The greatest 2 page spread in automotive history was for the 1970 GTO Judge. It was a picture of a white Judge also driving down Woodward Ave. The only sales pitch text in the ad stated "After a few moments of respectful silence, you may turn the page". This text appeared above and to the left of the Judge. Above the Judge on the right side was the specs of the available engines. I have that ad framed prominately in my home office. Best ad ever. On a side note, I believe this ad was penned by David E Davis, who was to become the editor of Car & Driver and later Autombile magazine.

I grew up in Birmingham, MI--born in '57. I lived on Woodward and we raced and cruised all year long. Woodward (1967----75) was a race car show every Saturday night. Tom H.

Sold Pontiacs for almost 25yrs then picked up the Buick franchise when we lost PMD in the dark days of BK. We all went into shock when we lost most of our client base. The saying "you can sell an old man a young mans car but you can't sell an young man an old mans car" is ever so true. Own a '68 GTO now, see you at Woodward this summer.

GM didn't support racing, but they still built some of the most powerful and fastest cars on earth.

Have owned 58 cars in my lifetime. THE most favorite was my 68 GTO, 4 speed , 4:33 gears, tinted glass, vinyl top, AM radio with factory 8 track, full gauges, buckets and console. Nothing else but a joy to open up that Quadrajet and be pushed back in the seat as I went through the gears.

Maybe it just hit me at the wrong age in life, but I'll never forgive GM for axing the Oldsmobile and Pontiac lines. Between my cousin's '76 Cutlass and my grandparent's '77 Grand Prix SJ, i loved everything they put out. Great feature...i love the inside baseball from you!

Pontiac is definitely by far my favorite GM division.

Beautiful cars. Its a shame we'll never have these types of designs again

“At Pontiac, we build excitement”. A favorite ad slogan of mine.

Couple friends and I used to cruise down to Woodward from Saginaw in my ‘64 GTO in 1965.It was a crazy place on weekends.A lot of heavy hitting special performance Detroit muscle on the scene.Those were great,exciting times.

I've read a few accounts of Pontiac and Chrysler engineers cruising Woodward in the 60s in thier skunkworks performance cars with manufacturers plates after work hours looking for a little stoplight action.

Adam either stepped out of time machine from 1982 or he bought someone's vintage stash of Member's Only jackets and Casio digital calculator watches.

That no racing rule was the dumbest decision by some real "special" people at the head of GM.

I spent a lot of time cruising Woodward back in the 60’s. We did a little racing but we were mainly cruising the Drive Ins looking for girls to meet. We’d start at about 10 mile rd and cruise out to 16 mile rd make a Michigan left and cruise back to 10 mile. This loop went on every Friday and Saturday night. We had no idea that Woodward would become so famous.

New Jersey is also replete with "jug handle" left turns. The problem is, since not every left is constructed like this, you're often not sure if you should be in the right or left lane when your left turn is approaching.

I was fortunate enough to be in NYC in the fall of 99 and there was an outdoor car display at Rockefeller center. Among classics like a GT40 there sat the original Silver Bullet Plymouth that the Chrysler engineers raced on Woodward in the late 60s and smoked everything. What a piece of history.

That Endura bumper really worked well. I got bumped a few times and it did little damage.

The aircraft term for this was "area rule" - it made it easier and faster to get thru transition from sub Mach 1 to supersonic flight.

I love people who think like those guys did. Push those boundaries.

It’s only controversial to Prius-driving Karens and EV-pushing college professors. For guys who really like cars this ad kicks ass. John DeLorean is one of the coolest mo-fos to ever design a car. In a perfect world someone like him instead of Queen Mary would be the CEO of GM today.

I always liked the Pontiac GTO humbler add with the factory exhaust cutouts.

And don't forget to "Put a Tiger in Your Tank" . . .

Thank you Adam. I recall this ad. I recall hearing about this and GM did not want racing mentioned or featured. It is great to hear the story and what really took place.

My brother had a 70 GTO, I dont think he ever appreciated it as much as I did.

Fact: The '68 Pontiac GTO was designed by Tony Lapine, who later went to Porsche where he headed the design team that designed the 944 and 928. If you look at the 928 carefully, you can see some similar shapes, especially at the rear. Great video!

a Pontiac take on the Corvair would have been a really cool car

Woodward is old school hot rod heaven. The rolling car show there in August every year is the most amazing city wide epic car show you will ever see. One has to experience it to know. Living just across the river in Windsor Ontario, I've spent many a night looping up and down Woodward between 8 and 13 mile using the iconic turn around loops in my hot rods. The dream cruise used to be a yearly event for me and my dad and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who loves cars. That ad is perfect. Those executives whining about it proves the higher up in company you go, the stupider they get. cheers.

I love the ad! BTW currently restoring a highly optioned 70 GTO. Hoping to get it done by next year.

I had a '68 Vedoro Green H.O., with black vinyl top, just like the one in the original photo. It was an awesome ride. Jim Wangers was a marketing genius, no doubt.

Your videos are amazing ! There is no one else providing such interesting information and presented so well ! - THANK YOU !!!

I know this is a GM video and Pontiac specifically, but I can’t help noticing the tail of that gorgeous Monteverdi HighSpeed over your shoulder! Nice video Adam and I always love the Mr. Lutz interviews. What a luminary, he is the ultimate MotorHead.

1974 Grand Prix SJ with super duty 455, red, white buckets, white landau roof.

This is the time I became a Pontiac fan. My aunt got a new COTY in Verdoro (tan vinyl) and my mom's got LeMans in Nightshade (black vinyl) greens. Verdoro was developed when Deloren's wife saw a green ashtray, and suggested to John that it be on the GTO. Every year I plan to make the Woodward Dream Cruise. Its a new year. Interesting Woodward/GTO backstory.🏁🇺🇸👍🏾

This is one of Jim Wanger's ads. He was Pontiacs marketing director and he was all about performance.

We have several rights to take a left here in greater Boston.

Great history lesson and love the channel. come check out the Woodward Dream Cruise. Bloomfield Hills , Birmingham area in MI. Always 3rd weekend in August. 1.5 million people visit over the 3 days and you will see thousands of cars driving up and down Woodward for miles. Including my families ' '54 Chevy resto, '58 Olds Super 88 convertable, '68 Bonnie convertable and ' 66 Vette convertable. You name it...its there and It's a really fun time.

There were some very iconic car ads in the 1960s. It's great learning the backstory of the GTO ad. Please highlight more of these!

Love your content Adam! What Bob was referring to was a billboard ad on Woodward at the time, not the print ad you show in the video. Probably the billboard was part of a bigger campaign around the Judge in its inaugural year in 1969. Peter DeLorenzo is an old time Advertising creative who would know.

I drove a new GTO Judge with a 4 speed. Not my kind of car BUT did it go. I still remember Truly a great car.

The narrator in your films are top notch. So much better than most. Super interesting video. Job well done, and thanks for posting.

Buy the economy version with the economy engine. Get economy car insurance. Then modify your economy engine to get the performance you want without the high insurance rates. I wonder how often this was done and if it worked

Adam: Hopefully you have seen a mural of this ad on the west side of the Pontiac Transportation Museum!

I must have loved Pontiac. At one point I bought two. Looking back, I think Oldsmobile was my favorite. I did own 5 Buicks.

In the sixties my cousin would buy a new GTO every other year. I was jealous. When I turned sixteen my father wanted to buy one for me until he found out what the insurance rates would be.

I loved the Woodward story! I knew exactly where that photo was taken, lol... The plate on my car says Wodward . And of course it's on my Chevy Cruze, which makes it the___Woodward Cruze! 😂

Thanks for the upload. I always wondered where that turn around was on Woodward.

At my Highschool in Grand Rapids MN we had a student who had a brand new Maroon 1966 GTO with wide tires on the rear and twice, he twisted the drive shaft into a spiral from dragging. The local GM dealer - Danielson's replaced the drive shaft twice on warranty and then refused to replace it after that. Fun times!

I love all of your videos. Please continue to make more!😅

FYI: 1) The hidden headlights were an ubiquitous option. Very rare to see a GTO without it. 2) Many of the factory engineers would try out experiments on Woodward Avenue. 3) Not really connected to the racing ban, but GM was afraid of being too successful. They had a very large share of the auto market and were worried about being split up by the government.

Adam, Delorean wanted Pontiac to be the company that said "We build excitement." Hell, they even had a top 40 song. Can't get better than that!

Ah! The good ol' "Michigan "U - ie"! I can't understand how this ad could have been that controversial - Many people in high powered cars from GM, Ford, MOPAR and other manufacturers make the same left hand turns on Woodward Ave. at sane, safe speeds and people live the tale! The controversy is all in your mind and because some people decide to drive like idiots!

When I was a tyke riding a tricylce in the late 50s an older couple up the street had a stodgy 55' Pontiac. I thought the styling fit them well being old. Our family car was a 55' Olds Rocket 88 2dr h/t. I thought our car was so much cooler looking.

My first car, bought in 1984 with money I earned as a dishwasher was a 1968 Flambeau Burgundy GTO with Parchment interior! 400, 4 speed, no power steering. I paid $550 for it, I taught myself how to drive in it, and it looked exactly like the one you show in this video. I also had a 1968 muscle car magazine that had this exact ad in it that my friend gave me, with the complete article about the 68 GTO. I also had a GTO Recognition guide that was published in the 80's as well. Unfortunately, I sold the car in 1990 for $2000, I lost the magazine and the guide. But did manage to find a replacement GTO Recognition guide on ebay that I still have. I sure miss my first car! Pontiac for life! It is still my favorite car ever, I think it is a better looking car than the 69, especially from the rear view. People fight with me over this though. Great video!❤

In southern New Jersey the turnaround here is called a jug handle the signs say all turns from right lane Hard to imagine that all that name recognition at Pontiac was all thrown out in favor of old man car Buick

*People wanted Performance not politics! Its American to be free to think & Drive whatever u want!!*

I loved the ad. The subtle communication among hotrodders and racers. Let me believe GM management's policy was solely based on advice from their legal department, and not on personal bias. Thank you for the work you're putting into your channel content and variety. I love the cars from the early 1960's through most of the 1970's!

My uncle drove up in his new ‘68 GOAT, having previously owned a ‘64 Goat convertible and a bright red ‘65. He hopped out of the car with a hammer in his hand and summoned me over. He then whacked car’s nose with the hammer, proudly displaying the Endura bumper’s ability to bounce the hammer. I was 10 and in awe.

I love stories like this. Thanks for making videos like this.

I don’t believe Mr Lutz misremembered the ad copy. I think he’s talking about something different. There were billboards that apparently had the quote “To Woodward Avenue, with love”. Same ad campaign, different medium.

34965 Woodward Ave. Peabody's. Gone but not forgotten!

1 would have thought the BIG rocket on the side of the 58 would have made it fast. It's even made of stainless steel like the Space-X BFR

We have a few Michigan lefts up here in Maine. At least one in this town called Scarborough and a couple in our capital, Augusta

Jersey has the jug-handle, gotta turn right to turn left. It's basically a single leaf of a clover leaf

360 horses for the ram air. That’s probably what they told the insurance companies. It was probably more like 450.

I used to be an expediter for Panther II (remember them?).. so I am very familiar with these ridiculous left turns, on 8 mile, Gratiot, Woodward, etc...

In Melbourne Australia, where I live, we have an infamous turning style, which frequently throws visitors for a real loop. It means that in the city (downtown) signs will indicate a so called 'hook turn' which is a right turn from the left lane only. The idea is that it in general keedps the right hand lane flowing. The procedure is to keep left, and under the green light, you proceed. The traffic in the straight ahead position of the road, must wait till all hook turn vehicles have completed their turn, then they are free to move forward. The reason for this is, that although our boulavards are very wide, 2 central lanes are putatively for trams, thus limiting the lanes to two only at intersections; at which tram safety zones exist for waiting tram passengers. It actually works and typically several vehicles can perform this turn without holding up the right lane.

Way back in 1970-71 I drove a friend's '69 GTO and got to look it over real good. It was a true GTO nicely optioned but with a 2 barrel carb. I thought it was a fluke but he was told that car belonged to a district manager for Pontiac spec'd out that way. It had all the looks but a little bit of economy too.

While I was in the USN, a friend of mine and I had a '68 Ram Air IV, 4spd Convertible GTO! We went through 4 of the 400's in a year and a half, then He got run off the road in Texas by a Grain truck and twisted the frame pretty badly. He sold it and never saw it Again!

I wonder why they airbrushed out the fall colors into a monochrome green?

Regarding I-75 Sign in AD. There was a group of folks who hung out on Woodward Ave known as the "Century Club". They were a self invited group who would arrange a race and get on I-75 (early on some were on it before the highway was completed and fully open!) The "Century Club" meant these guys would pair up and ran up to from 100 mph fender to fender, then accelerate at a given point and went on to see who had the highest top end! In other words, they would pair up and stay even to reach 100 mph and then took off to see so who had the most top end! Early on there was mention of tricks like under hood superchargers, 2.56 rear gears run, etc. (in the early days before Nitrous). Not many hoods were opened for prying eyes to look! Some would follow behind and pass on the berm of the road, right or left, if they were faster than two paired up! Wangers lived for all the racing stuff out there and made some of the people at Royal Pontiac very angry because they had wives, families and other obligations evenings and weekend. Wangers never married, so he could be out there anytime he wanted. In some cases there were hired drivers to do the driving duty. All makes/brands/ manufacturers were represented on Woodward Ave. Some will admit it and and some do not. On the West side of town, Telegraph RD. and I- 696 saw similar action. Gathering spot on was The Clock Restaurant at 12 mile and Orchard Lake road ,gave quick easy access to I-696.! My name is Greg, I do Pontiacs all day, every day.

There was also a lot of factory engineer action at that time on Gratiot on the East side.

Hm. The "Michigan Left" is common in New Orleans. Of course, we call it the "New Orleans Left." Didn't know of any other place that did it until seeing this video.

Great ad. Fertile historical ground here for more knowledge and discussion of over one hundred years of automobile advertising in various mediums. Great content.

Very cool how you got to meet the old master in person, while sporting the Members Only jacket and the digital watch.

Woodward Avenue is STILL the location for the Woodward Dream Cruise over a couple of days every August. One of the biggest in the country. Still a huge Pontiac fan!

Thank you for all your great research work in all these classic car reviews you do. I LOVE Pontiacs. I have a '67 Firebird convertible I've had since 1971 when my late Dad purchased it from the local Ford dealership. Pontiac has a very rich history in building great looking cars that performed really well. GM really screwed up killing Pontiac. Should have allowed Buick to go to pasture! I sold Pontiacs at the local dealership in town from 1985 to 2003...had lots of fun selling them. Keep up your great work!!!

I had a ‘72 GTO as a 19 yr old in 1990…bought it for $2k, and it was mint.

When I was a kid my Mom bought a 1968 Malibu and was our first non Stationwagon. I think they were on the same body as the Pontiac Tempest/GTO. That car lasted until 1980 and became my car and then my sister's car when we got old enough to drive. Great cars!

The malaise era destroyed Pontiac because it was a performance oriented brand. It was like gelding a stud. Other brands were affected too but they were kept in business by their trucks and their more mundane family cars.

Adam that black GTO with red interior, red stripe and raised white letter tires has got to be the best looking machine ever built. It makes an old guy drool! GOAT for sure!

Any car person out there who has never made it to the "Woodward Dream Cruise" is missing out and really should try to make it once in their life. It's all day, and most of the night of crazy and rare cars, buggies, trucks, vans, vintage fire trucks, ambulances, military vehicles, semis, and just about everything else with wheels and a motor. Cops shut areas down for cars to do burnouts, vendors selling all types of merch, the Henry Ford Museum, etc... It's an event that should be on every car guy and car girls bucket list!

Right-handed left turns are the safest and reduces a massive number of wrecks. Arizona was the first State I learned of them, and fell in love with them, they save soooo much time. Anyhow, North Carolina is putting/replacing more and more lefts with the right-handed left exchanges. Just fyi.

I liked this video. Clever idea. I recall a pretty successful ad campaign from Dodge with southern redneck big belly Sherrif stopping a guy with a Super Bee, or a Challenger and accusing him of having a “racin’ car” on the street. That might be worth a short video. Keep up the good work.

Used to race up and down 9 Mile and Woodward Avenue in the early 70's, and Cruise the Dairy Queen (DQ). Sooooo much fun! All gone now.

Yes, I like the the subtlty of the ad, it's like a double entendre. When Mr. Roche, was asking his crew about the ad, his intent was to convey sarcasm and he was expecting to be leveled with rather than given a response intended for a preschooler. Given the outcome, I understand Mr. Roache's intent was to spare Pontiac the grief of exposure to lawsuits, but puling the ad was too stringent. A potential compromise was to add a disclaimer in fine print repudiating racing at the ad's boarder.

Always like Pontiac stories. I think even more controversial is the "Humbler" commercial where a 1970 GTO at the drive in is cruising through, revving his motor and then he reaches below the dash and pulls on the knob to go to straight exhaust. Quite the short-lived option! The 1968 ad hinted at racing but the 1970 commercial made it obvious.

-Before I was born apparently my dad took my mom in his '63 split window Corvette down Woodward. By this point his drunken college years were behind him, [where he ran from cops after driving said Corvette up the steps leading up to the administration building at Purdue University...] , and he behaved himself. In the summer of '65 dad found out that I was on the way and committed the crime of the century: He traded his '63 for a '65 Impala two door fastback.... I used to weedle him by telling him how much that '63 split window would be worth now...

0:33 beautiful -- 1968 Pontiac GTO 6:59 so tragic to see the 1970 defacement. Then the 1971 equivalent of botched corrective surgery -- even worse 5:55 "I-75 sign...not part of the signage on Woodward Avenue....added by the ad agency" Might be clearer to say the ad agency apparently added a physical sign at the site, which would explain the original photo also containing it. As is, it sounds like the photo was modified with airbrushing--the 1968 equivalent of Photoshop.

I’m also seeing a kind of inside joke, given the location under the “North Bound” sign. If you’ve ever driven Woodward Avenue you know that Pontiac, Mich., lies at the north end of it.

It would have been EASIER to just park a slicktop GTO at that intersection with 2 passengers in it, than to go through the trouble of airbrushing out the vinyl roof and inserting the passengers!!

I love watching every episode you do😊 10:39

You know the rest of the History! Dodge did this a Few years ago with the picture of the Hood Scoop on the Challenger! If you Know! You Know! 1968 Buick GS! 1979-1973 Trans Am!! My Dream Retirement Cars!

I had a 68 GTO just like that one. Verdodo Grn, Hidden headlights, 400 ram air. Black int with Ivory seats. His and hers auto. Bought it in 76. A girl in ATL had bought it new, it only had 48k on it but had jumped time.(stupid nylon gears) Bought it for 450 bucks and put 100 in it replacing the timing chain and gear. I got in so much trouble in that car. :)

Dad raced Woodward, he was part of the Filthy Few car club. Miss him too much and his stories.

My brother had a 68 GTO

I had the pleasure of being an automobile mechanic in a Pontiac dealership back in 1981. The only real performance car to have come out of Detroit for the previous decade was the Pontiac TransAm. I worked on them, and test drove them. The car was an absolute ball to drive. The 1979 T/A with the t/a 6.6 liter engine, four speed and 3.23 gears had a top speed of 134mph. It was faster than the Corvette with the L82 350 v8. I was a young guy and subscribed to Road and Track magazine at the time. There was a comparison article that pitted the T/A and the corvette. of 1979. The T/A had higher cornering G-forces, was faster around the track course they selected, it was quicker to accelerate, and had a higher top speed. I don't remember the prices, but I'd say the 1979 T/A was close to half the price of the plastic wonder car.

From Maximum Bob himself! Not being a drag racer or from Michigan I wouldn’t have known the connection, but it was clever copy that spoke to what Pontiac represented.

Just watched this episode again after my recent comments. In interview, Bob Lutz mentions GTO Judge in reference to "To Woodward with Love" Billboard. I am sure our top management had the same reaction as they did to the 1968 ad, once they got that message too. But clearly any Judge activity would be 1969-1971 and the print ad of Verdoro Green 68 with retouch is from a different time. Wangers did mention retouch and signage alterations in his presentations. Same Pontiac GTO product promoted in both ads, different model years, same ad agency located on Woodward Ave, both subliminal messages if you were "hip" and understood the message. I am sure it was not well received by upper management. Mr. Roche was also the person who killed the Tiger theme early in the 1966 model year. Can elaborate more on this subject. He told Delorean directly in the GM building in NY to get rid of all the tiger stuff as it did not properly represent Pontiac Motor Division and General Motors Corporation. Can elaborate on this too. Lots of government pressure on GM brass during this time after appearing in Washington D. C. for congressional hearings to testify before congress regarding safety/pollution. Lots of sensitivity and stress. During this time frame Nader was pushing his concerns and had a receptive audience in Washington. Also GM sent Jam Handy/Sandy Corporation personnel to spy on Nader to get any dirt on him. Result, he was so squeaky clean , GM found nothing. Nader didn't even own a motor vehicle! GM got caught spying on him and ended having to publicly apologize to Nader. Not one of GMs better moves, pretty embarassing. DeLorean was told directly by Roche to cease and desist the Tiger theme immediately or else. That is the reason for 67 GTO having a new ad campaign for slogan for 67 calling the car "The Great One" by Pontiac.. Roche killed the Tiger theme, we all love. Thanks pal!. It was a different time they were willing to challenge the status quo fuddy duddies.. Wangers frequently used the term Avant Garde. They did gutsy stuff back then. It was a different time. My name is Greg, I do Pontiacs all day, every day.

I've heard many times about banning participation in racing by GM or other manufacturers, but I've never heard anyone try to explain reasons behind it. It seems to me that the benefits of backing professional race teams far outweigh the downsides, and GM obviously agreed in later years as they sponsored "factory teams" and used racing in their ads and brochures. Adam, can you offer any insight on the thought process behind opposing racing involvement by the manufacturer, especially given its obvious marketing benefits?

Imagine if John DeLorean had the support of GM for racing back in the 1960s and 1970s - he would have generated so much more excitement and money in GM's coffers like Ford did with Shelby and LeMans in the 1960s.