'64 GTO article. Please Review.

[454Chevelle396]

I'm writing this for an extremely small car forum and I would like some other opinions. You guys seem to know a lot so here it is. Are there any errors? What could make it better? Thanks



First let's set the stage. It's 1963 and the hot cars are the 409 Imalas and Belairs, both are big heavie and fairly expensive. There is a youth market looking for something new and exciting to buy that won't break the bank, but all the fast cars are priced out of their league. The Pontiac Tempest is in the crapper, when only a few years earlier it was considered to be a great car, that was selling pretty well. Pontiac needed something to get back in the game.
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Pontiacs head of engineering at the time was Jonh Delorian. He held "what if" meetings on saturday mornings, at one of these meetings somebody asked, " What if we put a 389 in a Tempest" and the GTO was born. This created he muscle car formula, light car + big engeine + reasonable price = huge sales. There was one problem though, GM had a ruel that said a car can't have more then 1 cubic inch of engine per 10 pounds of car. Since the GTO weighed 3400lbs there was a problem. The solution was one of the greatest tricks in he automotive indurtry. The GTO was an option on the tempest, which included GTO decals and hood scoops, vinal uppolstry, and redline tires. Oh and there also happened to be a 389 on the list of accesories. Cha ching! The 389 was in.


The 389 was one of pontiacs star preformers. The sliglty larger version of the same engine had kicked some major ass on the NASCAR circut.The 389 would make 325 hp at 5000rpm and 428rpm at 4200 lb ft with one 4 bbl carburator or 348 hp @5000 rpm and 428lb ft at 4200 rpm with three 2bbl carburators. It had a bore of 4.06 inches and a stroke of 3.75 inches. All that power in a 3400lb car ment huge preformance.


Another problem facing the GTO was GM's ban on racing. It was no secret that what won on sunday sold on monday, and car makers used this to premote their cars. Ponitac; however, didn't have this option. It was only thaks to Jim Wagner, Pontiac's head of marketing, that the GTO was such a great sucess. Some crazy image building with marketing slogans like "a device for shrinking time and distance" the GTO was a hit. After that it's presence at local drag strips did alot of Jim Wagners's job for him.

Cart and driver said that the GTO did 0-60 in 4.6 seconds and 0-100 on 11.8, and the 1/4 mile in 13.1 seconds. Even Jim Wagner admits that's a little fast.

What started as a little econo-box Tempest eventually grew into one of the baddest cars of the muscle car era. In later years the GTO would have a high dollar version called the Judge, but that's another article. Pontiac discovered a formula that sent the America into a huge horse power war that lasted from 1964 to 1973, and is currently undergoing a revival today. Pontiac formula proved sucessful again, though not in a pontiac, with the Roadrunner/Superbee, several years later. All muscle cars owe tribute to all the people at that one "what if" meeting and everybody else involved with the sucess of the '64 GTO.The GTO shared the A-body plat form with the Chevy Chevelle, Buck Skylark, and Olds Cutlass. All eventually turned into muscle cars, or had muscle car options, that were knock offs of the GTO.

Production numbers
Coupes 7,384
Hardtops 18,422
Convertibles 6,644
Total 32,450

32,450 cars for the first year, on an option on a car is an amazing sales record. Just goes to show what a great car Pontiac made.


The trim options were...
Black
Dark Blue
Saddle
Dark Aqua
Medium Red
Parchment


The Paint options were...
Starlight Black
Cameo Ivory
Silvermist Gray Metallic
Yorktown Blue Metallic
Skyline Blue
Pinehurst Green Metallic
Marimba Red Metallic
Sunfire Red Metallic
Aquamarine Metallic
Gulfstream Aqua Metallic
Alamo Beige
Saddle Bronze Metallic
Singapore Gold Metallic
Grenadier Red
Nocturne Blue Metallic

You could get the vinal top in black or white.






This VIN decoder is for the Tempest, which includes the GTO option.
Vin Decoder:
1st digit-- engine
6) 6cylinder engine
8 ) V8. Either the 326 or 389

2nd digit -- sub model
0) Tempest
1)Tempest Custom
2) GTO or Lemans option

3rd digit--year code
4) 1964

4th digit-- assmebly plant
B = Baltimore, MD
D = Doraville, GA
E = Linden, NJ
F = Fremont, CA
G = Framingham, MA
M = Kansas City, MO
P = Pontiac, MI
R = Arlington, TX
S = Southgate, CA
U = Lordstown, OH
X = Kansas City, KS

The last digits are the the units sequential unit number. Each Facroty started out at 1001.

[67 GTO]

Spell check! I'm sorry, but it was to the point where I couldn't convince myself to keep reading. I'd be happy to go through it, but as it is...

If you're not sure how to spell a name, try Google-ing it. Entering "Jonh Delorian" yielded: "Did you mean: John Delorean". HTH.

[442w30]

There are numerous mistakes in it, but I don't have time to go through it at the moment. The spell check has already been mentioned, and the fact that you've posted it here without going it over with a fine-tooth comb tells me you still have a ways to go.

For one thing, don't call a trim level (like LeMans) an option. And don't say it could be a GTO option because the number has nothing to do with the GTO; instead, make a footnote that shows the GTO package could only be ordered on the Lemans, or something like that.

[454Chevelle396]

I know I have the spelling and grammer of a 6 year old. My bad. I'll change the GTO thing in the other version, but I can't edit the original anymore.