If you are looking to buy a used muscle car, here are some vehicles you should consider and others you should avoid.
Muscle cars have been around since the early 1960s, ushering in a new era of performance and sheer power in the automotive industry. Muscle cars boast high-performance engines and classic looks, and are often cited as one of the best contributions to the history of American automaking.
Fortunately for car enthusiasts, most muscle cars on sale today are pretty good, offering a wide variety of performance and drivetrains - from turbocharged 4-cylinder to powerful supercharged V8s. But if you're looking for a used muscle car, make sure you read this article carefully! We will tell you what to avoid so that you don't end up with the worst muscle car on the market.
Here are five of the best and worst muscle cars of the last 20 years. Let's take a look!
The CT5-V Blackwing was the best four-door muscle car of the last 20 years.
The Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing is different from other muscle cars. Compared to the other cars on this list, the CT5-V Blackwing is the only one with four doors. This means that it is practical for families and can take three people along for the ride.
The CT5-V Blackwing will feature the stout and supercharged LT4 gen-five small block V8 with a Cadillac-estimated output of 668 horsepower and 659 pound-feet of torque. That's an increase over the engine's output in the third-gen CTS-V, which put out 640 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque. Notably, this is now the highest output for a car using this engine, surpassing the 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet generated by the sixth-gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and seventh-generation Corvette Z06.
The 2019 Camaro ZL1 is one of the best muscle cars in recent years.
A 6.2-liter V8 engine makes 650 horsepower and 650 ft-lb of torque in this Camaro ZL1, reaching a peak speed of 202 mph. The car zips from 0-60 mph in just 3.5 seconds, making it the fastest and most-powerful factory-made Camaro ever.
The ZL1 comes with either a six-speed manual or a 10-speed automatic. It's the more track-focused rival to its Mustang and Challenger counterparts.
In 2016, Ford released the GT350R Mustang, which was so popular that it even surpassed the Corvette Z/28 and the Porsche 911 GT3. One of the most powerful Mustangs ever made, the GT350R is still admired by many today.
The GT350R, a modern-day version of the legendary Shelby GT350, is brimming with historical significance, thanks to its namesake.
RELATED: The 5 Best and Worst Ford Mustang of All Time
The Dodge Challenger Hellcat is the most powerful V8 model as of then, and it was also the first to adopt the TorqueFlite “8HP90” ultra-high performance eight-speed transmission in the world. The 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen and the standard 7-inch multi-view cluster gauge also made their debuts here. All of these records helped this car stand out among other muscle cars.
According to Car and Driver, a 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 could reach 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. It's even better than that: the supercharged Shelby could cover the quarter mile in 11.8 seconds. That sort of speed puts it ahead of the 707-horsepower 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat by 0.1 seconds in both metrics.
RELATED: The 7 Rarest Mustang Models of All Time
Even though the 2010 Ford Mustang has the body style that most car buyers are after, it remains one of the worst muscle cars. Its popularity aside, the car is just not very good.
The 2010 Mustang's biggest flaw is its underpowered engine. Instead of improving this already outdated engine, Ford chose to keep the same 4.0-L V6 or 4.60-L V8 engines used in previous generations of cars.
The ninth generation of Chevrolet Impala was launched in 2006 and returned to the muscle car's roots by adding a V8 engine, but it kept the front-wheel-drive platform. The model was no longer a comfortable muscle car but had become a terrible and cheap sedan.
RELATED: 10 Worst Corvettes You Should Avoid, and Why?
Ford Mustang has often been held up as the embodiment of American muscle cars, but the fourth-generation SN-95 (not counting second-generation models) was poor. It had an underpowered engine and poor chassis tuning, making it a poorly made model.
The eighth generation of the Ford Mustang moved from a rear-wheel drive V8 to a front-wheel-drive platform, with the engines from the Ford Mondeo (Contour in the U.S.). What was left was a weird, angular-styled coupe with subpar performance compared to the previous Cougar. The model was discontinued in 2002.
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo was a popular and well-loved American muscle car until it was changed to the exact opposite of what it once was.
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo of 2000-2005 was an unappealing car. It was designed to appeal to a broad base of customers but failed to reach even a fraction of that goal. The front-wheel-drive platform did not deserve any NASCAR ties and GM simply hyped the car too much.
RELATED: The 10 Best Muscle Cars from the '90s, You Should Buy!
| Rank | Company | Country |
|---|---|---|
| #1 |  Volkswagen |
Germany |
| #2 |  Toyota |
Japan |
| #3 |  Stellantis |
Netherlands |
| #4 |  Mercedes-Benz Group |
Germany |
| #5 |  Ford Motor |
United States |
| Rank | Company | Country |
|---|---|---|
| #1 |  Michelin |
France |
| #2 |  Bridgestone |
Japan |
| #3 |  Continental |
Germany |
| #4 |  Goodyear |
United States |
| #5 |  Sumitomo |
Japan |
