The 1964 Pontiac GTO might not be the first muscle car ever built, but it is often credited with jump-starting the era that followed. In fact, the first true muscle car (defined as a model with a lightweight body and powerful engine) was probably the Oldsmobile Rocket 88, which hit the road in 1949. These cars were immensely popular in the 1960s and 1970s, although the market for gas guzzlers cooled significantly around 1973. That was the year an oil embargo against the United States drove gas prices skyward, just before new federal fuel economy and emissions standards went into place.
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There were plenty of models released before the oil crisis hit, and some automakers managed to produce some memorable ones under the new regulations as well. Some muscle cars like the 1970 and ’71 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertible are now worth millions because of their rarity, but others can be snapped up for a much more reasonable price. With electric vehicles set to take over the roads, the value of many 1970s muscle cars might be about to climb as they become more and more of a curiosity. Here are four cars from that decade you can still pick up for under $10,000, leaving you plenty of room in your maintenance and restoration budget.
[Featured image by MercurySable99 via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC-BY-SA 4.0]
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