[TheMonkey]

I'm not looking for any 'right' answer; just want to learn from some people's opinions.

I don't even have a strong opinion, but I was thinking about 1964. The birth of the Mustang, GTO, and Barracuda. I mean... sheesh. I love reading about the manufacturers in that era battling eachother. and the players (john delorean, lee iacocca, et al). That's good history, but I'm wondering if some of you guys have interesting color on any other eras (or real color on the birth of the muscle car)?

[home brew]

1955. The birth of the small block Chevy. Nuff said.

[poncho62]

1970.............The last year of High Compression motors...........then came the "Smog Laws" that killed the Muscle Car

[OldSchoolChevy]

1955. The birth of the small block Chevy. Nuff said.

Exactly what I was gonna say

[matt167]

Theres many. Probably Henrey Ford and the assembly line, made cars into what would be for years to come, cars for the common person . '32 with the Ford Flathead, first mass produced low cost V8 engine, list can go on and on, depends on your perspective of history and what kind of cars you like. I was watching a video on the 20's in History class the other day, and they started to explain Ford's production line, with old video's of the cars rolling off the line, and saying how you could have any color as long as it was black with the T's, and whail the narrarator was saying that, they were showing white cars driving off the line, they were Model A's, in fact, the model A was never mentioned but almost all the footage was of model A's.

[steve t]

V W Hitler revenge the jeep and harley, they helped win the war

[MARTINSR]

In the grand scheme of things, the small block Chevy means nothing,a blip on the radar.

I think 1949, BIG things happen post war using the technology learned in it.

Brian

[dinger]

Whatever year the highway system was started.

[trees]

Thomas Edison: the greatest American inventor ever:bar none and maybe the greatest in the world. Our history books told us his greatest invention was the light bulb, but that was insignificant in comparison to the generation and distribution grids to put the light bulbs to work. He and Henry Ford were big buddies and Henry recognized the benefits of Edison's inventions. He contracted him to set up the power system to power Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Mi. It is known today as Edison Power Company and that was probably the biggest impact on the American Automotive Industry.

Edison has hundreds of patents, more than any single person ever, many times over. He was famous for his Research and Development and employed many brilliant people over the years. He was flim-flamed by every big time hustler in the business and mostly by the big bankers. He was bankrupt many times over, but was able to bounce back with new products. Did you know he invented and patented the first phonograph and he was legally deaf? He used tuning forks and compared the vibrations from them with the "noise' from his phonograph (a little simplistic)

Trees

[willowbilly3]

Originally Posted by home brew

1955. The birth of the small block Chevy. Nuff said.

I'd take that back a couple years to Ed Cole's first major contribution, the Olds and caddy engines of 49. Actually the Olds was the first slipper piston engine that was what evolved into the sbc.
Then there was that thing called a side oiler.

[Hippie]

Originally Posted by poncho62

1970.............The last year of High Compression motors...........then came the "Smog Laws" that killed the Muscle Car

Beat me to it. 1970 is a true milestone in the American auto industry. Also 1972, the last year before 5 MPH bumpers.........

[xntrik]

That is impossible to answer.
Every era has a specific advancement.

The last 10 years has made the automobile the safest most efficient conveyance in history.

[bigolblackie]

I would have to say 2006 BC.,the year the wheel was invented.

[pmeisel]

How about 1910, the year they started using a moving assembly line to make the Model T....

Or maybe 1932, the flathead V8?

Or maybe the whole styling revolution of the 1950s?

Lots of good choices!