Classic Automotive Pr0ns -- 1965 Pontiac GTO
Born in a time where badass cars actually got greenlighted, then produced and actually appreciated, in 1964 Pontiac was allowed to go forward with optioning their 2-door Tempest model, where for an additional $296 (yes, less than three hundred bucks!), you would get engine upgrades, limited slip differential, upgraded suspension and cooling and a choice of automatic or manual transmissions and the requisite "GTO" badging. This would top you out STILL under $5grand for the car.
In 1965, the GTO was broken out of the Tempest/Lemans family and given a slight makeover and it's own model.
More weight, more options and surprisingly less money were all a part of the equation. Luckily, so was more power and better looks (in my opinion, of course). Unfortunately, this came at the cost of performance, as the engine redux caused the cars to be not quite as fast as the initial ones, and the issue of brakes that are not befitting a car of this stature had not been addressed.
Fast forward about 20something years and the 1965 GTO, aided by the benefits of ability to upgrade of items on them -- like those brakes and minor things to help the engine along -- became my favorite car. We will mark this as my first favorite car ever and will qualify that to mean that it is STILL my favorite car in spite of what I have come to like and/or love since.
My love of the car in general can be applied to the styling of the entire first generation (1964-1967), but I was never much a fan of the ones that came after, so this blog will be about the 1965 model.
In 1965, the GTO was broken out of the Tempest/Lemans family and given a slight makeover and it's own model.
More weight, more options and surprisingly less money were all a part of the equation. Luckily, so was more power and better looks (in my opinion, of course). Unfortunately, this came at the cost of performance, as the engine redux caused the cars to be not quite as fast as the initial ones, and the issue of brakes that are not befitting a car of this stature had not been addressed.
Fast forward about 20something years and the 1965 GTO, aided by the benefits of ability to upgrade of items on them -- like those brakes and minor things to help the engine along -- became my favorite car. We will mark this as my first favorite car ever and will qualify that to mean that it is STILL my favorite car in spite of what I have come to like and/or love since.
My love of the car in general can be applied to the styling of the entire first generation (1964-1967), but I was never much a fan of the ones that came after, so this blog will be about the 1965 model.
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