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Pontiac GTO | Car Review | The Pontiac GTO is a car built by the Pontiac division of General Motors in the United States from 1964 to 1974 and by GM subsidiary Holden in Australia from 2004 to 2006. It is considered an innovative, classic muscle car of the 1960s and 1970s. From 1964 to mid 1973, it was closely linked to Pontiac Tempest / Le Mans and the 1974 model year it was based on the Pontiac Ventura. The 21st century GTO is essentially a left hand drive Holden Monaro, itself a variant of the Holden Commodore coupe.

Pontiac GTO was the brainchild of Pontiac engineer Russell Gee, an engine specialist; Bill Collins, a chassis engineer; and Pontiac chief engineer John DeLorean. In early 1963, General Motors' management issued an edict banning divisions from involvement in auto racing. At the time, Pontiac's advertising and marketing approach was heavily based on performance, and racing was an important component of that strategy. With GM's ban on factory-sponsored racing, Pontiac's young, visionary management turned its attention to emphasizing street performance.

In his autobiography �Glory Days,� Pontiac chief marketing manager Jim Wangers, who worked for the division�s contract advertising and public relations agency, states that John DeLorean, Bill Collins and Russ Gee were indeed responsible for the GTO's creation. It involved transforming the upcoming redesigned Tempest (which was set to revert to a conventional front-engine, front transmission, rear-wheel drive configuration) into a "Super Tempest" with the larger 389 cu in (6.4 L) Pontiac V8 engine from the full-sized Pontiac Catalina and Bonneville in place of the standard 326 cu in (5.3 L) Tempest V8. By promoting the big-engine Tempest as a special high-performance model, they could appeal to the speed-minded youth market (which had also been recognized by Ford Motor Company's Lee Iacocca, who was at that time preparing the Ford Mustang).

The name, which was DeLorean's idea, was inspired by the Ferrari 250 GTO, the successful race car. It is an Italian abbreviation for Gran Turismo Omologato, (exact translation is Grand Tourer Homologated) which means officially certified for racing in the Grand tourer class. The name drew protest from purists, who considered it close to sacrilege.

Pontiac GTO was essentially a violation of GM policy limiting the intermediary a line to a maximum displacement of 330 cubic inches (5.4 L). Since the GTO was an option package and no series could be considered to fall into a gap in politics. Pontiac General Manager Elliot "Pete" Estes has approved the new model, although sales manager Frank Bridge, who did not believe it would find a market, insisted on limiting initial production to no more than 5000 cars. If the model is a failure, Estes probably would have been reprimanded. As it turned out, was a great success. - CAR REVIEW