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Down I-80
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To the left: Stare at this scene for 42 hours. I did, and I wish I could again. Look at how those flush-mounted hood scoops point the way!
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73
facts about the GTO
The most famous of all GTOs was "The Judge" option package. Originally intended as a low-cost stripped GTO which would battle Plymouth's popular Road Runner, "The Judge" didn't quite work out that way as the Judge ended up as an "upscale" super-fast GTO. Nonetheless, it was a marketing dream and gave the GTO the boost it needed in 1969. Introduced with much fanfare, it sported cartoonish decals and striping, a rear spoiler, and the fastest engine option ever for a GTO--the 370 HP RAM AIR IV engine. The first "Judges" were only available in "Carrousel Red"--later, called "Orbit Orange" by Pontiac. Even after Pontiac made other colors available in 1969, most were still ordered Carrousel Red. The name for this "spoof" on muscle car absurdity was none other than John Delorean. In 1969, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In featured a wigged and robed Pigmeat Markham dispensing comical justice. "Here comes Da Judge" was a catchphrase as popular as any in TV history. Pontiac did not have a copyright on the phrase, but "artfully created an ad campaign around the Judge, using close-enough blurbs such as 'All Rise for the Judge'." |