2005-2006 FORD GT: AMERICA’S SUPERCAR

Posted on February 18, 2024 by MartynL

Hagerty.com’s Eddy Eckart celebrates the 2005-2006 FORD GT: AMERICA’S SUPERCAR and analyzes its marketplace appeal and strong fan base. Creating a modern GT40 road car was every bit as ambitious as Henry Ford II’s desire for international motorsports domination. Both of these goals were attained - and were historically significant. The GT40 was a key ingredient in the formula Henry Ford II used to dominate international motorsports and change racing history. Almost four decades later, ...

THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO.

Posted on November 5, 2023November 5, 2023 by MartynL

Hagerty’s Greg Ingold guides us through the second generation of the Supercar that started it all in THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO. Pontiac called it “A Device For Shrinking Time & Distance.” Magazine editors called it a “Supercar”. And in 1964 enthusiasts flocked to Pontiac dealers from coast to coast to see the new GTO, an option that breathed life into a Tempest. Pontiac, not Ford, Chevy or Plymouth, essentially created an option that ignited the Supercar Revolution and an...

PONTIAC TRANS AM’S SCREAMING CHICKEN

Posted on June 9, 2023 by MartynL

Scott Oldham blogs about how the PONTIAC TRANS AM’S SCREAMING CHICKEN got its wings! A beloved symbol of 1970s car culture. An icon of disco-era design. A redneck’s red-letter regalia. It’s gaudy. Garish. Tacky. Even vulgar. And we love it. This is the story of Pontiac’s Screaming Chicken, the largest and most recognizable decal in automotive history. Lost to time is the name of the man who first referred to the graphic as a “Screaming Chicken.” The nickname came quickly. By the late...

BUICK GNX & PONTIAC 20th ANNIVERSARY TRANS AM

Posted on April 4, 2023 by MartynL

Both the BUICK GNX & PONTIAC 20th ANNIVERSARY TRANS AM are powered by turbocharged Buick V-6 engines and deliver similar performance. But the Trans-Am, unlike the very limited production GNX, is much more available and affordable, blogs Hagerty’s Eddy Eckart. Nicola Bulgari's heavily-modified 4.1-liter Buick Grand National and Pontiac 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am. Photographed in Rome, Italy in 1997. Can a substitute ever be as satisfying as the real thing? It’s a question with which ...

NSX TYPE S, ACURA’S LAST HURRAH

Posted on January 18, 2023January 18, 2023 by MartynL

Cam VanDerHorst watched the last second-gen – NSX Type S, Acura’s Last Hurrah - being built at Honda’s Performance Manufacturing Center, and blogged about it on Hagerty.com When enthusiasts see references to “350/350” the first thing that usually comes to mind is Chevrolet’s venerable vintage 350 cubic-inch, 350 horsepower small-block V8. When Acura talks about 350/350, it’s all about the 350th of 350 NSX Supercars built, specifically the unique second-gen Type S showcased here. More than a ...

SWINGING SIXTIES CONCEPT CARS

Posted on March 19, 2022March 19, 2022 by MartynL

Hagerty’s Richard Heseltine showcases 11 Concept Cars, many having a positive effect on future production cars. Other SWINGING SIXTIES CONCEPT CARS faded into obscurity. But, they all matter! Two iconic Concepts – one from Ford; the other from Chevrolet – created by teams led by Roy Lunn (Mustang 1, above, and Zora Arkus-Duntov (CERV 1) below. Concept cars tend to live ephemeral lives. They appear at an event or two, create headlines if they’re lucky, and then disappear into the ether once t...

MOTION 482-INCH VETTE: THE BEAST FROM BALDWIN

Posted on August 4, 2021 by MartynL

The most powerful Phase III Corvette built in 1969 - MOTION 482-INCH VETTE: THE BEAST FROM BALDWIN was close, but not a true Baldwin-Motion car. It was a 600-horsepower Vette built on a brand-new Stingray from Reedman Chevrolet, supplied by purchaser David McCaughey, a returning Vietnam vet. After serving a couple of tours in Vietnam in 1968, McCaughey returned home to Southampton, PA and gave serious thought to buying the car he had been dreaming about for the past year - a super-perform...

PONTIAC GTO: AMERICA’S ORIGINAL MUSCLE CAR

Posted on August 1, 2021 by MartynL

Musclecar Maven and Hagerty contributor Scott Oldham blogs about 15 facts you might not know about PONTIAC GTO: AMERICA’S ORIGINAL MUSCLE CAR. In the early spring of 1963, during a “what if” session at GM’s Milford, Michigan, Proving Grounds, a small team of Pontiac engineers led by John Z. DeLorean realized the 389-cubic-inch V-8 from the full-size Bonneville would fit easily in the new midsize Tempest. A week later, they were doing burnouts in the first prototype, and the car widely acc...

1970 GM-455: MAGNUM FORCE FROM MOTOWN

Posted on July 17, 2021July 17, 2021 by MartynL

The new year ushered in bigger, more powerful engines, new specialty Supercars and a plethora of Ponycars. Buick, Pontiac and Oldsmobile muscle machines, powered by similar but different 455-inch engines, led the displacement race: 1970 GM-455: MAGNUM FORCE FROM MOTOWN. In many ways, 1970 was the storm before the calm. The war in Southeast Asia continued casting a pall over a much-divided country and thinning the ranks of young enthusiasts. Carmakers’ racing budgets were being drasticall...