Everyone loves a good muscle car. They are fast, powerful, loud, and brash. They are as American as the Constitution, and we have icons such as the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, and FireBird.
However, not every muscle car has been a success. In fact, there have been some truly terrible ones over the years that we can’t depend on for power or reliability.
This list contains some of those terrible muscle cars, and unsurprisingly, many are from the 1980s when the segment hit an all-time low.
1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra
Kicking off this list of terrible muscle cars is the 1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra. This was an attempt by Ford to improve the Mustang II, which had suffered from poor reception and falling power due to the oil crisis of the 1970s.
Yet Ford’s efforts were in vain. The King Cobra was terrible, with the 4.9-liter Windsor V8 engine only producing 142 horsepower. Even in this King Cobra form, it was still slow to 0-60 mph, taking 10.5 seconds.
1974 Pontiac GTO
The Pontiac GTO had been one of the truly great offerings in the muscle car world, particularly in the mid-late 1960s and early 1970s. Yet by 1974, things were taking a bit of a turn as the oil crisis finally began to bite hard and hurt the muscle car.
The fourth-generation GTO lasted just one year. It shared the GM X-Body platform and the general design of the third-generation Chevrolet Nova. The sole engine option was the 5.7-liter 350 ci V8 that produced just 200 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. It was slow and tedious to look at, and Pontiac was quick to realize its mistake.
1980 Ford Mustang
After the disaster of the Mustang II, you would think Ford couldn’t make muscle cars any worse. But that is exactly what they did with the 1980 Mustang, one of the first Fox-Body models.
Thankfully, later versions would rectify all the issues with the Fox-Body. The 1979 Mustang had just a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine under the hood, making only 88 horsepower and 119 lb-ft of torque. It was slow, boring to look at, and simply a downright disappointment.
1980 Pontiac Trans-Am Turbo
To their credit, Pontiac tried hard to make the muscle car more appealing in those dark years of the 1980s. In 1980, Pontiac took their existing 4.9-liter 301 ci V8 engine and added a turbocharger in an attempt to boost its performance.
This result in the 1980 TransAm Turbo producing just 210 horsepower, dropping to 200 in 1981. It was certainly an improvement over some earlier examples but a far cry from the glory days of the Firebird. It’s easy to see why so many became so frustrated with muscle cars during that decade.
1975 Chevrolet Camaro
Not even the legendary Chevrolet Camaro could escape the nadir of the muscle car. Chevrolet introduced the second-generation Camaro in 1970, and it was well received, but by 1975, the model had slipped into one of the worst sales of all time.
The 5.7-liter 350 ci V8 engine might sound powerful, but it produced just 145 horsepower. Even the optional Z28 package could only boost the total output to 155 horsepower.
Pontiac Fiero
What should have been an excellent sports car or muscle car was nothing short of a disappointment. The Pontiac Fiero, launched in the 1980s, had a sleek shape and power from a 2.5-liter LR8 inline-four and a 2.8-liter L44 V6 engine.
But it quickly became a nightmare for Pontiac. Not only did the oil crisis hurt sales, but a multitude of fires seriously hurt the car’s reputation. In 1987, the fire count for 1984 Fieros had reached a staggering 20 per month. This means that Fieros were catching fire at a rate of one for every 508 cars sold.
1981 Mercury Capri RS Turbo
On the face of it, the 1981 Mercury Capri RS Turbo doesn’t look like a lousy muscle car. But by the early 1980s, the Capri had become the Mercury version of the Ford Mustang. The vehicle even shared the platform and engine options of its Ford cousin.
It might have been better looking than the early 1980s Mustang, but the power did not live up to the car’s design. Under the hood, a 117-horsepower engine produced just 135 lb-ft of torque. Ford could have given the RS Turbo a 2.3-liter turbocharged powertrain, but for some reason, it elected not to.
1974 Ford Gran Torino
The unusual thing about the 1970s is that, despite the tightening emissions regulations, engines still had significant displacement. However, power levels were at an all-time low, as we can see with the 1974 Ford Gran Torino.
This monster had a 7.4-liter 460 ci V8 under the hood. That might sound promising, but this vast engine produced just 220 horsepower and 335 lb-ft of torque. Just a few years earlier, that same engine could make over 400 horsepower, showing how far the muscle car segment had fallen by the mid-1970s.
1978 Oldsmobile 4-4-2
The original Oldsmobile 4-4-2 of 1964 is one of the finest muscle cars produced. It was powerful and fast, yet extensive and comfortable, and perfect as a daily driver. Beyond that, however, the Oldsmobile model began to suffer from the oil crisis.
The fourth-generation 4-4-2 of 1978 might have had a 5.7-liter V8 under the hood, but it produced just 160 horsepower. While a more powerful version arrived in 1980, this was still only good enough for 185 horsepower, an improvement that owners would simply never notice.
1982 Dodge Challenger
The 1982 Dodge Challenger is a muscle car that doesn’t deserve to fall into the same category as a Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Camaro. In the 1970s, Dodge decided to revive the Challenger, and by 1982, the all-new Challenger was on sale.
Except it wasn’t all new. The new Challenger was just a slightly redesigned Mitsubishi Gallant coupe with a Dodge logo. It had a tiny 2.6-liter four-cylinder under the hood, making it just 100 horsepower and 137 lb-ft of torque. By 1983, the Dodge Challenger was no more.
1982 Ford Thunderbird
To many, the Ford Thunderbird is an icon. It is a powerful and brash muscle car with some of the most recognizable styling and aesthetics of any automobile from North America. Unfortunately, that honor doesn’t extend to the 1982 model.
From 1980 to 1982, the Thunderbird was a dull, boxy mess, but the performance also took a big hit. Under the hood was a 4.7-liter V8, yet it produced just 120 horsepower and 205 lb-ft of torque. Unsurprisingly, few tend to remember the 1982 Thunderbird.
1983–1988 Mercury Cougar XR7
The 1984 Mercury Cougar XR7 is one of the “least bad” muscle cars on this list. That is because, during the mid-1980s, the segment was slowly seeing a reversal of fortunes, and it’s arguable that the Cougar XR7 was the start of this revival.
Under the hood, it had a turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 145 horsepower. That isn’t as much as a 1990s Ford Mustang, but it’s certainly more than the early Capri RS Turbo. Finally it seemed, things were looking suitable for muscle car enthusiasts.
