Fourth Of July Study Sheds Light On Muscle Car Revival

Where cars are concerned, our favorite figures involve horsepower, torque, and 0-60 times. That said, there's plenty of interesting info in the latest study from research firm Experian Automotive, which looked at the numbers behind the unlikely resurgence of the muscle car.

While it includes the Chevrolet Corvette and the Dodge Viper in the definition—purists would balk at calling them "muscle cars"—registrations are up over 35 percent during the last nine years, which is welcome news for anyone who likes high performance.

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Here's the per-model breakdown:

"In terms of registration volume, the Ford Mustang took the top spot (77,000 new registrations), followed by the Chevrolet Camaro (66,000), the Dodge Charger (55,000), the Dodge Challenger (50,000), the Chevrolet Corvette (32,000) and the Dodge Viper (1,000)."

Now, it's worth noting that the data goes back to 2006, and the fifth-generation Camaro didn't launch until 2009, giving the Mustang a big head start. But for those keeping score, this year marks the first time the Mustang has beaten the Camaro's sales since Chevrolet brought the model back.