...(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.
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.
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.
I went with a fellow student in 1966 to pick up his new GTO. He had ordered the 4 barrel but the first one they got in was the 3 deuces. He went ahead and got it. This was at James Lee motors in Crestview, Florida.
I remember riding with him back to school and passing another car. I had never ridden in anything that ran like that.
Well, it’s just me and my ‘98 FireBird now. Anyone got an extra Firebird 3800 six cyl engine for sale? Gonna stick some heads on there, stuff in a cam...
Previous Pontiac owner here, too!
‘66 GTO
‘67 Catalina
The GTO was an ugly beater, but it was fast and fun. It even got good mileage on the highway if you maintained 75 mph (which was a problem, because I had it during the era of the 55 mph national speed limit).
Poor Old Nobama Thinks It’s A Cadillac.
I was a big fan of the Temptest back in the day.
ping
After that for many a year I became a devoted "P" man.
Had a 1956 and 57.
Then I joined the USAF in 1962
This is a pic of (an exact duplicate, down to the Rally wheels and wood steering wheel) my first new car ever and the one which holds the most memories.
I ordered the GOAT while in Nam and picked it up on July 7th 1967 in Pontiac MI.
The people at the Factory were super nice and they rushed finishing the production as I was a week early.
If you can imagine the thrill when they called me and told me that my "Iron" would be ready at such and such a time and sent someone to pick me up at the motel I was staying.
NOT ONLY did I witness it rolling up to the end of the assembly line, but they gave me the keys and I drove it....out the door.
Undoubtedly one the biggest--and not soon to be forgotten--thrils of my life
Here it is: 400 Cu in, HO, 360 HP, 4 Speed and...a "Mover" in its day!
