Editing Muscle car (section)

=== 1950s: Origins ===
<gallery mode="packed">
File:1949 Oldsmobile 88.jpg|1949 [[Oldsmobile 88]]
File:55 Chrysler C-300 (8940990679).jpg|1955 [[Chrysler 300 letter series|Chrysler C-300]]
File:1957 Rambler Rebel hardtop rfd-Cecil'10.jpg|1957 [[Rambler Rebel]]
</gallery>

Opinions on the origin of the muscle car vary, but the 1949 [[Oldsmobile 88|Oldsmobile Rocket 88]] is cited as the first full-sized muscle car.<ref>[https://www.nascarhall.com/blog/oldsmobiles-rocket-88 Oldsmobile Rocket 88], NASCAR Hall of Fame</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.drivingtoday.com/kpix/greatest_cars/olds_rocket88/ |last=Nerad |first=Jack |title=Oldsmobile Rocket 88 |publisher=Driving Today |access-date=18 January 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170704153153/http://www.drivingtoday.com/kpix/greatest_cars/olds_rocket88/ |archive-date=4 July 2017 }}</ref> The Rocket 88 was the first time a powerful V8 engine was available in a smaller and lighter body style (in this case the {{convert|303|cuin|L|1|abbr=on}} engine from the larger [[Oldsmobile 98#Third generation (1948–1953)|Oldsmobile 98]] with the body from the six-cylinder [[Oldsmobile Series 70#1949–1950|Oldsmobile 76]]).<ref name=muscle>{{cite web|url= http://musclecars.howstuffworks.com/muscle-car-information/how-muscle-cars-work1.htm |title=The Birth of Muscle Cars |work=How Stuff Works |date=16 January 2007 |access-date=14 February 2022}}</ref> The Rocket 88 produced {{convert|135|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} at 3600 rpm and {{convert|263|lbft|Nm|0|abbr=on}} at 1800 rpm and won eight out of ten races in the 1950 NASCAR season. The Rocket 88's [[Oldsmobile V8 engine#303|Oldsmobile 303]] V8 engine, along with the [[Cadillac V8 engine#331 series|Cadillac 331]] engine, also introduced in 1949, are stated to have "launched the modern era of the high-performance V-8."<ref>{{cite magazine |url= http://www.popularhotrodding.com/features/0708phr_general_motors_432_ci_oldsmobile/index.html |last=Dulcich |first=Steve |title=Rocket Man |magazine=Popular Hot Rodding |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131101035848/http://www.popularhotrodding.com/features/0708phr_general_motors_432_ci_oldsmobile/viewall.html |archive-date=1 November 2013}}</ref>

In 1955, the large-sized [[Chrysler 300 letter series|Chrysler C-300]] - the first in a long, 15-year series of large, expensive, performance-first Chryslers - was introduced that produced {{convert|300|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} from its {{convert|331|cuin|L|1|abbr=on}} V8 engine, and it was advertised as "America's Most Powerful Car".<ref name=muscle/> Capable of accelerating from 0 to {{convert|60|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}} in 9.8&nbsp;seconds and reaching {{convert|130|mph|0}}, the 1955 Chrysler 300 is also recognized as one of the best-handling cars of its era.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.edmunds.com/chrysler/300/history.html |title=Chrysler 300 History |website=edmunds.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161111050817/http://www.edmunds.com/chrysler/300/history.html |archive-date=11 November 2016}}</ref> {{Additional citation needed|date=May 2025}}

The compact-sized 1956 [[Studebaker Golden Hawk]] was powered by a {{convert|275|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} {{convert|352|cuin|L|1|abbr=on}} Packard V8, the second most powerful engine to the Chrysler 300.<ref name="whatwasfirst">{{cite web |title=What Was The First Muscle Car? |url= http://www.classic-car-history.com/first-muscle-car.htm |publisher=Classic Car History |access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref>

The [[Rambler Rebel]], introduced by [[American Motors Corporation]] (AMC) in 1957, is the first [[Mid-size car|mid-sized car]] to be available with a big-block V8 engine.<ref name="whatwasfirst"/> The Rebel followed most of the muscle car formula including "make 'em go fast as well as cheaply."<ref name="Hardin">{{cite web |last=Hardin |first=Drew |title=Was the 1957 Rambler Rebel the First Muscle Car? |url= https://www.automobilemag.com/news/1957-rambler-rebel-first-muscle-car/ |publisher=Automobile Magazine |date=20 June 2019 |access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref> It is therefore considered by some to be the first muscle car.<ref name="MusclecarEnthusiastFirst">{{cite magazine |url= http://photos.imageevent.com/mmm_mag/pdffiles/USA%201967%20AMC%20Rogue%20343%20Musclecar%20Enthusiast.pdf |title=John Goergen's 1966 343 prototype (sidebar) |page=59 |magazine=Musclecar Enthusiast |first=Richard |last=Truesdell |access-date=18 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="Hardin"/> With a {{convert|327|cuin|L|1|abbr=on}} V8 engine producing {{convert|255|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}}, its 0–60&nbsp;mph acceleration of 7.5 seconds made it the fastest stock American sedan at the time.<ref name=rambler>{{cite web|url= http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1957-1960-rambler-rebel2.htm |title=1957–1960 Rambler Rebel |work=How Stuff Works |date=22 August 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200719185547/https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1957-1960-rambler-rebel2.htm |archive-date=19 July 2020 |access-date=14 February 2020}}</ref> Only the fuel-injected [[Chevrolet Corvette]] beat it by half a second.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Strohl |first=Daniel |title=Silver-Sided Dawn – 1957 Rambler Rebel |magazine=Hemmings Muscle Machines |date=February 2007 |url= https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/silver-sided-dawn-1957-rambler-rebel/ |access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref>