Standard Catalog about muscle cars screwed up its photos

The Standard Catalog folks offer a nice-looking book about muscle cars. Alas, the reference guide’s credibility is hurt by incorrect photos.

The format for the Standard Catalog of American Muscle Cars: 1960-1972 has a lot of potential. It has thicker paper, color photos, and more narrative than its sibling catalogs. Best of all, each brand has uniquely-colored page edges. This allows you can get to the right section more quickly than in other Standard catalogs.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the photos do not always show what they say they do. As a case in point, what is labeled as a 1971 Javelin AMX is really a 1969 model (p. 23). A 1970 Charger R/T is a 1971 (p. 138). A 1970 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler is a 1969 (p. 219). And a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 is a 1970 (p. 232). Maybe there are more, but I stopped counting.

Why so many errors for such an ambitious book? Were the proofers not knowledgeable about old cars? Or did the Standard Catalog folks have gaps in their photo archives? Either way, incorrect photos can make the reader wonder what else slipped through.

Standard Catalog of American Muscle Cars: 1960-1972

• John Gunnell, 2006
• KP Books, Iola, WI

“Pretty soon the trend towards street-and-strip performance that began with big-engined mid-sized cars began to show up in additional formats. There were muscular compacts, muscular Corvettes, muscular versions of the Mustang-inspired pony cars, muscular full-sized cars and even a couple of muscle station wagons.” (p. 7)

“The last of the legendary Chrysler 300 ‘Letter Cars’ was the 1965 300L. It closed 10 years of milestone Mopar performance history. Some automotive historians and enthusiasts feel that the 1955 Chrysler C-300 was the first real ‘muscle car.’ If so, the last Letter Car has to be considered a significant automobile for serious collectors.” (p. 108)

“In 1970, the Firebird went through a complete metamorphosis. While the first Firebirds were designed to compete against the Mustang, these ‘second-generation’ cars were aimed at imported sports cars and the Corvette.” (p. 304)

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This is an updated version of a mini-review first posted April 26, 2013.