On the level?

["John W Rosa" <JohnRosa@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My wife brought home a book for me, thinking 
I'd enjoy it because it's supposed to be about 
'Muscle Cars'.

Clearly, the author is clueless.

The Ultimate Guide to Muscle Cars
by
Jim Glastonbury

Much of the spelling and terminology is decidedly
British, as are several of the cars' license 
plates, so we might forgive his errors due to
his location...but the jacket states he is 
stateside often and a owns vintage GTO and 'Stang 
himself.

The book's chapters are mainly about a specific 
car model. GTO is credited as the first 'Muscle 
Car' and gets the second chapter to itself which 
follows a chapter about the 'pre-muscle cars' or
the fore-runners (which notes many cars that came 
long after the first GTO...how are these fore-
runners?).

The remaining one-model chapters focus on Pony 
Cars instead of Muscle Cars (sorry...not bending 
on the distinction, folks), singling out the 
Mustang, Camaro, Firebird and so on.

Mopars are crammed together in a blanket 'The HEMI 
Story' section which displays 18 beautiful cars...
of which only 5 are HEMIs. At least 3 of the 
remaining 13 are labeled as HEMIs, but clearly 
aren't...including a 340-6 Challenger T/A!! And 
the lone HEMI Cuda he shows is labeled as a 1976!!!

AMCs, as usual, are few and dumped into the 'Also
Ran' section. A 68 AMX Go-pak 390 car is shown 
equipped with a chrome luggage rack on the decklid!
I'm fairly certain that wasn't available factory 
stock, but then it has an Eagle's steering wheel 
with a 71-73 horn cap, and a disfigured arm rest.

Then, a single shot of a 78 AMX (...Muscle?!?)

The next is 71 Javelin SST 360 with Torque-Thrust D 
wheels. Otherwise, a very clean, stock car.

In the text, he speaks of the AMX as if it debuted 
ahead of Javelin, states the 68 390 AMX was hampered 
by a 3-speed tranny while 69 got a four, and the 
AMX/3 is treated as a production car.

Also in the 'Others' section are true Muscle Cars 
like 442, GSX, Chevelle SS, and many others. Why
aren't they is a GM section instead of lumped in 
with Studes and such?!?

In the Trans Am racing section, he states AMC built
Red/White/Blue Trans Am replicas because of their 
Championship wins in 1971 and 1972...yet the cars 
were 1970 models?!? Clairvoyance?? If so, why didn't 
they see the Wankel disaster coming? <snicker>

Hey...if you've got a coffee table with one short 
leg, this is the book you need to level it. Just 
don't read it.

John W Rosa

http://www.JavelinAMX.com