i agree that this is a marketing term but it was applied in describing this market segment by numerous reputable sources from its onset of course the epa and dot were not established at that time thus it is impossible to have them define this class of vehicle retroactively today's pony car ancestors are all lumped in with more generic automobile classifications in summary i do not think that pony cars belong in the sports car classification moreover the sports term has been depreciated and is currently used to classify almost anything sedans station wagons ragtops the now infamous suvs etc