Steve Magnante > Quotes

“don’t want to be known as the guy who screwed up the Mustang.” Rest well, Mr. Mays, your team’s effort on the 2005 Mustang was directly responsible for the reappearance of the Dodge Challenger (2008) and Chevy Camaro (2010). Rest well, indeed!”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Mustang Facts: Covers All Mustangs 1964-1/2 to Present

“Camaro’s 396 big-block option (actually a 402 by this point)”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Mustang Facts: Covers All Mustangs 1964-1/2 to Present

“718 A vivid memory of mine is a 1979 viewing of a late night rerun of the ABC TV movie Hot Rod (a.k.a. Rebel of the Road). It’s the story of an outcast rodder, his struggles with a corrupt small-town police force, and an eventual drag strip showdown with an Olds 4-4-2 sponsored by the Munn’s Root Beer company. At the beginning of the flick, the hero drives a 1965 Coronet sedan, presumably an A990. After the cops force him off the road, totaling the Dodge, he swaps the Hemi into a 1941 Willys. You probably remember the movie now. But has anyone noticed that he steals a replacement Hemi out of an AMC Matador cop car? I sure did! It stands as yet another tribute to the mythical legacy of Hemi-powered cop cars on TV and in the movies.”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts

“1951 FirePower? In a White Paper presented to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) dated March 1952, Chrysler Vice-President Director of Engineering and Research James Zeder summed it up nicely: “The power of an engine should be based on physique, not stimulants.”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts

“Jim Farley may be known in some circles as the brother of star-crossed comedian/actor Chris Farley, but after serving 17 years as a vice president at Toyota and general manager of Lexus, he arrived at Ford in November 2007. As group vice president of global marketing, sales, and service, Farley was in position to help support many Mustang performance programs, including the reborn Boss 302.”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Mustang Facts: Covers All Mustangs 1964-1/2 to Present

“Apparently, pilots Bill Shrewsberry and Bob Riggle were sold on its strength without modification, save for heavy-duty shocks and obligatory Hurst mag wheels.”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts

“In May 1968, Knudsen poached GM stylist Larry Shinoda (whose”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Mustang Facts: Covers All Mustangs 1964-1/2 to Present

“Ford’s Cologne, West Germany–built V-6 had been offered stateside in the Mercury Capri since 1972, but some upgrades were made for service in the heavier Mustang II. Most significant is that it was bored and stroked to 3.66 × 2.70 inches to increase from 155 to 171 ci (from 2.6 to 2.8 liters) and its shared (siamesed) exhaust ports were separated to greatly improve exhaust flow. 447​”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Mustang Facts: Covers All Mustangs 1964-1/2 to Present

“modified GTO (that was known to have angered Pontiac), Columbia Pictures Television left the drop-top GT alone except for some painted-on new wave graphics. Plans called for 22 episodes, but poor ratings snuffed the New Monkees after 13 episodes were produced.”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Mustang Facts: Covers All Mustangs 1964-1/2 to Present

“Stage 2 Skylark drag race package of 1970 contributed a unique hood scoop, which (in reproduction form) has been adopted by hip Buick drag racers across the country. Loosely patterned after the steel scoop used on heavy Ford trucks (and adopted by Pontiac for its 1963 421 Super Duty cars), Buick’s”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts

“The handful of 1960 300Fs built with the Pont-A-Mousson 4-speed manual transmission (sources claim between 7 and 15) incorporated a highly unconventional means of activating the reverse lamps.”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts

“On one wall was an image of the 1961 Lincoln Continental; Loewy liked its slab-sided form and blade-like fender peaks.”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts

“Chrysler fans can point out the Ausco-Lambert four-wheel discs unveiled in 1949 (see Fact #832) but they were a much different enclosed”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts

“the buzz is that the general shape of the car is dead-on.” So wrote Hot Rod editor (and my former boss) David Freiburger in the March 2003 issue. His words supported a “sneak peek” cover story on the 2005 Mustang. Looking back, we now know the prototypes shown”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Mustang Facts: Covers All Mustangs 1964-1/2 to Present

“Ford was still in full support of the Shelby Mustang program, which had recently relocated from Los Angeles to A.O. Smith in Ionia, Michigan. The 1971 Shelby Mustangs never materialized”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Mustang Facts: Covers All Mustangs 1964-1/2 to Present

“1984 cult classic Repo Man”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts

“Bruce Springsteen revived the word Hemi in a song that was heard by millions around the world. Listen closely to “Born To Run” and you’ll hear The Boss sing, “Beyond the Palace, Hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard.” Sweeet!”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts

“digits correspond to the vehicle model year, i.e., 63 for 1963s and 64 for 1964s. Drivers who don’t like wet shoulders on rainy days should get a car built after April 1963, when drip rails were added to the roof seams above the doors. Were more Avantis built with the round or square headlamp-surround molding?”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts

“movie F/X2 The Fatal Art of Illusion”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts

“XP819, the only rear-engine Corvette engineering test car cost a reported $500,000 to build, but was purchased for a measly $7,000. How’d it happen? In 1964 the Corvair development boss”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts

“Pontiac had high hopes for the VOE option and even produced a 60-second TV spot depicting it in action. In the commercial, a silver 1970 GTO hardtop slowly cruised through the parking lot of a drive-through hamburger joint at night. Faces turn as the driver, looking cool and collected, reaches down and pulls the control knob. The already potent exhaust note increases to a raspy burble as more heads turn. The commercial ends with the words: “The Humbler is here, this is the way it’s going”
― Steve Magnante, Steve Magnante's 1001 Muscle Car Facts