7 Reasons Why Muscle Cars Are Crap #blogpost

Let me just say that I’m a pretty big muscle car enthusiast myself. I’m just taking an objective look at their flaws, because almost everything isn’t flawless I will look at the obvious and not so obvious flaws of muscle cars and here they are…

One: Muscle Cars Aren’t The Best At Cornering

I’ll get the most obvious flaw out of the way first. Many muscle cars were not built with corner handling at the top of their priority list. Comfort, affordability and straight line speed are usually at the top. As much as most muscle car guys hate to admit it, there’s some truth to it. While turning in a Miata evokes feelings of go karting, muscle cars feel like cargo ships in a hurricane by comparison. The laws of physics don’t lie, some muscle cars weight in excess of 2 tons, (cough Challenger cough). It’s like trying to complete an obstacle course with a weight belt.

Two: Cheap Interiors

A side effect of muscle cars having good bang for your buck performance is that the interiors can be a bit on the cheap side. If you’re the kind of person that insists on having nothing but the best in life, a muscle car might not be the best choice for you. You might be better off with something like a Mercedes AMG model, that should have better interior quality.

Three: Low Horsepower per Liter Numbers

Some engines are living up to every bit of their potential like the V8 in the Ferrari 458 and the 4 banger in the Honda S2000. Muscle car engines on the other hand are a different story. Because they often use engine displacement to make big power, their horsepower per liter numbers are rather low. This depression of engine efficiency was at it’s lowest right after the oil crisis and new emissions regulations of the 1970’s. Want good engine efficiency? Turbocharged engines like the 2JZ and SR20 are for you.

Four: Unsupportive Seats

Most of the stock seats in muscle cars aren’t that supportive. I’m not talking regarding back support, more like lateral support for high speed corners. Because of this, going to a track day or autocross event means rolling around the car like a bowling ball in the back of a pickup truck. It actually makes sense though, why put seats with side bolsters in a car that’s mainly built for straight line speed?

Five: Most Of Them Have Automatic Transmissions

Americans sure love their automatics, and that’s evident by the ratio of manual to automatic muscle cars available out in the big world. For enthusiasts that want to buy a muscle car with a stick shift, the odds are stacked against them. Even though most muscle cars with an automatic carry a premium above manuals brand new, it’s easier and sometimes cheaper to just buy a muscle car with a “slushbox”. If you hate automatics, then you might want to try something else.

Six: Bad Gas Mileage

Apart from big trucks and SUV’s, muscle cars probably get the worst MPG ratings in the car world, especially old ones. It’s so bad, the MPG numbers might even dip into the single digits. You might be able to get similar power and speed from Japanese and European cars and using less fuel in the process. For people in Europe especially who have high fuel prices, this can be a hefty blow to their wallet. This unfortunately deters many people from owning muscle cars, because they simply can’t afford to fill it up with petrol.

Seven: Carburetors Can Be A Real Pain The The Rear

You may be saying “Isn’t this a problem for all types of cars?” It is, but it’s most prevalent for muscle cars. Many cars that JDM fans love have fuel injection, and for European cars it’s pretty much the same story. A good percentage of muscle cars driven by enthusiasts have carburetors, which have some downsides. They aren’t that fuel efficient, require more tuning compared to fuel injection, and carbureted engines are hard to cold start, especially in the winter. A carbureted engine is a little like a supermodel; good looking but hard to live with.

Listen guys, I love muscle cars. But we have to acknowledge the flaws that muscle cars have so we can improve them.