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Periodicals archive (original magazine reviews of then-new Pontiacs):

1965 Motor Trend Car of the Year Motor Trend cover
Painstakingly and faithfully reproduced for your online enjoyment, these full-length articles and photographs from the February, 1965 "Special Issue" highlight the award and road tests of the GTO, Grand Prix, Catalina 2+2, and Bonneville, as well as the design and engineering (written by John Z. DeLorean) processes.
 
SD-455 GTO--Car Of The Year! (1973)
If you're a fan of classic Pontiacs, this award and cover story from the April 1973 Cars magazine sounds like "Dewey defeats Truman," since this prototype '73 SD-455 GTO never saw production.*
 
'67 Firebird 400 and Sprint
Written by 27-year-old Jackie Stewart and published in the February, 1967 Popular Mechanics. He tested both the hot 400 V8 and the Sprint OHC 6 at GM's Desert Proving Grounds. Also, in case you missed it above, be sure to see the full-color magazine ad.
 
'70 Firebird Formula 400 1970 Firebird Formula 400
Reprinted from the July, 1970 Popular Science, "The Supercars of the '70s Are Here" compares the Formula 400 to the Dodge Challenger 340 and Mercury Cougar Eliminator with its all-new 351 Cleveland motor. We all know the obvious winner here, right?
 
'64 Tempest GTO
A reprint of the original, lengthy Car And Driver "Road Research Report" This link is dead.
 
'63 Tempest
Rescued from a box in the basement along with the rest of them, this April, 1963 Popular Mechanics Owners Report recalls the era of rope drive, the transaxle, and when compact cars could first be ordered with 326 cu.-in. (5.3 liter) V8s and 15 mpg.

If you're a Tempest enthusiast, don't miss Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick's Famous "Grocery Getter", a re-creation of the 1963 Tempest Safari factory race car.
 
'68 Catalina
In spite of my opinion that '67-'68 was the low point for '60s full-size Pontiac styling, this Owners Report from the July, 1968 Popular Mechanics is entertaining. While some owners griped about the protruding "nose," what soured me was the "jowls" over the rear wheels. Judging from the article, Dad--though he had 5 straight, '59-'75--was far from the most loyal Catalina buyer.
 
'73 Grand Am
The first Grand Ams were distinguished as real driver's cars—Pontiac's "European GT"—an intermediate with a character more like today's Grand Prix GT than its present-day compact, mass-market-appealing namesake (no offense, Grand Am owners, but as a whole, they're just not the radical departure they used to be). Read the March, 1973 Popular Mechanics Owners Report for the interesting story.

And, if you're a first- or second-generation Grand Am enthusiast, don't miss The Grand Am Registry.
 
Do you have one?
If you have a magazine article about a Pontiac of the '50s, '60s or '70s, why not put it here for the world to enjoy, as some have already done? Please let me know.
 
'79 Trans Am WS6
This reprint of an interesting June, 1979 Car And Driver article is on Bob Fitzsimmons' site, The Angry Clown.
 


Newer articles about classic Pontiacs
:
 
NEW! (04/02/00)1957 Bonneville
"With Rochester fuel injection, the '57 Bonneville was as strong as it was beautiful." From the August, 1990 issue of High Performance Pontiac magazine.*
 
NEW! (04/02/00)1957½ Bonneville prototype?
"One-off Bonneville: Doubting the existence of a factory prototype." From High Performance Pontiac magazine, October, 1994.*
 
NEW! (04/02/00)1962 Bonneville convertible
"Seafoam Sweetness: This 1962 Bonneville convertible is a collector's pride and joy." Also from the October, 1994 High Performance Pontiac magazine.*
 
History of the Grand Prix
Part 1, 1962-1966, a 10-page cover story from the June 1990 High Performance Pontiac magazine recalls the early Grand Prixs, beginning with a line drawing and prototype car from the late Fifties. Would you believe there was at least one 4-door GP built in the U.S.?*

Part 2, 1967-1972 appeared in August 1990, and traced the GP from the first and only convertible through the extremely-rare '72 Hurst SSJ.*

Part 3, 1973-1990 has 11 pages of "Luxury and Performance" from the October, 1990 issue recalling the last days of the rear-drive GP and the Pontiac V-8, as well as the first generation of front-drivers.* Also includes bonus photos from the '73-'81 dealer catalogs.

Archival Ponchos: Pontiac Performance, 1955–1973½
Attempting to chronicle the history of high-performance Pontiacs beginning with the '55 V8 through the Super Duty 421s, GTOs, Judges, Ram Air V, and Trans Ams, this article is from the April, 1973 issue of Cars magazine. 8 pages of folklore, photos, and fast Pontiacs (so they did intend to race the Trans Am!).*
The Gr-r-r-eat 421 Aluminum Diet
Also from the April 1973 Cars magazine, this is a retrospective story about an original aluminum-bodied Super Duty 421 Catalina!*
 
1965 Pontiac Bonneville 421
"The epitome of the style that ruled the 1960s." As seen in the September 2, 1996 AutoWeek. (This article was provided by Ian, proud owner of another '65 Bonneville).
 
1965: "The Year of the Quick Wide-Tracks"
From Thomas E. Bonsall's PONTIAC: The Complete History 1926-1979, this chapter chronicles the changes and sales figures for Pontiac in 1965.
 
"The Legendary 1964 Pontiac GTO"
These days, Thomas E. Bonsall, author of many automotive reference standards including PONTIAC: The Complete History (see above) and Pontiac: They Built Excitement, is Editor and Publisher of the fine Ride&Drive e-zine.
 
'64 Tempest GTO and '69 Grand Prix 428 HO
These are Motor Trend online Retrospect features. The GTO article is written by Jim Wangers, a "godfather" of the GTO, and is entitled, "The Real Story of the Birth of the 'Goat'"! These links are dead.
 
'62 Catalina 421 SD and '73 Trans Am SD-455
From Popular Mechanics magazine's Collector Car Profiles online

*These articles--and many more to come--provided by Stan Kaminski, proud owner of this gorgeous '68 Le Mans. Thank you, Stan!


  Reference section:

Pontiac Rally II wheel Pontiac Wheel Applications
  Looking to put rims on your classic Pontiac? Want help determining what will fit? This table covering Pontiac Rally (I), Rally II, Honeycomb, Snowflake, and plain steel wheels just might have the information you need.
 
Pontiac Turbo-HydraMatic 400 transmission Pontiac Automatic Transmissions
  A concise table of both rear- and front-wheel drive transmission ratios, and a history of the development behind the 4T65-E.
Goodyear Eagle ST Tire Sizes & Dimensions




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