July 27th , 2005

In a recent Car & Driver magazine they were celebrating their 50 th Anniversary by recapping prior articles over the years. I thought it was interesting to revisit the 1964 article when they compared the Ferrari GTO which was the namesake for the Pontiac GTO.  It was a real marketing coup by Jim Wangers and brought attention to a little Pontiac called the Tempest GTO that had this big 389 engine.  I hope you like the article as much as I did.

Just a couple of other things.  Dan Long mentioned at the meeting this month that the new 05 GTOs are selling much better than the first years did. 400 Hp, hood scoops and dual exhausts on each side, plus a more recessed grilloption has helped alot.  He also mentioned that the 08 GTO should be built in Maryland and looks a great deal like the one in the Motor Trend rendering we all saw in recent club meetings.   COOL!

Solstice update is that they will come out sometime this fall.  Dan Long says they should start coming out of the factory in August to ship to the dealers.  The dealers are saying it will be October or November. They are saying the turbo model will be out mid-next year.  Apparently, the assembly line has been running for months but they keep sending the finished cars back through the line until they get them right.  The convertible tops have been a big part of the problem.  I recall that the Grand Am redesign back in 1998 or 99 had major delays due to suspension issues so this is not unheard of. Too bad they missed the summer Solstice!

Until next time keep them GTOs a rolling…

The "Real" Bill McCoy