A Muscle car originally was all about A very large displacement V8 engine in a medium to large size 2 door coupe with 2 rows of seats. With a ton of Horsepower and torque. Solid rear axle intended for drag racing.
A Pony car was about a lighter more nimble 2 door car with a medium to large displacement V8 engine. 2 rows of seats with a solid rear axle. The main goal was to have a car that could run at the drag strip, but could also cruise and turn relatively well when compared to an all out drag strip monster.
The Mustang GT, Camaro SS and Challenger R/T today are really hard to classify. I find myself calling them Muscle cars and Pony cars. More so Pony cars, but I think with the void of a *True muscle car today, the term can be used being that these are the closest examples we have to work with. If Ford, GM or Chrysler released a new medium to large size car tomorrow with a Very large V8 think 413,426,427,429,440,454 with a solid rear axle then the New Mustang, Camaro and Challenger would all be Pony cars.
The Mustang GT in my opinion even today is the purist form of a pony car
(It's ALOT heavier then what a pony car use to be, but it also carry's alot of the same DNA from the original concept. It's nimble, light weight*relative* solid rear axle, medium displacement engine.
The Camaro SS today I consider a pony car as it is also nimble, handles good and has a large displacement engine. In addition I do think that with the IRS it's got some characteristics in regard to ride quality of a luxury tourer. This isn't a bad thing by any means. I just like a SRA unless I'm in a sports car.
The Challenger R/T is also a pony car in my opinion. Same basic principals though handling is a tad less inspiring then the Camaro or Mustang. It has a large displacement engine and the 2 rows of seats. It like the Camaro has the IRS and a softer more elegant ride quality.
*If the new Challenger had a very large displacement engine like a 426 or 440 like the old Roadrunner then I'd consider it a muscle car being that it's a fairly large sized car compared to today's Mustang and Camaro.
But then again...even a 383 was considered to be a Muscle car displacement for a V8. In my opinion that wasn't a very large V8. The correct and agreed upon definition of what makes up a muscle car is a debate that will never end. I think we can all agree on a general consensus, but the details are very complicated. One I truly don't know an exact answer to. What I do know though is the New Mustang, Camaro and Challenger aren't and their predecessors have never have been any form of Sports car.
These are the type of threads I really like to respond to.
