Back in the 1960’s and early 70’s, America was going through two wars. There was the scary one in Vietnam that everyone knows about, then there was the smaller one in Detroit, Michigan, where the “Big Three” of American automotive industry--Ford, General Motors and Chrysler--were fighting to see who could make a faster, more powerful, more badass muscle cars and pony cars. Cars like the Pontiac GTO, Plymouth Barracuda, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Mercury Cougar, Dodge Charger and their countless cousins started an era of outrageously powerful V8-engined bruisers.

It is one of the most fondly remembered eras in America’s illustrious automotive history, one that was cut short due to strict environmental regulations and OPEC oil embargo in the mid-70’s. Muscle cars had to be ditched in favor of the smaller, more efficient vehicles that customers (and regulations) demanded. But over the last decade, each of the Big Three started to revive some of their most iconic cars and restarted their fierce rivalry in speed and power, and the newfound rivalry in Detroit has been shaking the global sports car industry in the process.

The dramatic return of the muscle/pony car started in the mid to late-2000’s, with the evolution of Ford Mustang in 2004, revival of Dodge Charger a year later, followed by the Challenger in 2008 and, finally, the return of Chevy Camaro in 2010. They kept the formula that made the 60’s muscle cars so great: fast, stylish yet affordable while also being quintessentially modern. Because of that, all of these cars were incredibly successful. Regular drivers and enthusiasts alike couldn’t get enough of them.

As each year went by, each of the Big Three upped the ante to make sure that customers took their V8 muscle cars home instead of the other guys’. Their car had to be more powerful and faster than the other guy’s; it had to be more luxurious, better built and reliable; it had to handle better and be more fun to drive than the others. And if there’s one thing that nature has taught us, it’s that competition makes the competitors stronger. These American muscle cars suddenly had quality interiors, improved reliability, sharp handling and overall incredible driving dynamics that American cars of old--let alone American muscle cars--were completely missing. Ford, GM and Chrysler raised each other’s bars so much that all of a sudden, these relatively inexpensive American muscle cars--which were famous for being essentially barges with a stupidly overpowered V8s--were competitive with Europe’s greatest sports cars. If someone came up to me five years ago and told me that a $40,000 Camaro will be a better sports car than a $80,000 BMW M4, I would’ve laughed, but that’s exactly what’s happening.

Motor Trend magazine’s senior features editor Jason Cammisa said, “Suddenly, it’s America building the best driver’s cars.” While companies that used to make some of the best sports cars are making SUVs to appeal to soccer moms (ahem, BMW and Porsche,) the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with its 707 horsepower supercharged V8, the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 with its outrageous racetrack performance and the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 with its flat-plane crank engine (which were traditionally reserved for exotics like Ferrari) are showing them how it’s supposed to be done. The American muscle have not only manage to evolve to be greater than the sum of their pasts, but greater than some of the finest offerings from established exotic sports car brands.

It is one hell of a fight that we are witnessing here, the second battle of speed, power and noise in the American automotive industry that just keeps on getting faster and better. The American muscle cars not only rose from the dead, but it rose and beat the living sh** out of everyone else. These automobiles are once again captivating another generation of car fans across the world. But the Second Detroit War is just getting started, so buckle up, because it’s about to get wild.