Chevrolet Camaro (first generation)If you didn't choose the Alfa Brera or Mazda RX-8 on your first playthrough of "Need for Speed: Carbon," you chose this. The first generation Chevy Camaro came as a direct response to the arrival and stratospheric rise of the Ford Mustang. Frankly, we have to commend GM, as it put together and released the Camaro, along with its sister car, the original Pontiac Firebird within a couple of years of the first Mustang reaching Ford dealerships across the country. The Camaro, like the Mustang, was a pony car with a basic six-cylinder with 140 hp or 155 hp in the lower end models, all the way to a super muscular 396 cubic-inch V8 in the SS, for those who wanted the performance to match the looks. Boy, those looks were rather special.More often than not, the 1969 Camaro and its hideaway headlights gets all the love, but it's time to pay some attention to the '67 model. The pointy nose, the rear haunches, that instantly recognizable rear end with its horizontal taillights and that SS badge in the middle, the first gen Camaro is a looker through and through.Ford Mustang (S197)In the latter half of the 20th century, the Ford Mustang had a bit of an identity crisis. It briefly became a more economy-focused car with the Mustang II, then a boxy car with no real resemblance to a muscle car with the Fox Body. Things finally began to look up with the SN-95 Mustang, as the facelift of that car finally brought back some of that muscle car aggression.When the S197 Mustang came along, it was clear that Ford spent too much time reinventing the wheel, while the best possible design was right in front of it the whole time. While American automakers struggled with retro styling in the 2000s, the S197 Mustang was an exception.The front foglights, the general muscle car shape, the round headlights, the upright rear deck with the three slat tail lights, the retro wheel designs — it was all there, and it was gorgeous. The S197 Mustang wasn't the best handling car of its day, and neither was the facelift, but it looked so good, it didn't really matter.Dodge Challenger (third generation)Not wanting to be outdone by the Mustang's return to form, Dodge revived the Challenger back in 2008, with a heavy reliance on retro styling. The new Camaro thoroughly modernized, the Mustang kept it familiar while making some changes, but the Challenger went all in.It very closely resembled the original E-body Challenger of the early '70s, just a bit bigger and a bit more modern. Like its predecessor, the Challenger was available with massive, burly V8 powertrains and almost all of them were RWD.This design worked so well for Dodge, they kept it for a good 15 years. In that time, the Challenger only received one major facelift, and continued to break records with the Hellcat and all of the derivatives that used the Hellcat powertrains. While the new Charger Daytona is more than likely a good car in its own right, the third generation Challenger is one American legend whose retirement we're still mourning.
