The musclecar turns 50.

Prior to 1964, American performance vehicle are large full size cars with big motors. But in 1964, a new concept that is still being used in performance cars today was formulated by John DeLorean (he later on started his car company a.k.a. Back to the Future). When the problematic midsize 1963 Pontiac Tempest whose sales are dropping significantly, DeLorean came up with the idea of upgrading it with a bigger motor, and then re-badging it with GTO (short for Grand Turismo Omologato which until that time was solely being used by Ferrari). And the formula worked. They stuffed in a big 389ci motor, on a (relatively) small body. Sure there were bigger motors out there, but they carry bigger bodies as well. The 1964 Pontiac GTO on the other hand weighs only 3500lbs. And it was just less than $300 more than the base model Pontiac LeMan/Tempest. People bought the idea, and hence, the muscle car era was born. It was the same template that was used by the other Detroit Auto Makers and that began the muscle car war of the 60s and early 70s...carrying big engine on a small body template, which lasted for almost a decade until the 1973 oil embargo killed it. (The photo is a 1967 model)