MOTOR TREND AWARD TO THE 1965 PONTIACS

[Porter 21919]

Okay, it is not Cadillac but it is GM, back when they ruled the automotive world.

For a great read start with the introduction, the engineering section is great, the executives used to test drive a new car  every day on the way home and take notes on any problems or discrepancies. It was take no prisoners, quality,performance and style = sales.

You will not be dissapointed, it is a historical account of what made GM great, at least in the 60s at Pontiac.

http://www.pontiacserver.com/mt65.html TARGET=_blank>http://www.pontiacserver.com/mt65.html

Porter

[Sue]

I agree that the 1965 Pontiac was a great car which I realize everytime I drive my 66 Bonneville.  BUT another truly great car is the 1966 Olds Toronado. Just like the original Eldo Broughams, a lot of engineering went into these cars.  It has been surprising that they have been "sleepers" for so long and are just now starting to get some recognition such as by way of Jay Lenos 1967 custom Toro (now being represented as a 1966).  

Though I was too young to remember, the 50s and 60s were great years for GM and all of their divisions.

http://motortrend.com/oftheyear/car/112_0301_arc/ TARGET=_blank>http://motortrend.com/oftheyear/car/112_0301_arc/

 Coverage - December 1965
Few times has the Car of the Year pick been more obvious than it was for 1966. Oldsmobile was a technology leader during the 60s and demonstrated this fact with the new front-drive Toronado. Though FWD was somewhat commonplace on foreign-built economy cars, it was flat-out revolutionary for a postwar,

V-8-powered domestic luxury coupe. The Toronado was also a triumph of design; its clean flanks and well grounded proportions still look right today. While Car of the Year lives on, the Toronado died some years back--with the Oldsmobile division too soon to follow.

[Porter 21919]

Sue,

I guess back in those days it was easy for GM to garner the Motor Trend Award for the year because they deserved it.

The Asians learned all too well how to copy the American and German engineers and beat them at their own game.

The late John Z. Delorean of Pontiac GTO fame recently stated GM had too many bean counters and not enough engineers.

I would have to agree with him.

Porter

[Guy Moore]

I still have that magazine in my collection, I remember when
Olds won, I thought the 1966 Toronado was one of the ugliest
cars when it came out, however, now, compared to what is on the
road now, It is a beautiful design, I have grown to like its
looks.

[David #19063]

Hello Guy,

That is an intersting taste change in auto design.

That reminds me of one day a couple years ago when I had my black 59 Dodge Coronet parked in front of my house.  My 81 year old neighbor from two does down walk up and started talking to me about the car.

After a while he laughed and said that when the 59 Dodges came out he thought they were the ugliest, most garish cars ever built.  The front end looked mean, the quad headlight looked like eyes with eyebrows,  and it had way too much chrome, especially in the front.  But now, he thinks it is a work of art...and he could tell it was a 59 Dodge from a mile away.

David

[Sue]

Not enough engineers or are the engineers not what they should be?  

A friend likes to tell a story about walking through the halls of Phord World Headquarters.  She is an engineer and she was walking behind a couple other engineers.  The conversation involved one guy asking the other how to change the windshield wipers on his car.  

Granted they can probably design the wiper on their computer using some technical software program but they dont have the background knowledge to change windshield wipers!!!  I feel that is one of the big things wrong with car designers and engineers today.

[Guy Moore]

Hello David,
I grew up in the 50s and 60s, I always liked the finned cars
of that era, I find these new cars, especially, Japanese, and
European, really, really, ugly, I dont care who makes the Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, etc, I find the new nissan Maxima especially distasteful, in my mind I just dont see how anyone
could think a Lexus, infinity, Nissan, Toyota, is an beautiful
car. They all look alike, we will be travling down the highway and a car will pass us and I wont even know what it is, as years ago I new every make and model, I guess the last car I really considered beautiful befoe the CTS, STS, was my 1983
Fleetwood Brougham, I thought that design was classic, I still think it is one of the classiest looking Cadillac ever. It far
better looking that my 1994 Concours, I do like the design of my 89 Sedam de Ville. I learned to drive in a 1960 Buick Invicta.

Guy