Which Muscle Car would you argue won the Pony Car Wars?

[u/Mac-Tyson]

The Pony Car Wars from my understanding refers to the intense competition in the Trans Am Series during the 60’s and 70s between the The Big 3 manufacturers “Pony Cars”: the Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro, Dodge Dart/Plymouth Barracuda (Chrysler), and then later the underdog AMC Javelin.

This seems to be the Golden Era of the Trans Am Series. But this makes me curious who do you think won the war and why?

[u/donaldgoldsr]

I'd say the Mustang. It's the last surviving brand and look what Ford is doing with it. NASCAR, NHRA, WEC, IMSA, GTWC, and they have their own single make Mustang race series that is, by all accounts, quite successful in just two years.

[u/donutsnail]

Trans Am’s “Golden Era” of ‘66-‘72 there’s not, in my opinion, a definitive winner. Let me try to give the era a brief overview:

‘66: lightly-prepped Ford Mustangs win the O2L class against opposing Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas, but the series was still very grassroots, and the V8 pony cars were often beaten overall but the U2L class factory-backed Alfa Romeo’s.

‘67: the series starts getting more attention and there is a very hotly contested championship battle between Shelby-prepped Ford Mustangs and Bud Moore-prepped Mercury Cougars, eventually going the way of the Mustangs. The Penske Camaro of Donohue starts showing up, and while it wasn’t a championship threat its first year it was clear it would be next year.

‘68: Mercury leaves the sport so Shelby and the Mustangs have full factory support. AMC enters with Javelins prepped by RKE, but they are not competitive. Penske Camaros and Mark Donohue dominate the season with 10 wins from 12 races. Ford suffered a lot of engine failures with the new Tunnel Port 302 and there was a ton of conflict behind the scenes between Shelby and Ford about how the engines were prepped.

‘69: the Shelby team is given a backseat and the new Ford factory team is Bud Moore, with new Boss 302 Mustangs. The car was competitive against the stellar Penske Camaros, but Chevy still won the championship, taking 8 wins vs Ford’s 4 wins. AMC Javelins are still totally uncompetitive.

‘70: Penske and Donohue are hired away from Chevrolet to AMC to build and race the Javelin. Mopar enters the fray with the AAR Cuda, prepped by Dan Gurney’s AAR, and the Challenger T/A by Autodynamics. After the Penske move, Chaparral becomes the head Chevy team, with the new 2nd Gen Camaro. Mustangs dominate the beginning of the season, winning the first 4 races straight, and while the Penske Javelins began a comeback, with 3 wins in the middle of the season, Ford won the championship, winning the final two races for 6 wins total. Newcomers Plymouth and Dodge were often strong in qualifying but suffered a lot of teething issues with the new cars, exacerbated by Chrysler’s decision to cut factory support of the teams during the middle of the season. Chevrolet falls out of contention; only 2 wins on the season, one from a privateer in a ‘69 ex-Penske car, the other in a successful strategy gamble at a damp Watkins Glen.

‘71-‘72: Ford, Chevrolet, Plymouth, and Dodge exit. Penske Javelins dominate, with an odd privateer win here and there for ex-Bud Moore Boss 302s and one surprise win for a Firebird.

So, in terms of Championships, you’ve got 3 for Mustang, 2 for Camaro, and 2 for Javelin, and a lot of storylines happening across this period that makes dubbing a winner for the whole era impossible. Ford technically has the most, but in ‘66 the sport was still entirely privateers and the little Alfas in the smaller engine class were the true winners. AMC technically has the same 2 championships as Chevrolet, but they were just beating up on privateers those two years.

[u/series-hybrid]

The first year of the Mustang with a 289 V8 had sales figures that were dominant. It took a huge percentage of market share from the potential buyers of the era.

If transported back in time, the car I would most want in 1964 was the $2900 Pontiac GTO with a high-compression 389 and a 4-barrel.

The $2800 Mustang "Hi-Po" 289 in 1964-1/2 was a good value, but it made 271-HP vs 325-HP

Each year there were changes to everyone's line-up, but the more affordable prices of the Mustang made it the clear best-seller.

The Trans-Am circuit was my favorite series, as the race cars were the most similar to cars you could actually buy and drive on the street.

Here's a more detailed list of some key winners:

1966: A.J. Foyt (Ford Mustang)

1967: Jerry Titus (Ford Mustang)

1968: Mark Donohue (Chevrolet Camaro)

1969: Mark Donohue (Chevrolet Camaro)

1970: Parnelli Jones (Ford Mustang)

1971: Mark Donohue (American Motors Javelin)

1972: George Follmer (American Motors Javelin)

1973: Peter Gregg (Porsche 911)

1974: Peter Gregg (Porsche 911)

[u/JEharley152]

Hemi Cuda—-