Posted on 10/29/2010 2:55:35 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
DETROIT — Pontiac, the brand that invented the muscle car under its flamboyant engineer John Z. DeLorean, helped Burt Reynolds elude Sheriff Justice in “Smokey and the Bandit” and taught baby boomers to salivate over horsepower, but produced mostly forgettable cars for their children, will endure a lonely death on Sunday after about 40 million in sales.
It was 84 years old. The cause of death was in dispute. Fans said Pontiac’s wounds were self-inflicted, while General Motors blamed a terminal illness contracted during last year’s bankruptcy. Pontiac built its last car nearly a year ago, but the official end was set for Oct. 31, when G.M.’s agreements with Pontiac dealers expire.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
...(The engine in the GTO was a) violation of a G.M. policy dictating the maximum size of a car’s engine. The GTO was a hit, and the age of the muscle car had begun.
blame unions and incompetent management.
GM was at its best when the divisions competed hard against each other in the 50s and 60s.
If something was messed up (styling or engineering), it was confined to one brand.
Once they went to "corporate" platforms and powertrains, screwups were mass produced by the millions, across three or four or five brands. This was the legacy of Roger Smith.
The ‘65 (with the right equipment) was proably the fastest stock street rod of the muscle car era. I owned a ‘66 L-78 Chevy and it was no match for the 398 with the performance cam and duces...
I still recall the ‘67 GTO, 389 Tri-power that I had when I was about 18. Great fun and gas mileage and EPA were non-issues then. Easy to work on and great to drive with some mod’s.
The sooner GM gets liquidated the better.
Well, the next muscle car will be the Chevrolet Volt. A status symbol of metrosexuals and greenies everywhere.
I remember when Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel drove to California in their new 1957 Pontiac. They sang “California Here I Come” as they drove across the George Washington bridge.
Damn that is purdy!!
the three levels one can buy the Corvette and her pricing are still world leading in tech, horsepower to weight , and price. Add the 5yr 100,000 mile warranty and the opportunity is unsurpassed
I got the hots for Pontiac as a kid when my older brother bought a 57 Chieftian which went like a bat out of hell. (347 cubes in a body about as heavy as a 57 Chevy.)
Later, my first car was a ‘64 GTO with which I street raced
enthusiastically until the Army dragged me away in 67.
I mourn the demise of Pontiac and GM.
Goddamned UAW.
It just begs the question. Who walks into a car dealership and says, “Gee, I think I’ll take the butt ugly thing over there.”?
Dittoes.
I made the huge mistake of buying a brand new Pontiac Montana once. In 2000.
I’ll never make the mistake of buying GM again.
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