{"id":73178,"date":"2016-09-25T13:41:49","date_gmt":"2016-09-25T17:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.automoblog.com\/\/?p=73178"},"modified":"2021-03-05T13:24:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T18:24:26","slug":"automoblog-book-garage-pontiac-gto-50-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.automoblog.com\/automoblog-book-garage-pontiac-gto-50-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Automoblog Book Garage: Pontiac GTO 50 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Book<\/a><\/p>\n

I was in college when Pontiac brought back the GTO. All I knew about the GTO was that it was one of the old muscle cars. Beyond that, I didn\u2019t have a frame of reference for \u201cThe Great One.\u201d Still, I loved this new version so much, I would scope out Pontiac lots in Omaha near where I went to school. At the time, Need for Speed: Underground 2<\/em> was a popular video game my brother and I often played.<\/p>\n

I would always pick the modernized GTO.<\/p>\n

In 2009, when I entered the car business officially, I fell in love with another Pontiac: the G8 GXP.<\/p>\n

20 Minutes of Fame<\/h2>\n

Well before my college days, dealership years, and lazy Saturdays on the Playstation with my brother, the Pontiac GTO was carving its name into history. The muscle car era in the United States is well documented, but it began rather unassumingly. Pontiac Chief Engineer John Z. DeLorean, with Bill Collins and Russ Gee, bolted a 389 ci V8 onto a Tempest chassis prototype for the GTO.\u00a0It took them 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

The muscle car era was born.\u00a0The rest is history.<\/p>\n

\"With<\/a>
With 510 pound-feet of torque, Buick\u2019s Stage I 455 produced more torque than any other car during the classic muscle-car era. Photo: GM Media Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

#1 Crush<\/h2>\n

From that day forward in 1963, the Pontiac GTO was known as the first muscle car. Not only was it fast, powerful, and bold, but it was affordable \u2013 and the Baby Boomer generation ate it up. Pontiac GTO 50 Years: The Original Muscle Car<\/em> captures the GTO\u2019s evolution from concept to classic. Hundreds of photographs line the pages, documenting the various designs, packages, and product launches through the years.<\/p>\n

Author & Photographer<\/h2>\n

Darwin Holmstrom has written, co-written, or contributed to over thirty books on subjects ranging from motorcycles and muscle cars to Gibson Les Paul guitars. He is the Senior Editor for Motorbooks, who we partner with for this Book Garage series. David Newhardt accompanies Holmstrom with his detailed eye and vivid photography. He has provided photography for a number of Motorbooks titles including Muscle: America\u2019s Legendary Performance Cars<\/em>, Corvette: Fifty Years<\/em>, and Mustang: Forty Years<\/em>, among others.<\/p>\n

Gran Turismo Omologato<\/h2>\n

Sometimes I think about what a new Pontiac would look like. Do you ever wonder? Maybe we will see such a division in General Motors again? You just never know. Pontiac GTO 50 Years: The Original Muscle Car<\/em> might be the closet we will get \u2013 but if we have to live vicariously, this book is a pretty good way to go.<\/p>\n

Looking at some of the photos, I swear I can actually hear the cars running. Pontiac GTO 50 Years: The Original Muscle Car<\/em> is available through Amazon<\/a> and Motorbooks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog and resides in Detroit, Michigan<\/em><\/p>\n

Pontiac GTO 50 Years Gallery<\/h2>\n