10 Best Classic American Muscle Cars

7. 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1

Buick is not the name that you associate with muscle. Cool is not a word that one would not normally use in the same sentence as Buick. But then, there’s the 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1. This car is seriously cool.

1970 was a tough year. The Beatles said goodbye and split. National Guardsman killed protestors at Kent State University and fat Elvis Presley went back out on tour. But out of those dark times came a thing of beauty, the 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1.

Buick might have come late to the muscle car party, but once they had decided to come, they came with a bang. What Buick really brings to the world of muscle cars – is luxury. Muscle cars don’t have to be just oil and grease – they can also be style and class too. That’s what Buick managed to pack into the GSX Stage 1, muscle and class combined.

But to many the GSX Stage 1 didn’t even resemble a Buick. With the spoiler and the stripped down bodywork, it was lean and hungry looking.

There were 687 GSX cars made by Buick and all but two hundred of them came with that impressive package of new spoiler and the 455 cubic inch V8 engine that delivered a roaring 510 pounds of torque. In 1970, a sharp little Buick with 360 horsepower in its rear wheels alone was some piece of work.

It still remains a firm favorite with collectors today and was featured in the 2011 film Transformers: Dark of the Moon.