The 1960s were a wild time for Detroit. Automakers were locked in a horsepower arms race, throwing ever-bigger V8s into muscle cars and designing showroom specials to attract buyers. But behind it all ...

AMC offered high-performance cars as early as 1957 (the four-door Rambler Rebel came with nearly 300 horsepower on tap), but the company didn't join the muscle car market until 1968. That's when the ...