Note: Some cars fall in between multiple categories.
Muscle car
Muscle car is a term for high-performance American coupes, usually but not limited to rear-wheel drive and fitted with a high-displacement V8 engine. General Motors introduced the first proper muscle car in 1949. The term originated for 1960s and early 1970s special editions of mass-production cars which were designed for drag racing.
The definition of muscle car is subjective and frequently debated. Muscle cars often have many of the following characteristics:
- A large V8 engine in the most powerful configuration offered for a particular model
- Rear-wheel drive
- Being manufactured in the United States in the 1960s or early 1970s (the specific year range of 1964–1973 is sometimes used)
- A relatively lightweight two-door body (opinions vary as to whether high-performance full-size cars, compacts, and pony cars qualify as muscle cars, as it is sometimes claimed that only intermediate cars can be considered muscle cars)
- An affordable price
- Being designed for straight-line drag racing, while remaining street legal.
High-power pony cars are sometimes considered muscle cars, however personal luxury cars are often too expensive to be considered muscle cars. Sports cars and sports sedans are not usually considered muscle cars, since they are generally associated with circuit racing rather than drag racing. Muscle cars are an extension of the hot rodding philosophy of taking a small car and putting a large-displacement engine in it, for the purpose of increased straight-line speed.
Muscle cars were originally referred to as "Supercars" in the United States, often (though not always) spelled with a capital S." From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, "dragstrip bred" mid-size cars were equipped with large, powerful V8 engines and rear-wheel drive were referred to as Supercars more often than muscle cars. An early example is the 1957 Rambler Rebel, which was described as a "potent mill turned the lightweight Rambler into a veritable supercar."
In 1966, the supercar became an official industry trend" as the four domestic automakers "needed to cash in on the supercar market" with eye-catching, heart-stopping cars. Examples of the use of the supercar description for the early muscle models include the May 1965 Car Life road test of the Pontiac GTO along with how "Hurst puts American Motors into the Supercar club with the 390 Rogue" (the SC/Rambler) to fight in "the Supercar street racer gang" market segment, with the initials "SC" signifying SuperCar.
The supercar market segment in the U.S. at the time included special versions of regular production models that were positioned in several sizes and market segments (such as the "economy supercar"), as well as limited edition, documented dealer-converted vehicles. However, the supercar term by that time "had been diluted and branded with a meaning that did not respect the unique qualities of the 'muscle car'."
Source / More info: Wikipedia
Pony car
Pony car is an American car classification for affordable, compact, highly styled coupés or convertibles with a "sporty" or performance-oriented image. Common characteristics include rear-wheel drive, a long hood, a short decklid, a wide range of options to individualize each car and use of mass-produced parts shared with other models.
The popularity of pony cars is largely due to the launch of the Ford Mustang in 1964.
Source / More info: Wikipedia
Sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, or thrill of driving.
Definitions of sports cars often relate to how the car design is optimised for dynamic performance, without any specific minimum requirements;
Broader definitions of sports cars include cars "in which performance takes precedence over carrying capacity", or that emphasise the "thrill of driving" or are marketed "using the excitement of speed and the glamour of the (race)track" However, other people have more specific definitions, such as "must be a two-seater or a 2+2 seater" or a car with two seats only.
Source / More info: Wikipedia
Sporty car
Term used to describe pretty normal vehicles which have been added some "sporty" touches. Cars like a pontiac fiero or a chevrolet cavalier z24 for example.
Grand tourer (GT)
A grand tourer (GT) is a type of sports car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement.
The terms "grand tourer", "gran turismo", "grande routière", and "GT" are among the most misused terms in motoring. The grand touring designation generally "means motoring at speed, in style, safety, and comfort." "Purists define "gran turismo" as the enjoyment, excitement and comfort of open-road touring."
According to Sam Dawson, News Editor of Classic Cars (magazine), "the ideal is of a car with the ability to cross a continent at speed and in comfort yet provide driving thrills when demanded" and it should exhibit the following:
- The engines "should be able to cope with cruising comfortably at the upper limits on all continental roads without drawbacks or loss of usable power."
- "Ideally, the GT car should have been devised by its progenitors as a Grand Tourer, with all associated considerations in mind."
- "It should be able to transport at least two in comfort with their luggage and have room to spare — probably in the form of a two plus two (2+2) seating arrangement."
- The design, both "inside and out, should be geared toward complete control by the driver."
- Its "chassis and suspension provide suitable handling and roadholding on all routes" during travels.
Grand tourers emphasize comfort and handling over straight-out high performance or ascetic, spartan accommodations. In comparison, sports cars (also a "much abused and confused term") are typically more "crude" compared to "sophisticated Grand Touring machinery." However, the popularity of using GT for marketing purposes has meant that it has become a "much misused term, eventually signifying no more than a slightly tuned version of a family car with trendy wheels and a go-faster stripe on the side."
Historically, most GTs have been front-engined with rear-wheel drive, which creates more space for the cabin than mid-mounted engine layouts. Softer suspensions, greater storage, and more luxurious appointments add to their driving appeal.
Source / More info: Wikipedia
Luxury car
A luxury vehicle provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and status relative to regular cars for an increased price.
The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the brand image of its manufacturer. Luxury brands rank above premium brands, though there is no fixed demarcation between the two.
Traditionally, most luxury cars were large vehicles, though smaller sports-oriented models were always produced.
Our Comment: Even more luxurious than a personal luxury car.
Source / More info: Wikipedia
Personal luxury car
Personal luxury car is a North American car classification describing somewhat sporty, sophisticated mass-market Coupés that emphasized comfort over performance. The North American manufacturers most often combined engineering, design, and marketing to develop upscale, distinctive "platform sharing" models that became highly profitable.
Personal luxury cars are mass-market vehicles that have a combination of Sports car and Luxury car characteristics, typically two-door coupés or convertibles, typically with a small rear seat not intended for regular use by adults. Personal luxury car designs emphasize comfort and convenience, often highly equipped with interior features that were either optional or not available on other models.
In contrast to the European Grand tourer sporty luxury car, where high-speed performance was key, the American personal luxury car typically blunted performance by mating large engines to heavy vehicles. The cars were usually mass-produced and often shared major mechanical components with other models from the manufacturer to reduce production costs.
Although luxury coupes had been produced in North America for several decades previously, the beginning of the "personal luxury car" genre is generally considered to have started in 1958, due to the success of the Ford Thunderbird (second generation) when it was redesigned from a two-seat car to a four-seat car. These changes shifted the Thunderbird's emphasis from sporting to comfort and luxury, and sales increased by 50 percent.
Prior to the late 1970s, personal luxury cars were usually large, rear-wheel drive vehicles powered by large V8 engines. As a result of the downsizing trend in the American automotive industry during the late 1970s, many personal luxury cars have been produced as mid-size cars with six-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive. By the 21st century, the personal luxury market had largely disappeared as consumers migrated to other market segments.
Source / More info: Wikipedia
Regular car
Term used to describe pretty normal cars that mostly non car people would have bought. Excluding compact cars. For example a 1973 Ford Galaxie 500.
Compact car
Term used to describe all small cars.
More indepth info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_car
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subcompact_car
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