Well, I am a hard core Pontiac guy, but I'm also a true Musclecar fan. I assembled the list above based on my passion and respect for all the makes. My loyalty is to Pontiac, but I never wear rose colored glasses, and I understand that Pontiac didn't dominate all facets of the Musclecar Era in all years.
Actually, 1966 was one year that I personally felt WAS a strong contender for the best Musclecar year, just not as strong as 1969 or 1970.
1966
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- The 1966 GTO was available with the soon to be famous "Ram Air" straight from the factory. Ram Air became such a strong marketing tool and image builder (and helped horsepower), that nearly every manufacturer had their own version of Ram Air within a couple years.
- Last year for famous Pontiac tri-power
- 1966 would be the only year for tri-power on the 442
- Olds introduces their very limited W-30 package on the 442
- King Kong attacks Detroit : The street Hemi debuts
- The 1966 Chevelle SS396 is now regular production
- The controversial and striking Dodge Charger debuts
- The revolutionary Olds Tornado is introduced
- The Corvette gets a 427, and with 3 Holley carbs to boot
But the downside of 1966 is that the Camaro and Firebird were still a year away, Buick was watching from the sidelines, big cube engines wouldn't make it to GM cars for a couple more years, AMC was still making "practical" cars, and it wouldn't be until 1968 when Detroit discovered that adding cool paint jobs and stripes would really kick life into the Musclecar image (68 Hurst/Olds, 68 Road Runner).
As for Pontiac, one of their peaks was 1973/1974, but the SD455
ended up being a thoroughbred horse running at a closed race track.