10 American Cars That Deserve More Recognition #blogpost

There will always be the '69 GTO Judges and the '71 Hemi Cudas in the American car scene that are very popular and understandably so. However, there are some hidden gems in the USA vehicle line up that I think are worthy of some more limelight...

One: 1970 AMC Rebel “The Machine”

While the Javelin gets more attention, the Rebel is often ignored by most car enthusiasts. The optional red, white and blue paint job is really cool; think of this thing as AMC’s Super Stock 426 Hemi Dart. The 1970 Rebel Machine had a 340 horsepower 390 cubic inch V8 with 10:1 compression, performance cylinder heads, camshaft, intake manifold and exhaust. A hood mounted tachometer came standard, along with heavy duty suspension, a T-10 4 speed manual, power disc brakes and a Twin-Grip differential. Power disc brakes were included along with an option of either 3.54 or 3.91 rear end gears.

Two: Randall 401-XR

An AMC dealership in Mesa, Arizona engine swapped some craptastic econobox AMC Gremlins with a 401 cubic inch V8. These cars ran 13.90 second quarter miles at 106 MPH. A total of 21 Randall 401-XR’s were built and Car Craft Magazine modified one so it could run through the 1320 foot race with a time of 12.22 seconds while still being a “totally streetable, daily-driver”. All this performance and uniqueness came with a price of $16,158 in 2017 US dollars.

Three: 1956 Oldsmobile Super 88

While baby boomers clamor over Chevy Bel Airs made in between 1955 and 1957, if I were to buy an mid 50’s American car, I would want to buy an Oldsmobile Super 88. This car was the sleeper of it’s day, and some believe the first American muscle car. While the biggest engine you could get in a Tri-Five Chevy Bel Air from the factory was a 283 cubic inch V8, the Super 88 came with a 324 cubic inch Rocket V8 in ‘55 and ‘56 with a 371 cubic inch Rocket V8 available with the ‘57 model.

Four: 1963 Studebaker Super Lark

This was one of the few American street cars of the 1960’s to come with forced induction as a factory option. A Paxton centrifugal supercharger pushing 6 PSI of boost through a 289 cubic inch V8 produced 289 horsepower. This translated into a 0-60 time of 6.3 seconds and a top speed of 158 MPH, which was amazing by 1960’s standards.

Five: 1962 Pontiac Catalina Super Duty

In my eyes, this car is one of the most criminally underrated American cars ever produced. The looks are understated yet good and the performance it had for it’s day was spectacular. This formula made for one wicked sleeper to prowl the city streets. A 405 horsepower 421 cubic inch V8 spun the tires while being fed by dual 4 barrel carburetors. The Pontiac Grand Prix also got the Super Duty treatment for 16 cars and 155 Catalinas were Super Duty equipped.

Six: 1970 Buick Skylark

If you want a Chevelle but can’t seem to find one for a good price, try looking at it’s cousin the Buick Skylark. This “gentleman’s muscle car” was no slouch in it’s fastest trim with an optional 455 cubic inch V8. While the Skylark wasn’t the sportiest GM A-Body produced, it was more than likely the best sleeper built by GM at the time.

Seven: Lincoln Mark VIII

This is a luxury coupe made by Ford with some real potential lurking underneath the hood. It came standard with a 4.6 liter Modular V8 but the real party trick it had was it’s 4 valve heads. If you wanted to buy a 4.6 liter powered factory Mustang with 4 valve heads, you had to either purchase the Mach 1 or SVT Cobra. With the vibe about it that it’s the elderly’s choice form of transport, you may surprise a guy or two in an SN95 Mustang out on the highway.

Eight: 1997 V8 Ford Explorer

I had the pleasure of driving this car as a yard rig at a salvage yard I worked at, and it happened to have an OHV 5.0 V8 under the hood, which I was very surprised by. It was a big engine for the car that it is, so it made for some great hooligan antics. Sadly, it’s mechanical condition was fair at best; the exhaust pipe expelled smoke and it overheated multiple times. If you ever happen to find a ‘97 Explorer for sale with a 5 liter V8, it might be a good idea to give it a second look.

Nine: 2004 Mercury Marauder

While the Ford Crown Victoria has enjoyed many accolades from car enthusiasts recently, not that many know that the Panther body wonder had a performance variant. A slow taxi this car was not, it’s 302 horsepower was greater than even the power of the Police Interceptors of the day. If you want a Crown Victoria with all out performance straight from the assembly line, then this is the car you should be looking for.

Ten: 2017 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack

This car is great in it’s own right, but the big shadows of the Hellcat and Demon loom over it like an approaching thunderstorm. At a base price of just under 40 grand and 485 ponies on tap, you’d be hard pressed to find a car with this much straight line performance for such a bargain price.

Honorable Mention

Ford Maverick Grabber

What say you? What are some unsung American heroes that deserve a good shoutout?