Passing down a pony car to younger family members is a great way to keep the American Muscle Car Hobby growing strong. It's also a wonderful way to nurture families here in the U.S. and around the world with a great hobby that can be shared and enjoyed.

Back in the late 1950s, automakers were trying wild and wonderful things. Fins, sweeping body lines, elaborate chrome trim, and aircraft-inspired styling cues were plentiful. So, it's no surprise that this was also the time when General Motors greenlit a now-legendary blend of family car and pickup truck: the Chevrolet El Camino. The 1960 El Camino seen here is an elaborate yet tasteful build from the restomod wizards at Roadster Shop in Illinois.

Imagine finding a 1966 Corvette coupe that has its original L72, 427-cubic inch big-block V8 engine, the engine that was conservatively rated at 425-horsepower, and the Sting Ray has 66,000 original miles! If you were a Country Music artist like say David Ball, you'd write a song about such an incredible find. Maybe you'd have the creativity to call the song, "Riding with Private Malone."

"Go out and buy yourself a Fox Body before they get too expensive, because these cars are a hoot. They're just a hoot. One hundred percent drivable, super comfortable... the Fox is a perfect first V8 muscle car," remarked Mike Musto as he closed out the final episode in Hemmings' six-part "Fox Body Rehab" video series. This project used some tasteful, period-correct mods to build a 1991 Ford Mustang into "cassette-era perfection," including a Procharger supercharger, a cowl hood from Classic Industries, and track-ready wheel and tire setup.

First generation Ford Mustang enthusiasts know that the fastest 1965-66 Ford Mustangs are the Shelby GT350 2+2's. Most of these limited production Shelby's were thinly disguised SCCA race cars that were built for the street for homologation purposes. A scant 36 of them were full-on racing machines that dominated SCCA B production racing in 1965 and 1966. These beauteous beasts are still vintage raced to this day. They're often competing heads-up against 1963-65 Shelby Cobra 289-powered roadsters.

Owning an American pony car can get you feeling like you did as a teenager. Windows down, stereo jamming, and your long hair blowing in the wind with your muscle machine bombing down the road, and your girlfriend, boyfriend, or buddy riding shot gun; those were the days.