[hgerhardt]

I was 2-1/2 when my dad bought a new '66 Tempest wagon with the 1 bbl OHC 6. Being the young and frugal German engineer that he was, he bought the factory shop manual so that he could do maintenance himself... which he did with me "helping" any chance I got. I was so enamored of that car that I even used the shop manual as a coloring book. I still have it today! But my artistic talent was nowhere near Bob's.

[Jack Gifford]

Pontiac cars didn't "sneak into my life", but Pontiac V8 engines did. A friend a year ahead of me in school got a new '57 with Tri-Power upon graduation in '57- coolest machine (or hottest?) in town! So in '59 when he upgraded to a '58-based engine, I gladly bought the '57 engine... the first of many Pontiac engines for me.

[SRR]

I was 9 at the time. My friends Dad had a 63 GP white with a black interior. He was doing an oil change and I remember him putting a toilet paper filter in a can and being very confused as to why toilet paper went under a car hood. When he was done he said "Hey you kids want to go for a ride" Heck yeah! Now my Dad only had 6 cyl. station wagons so I had no concept of a fast car...we are getting on the highway and with me riding shotgun he floors it and the car takes off like a rocket pinning me back in the seat. I was mesmerized to say the least.

[gtokid1968]

I was 14 (1981ish)and a kid in my neighborhood had a 69 GTO.
It was the fastest car around! Been hooked ever since!

[trophy421]

When I was a kid, there were some Pontiacs in our neighborhood and I could just see that they were cooler than all the other cars. The ones I remember are a '62 Grand Prix, '66 LeMans, '60 Ventura, '66 Grand Prix. Relatives and friends had a '64 Grand Prix, '66 Bonneville wagon, '67 Firebird. Probably others I am not remembering. Plus we had a '64 Tempest Custom and later a '68 GTO.

[60sstuff]

Uncle Bob,

On a serious note.

I must have been around 11 years old when a guy (Tom Sherwood) came to our home in Illinois to pick up my older sister (18 yrs) for a date.

He pulls up in our gravel driveway in a dark green (maybe Teal Turquoise) ‘65 GTO.

When he went in to meet my parents (poor guy), I stood right in front of that car staring at that GTO name plate on the LH grill, and also glancing at the hood scoop.

I thought that car was way cool. I’ve loved the early GTOs ever since.

Sad note,

This Mr. Sherwood traded in that GTO on a Jaguar XKE and then was called to Vietnam.

Unfortunately he never made it back.

Chris.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by Heybuck

Women NEVER forget.

Except when you ask them how long that dashboard oil light has been on.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by Heybuck

Women NEVER forget.

Except when you ask them how long that dashboard oil light has been on.

For me, it would have to be when I was 9 or 10 years old and a neighborhood guy who'd gone off to the army came home with a new '67 or '68 Firebird 400 in Mayfair Maize with black interior. Cherry Bombs, Cragars, etc. It was a real thumper. I had never stood next to a car that I could feel in my chest as it idled.

[Ben M.]

Easy. Dad and I were coming out of the gas station (maybe 1987 or so) and a black car with t-tops off pulled up. Shaker rumbling, dude looked just like Ernie Reyes Jr complete with mullet in it is driving, waits for light to turn green and then is off in a flash. I asked dad what that car was and he said it was a Trans Am ('77 or '78), I said it sure was loud, and he said that only white trash drove them. I have been hooked ever since.

[firebirdcrazy1959]

Fall 1970 in NYC going to see the movie "beneath the planet of the apes".Saw a white Trans Am and asked what kind of car it was..Said someday i'll own one of them...
50 years later i've owned so many Pontiacs..Its all i drive,right now its a 79 Bonneville.

[David Jones]

Embarrassingly, it was a 1977 Phoenix that I bought new......

[Tom Vaught]

Mu uncle and aunt (in Michigan) opened a Vauxhall (GM) dealership right after WW-II in Detroit Michigan.

They later moved to the western side of Michigan and built a new dealership and sold Pontiac, Cadillac, and GMC vehicles. Years later they bought out the Oldsmobile Dealer and and sold Oldsmobile vehicles from that dealership.

I purchased my 1964 GTO thru my uncle as a "Brass Hat" Vehicle. (GM Executive vehicle). This was in the early 60s.
In years later I owned a 1965 GTO, a 1966 GTO, a later model full size bonneville, and a 1978 Trans Am. I wish I had bought a early GMC truck and installed a Pontiac engine in it like a friend did. That would have been my Fly Fishing vehicle with a old style small camper unit on bed of the truck. As many know, I kept my 1964 GTO (convertible Tri-Power 4 speed) vehicle and it is in great shape after the few mods I made to it.

Tom V.

[Gator67]

In 66 my dad traded his 62 Impala SS (white/red) for a brand new 66 Tempest Custom wagon (also white/red). One of my first memories is my mom buckling up me and my younger sister for the drive home from the dealership, Blue Ribbon Pontiac in Norwich CT. It was our first seat belt experience. We weren’t happy about being restrained, and as soon as we were on the road, we unbuckled and jumped in the back. My mom was angry at us, and my dad looked sad (I knew he loved his Impala). We spent a ton of time in that car over the years. Unfortunately, my dreams of turning it into a GTO wagon were dashed when the folks traded it in for Yellow Grande Safari in 78, just before I got my license. I was horrified, but I had a ton of fun in that car as well!!!

[eaglesan13]

I was 14 years old when my older brother bought a 1965 GTO. It was Palmetto green with black interior, tri-power, four speed, with a 4.11 posi. It was a very cool car, and a few year later, it became the first of many Pontiacs I've owned over the years.

That's my brother standing next to the car, sometime around 1974, before I bought the car from him. I got a lot of tickets in that car.

[Stuart]

My dad bought a '61 Catalina for the family car in 1963, when I was seven years old (coincidentally or not, my uncle also had a '61 Catalina at the same time - his was brown, ours was red.) When I was a teenager, I learned to drive in that car, and took it to the high school prom. A few years later, my first car was another '61 Catalina, identical to my dad's. I've continuously owned at least one '61 Pontiac since then; they've all been red, although the rest have been Bonnevilles. So, I have a pretty long history with Pontiacs.

[geeteeohguy]

I was a senior in high school and a buddy had a '67 LeMans with a 4 speed and rally gauges. Slot mags, jacked up, Mariner Turqoise/turqoise. 326 2bbl with Hedmann headers and glass packs. It was the '70's, after all! We traded vehicles for a weekend---he got my Yamaha RD350, and I got the LeMans. I fell in love with the Pontiac's styling, interior, and power. What a blast to drive.
About 8 months later, I was at a HS graduation party and a guy there said he liked my Yamaha and wanted to trade his car for it. His car was a Platinum/black '66 GTO with 4 speed, gauges, console, 3.55 posi, and a cool walnut shift knob with the GTO crest. Car had slot mags, was jacked up, and the paint was faded but the panels were straight. Interior was mint. I said 'no thanks, If I got a car it would have to be as fast as my bike." He replied, "this car IS faster than your bike....let's go for a ride!" We went for a ride, he was right, and I ended up driving the GTO home. My first car.
Found out 40 years later my late grandfather who I never knew was a Pontiac guy and had a '62 GP with a tripower.....his son, my favorite uncle, had a tripower red '59 Catalina Convertible he bought new.....So Pontiacs were in the extended family, although I never knew about them until 5-10 years ago!! To this day, the newest car I've ever owned is my '67 GTO convertible I bought in 1983!

[geeteeohguy]

Originally Posted by Tom Vaught

Mu uncle and aunt (in Michigan) opened a Vauxhall (GM) dealership right after WW-II in Detroit Michigan.

They later moved to the western side of Michigan and built a new dealership and sold Pontiac, Cadillac, and GMC vehicles. Years later they bought out the Oldsmobile Dealer and and sold Oldsmobile vehicles from that dealership.

I purchased my 1964 GTO thru my uncle as a "Brass Hat" Vehicle. (GM Executive vehicle). This was in the early 60s.
In years later I owned a 1965 GTO, a 1966 GTO, a later model full size bonneville, and a 1978 Trans Am. I wish I had bought a early GMC truck and installed a Pontiac engine in it like a friend did. That would have been my Fly Fishing vehicle with a old style small camper unit on bed of the truck. As many know, I kept my 1964 GTO (convertible Tri-Power 4 speed) vehicle and it is in great shape after the few mods I made to it.

Tom V.

Tom, as you must know, GMC's came stock with Pontiac V8's from '55-'59.
Very cool old trucks!

[sdbob]

I was 5 or 6. Went to Grandma's and grandpa's house in Greensburg pa. Grandpa took me into his rental garage,for a ride in a new 54 green 2 door Pontiac. A year later my grandfather acquired cancer died quickly. Grandma didnt drive so she made my parents a deal,like 25 bucks a month till paid off. Grandma came every Sunday for dinner. My first Pontiac was a 55 2dr 2 tonne blue coupe. I put a 1960 389 in. Long learning lesson.

[455dan]

In 9th Grade my dad talked me into a 1966 Ford T- bird as my 1st car, it got Horrible mileage, was a Slug and within a couple months I Hated it.

I thought a 69 Fast back Mustang would be great and was looking for 1 . I met a new kid in school that was one of the very few that also had their own car and he had just bought a 67 GTO for $700. it had about 90000 miles on it and was using oil but was still equipped the original 670 headed 400.
One day he asked if I wanted to take a ride in it and after a bit of cruising around he asked me if I wanted to drive it, i said You bet I would.

We switched seats and he said check this out , and pulled out the original owners manual from the glove box and flipped through the pages to a Quote which said something like- "To accelerate briskly, Depress accelerator to floor".

He then laughed and said Go for it, Do what the owners manual says So i did just what the manual said after putting the His and Hers Hurst into L1. Well the Goat let out a roar and the polyglass 70's went up in smoke.

In that second, I was hooked for life.

I never did look for a Mustang and finally found a 67 GTO I could afford $900 for a 2 tone Gold Hard top white lower body with a 4 speed and a Gold interior. Several Pontiacs later here I am with my 1st post on PY

[mgarblik]

When I turned 15, it was time to buy my first car. I had saved for years doing all kinds of work and had about a grand saved. I wanted a 67-69 Camaro small block and my dad said no way I was getting a V-8 small car like that. Too fast for a first car. He was not a car guy at all but he knew the difference between a inline 6 and a V-8. My first car ended up being a 1968 Firebird with an inline 6. My dad didn't know it was an OHC Sprint car with a 3 speed manual. I loved that car and it was faster than most small block 2bbl Camaro's on top. That started it all for me.