Ford Mustang Is The Last Standing Muscle Car

We believe that American muscle cars are best described as a two-door coupe with burbly and powerful engines. The whole muscle car scene started back in 1949 when Oldsmobile offered the Rocket 88, starting the trend of lightweight body construction mated with high compression overhead valve V8 engine. However, the “Muscle Car” nomenclature was introduced to the world of performance cars with the 1964 Pontiac GTO. Quickly, American-made  performance-oriented coupes became synonymous with power and fast-paced American lifestyle. 

Although there were several manufacturers competing to build the brawniest muscle car at first, the American Big-3, or the heritage rivalry between Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet, persisted the longest. These American carmakers went above and beyond the call of duty to create some of the greatest automobiles in history. The competition takes place in a distant past when many of us weren't even born. The muscle car era began in the 1960s, and half a century later, the fierce pony from the Blue Oval is left standing.

But what caused the death of these wonderful muscle cars?

The decline of muscle cars started way back after 1973, when the oil crises hit the US shores raising the oil prices with increased insurance rates and the Clean Air Act forced people to buy small fuel efficient cars. Some manufacturers went the other way, however, some continued making sure that people should not only buy cars for convenience's sake. The intoxicating brawl of an American muscle kept the genre alive for a long time, however, if we fast forward to today the biggest problem, the problem is way huge.

Even today, the emission norms are so strict that it's no more feasible for the manufacturers to actually make an internal combustion engine, let alone a huge displacement V8 to power their car. Adding to it, the ever-growing popularity of electric cars for their affordability and performance is creating a difficult time for muscle cars. These are some of the reasons why Dodge surrendered the Challenger badge, with Chevrolet soon followed with the announcement of discontinuing the Camaro after 2024.

It means the new-gen 2024 Ford Mustang is our only hope....

The only remaining candidate in the muscle car segment now with modern features and tech is the new-gen Ford Mustang, and we are sure that it will not be here for a very long time. However, we should not worry about something that has not happened yet. With the recent announcement of the newest 2024 Ford Mustang GT, the manufacturer is continuing the 59-year-old V8 legacy battling every rule and emission norm.

With that, Ford also makes sure to bring something special for their customers in the form of the Mustang Dark Horse, which, according to Ford, is the fastest 5.0-liter Mustang to ever come out of the factory. Along with that, Ford also announced the insane Mustang GTD, based on their GT3 car, that will be competing in the 24 Hour Le Mans. The 2025 GTD is one of the wildest creations from Ford. The 800+ horsepower hooligan is a precise track tool that is filled with racing technology to the core and meant to obliterate anything on the track.

Will the death of competition improve 2024 Ford Mustang’s sales figures?

Ideally and logically, the sales figures should improve. As discussed above, these cars have existed for more than 5 decades, and the loyalty of many buyers towards the Camaro or Challenger can be difficult to break. Many loyal customers might just opt for pre-owned Camaro or Challenger cars without any second thought. Also, the fight has shifted from between brands to saving combustion engines.

Therefore, instead of celebrating the deaths of its rivals, the Ford Mustang 2024 model has to deal with the high popularity of electric vehicles, which is tapped by every manufacturer on the planet. This leads us to the conclusion that the sales figures will only be affected marginally since people are moving toward a whole new genre of cars that offer better performance and practicality. 

Conclusion

In the end, we would like to conclude by thanking Ford for keeping their brawny V8s alive for as long as they possibly can. Because this time it is not the fight between two engines or cars, the shifting position of the automobile industry and buyers' choices are leading us to a sustainable future, which these gas guzzlers will not be a part of, and until the day comes, the Ford Mustang is the only last muscle car standing against every other car in true sense.

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