Читать книгу 1964 Pontiac GTO - David Bonaskiewich - Страница 7

INTRODUCTION

Throughout my journey, compiling information and traveling to track down and photograph 1964 Pontiac GTOs, I have become somewhat of a Pontiac historian. Learning about the people, circumstances, and obstacles regarding the development of this model only served to enhance my appreciation for this legendary car.

Upon telling members of the Pontiac community that I was writing a book on the 1964 GTO, a recurring question was, “How are you going to differentiate it from all the other books on the topic?” A fair question and one that I have pondered for quite some time. First, this book has to cover all the basic facts about the car that may have been in previous publications; it would be incomplete otherwise. Second, this book is meant to serve as a guide to both the seasoned Pontiac aficionado and those new to the hobby.

In addition, I believe that the fresh photography and my personal interpretation of interviews with Pontiac legends offer some different and useful perspectives to readers. I’ve also included a great deal of general Pontiac history, showing the tremendous progress that the brand made from the mid-1950s to the genesis of the 1964 GTO. I am particularly proud of the piece regarding the Gray Ghost Trans-Am series race car. It is a very cool part of the GTO’s legacy and I think you will thoroughly enjoy it.

It is my goal that this book becomes an invaluable resource to anyone seeking knowledge on the 1964 GTO. I have learned a lot over the past year researching this book and, in addition to facts and figures, have tried to include everything that I personally found curious or interesting. I’ve done my very best to separate fact from conjecture and hearsay. There are some topics about the 1964 model that are not known definitively, and I’ve tried to make that clear within the text, where applicable.

Respected Pontiac journalist Don Keefe sums up the 1964 GTO quite nicely: “The Pontiac GTO is considered by many to be the first muscle car, and I completely agree with that assessment. While there were previous cars that offered powerful engines in lighter body styles, such as the Buick Century of the 1930s, the Chrysler 300 of the 1950s, and even the V-8 Rambler, the GTO was different. There were even factory-built race cars that came along in the early 1960s that were faster: the Max Wedge Mopar lightweights and Pontiac’s own Super Duty cars come to mind.

“To my mind, though, the 1964 Pontiac GTO earns its ‘original muscle car’ status because it was the first time that a high-performance engine from a full-size car line was installed in an intermediate chassis and was marketed specifically to younger buyers with an advertising and promotional campaign that emphasized street performance as opposed to out-and-out racing. The engines in the GTO were powerful but were, in actuality, fairly mild engines, with hydraulic cams and inexpensive cast bottom-end pieces. The lack of exotic componentry meant that these cars could remain affordable and appeal to a wide base of buyers.

“History certainly proved that John DeLorean, Bill Collins, and Russ Gee knew what they were doing!”