American classic icon. Along with its tall-finned 59
Caddy big brother, nothing said America Rocks louder or clearer to
the world.
And when the muscle car era came to a
close in the 70s, it was Chrysler that dominated the streets and
strips with thundering Hemi power in purpose built cars like the
notoriously scary Plymouth Road Runner.
It was a great time to be a hot rodder
in America. It was a great time for America!
Aloha ~ PM
Hawaii Motorbeat Monthly
More from Paul Maddox at:
www.hawaiimotorbeat.com
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