We spent a week at my crazy-cousin Lisse's last April, taking in the DC sights.
Not only are you the life of the party but part of life!
Posted on 02/16/2014 6:48:26 PM PST by Impala64ssa
Happy 50th anniversary, Pontiac GTO! It’s too bad the Pontiac brand isn’t still around to celebrate, but there are legions of proud GTO owners and muscle car buffs who treasure the model that launched the muscle car genre.
The GTO history has been told too many times to count, so this feature will not add to the pile. Rather, it’s worth looking back at the impact the GTO made, not only on car enthusiasts, but also on the auto industry. The GTO’s influence continues today in ways and on cars that you might not suspect.
Let’s get a key issue out of the way. When discussing the GTO’s place in auto history, it’s safer to say, “Launched the musclecar genre” than “It was the first muscle car.” As Chevy, Ford and Mopar fans could correctly point out, several models that preceded the 1964 GTO offered performance to qualify as a muscle car. All any of those cars would prove, however, is that Detroit had already been catering to the performance enthusiast, albeit in very small numbers, and without crafting specific model identities. (The Chevy Impala Super Sport with one of the 409 V-8’s could certainly be considered an exception.)
What changed in late 1963, when the GTO arrived as a performance option for the 1964 Pontiac Tempest LeMans? That’s the year that the 3.4 million kids born in 1946, the first wave of “baby boomers,” turned 17. Clever marketing would prove every bit as valuable as engineering in reaching this group.
These buyers wanted more than fast quarter-mile times. They wanted to stand out at the drive-in and the burger drive-through. They wanted a car that reflected their self-image, a car with the look and sound of performance, not just impressive acceleration figures.
(Excerpt) Read more at hagerty.com ...
LOL! Both!
That was a fun ride, wasn’t it? And, yes, there are seat belts!
Do you miss DC? Life must seem to be more quiet and peaceful.
Why, yes I do. HST, it is best for me to not be there, for the moment! I need to be some distance FRom the scene of the crime lest I get too involved in solving it!
The “Goat” has always been the Dodge, in all of American automotive history.
In NASCAR, and USAC racing, a Goat is a Dodge.
We spent a week at my crazy-cousin Lisse's last April, taking in the DC sights.
Not only are you the life of the party but part of life!
Why isn't the Pontiac Brand still around? I heard that the Feds demanded that the brand be retired in exchange for the GM Bailout, does anyone know what really happened?
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