1977 Pontiac LeMans Can AmMost car historians say the muscle car era ended in 1973, but that wouldn't stop manufacturers from churning them out for a few more years, which brings us to the next underappreciated car: the 1977 Pontiac LeMans Can Am. While it was a bigger car promising more space for the family, under the hood it was a legit muscle car. It featured the same engine as the Trans Am, with a 400 cubic inch V-8. While many cars of the era offered both manual and automatic transmissions, the LeMans Can Am only offered the Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 automatic.Part of what made the Can Am iconic were the decals, stickers, and special body tweaks that gave it its own unique look. Unfortunately, they were also part of the problem, because Pontiac sent the car to another outside company to take care of those details and the process had a frequent and unwanted problem of breaking the rear spoiler. As such, if you wanted to rebuild the Can Am these days, you could find nearly every part, but that rear spoiler is not in production anywhere, and looting junk yards would be of little help. Still, with its iconic look and styling, the Can Am is the type of car that people would ask what's under the hood.1971 Pontiac GT-37Sometimes referred to as the "poor man's GTO," the 1971 Pontiac GT-37 is a solid muscle car that betrays that moniker. It was still very much a performance vehicle in its own right with a 400 cubic inch engine that could be upgraded to a 455 cubic inch engine. What's important to note about this car is that it was released in the middle of 1970, and it was advertised as a stripped-down GTO, so it suffered in the shadow of that breakthrough car. The reality is that when people started looking at rebuilding these classic muscle cars, suddenly the GT-37 looked more and more attractive at a lower price than the original classics. The secret was they packed the same amount of punch.In other words, the GT-37 was a solid muscle car that was consistently outshined by the fame of the original GTO. Even so, with it's swooping design, low-profile back end, and relatively lower weight compared with other muscle cars, it's a shame it was only offered for about two years before Pontiac moved on.1969 Pontiac Grand PrixWhen the lure of the full-size cars started to wane towards the end of the 60s, Pontiac decided to aim for more mid-sized vehicles, but that didn't make the Grand Prix any less of a muscle car. The car had a very distinctive style, especially in the wavey details of the raised hood and the "beak," or grill. This grill was split (as is the signature look of many Pontiacs), but it actually extruded outwards to be the nose of the car. When you see it, it's hard to forget.Known for its ridiculously long hood that was trendy at the time, the Grand Prix was a mix somewhere between a muscle car and a luxury sedan. It had flush door handles like an Alpha Romeo, concealed windshield wipers, and the radio antenna was embedded in the windshield. For all its luxury features, it also had power. The Grand Prix came with a 370-horsepower 428 engine, or the optional 390-horsepower 428 H.O. So while it may have been overlooked because of its luxury stylings, under the hood, the Grand Prix had everything you'd want in a muscle car. The front disk breaks (uncommon in muscle cars of the era) didn't hurt either.
