The Passion for Muscle Cars

Book excerpt: Following the success of his bestselling book, the Passion for Holden, Joel Wakely takes a personal look at the golden age of Australian car manufacturing and particularly the passion for the muscle cars that arose in the 1950s and reached its height in the 1970s. Joel looks at the main three manufacturers - Holden, Ford and Chrysler - and the cars they developed for an ever-hungrier market. He examines the racing scene at the time and how the three big manufacturers jostled for position both on the track and in the showrooms of Australia. This eclectic mix of exclusive photography, technical detail, fascinating history and the sheer passion for his subject shows Joel at his best; one moment extolling the merits of a specific muscle car, the next sharing recollections of his racing days at tracks that can now only shimmer and roar in the memory.