The First Mid-Size Muscle Car Wasn’t the GTO

History

Just because Pontiac knew how to push performance in advertising starting 1959, doesn’t mean they were first to the party when it comes to “inventing” the Muscle Car.  Yes, Pontiac exploited the youth market starting in 1964 with the GTO, but they borrowed the idea from what Mopar was unsuccessfully doing starting in 1957.

Let’s face it, the Plymouth Fury, the Dodge D-500, the DeSoto Adventurer, and the famous Chrysler 300 all had “invented” the concept of specialized performance cars by 1956. Some of these cars would have to be considered “muscle” cars by dint of their short wheelbase, low to medium price and plenty of power – via hot cams,  multiple carbs and even sporting bucket seat interiors. And they were special models, just like the GTO.

So why does GTO get the credit and Mopar does not? As we stated, Pontiac has to get the credit for timing and copying the specialized advertising that Chrysler Corp had done in the 50s but abandoned in the 60s.  That’s what imprinted on everyone’s mind that Pontiac invented the concept.

And for the most part, by 1959, GM and Ford put their performance advertising dollars on 118-122” wheelbase cars (what we tend to call full size). Tri-Power Pontiac Catalinas and 348 Super Turbo Thrust Chevrolets, as well as Ford High Performance 390s all were not only full size, but much more expensive than the younger generation could afford.

But due to a quirk in Chrysler Corp’s perception of where the market was going, Plymouth and Dodge both remained on what we call the mid-size wheelbase – 115-116”. And MOPARs used unit body construction versus full frame, also lowered weight. With the right engine, they were easily Muscle Cars.

Let’s Get Started

When 1962 rolled around, the Plymouth Sport Fury was all the things the GTO would later be noted for: short wheelbase mid-size car, priced right, a bucket seat interior, special handling package – and a host of true performance engine options. Take a peek:

• • 383 CID 330 HP single 4-barrel V-8
  • 383 CID 335 HP dual 4-barrel V-8 (under-rated for NHRA competition)
  • 413 CID 385 HP dual 4-barrel in-line carb V-8 (under-rated for NHRA competition)
  • 413 “Super Stock” short cross-ram intake (410 HP street and 420 HP competition).

These engines are listed on our 1962 Plymouth Fact Sheet found HERE.

The 330 HP 383 was certainly a match for the single 4-barrel 389 Pontiac found in the GTO, and the dual 4-barrel  version was available with a choice of hydraulic and mechanical cams – and we know that the 335 HP rating was set low to allow it to compete is certain NHRA drag classes. The dual inline carb 385 HP 413 was way ahead of any GTO until the 400 CID Ram Air III arrived. To get an idea of this engine/chassis combo’s potential, here’s a test of a 1962 Dodge Dart so equipped. Check it out HERE  –  skinny tires and all.

Another argument made was that Pontiac’s GTO was affordable – and that is why the youth market snapped them up.  Yet the 1962 Plymouth Sport Fury Coupe listed for $2,931 with the 361 CID 305 HP V-8. Add in the 413 at $275 and we’re looking at $3,206. The 1964 GTO 389 CID based out at $2,963 with the 325 HP V-8. Adding in the Tri-Power option and other mandatory options placed the car at $3.300. So it definitely wasn’t price or options.

How was the Sport Fury hiding in plain sight and no one noticed? 
In 1962, no one had figured out what DeLorean and Wangers knew, that if you set up a sporty car with a performance image, you’d better back it up with serious power.  The issue with the Sport Fury wasn’t that you couldn’t have an awesome performance rocket, you had to check off a bunch of option boxes to get there. Check out this 1962 Plymouth Sport Fury Brochure HERE.

Thus, a major cause of the Sport Fury not stating the later trend was simply the public’s perception. When the Sport Fury was announced (with a lot of hoopla BTW), Plymouth saw the car a sporty and hyped it with a “choice of V-8s”. The marketing boys at Plymouth thought a snappy V-8 and bucket seats were enough to sell the car. Take a look at the announcement ad and note you had to dig deep to learn about optional performance engines. Why? Because . . .

In 1962 racing sold performance cars.
In 1962 racing was how marketing sold performance cars – not packages. The idea was that those racing victories would prompt those seeking high performance to check the right boxes on the option sheet. And after all, Plymouth had the Super Stock 413, with its astounding  performance when it came to perking up the audience. This was true for all brands, including Pontiac.

You might have heard the common adage back then: “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday” (WSSM). In 1962, everyone ascribed to the WSSM concept, and their advertising clearly told people that those performance engines were available in your street car. If you look at period advertising when it came to performance, the car model wasn’t touted, the engine was. Pontiac’s advertising clearly told people that those performance engines were available in your street Pontiac – pick your car model, add engine was everyone’s’ formula.

1963 and GM’s racing ban.
Pontiac had been at the forefront of performance advertising from 1959 through 1963. They did ascribe to the WSSM concept. But when GM announced that it was pulling the plug on all racing programs, it immediately took the thunder out of WSSM. At first, Pontiac reacted with ads that touted the street prowess of their 421 CID HO V-8. They quickly handed out Catalina and Grand Prix 421s to magazine testers. A strong example of how Pontiac pushed their performance  image is this road test of a 421 CID Grand Prix, found HERE.

Thus, if you wanted a performance Pontiac, you were buying a Grand Prix or Catalina 421- and if so, you were looking at $5,000 as an entry fee. These were exciting cars, but way out of the price range of the suddenly burgeoning youth market, still squarely in the older, more mature performance market. My Dad’s 421 Grand Prix was purchased after he saw that Motor Trend road test – but there was no way I could afford a car like that at 20 years old.

And GM was about to announce their new mid-size car, aimed squarely at the  youth market with the rather pedestrian Tempest. “We build excitement” was going to fall rather flat.  At GM, at the dawn of 1964, there was great pressure  to sell the new mid-size car. Pontiac had done enough research to know that this market wanted thrilling performance. They wanted something to differentiate the Tempest from the Chevelle, Cutlass and Skylark. Racing was out, so what was in?

And there was another dilemma, few know that GM decreed that no mid-size car could be equipped with a V-8 larger than 10% of the body weight – essentially limiting Chevelle to the 327 CID V-8, Olds to the new 330 CID V-8, Buick to their 300 CID V-8, and Pontiac  . . . to their 326 CID unit.

You can see Pontiac’s problem, they couldn’t separate from the pack of GM mid-size cars with the 326, and they couldn’t sell 421 Catalinas to 20 year-olds, and they couldn’t use racing to tout Pontiac’s superiority. What to do?

Enter the GTO.
The idea that the move to the GTO  as a “trick” to get a performance car into the mid-size Tempest, wasn’t so much as to fool GM’s brass as it was to sneak performance back into Pontiac mid-size car advertising. In that sense GTO was a stroke of genius. – with  Pontiac’s history of “big engines”, it wasn’t a stretch for the GTO to appear.

Model and Engine Locked Together
But where Pontiac changed the game was not so much in the car, but was to  create a specific model – the GTO.  You  couldn’t get a GTO with a six or a 326 CID V-8 – no, it was GTO = 389 CID. No pouring through the option book the get a hot Tempest, as you had to do with other brands, you selected “Tempest GTO” and that was it! This was the genius – and it also allowed the advertising to be specific. “we build excitement”, was back and better for it!

For example, Pontiac’s advertising approach said: “GTO is kicking up the kind of storm that others just talk up”. No race victories touted – no, just an exciting specific car shown doing its performance thing.  It was something the youth market could see and identify with. And it changed all the youth market advertising  and spawned the “muscle car wars”.  See the 1964 Pontiac GTO Ads HERE.

Not only was the car a specific model (though to get around the engine limit, they made it an option on Tempest the 1^st year) they also put a together a heck of a specific and  intensive advertising  campaign. They also went so far as to make available two 421 CID equipped “ringer” cars available to test. SEE the Car and Driver Test HERE. (A more realistic test of a GTO may be found in Car Life Magazine’s test of a true Tri-Power car HERE).

The Result – GTO – It was the First Muscle Car – in Advertising
What DeLorean and Wangers did was create the category – not the car. What GTO should be known for is that every single mid-sized muscle car going forward had one formula: 112-116 inch wheelbase and a 340+ HP V-8. Buick GS 400, Chevelle SS 396, Dodge R/T, Ford Fairlane GT, Mercury Cyclone GT, Olds 442, Plymouth GTX, and  . . . Pontiac GTO.

Meanwhile back at Plymouth . . .
Between 1962 and 1964, while they had a car that could have exploited the market, they were still thinking that racing was their promotional tool, in both NASCAR and NHRA, with Richard Petty and the Ramchargers killing it in Super Stock. And since they didn’t have the advertisement restrictions GM had, they were blissfully pushing race wins instead of “buy this hot new car”.

Here’s Plymouth touting the Hemi’s Race Wins in 1964. And Ford talking about Race Victories in that same time period. Neither pushed a specific performance car model, like Pontiac did. Yes, Plymouth still had the Sport Fury, now with a 365 HP 426 CID V-8, but they did not make the model engine-specific.

Unfortunately, Plymouth – with its 1962 Sports Fury – didn’t differentiate between the 318 CID V-8 and the mighty 413 in advertising, so only those in the know grabbed up these cars. But, in fact, the 383-413 CID Sport Fury was the first mid-sized Muscle Car.