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View Full Version : The Common Man's Muscle Car article


Ms Grumpy
03-14-2011, 04:32 PM
Here is a really nice read on the progression of the Chevelle. In this article it stated that at one point the Chevelle was considered "The World's Greatest Supercar". (Like we didn't know that)

Here is an excerpt from the article written by

AMANDA BABB
CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA
PITZER COLLEGE APRIL 21, 1999

"Another one of Chevrolet's "gimmicks" was the most radical engine ever to sit in the engine bay of the Chevelle: the 450 horse power 454 LS6 motor. It was big, it was powerful, and when compared with other muscle cars, it held its own. In a test done by Car and Driver in February of 1970, the Chevelle SS 454 went up against a Shelby AC Cobra, a Mustang Boss 302, and a Plymouth Valiant Duster 340. It ran the quarter mile in 13.81 seconds (it was beaten only by .08 seconds by the Shelby) and its mile-per-hour was the best of the four at 103.8026. Not bad for a production car with no modifications. Bigger, faster, angrier. This was what the American youth wanted, and it's what they got. Super Stock claimed of the new LS6 Chevelle, "Driving a 450hp Chevelle is like being the guy who's in charge of triggering atom bomb tests. You have the power, you know you have the power, and you know if you use the power, bad things may happen. Things like arrest, prosecution, loss of license. broken pieces, shredded tires, etc."27 It was precisely this reason that federal legislation cracked down, effectively ending the muscle car era."

If interested in readin the whole article, click here.
http://www.chevelles.com/shop/carsandculture.html

Bowtie-Bri
03-14-2011, 11:40 PM
To think I used to own an LS-6.:(

Ms Grumpy
03-15-2011, 01:11 PM
I would have loved to own anyone of the cars in this article. Or at least to have driven some of the earlier models.

Highway Star
03-15-2011, 02:27 PM
I've read that article before. Very cool.