ivan and I led a "discussion" regarding this on another website recently and it looks like it needs to be clarified here as well...

for starters,
pony has nothing to do with mustang
having a powerful car does not mean having a muscle car
sports cars are not what you may think

Ill take suggestions on these, and consider revising them, but dont get sad when/if I tell you you are wrong.

pony cars are mustangs and camaros, perhaps a few other models from other brands but that fact needs to be common knowledge to you kids. a car designed to appeal those wanting a sporty car opposed to a passenger car, but not a true sports car. pony cars have 2 doors, some have hatchbacks, and although they have rear seats they arent designed to really carry more than one passenger in the car.

muscle cars are intermediate (historically coupe) derivitaves of family/luxury passenger sedans that sport the large powerful motors of their big sedan siblings. muscle cars are big, heavy and can easily carry 3 or 4 passengers.

sports cars are refined performance machines, some so refined to the point that driver comfort and ride quality are totally taken out of the picture. typically lightweight, with manual transmissions, powerful engines, and dont seat more than one passenger.

11/29/2005 10:20:16 PM

agreed.... in my world:

muscle= 69 Roadrunner, 70 Chevelle
sports = vette
pony = stang

11/29/2005 10:40:04 PM

^^more or less...i'd put the cuda/challenger in the pony car category, i think

but other than that, yeah


and "sports car" is a much more narrow term than is commonly used

11/29/2005 11:27:10 PM

i don't know where you stay, but in my hood
muscule = 1992 chevy lumina
sports = 1987 celica
pony = 88 civic hatch



[Edited on November 29, 2005 at 11:46 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2005 11:45:20 PM

i dunno about the cuda, thats a big hunk of steel, a challenger/charger 340 or therabouts would be mopars contribution to the ponies in my opinion

11/29/2005 11:45:32 PM

Umm, unless I'm mistaken, the Challenger and 'Cuda were built on the same platform, whereas the Charger was one level up in size....

11/29/2005 11:50:09 PM

a roadrunner was a family sized muscle car, with an airplane wing on it, does that count?

11/29/2005 11:51:48 PM

^^^wtf are you talking about? chargers are way too big to be pony cars, and they never came with 340's.

[Edited on November 29, 2005 at 11:52 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2005 11:51:59 PM

its like this, were there 4 door or wagon versions built on the same platform as chargers, cudas, or challengers? if so, its not a pony car.

11/30/2005 12:31:46 AM

98 civic hatchback red in color=pony

11/30/2005 12:32:17 AM

in my mind i always consider a muscle car based on displacement. large displacement to me is muscle. size does matter but a 67 vette with the h.o. 327 is a sports car. but a 67 vette with a 427 is a muscle car in my mind. the ultimate example of a muscle car is ford galaxy 500 with the 427. big body, big muscle, and old shitty tire technology.

sports cars is smaller displacement, coupes and verts. examples are porsche 911's, pre 70's vettes with small blocks, new vettes with out the 427 and an odd ball in my mind is the mid 80's rx7's. no hp but all the intangables of a REAL sports car. NO power steering, power breaks, always 5 spd, and coupe.

pony cars are bitch cars. 6cyl mustangs and camarros. anything that is a coupe that doesnt make power and is a general girls car.

11/30/2005 8:44:50 AM

^ The flaw in your system: "In my mind"

We all know that you aren't right in the head. :flipoff2:

and

civic=economy car

11/30/2005 10:24:01 AM

Quote :

"civic=sports car"

11/30/2005 11:57:27 AM

civic=SUV

11/30/2005 12:58:29 PM

honda del sol is sports car

11/30/2005 12:59:00 PM

^^ hah, you got that right

11/30/2005 5:16:37 PM

Muscle: engine
Sports: handling
Pony: image

11/30/2005 7:48:18 PM

what about a '62 buick electra 225 with a 445 wildcat. curb weight ~ 4,000 lbs, thats food for thought, how many cars in the two ton class can burn the rear tires off the rim?

11/30/2005 7:48:24 PM

what do you mean what about it? if its built on the 225 series chassis its not a muscle car. take that engine and put it in a 2dr 62 lesabre, and that may fit the requirements. dont say put it in a skylark, cause they were little shitboxes in the same class with the ford falcon back then- but a 65 and up skylark is a muscle car candidate. but any extrememly heavy car with a decent v8 will roast the tires- that 445 wildcat engine isnt anything special, just a 401 inch nailhead. the 445 was supposed to be the torque rating.

11/30/2005 11:16:26 PM

Quote :

"Sports: handling"

i wouldnt really go that far.

my integra stock will outhandle a lot of sports cars. and that to me isnt a sports car really. i would say its a sporty car or something.

12/1/2005 2:04:31 AM

yup that's a 240sx fastback

12/1/2005 9:27:04 AM

i think its funny how top gear defines a sports car as a front engined rear wheel drive convertible that was designed roofless first.

but who really cares its a matter of opinion.
cept the pony car thing you're right there and the name is derived from the fact that the mustang was the 1st in the class thus the class is named for it.

12/1/2005 9:36:50 AM

This is one of three sports cars I've owned
never owned a muscle car (although I wish I had)
Had a '66 stang with a 289 (poney I guess)
everything else I had falls into the yet unmentioned fourth catagory:

shitbox

12/1/2005 10:13:15 AM

my pony car, or was mine, still in the family though, sold it to my dad's cousin

[Edited on December 1, 2005 at 11:04 AM. Reason : damn fags wont let me post full size pics]

12/1/2005 11:03:36 AM

^

sweet

12/1/2005 11:05:25 AM

my next project is definately gonna be a mopar though

12/1/2005 11:06:05 AM

integras, civic si, shit even 240's are all sport compact- subcategory of the compact car (definitely NOT true sports cars)

12/3/2005 4:47:06 PM

^^ah, an intelligent post for once.

Quote :

"the mustang was the 1st in the class thus the class is named for it."

not really. studebaker actually had the first vehicle that fit the pony car "requirements", and who most people consider to have pioneered the market (other than the falcon, valient, etc. which the true pony cars were based off of). there's even some people that argue that the corvair was the first pony car. i don't really see how though. other than physical dimensions, it has none of the characteristics.

12/3/2005 5:08:52 PM

^what, the Hawk?

Quote :

"my integra stock will outhandle a lot of sports cars. and that to me isnt a sports car really. i would say its a sporty car or something."

what sports car will a stock integra outhandle? nothing i can think of that i'd define as a sports car.

12/3/2005 5:53:59 PM

Quote :

"Muscle: engine Sports: handling Pony: image "

yup

muscle - straight line speed, plant the power and go / pass anything but a gas station , make people think the world is coming to an end when they hear you or see you in the rearview coming up fast
sports - twistys + speed / braking / handling , the kind of car you wear more than just sit in
pony - image, looks good but don't open the hood

[Edited on December 3, 2005 at 8:51 PM. Reason : clarify]

12/3/2005 8:50:48 PM

^^ Depends on the era.

12/3/2005 9:01:31 PM

haha

12/3/2005 9:08:43 PM