1970 Maximum Muscle explores the factors that would lead to the decline of the most exciting era in the American automotive industry-as well as the resulting arms race among designers who saw their last opportunity to make the ultimate muscle car. As a result, 1970 was the climax of the muscle car era from engineering, styling, and performance standpoints.

1970 Maximum Muscle: The Pinnacle of Muscle Car Power

Engineering & Transportation

Truesdell, Richard

Fletcher, Mark

Automotive

Motorbooks

In 1967 a one-off concept car based on the Jaguar E-type was commissioned by newspaperman John Anstey of the Daily Telegraph Magazine in the UK. In less than six months, the car that would become known as the Jaguar Bertone Pirana Coupe, was styled by Marcello Gandini for Carrozzeria Bertone. The fully functional Pirana made its debut at the 1967 Earls Court Motor Show owing some of its styling to Bertone's Lamborghini Marzal concept car and it served as the preview for the styling treatment for the production Lamborghini Espada which debuted just a year later. For more than 40 years the Pirana virtually disappeared from view in the UK and later, in Palm Springs, California where it surfaced briefly in 2010. It was from there that it was sold to Southern California-based collector Ed Superfon who commissioned a complete restoration, replacing the car's green exterior to a silver metallic finish that closely represents its original Earl's Court presentation back in 1967. It broke cover at the 2012 Concorso Italiano where it surprised many attendees, knowledgeable Italian car fans, most of whom knew little of its existence. The Jaguar Bertone Pirana Coupe contains 13 pages of historical text and images, a specification chart comparing the Jaguar Bertone Pirana Coupe to the Jaguar E-Type 2+2 that served as the donor chassis, and 33 full-page color plates. The Jaguar Bertone Pirana Coupe serves to document this unique collaboration between The Daily Telegraph Magazine, Jaguar, and Carrozzeria Bertone. It transports the reader back in time when an audacious editor, John Anstey, had the power and budget to commission the building of a dream car. Under the able hand of stylist Marcello Gandini and the direction of Nuccio Bertone, Carrozzeria Bertone was able to bring the Jaguar Bertone Pirana Coupe from design concept to auto show star in just five months. It is a remarkable story, one that will likely never be repeated.

The Jaguar Bertone Pirana Coupe: A history in photos

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

With a combination of low price and high performance, Plymouth's Road Runner helped define the budget muscle car category when it was introduced for the 1968 model year, spawning several imitators. While Road Runners equipped with the 426 Hemi and the 440 Six-Pack get most of the attention, they represented just a small portion of overall production. The vast majority of Road Runners came equipped with the 383 V8.This story, which first appeared in Musclecar Enthusiast magazine, documents a reference-quality restoration that literally went from "Rats to Riches" with photos that illustrate one owner's perseverance.

1968 Plymouth Road Runner: A Rats to Riches Restoration

(Please note, this is book published on a specific car for the car's owner from materials first published in Musclecar Enthusiast. It published in a small-book, landscape format, 8 inches wide by 6.25 inches high.)In 1964 Pontiac introduced the modern muscle car, the GTO. By its traditional definition, a muscle car is the installation of a big-block V8 installed in an intermediate or compact American car. While some can make a case that the 1957 Rambler Rebel was the first true muscle car, it is generally acknowledged by most automotive authorities that the 1964 Pontiac GTO is the first true muscle car. In 1965 all of the GM intermediates received all-new body shells and the various divisions-Buick, Chevrolet, and Oldsmobile-all introduced their own variations on the theme. And at Chevrolet, there was a unique variation, the El Camino which was a two-door Chevelle station wagon with a pickup cab and bed. Pontiac never offered a Tempest-based version of the El Camino but that hasn't stopped Ron Lindemann, a Pontiac enthusiast from building his own. Over a 10-year period, working in his home garage, he built what he calls the GTO Chief Camino. Using mostly Pontiac body panels to construct the bed, using only the roof and door frames from an El Camino, he has built a stunning phantom, a car that Pontiac could have and should have built.

1965 Pontiac GTO Chief Camino: One man's 10-year quest for perfection

Automotive Traveler: At the 2013 Rodeo Drive Concours d'Elegance: (Jet Age Cover: Chrysler Turbine Car)

Automotive Traveler's Classic Car: Premiere Issue

The 2014 La Jolla Concours d'Elegance and its companion Motor Car Classic attracted more than 200 cars. Automotive Traveler's Classic Car's Editorial Director Richard Truesdell attended and complied this photo album book. Held at Ellen Browning Scripps Park on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, the event kicks off the 2014 concours season on the West Coast, coming as it does a month after the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. This year the winner of Best of Show, pre-war, was the 1930 Bugatti Type 46 Faux Cabriolet owned by Richard Adams. The winner of Best of Show, post-war, was the 1952 Cadillac Ghia owned by The Petersen Museum.

Automotive Traveler's Classic Car: At the 2014 La Jolla Concours d'Elegance

The 1967 Cougar was Mercury's attempt to enter the Pony Car market segment popularized by the April 1964 introduction of Ford's Mustang. Introduced in the fall of 1966 for the 1967 model year, the first-year 1967 Cougar exceeded all sales expectations with 150,893 units sold. It was selected as Motor Trend's 1967 Car of the Year. Legendary Cougar Magazine is dedicated to the first three generations of Mercury's luxury Pony Car. Each bi-monthly issue includes features on the first-generation 1967-68 models, the 1969-70 models, the first to offer a convertible version, and the final 1971-1973 models (after the 1973 model year the Cougar nameplate moved from the Pony Car class to the luxury-personal category). In addition to traditional, in-depth vehicle features, the issue contains two tech stories. In issue 1 you'll find the a tech story detailing the installation of an iPhone-capable radio in an early Cougar and a second tech feature detailing for readers how to photograph their Cougar for publication. Legendary Cougar Magazine is the authoritative source for all things for the original, classic 1967 to 1973 Cougar and is supported by more than 400 subscribers who helped launch the title with their support and commitment.

Legendary Cougar Magazine Volume 1 Issue 1: Premiere Issue

Automotive Traveler's Classic Car: At the 2014 Rodeo Drive Concours

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Truesdell, Richard. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Truesdell, Richard

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Truesdell, Richard. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

1970 Maximum Muscle: The Pinnacle of Muscle Car Power

The Jaguar Bertone Pirana Coupe: A history in photos

1968 Plymouth Road Runner: A Rats to Riches Restoration

1965 Pontiac GTO Chief Camino: One man's 10-year quest for perfection

Automotive Traveler: At the 2013 Rodeo Drive Concours d'Elegance: (Jet Age Cover: Chrysler Turbine Car)

Automotive Traveler's Classic Car: Premiere Issue

Automotive Traveler's Classic Car: Premiere Issue

Automotive Traveler's Classic Car: At the 2014 La Jolla Concours d'Elegance

Legendary Cougar Magazine Volume 1 Issue 1: Premiere Issue

Automotive Traveler's Classic Car: At the 2014 Rodeo Drive Concours