The definitive illustrated muscle car history, from the post-WWII street racing culture to the new breed of muscle cars coming out of Detroit today.

In the 1960s three incendiary ingredients--V-8 engine technology, a culture consumed by the need for speed, and 75 million baby boomers entering the auto market--exploded in the form of the factory muscle car. The resulting vehicles, brutal machines unlike any the world had seen before or will likely ever see again, defined the sex-drugs-and-rock-and-roll generation.

A chronicle of this tumultuous period of American history through its signature automobiles, Muscle: America’s Legendary Performance Cars brings to life the history of American muscle, from the street-racing hot rod culture that emerged after World War II through the new breed of muscle cars coming out of Detroit today. Featuring exquisite photography by top photographer David Newhardt and a text that pulls no punches, Muscle: America’s Legendary Performance Cars is the definitive muscle car history.

“Randy Leffingwell and Darwin Holmstrom teamed up a couple of years back on Muscle: America’s Legendary Performance Cars, and it became an instant classic. Not just for David Newhardt’s museum-quality photography, but for the stories behind each car (and type of car) portrayed.” - Scott Ross, Blogs.Corvettefever.com

Randy Leffingwell, MBI’s best-selling author, brings a unique perspective to the subject of muscle cars. In addition to his impeccable research skills, Leffingwell lived through the tumultuous classic muscle car era. Leffingwell is the author of such best-selling titles as Porsche 911: Perfection by Design, Farmall: Eight Decades of Innovation, John Deere: A History of the Tractor, Corvette Fifty Years, and Mustang Forty Years.

 

Darwin Holmstrom has written or co-written many books on motorcycling, including the best-selling Billy Lane Chop Fiction: It’s Not a Motorcycle, Baby, It’s a Chopper and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Motorcycles. This is his first opportunity to write about the transportation subject he first fell in love with: muscle cars. Darwin lives in Crystal, Minnesota.

 

David Newhardt is one of the best automobile photographers working today, with an artistic eye that views life in accord with a muscle car’s sinuous lines and exaggerated curves. He is the author of such best-selling books as Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, and has provided photography for MBI’s best-selling titles Corvette Fifty Years, Mustang Forty Years, Mopar Muscle, and Shelby Mustang: Racer for the Street. David lives in Pasadena, California.

A chronicle of the tumultuous Sixties through its signature automobiles, Muscle: America’s Legendary Performance Cars brings to life the history of American muscle, from the street-racing hot rod culture that emerged after World War II through the new breed of muscle cars coming out of Detroit today. Featuring exquisite photography by top photographer David Newhardt and a text that pulls no punches, Muscle: America’s Legendary Performance Cars is the definitive muscle car history.

“Don't know anything about muscle cars? You can fix that. Think you know everything? There's something you don't—and it's here.”

—Edmonds.com, May 2007

In the 1960s, three incendiary ingredients—developing V-8 engine technology, a culture consumed by the need for speed, and 75 million baby boomers entering the auto market—exploded in the form of the factory muscle car. These brutish machines were unlike any the world had seen or will likely see again Muscle cars were the four-wheeled embodiment of the sex-drugs-and-rock-and-roll generation.

Muscle: America’s Legendary Performance Cars chronicles this tumultuous period of American history through the primary tool Americans use to define themselves: the automobile. From the street-racing hot rod culture that emerged following World War II through the new breed of muscle cars emerging from Detroit today, this book brings to life the history of American muscle. Featuring exquisite photography of classic muscle cars by top photographer David Newhardt and a text that pulls no punches, Muscle: America’s Legendary Performance Cars is the definitive muscle car history.

 

“A boldly illustrated, entertaining introduction to, or reminder of, the muscle car era.”

—Road & Track, January 2007

 

“If any single book can be called the essential volume on the entire muscle car era, it has to be Muscle. A must-read for anyone with a serious interest in muscle car history as it fully captures the essence and significance of this era.”

—Musclecar Enthusiast, December 2006

 

“Muscle not only documents the development of the ever-famous American automobile trend, but its whopping 382 full-color pages are packed with eye-catching and gorgeous photography.”

—Mopar Muscle, October 2006

 

“A must-read because it not only deals with the individual cars, but delves into the bigger picture: the social forces and automobile industry climate that gave rise to muscle cars.”

—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 2006

Publisher: MBI Publishing Company
Imprint: Motorbooks
Distributor: MBI Publishing Company
Publication Date: 04-15-2008
Pages: 384
Measurements: 9.00in X 7.88in X 2.56lb