9 muscle cars we'd miss

The Chevy Corvette was named for a speedy Navy frigate and marketed to veterans with a taste for European roadsters like the MG or Austin Healy. (Technically it was a sports car, not a muscle car, since it had only two seats.)

But the Corvette didn't attract a fanatical following until it powered up in the mid 1960s, losing the open grille and boat-tail rear in favor of low-slung Coke-bottle curves and a throaty idle that demanded attention at every red light. And the 'Vette included a distinctive feature as it whip-lashed off the mark: four high-riding tail lights winking goodnight. The Corvette has been in continuous production since 1953; the ZR-1, the high-performance version of the current incarnation, has the most powerful 'Vette engine ever made -- 638 hp.

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