The little pony that could....And did!

With the recent resurgence of the ponycar-Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger-some people have asked if there were others back in the late '60's and early '70's. (Firebird, 'Cuda,-"sister" cars- Duh! ) I thought I'd bring up a noble underdog in the ponycar wars-the AMC Javelin / AMX. The Javelin was a racy looking car that was also available as a two-seater from 1968-70 in AMX form. Optional engines included the 290 inch V8 that was used in SCCA Trans-Am racing, and larger 343 and 390 inch V8s. They were exceptional handling, well-balanced cars. The problem was, at the height of the musclecar era, they were underpowered. The top 390 only made 315 hp. By contrast-you could get a 396 in a Camaro that made 375 hp. A Ram Air 400 Firebird was rated at 345 hp; however the same engine in a GTO was rated at 370, and considered under-rated at that. You could get a 428 in a Mustang. However, in 1970-Mark Donohue and Roger Penske-who had won championships in Trans-Am for Chevrolet defected to AMC. The Javelin was given a more aerodynamic body for 1971 and the base engine was increased to 304 inches, the 343 to 360, and the 390 to 401. The new 401 was rated at 330 hp. However, you could get a 440 or 426 Hemi in a Challenger or Cuda, and Pontiac offered the 455 in Firebird Formulas and Trans-Ams. The Javelins were still underpowered when it came to street cred. However-Donohue won the SCCA Trans-Am Championship, narrowly edging Ford for the title, and AMC promoted it heavily in the buff magazines. Except for a Trans-Am or a Corvette, the AMX was about the best handling American car built. However, ever-tightening emission controls and the Arab fuel embargo was putting the hurt on Musclecars in general. By 1975 not only was the Javelin a memory, so was the Challenger and Cuda, the Z/28, and the Charger and Road Runner. The Mustang II was more Pinto / Capri than Mustang. Ironically,the Pontiac Trans-Am soared in popularity in the late '70's-partly because it was a great car-their really rising in popularity among restorers now-and partly because it was the "Last Man Standing" if you wanted a performance car with a big V8. However, as a Welterweight in the ring with Heavyweights the Javelin did pretty well. If you can find one, they still make a nice driver, but except for two-seat models they don't hold the Value that Camaros, Firebirds, Mustangs and E-body Mopars do. However, that's a good thing if you want to buy one! Mastermind