[bird72]

It probably doesn't matter much changing the opinion of people at this point. The "mojo" is cast. The biggest part of the mystique of a car is it's place in history. We can look at musclecars, ponycars, TA cars, and tie them to a cultural, sociological point in history..... and their legend today rides on the attitudes from the old days continued on.... so the poor 74 GTO (and 73 for that matter)...... they suffer a turning point in Poncho history... when sales and public demand was pointing towards the ponycars, and Pontiac reacted.... they did a real disservice to the Goat legacy, and in two years it looked like a real identity crisis.... seemingly bigger car in one year, then decidedly smaller the next... whoa.... and while 455 birds were easy to get, a 350 Poncho GTO was well, confusing.... and it was strange to all.... I remember talk back then, nobody could figure it out... so it instantly had a "different drummer" mojo, and then ice it with the last hurrah, the one Pontiac gave up after on, while they bedecked TA's in every flambouant color and graphics by 75.... It was a perplexing end to The Legend, and what you have today is all that still confusing Mojo forever cast in stone......

While I like them, I would build a deviant from stock with Lucerne blue and TA white stripe, old style small bumpers, 14 honeycombs, and yes I would do a healthy 350 build!

Probably not the answer you wanted to hear, but we can't change the place in history our cars have, it is more a cultural identity then a current public perception...

and if it makes you feel better, I drive a "regular" / "plain" / or a little better "standard" Firebird (I defer from claiming Esprit, lah de dah), so homey knows public perception, haha..... dig it and go with it....