15 Chevy Muscle Cars I Wouldn’t Go Near

Chevrolet has made some iconic muscle cars, but they’ve also bellied out a couple that just missed the mark—and we wouldn’t touch those with a wrench, either.

Not all was rose colored for Chevy either, as some of their offering in that era were absolutely disappointing.

15) 1993 Chevy Camaro

Ah, the '93 Camaro. The Camaro lost a bit of its edge this one. They made it a softer, rounder look. It wasn't as mean-looking as it was before. To make things worse, it arrived with a V6 that generated only 160 horsepower. Pretty weak, honestly. Luckily, they didn’t throw the F body platform out the window so things got better down the line but this one? Yeah, I’d pass.

14) Chevrolet Monza

Now the Chevy Monza, remember that? Good reason why no one remembers. Of course, it wasn’t much of a muscle car, even though Chevy tried to sell it as just such. But it was slow, then they killed the V8 option after a few years. It’s honestly not a surprise that they just gave up and discontinued it.

13) 1995 Chevy Monte Carlo

As far as Chevys go, the ’90s aren’t going to be your finest hour, and the ’95 Monte Carlo is evidence. After a 7 year break they brought it back and boy, oh boy did that flop. Physically, the body design was bland and the V6 under the hood was about as exciting as paint drying. Forgettable all around.

12) 1976 Chevrolet Camaro

This was a car that got done dirty: the '76 Camaro. They slapped a new bumper on it, and man, it killed the aerodynamics. By then, the muscle was mostly excised, replaced by a fuel efficient motor that fooled no one. Yet this one never really clicks. It made it through somehow, and later Camaros found their groove again, but this one just doesn’t hit the mark.

11) 1980-85 Chevrolet Citation X-11

Ah, the Citation X-11. What a mess. When Chevy tried to make a smaller muscle car it ended up unsafe and riddled with recalls. And you only had the option of a 3 speed automatic or a 4 speed overdrive, neither of which could do anything to compensate for the rest of the car being an utter failure. This one’s best left in the past.

10) 1977 Chevrolet Monza Mirage

The Monza Mirage '77 was plagued by messy trim options and various fancy bits, but the engine was no good. The 305 wouldn’t make even 145 horses, even on a good day. But Chevy only ended up producing 4,000 of them before caving and returning to more sporty models. Can’t say I blame them.

9) 1980 Chevrolet Corvette California 305

The Corvette had a pretty rough year in 1980. The California 305 had too small an engine for the emission laws and it just could not hang. And that V8 only produced 180 horsepower—real step down. Later years, Chevy did figure out other ways to boost power, but this model never received the memo.

8) 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Iron Duke

The fact about the 1982 Camaro Iron Duke is that it's just plain sad. Of course the engine was durable—it was a four cylinder—but it only made 90 horsepower. But it did do 0 to 60 in 20 seconds. That’s pretty laughable for a muscle car. This thing was built to last like the truck engine it was, but without the muscle car punch you’d expect.

7) 1975 Chevrolet Corvette

This ’75 Vette is one of those cars best never to be spoken about. On the outside or inside, they barely changed anything, but they did shrink the engine. It was slow and tiny and even though they tried the became only 15 more horses down the Corvette of 20 years before. Ouch.

6) 1968-1972 Chevrolet El Camino SS454

The El Camino SS454 was as close to a Ricer as things got in the ’70s, if you're calling a car with too much engine for too little car a classic. Okay, so this big-block 454 pumped out 365 horsepower, but it all went to the rear wheels and it was more of a gamble than joy to drive. You had power, though good luck reining it.

5) 1982 Chevrolet Camaro

Chevy wasn’t playing with a full deck in 1982, and the result was a lot of effort on the ’82 Camaro, though aerodynamics weren’t in its favor. With a big 5.0L engine, the power didn’t break 200 horsepower and it took over 10 seconds to hit 60 mph. This is not exactly what you want from a Camaro. I don't even know why I did this, because it was sluggish and a little embarrassing.

4) 1975 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

It was a rough year for Chevy in 1975. No chance: The Camaro Z/28 is going down between rising insurance rates, an oil crisis, and tighter regulations. And they stuck a 155hp, 350 cubic-inch V8 in there and didn't know what to do with it either. It was just bad enough with less than great looking ugly chrome bumpers and shoddy build quality. Not the Z/28’s finest moment.

3) 2004 – 2005 Chevrolet Impala SS

The ’90s Impala SS was mighty pretty, but by the time they brought out the 2004-2005 model, all of that was gone. There is nothing about it that doesn’t sound good; outdated design, weak engine, and not one thing that could make it stand statue.... Chevy didn't even try to improve it. It's just what it used to be, but a shell of.

2) 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS454

The 70 Chevelle SS 454 wasn’t a bad car, but it was an indication of things to come. Car Life magazine said the classic supercar was a thing of the past after testing it. As insurance rates climbed as well, the Chevelle was a bit of a last hurrah for the real deal muscle cars.

1) 1974 Chevrolet Nova SS

The SS badge was what power, performance and all that a muscle car should be, in the '60s. By the '70s Chevy had turned it into a sad little appearance package. Back up the badge; the '74 Nova SS had nothing. None of it even bothered upgrading the engine, just added a new grille. What a letdown.