The first muscle car is a Pontiac classic car called the Pontiac GTO. This Pontiac classic car is also called The Goat, and was first manufactured in 1967. It is considered by many to be the first muscle car, with the popular Mustang fastback in second place, which also came out in '67.

The Pontiac GTO was the beginning of muscle car customization among street racers. The Pontiac classic car was available for options and upgrades to make the muscle car faster and give a much higher performance. The Pontiac GTO could be outfitted with a High Output Engine for $77 when it was first manufactured. This increased the speed and RPMs of this Pontiac classic car.

The Pontiac GTO could be further upgraded with the Ram Air system. This gave the Pontiac classic car stronger valves, and opened up the otherwise useless hood scoops. Out of over 80,000 Pontiac GTOs made in 1967, only about thirteen thousand had the high output engines and only about750 of those were outfitted with the Ram Air system.

The Pontiac classic car that is the most valuable is the one that is fully restored with both of these customizations added at the time of manufacture. While it is possible to add the Ram Air and high output engine to a Pontiac GTO today, the car is not as valuable as the one that had these customizations at the birth of the Pontiac classic car.

This Pontiac classic car is also available in various transmissions. There is a three or four speed option for the manual transmission. Pontiac GTOs with the high output engine and Ram Air had the automatic transmission option, but it was rarely taken. A Pontiac classic car of this type with an automatic transmission is very valuable today due to its rarity.

The second most popular Pontiac classic car is the '71 Pontiac Thunderbird. This car combined speed with muscle, and was one of the most popular cars available in the seventies for street racers. This car was basically a spin off from its ancestor of the Pontiac GTO. This Pontiac classic car is one of the most popular racing models still today.

The Pontiac GTO, like other muscle cars of its time, fizzled out of existence in the mid-seventies. While popularity of this Pontiac classic car, and other muscle cars, has not waned, manufactures lost the purity of the muscle cars when they tried to improve performance and add technology. However, thanks to movies and car shows, this Pontiac classic car is as popular as ever.