Who doesn't love classic American muscle cars? They've got the power, the style, the heritage - all the reasons why today they're considered to be true gems of the American car industry. And as we've all witnessed, in recent years, their image has become somewhat overly romanticized. Could it be due to the latest versions of the Camaro, the Mustang and the Challenger that leave us reminiscing about the golden years of these models? Or is it because of the general gearheads' dissatisfaction with modern cars? We don't know. But what we do know is that - newsflash - the American muscle cars that we all know and love aren't as flawless as you might think.

Sure, no car is - we're not denying it. But when you really love something with a true passion, it's best to be aware of its downsides. For instance, before fiercely arguing with someone how the legendary Dodge Charger Daytona would outrun almost anything that's on the road today, consider what a pain it must have been to park it. And that's just one example. In this article, we've compiled a list of 15 almost-great American muscle cars ruined by one flaw.

15 1971 AMC Javelin: Poor Interior Quality

1973 amc javelin
via bangshift.com

The AMC Javelin has always been an underdog in the world of American muscle. And if you ask us, that's a real shame - the Javelin was a beautiful, unconventional car that, some would argue, was too ahead of its time. One aspect of the Javelin that was also unconventional, but not so beautiful, was its interior. Due to the financial struggles that AMC had to endure in the wake of the global Oil Crisis, the quality control in the interior department was really lacking. It just wasn't that nice of a place to be in.

14 1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra: Unsatisfactory Performance

mustang II king cobra
via hagerty.com

It's easy to hate on the second-gen Mustang - especially in its more mundane, civilian versions. But what about the high-performance, grand-sounding King Cobra? Yep, it's easy to hate as well. Despite the bold styling touches and the 302 cu in Windsor V8, it was high-performance in name only - with a measly 133 hp, it will easily get outrun by most budget hatchbacks today.

13 1976 Plymouth Volare Road Runner: Rust Issues

plymouth volare road runner
via comeseeorlando.info

The Volare Road Runner was a disaster on almost all fronts - especially considering how it effectively buried the glorious Road Runner name. But it wasn't the awkward styling or the poor performance that really destroyed the image of this car - it was the rust issues. Due to the poor quality control, a lot of cars virtually got eaten away by rust - especially around the fenders. That's why so few of them survived until today.

12 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona: Unusable In Real Life

dodge charger daytona
via pinterest.con

As mentioned in the introduction, the main flaw with the Charger Daytona is just how unusable it was in real life. Sure, the cone nose and the huge wing looked stunning and served a practical purpose on the race track - but the Daytona was still a road car. And we get extremely anxious only thinking about how hard it must be to navigate the tight streets in this behemoth. In fact, the body kit made the Daytona so hard to use in real life that many original buyers went to the dealer to have it removed. Never meet your heroes, we suppose.

11 1970 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda: Poor Handling

1970 plymouth hemi cuda
via mecum.com

To this day, the Hemi 'Cuda is one of the greatest, most iconic, and most collectible cars Plymouth has ever made. Its secret ingredient, as the name suggests, was the mighty 390-hp 440 cu in Hemi V8. And, sadly, this is where the performance magic ended. The Hemi 'Cuda personifies the ideal muscle car best - crazy fast, but only in a straight line. The handling, on the other hand, was truly horrendous. There is a reason why old American cars are known as boats, after all.

10 1970 Chevrolet El Camino: Dangerous Weight Distribution

chevrolet el camino
via topspeed.com

There is hardly another classic car that is as emblematic as the El Camino. It's a truck, it's a muscle car, and in the SS trim - a true performer. The only real issue with it was the unfortunate weight distribution. For some unknown reason, Chevrolet decided to make the El Camino rear-wheel-drive, even though it was technically a truck. And that, combined with the extremely light bed in the rear, made the El Camino very tail-happy. Now you know the real reason why so many El Camino owners drive around with sand bags in the back.

9 1965 Ford Mustang: Lackluster Performance In The Base Model

1965 ford mustang
via hagerty.com

Yes, we know that, technically, the OG Mustang is not a muscle car - yet that's how a lot of people perceive it, especially when it comes to the top V8 versions. Sadly, the same cannot be said about the base straight-six models - with 105 horsepower, their performance is hardly inspiring. But, hey, the base model is called that way for a reason.

8 1975 Chevrolet Camaro: Catalytic Converters

1975 chevrolet camaro
via hagerty.com

If there was one car that really suffered from the '70s oil crisis and the Clean Air Act, it was definitely the second-gen Camaro. In 1975, when it was first outfitted with the mandatory catalytic converters, all the power and the performance virtually disappeared. 155 hp from a 350 cu in V8 sounds simply sad - and the malaise 2- and 3-speed automatic transmissions definitely didn't help.

7 1982 Pontiac Firebird: The Iron Duke Engine

1982 pontiac firebird
via mecum.com

Camaro's cousin, the Pontiac Firebird, also fell victim to the Malaise Era. And in the Firebird's case, only two words are enough to make any car enthusiast cringe - Iron Duke. In an attempt to create a fuel-efficient four-cylinder that would allow the Firebird to compete with European and Japanese imports, Pontiac created an abomination. On top of its infamous unreliability, the Iron Duke made less than 100 hp in the Firebird - a terrible engine choice for such an icon.

6 1970 Buick Grand Sport 455: Unreliable Engine Blocks

1970 buick gs
via mecum.com

The Grand Sport 455 is somewhat of a forgotten muscle car - and it doesn't deserve to be. The combination of Buick's luxury and the 455 cu in, 350 hp engine is quite unlike any competition that was on sale at the time. Sadly, the 455 models specifically suffered from one fundamental mechanical flaw - faulty engine block design that was prone to cracking.

5 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302: Faulty Pistons

1969 boss 302
via hagerty.com

Even the legends are not immune to reliability issues - and the famous Mustang Boss 302 is no exception. It was designed to be a flawless performer on the racetrack, so as you can imagine, the long-term reliability was not really a priority. In the 302's case, the weak spot were the pistons. The forged aluminum designed did not prove to be as reliable as the engineers had hoped, and the piston skirts became known for cracking - even as often as 20,000 miles.

4 1984 Buick Regal Grand National: Turbo Lag

buick grand national
via topspeed.com

The Regal Grand National is best known for its menacing all-black look and the unmatched performance at the time, thanks to the innovative turbocharged V6 powertrain. The 3.8-liter unit kicked out a respectable 200 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque - but it definitely took its time. In the 1980s, turbocharging was not as advanced as it is today, and the Grand National - using a simple, single-turbo design - became known for its massive turbo lag.

RELATED: The Real Story Behind The Buick Grand National

3 2009 Dodge Challenger: Transmission Issues

2009 dodge challenger
via masbukti.com

Ah yes, nothing is more synonymous with the late-2000s Dodge than transmission issues. And being a real performance machine, the Challenger is the worst offender. Leaks, slips, jerky shifts - Dodge's automatic gearboxes have them all. Since then, the situation has somewhat improved - but getting a manual is still a much safer choice as far as Challengers go.

RELATED: Here’s What The Sickest Modded Dodge Challengers Look Like

2 2016 Chevrolet Camaro: Poor Visibility

2016 chevrolet camaro ss
via motorauthority.com

When the updated Camaro was released in 2016, it received tons of accolades for its styling, performance, and improved interior quality. Motor Trend went as far as naming the Camaro as the 2016 Car Of The Year. The only issue with the 2016 Camaro is its extremely poor visibility. Trust us, if you ever felt like you were sitting in a bunker while sitting in one, you're not alone. Sadly, this issue persists even in the 2020 model.

RELATED: Here’s What Makes The 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 A Great Dragster

1 2011 Ford Mustang: Faulty Manual Transmission

2011 ford mustang
via netcarshow.com

So here's the story: prior to 2011, the Mustangs were equipped with a Tremec-made five- and six-speed manual transmission. In 2011, Ford decided to switch to Chinese-made Getrag gearboxes as a cost-cutting measure. And the result was catastrophic: slips, clashing gears, rough shifts, and eventual transmission failure.

Just a couple of weeks ago, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Ford, accusing the company of not only selling Mustangs with faulty transmissions but once the transmission failed - replacing them with equally faulty units. As we've said, no car is perfect - but that's just a whole another level of a flaw.

NEXT: Classic American Muscle Cars That Annihilate The Quarter Mile