1974 Pontiac X-Body GTO
What the Heck?

In a stunning and surprising move – Pontiac moved the GTO down to the Ventura X-Body line and powered it with a 350 CID block.

Crazy Thinking – How was Pontiac Going to Sell the Emasculated 1974 GTO?

A weird way to crush an image . . .

Sometimes you can’t figure out automotive strategy and marketing.  You might see a glimmer of understanding when a model line is moved or changed, and other time you are baffled.  This is where we are when it comes to the 1974 GTO. On the 10th Anniversary of the famous marque, Pontiac did the reverse of what one would have expected – instead of a car to be remembered, they came up with a car that was soon forgotten – and if not forgotten – the ridiculed.

OK, the emissions and insurance rules were stifling performance cars, but Pontiac engineers were busy figuring out a way around that with the Firebird Trans Am – the result being the SD 455 of 1973 and 1974.  And surely the Grand Am was where Pontiac was putting its mid-size emphasis, but the Ventura-based GTO? We just don’t get it.

With all the emphasis on figuring out how to put a fire breathing 455 in the Firebird, why not an option with that same engine in the LeMans Sport (and call it a GTO) – as they did without the SD in 1973. (Still also wondering why that engine wasn’t available in 1973 on the last true GTO).

Our guess is that GM was under pressure to discard true performance engines and that they were stuck trying to do two things at once – promote the anniversary of the GTO – and don’t push too hard on performance. The other side of the equation was that starting in 1973., a corporate decision was made to ONLY let the Trans Am be the “muscle car” entry for Pontiac going forward. But even so, why did they do the one thing that was going to alienate the loyal GTO followers?

One major factor in this decision was that John DeLorean was no longer manager of Pontiac, having moved over to Chevrolet in that role. The second was that emphasis was moved to the Pontiac Grand Am as the “performance” mid-size car and there was resistance in emphasizing a model that was considered passe.

But the point that seems to have escaped Pontiac then was that it would have been better to have done nothing to celebrate the Anniversary than to have come up with this abomination.

1974 Pontiac Full Line Brochure and Pontiac Ventura GTO Brochure – Click and Cry.

1974 Pontiac GTO Brochure.  Click HERE to view the Brochure.

1974  Pontiac Full Line Brochure. Click HERE to view the brochure.