[71SportRagtop]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Greg, you are correct, that is what GTO's were all about. But we need to put it in perspective.

The 1973 GTO was one of the fastest cars of 1973.

The 1974 GTO was one of the fastest cars of 1974.

Isn't that GTO tradition?

Mike you are exactly correct. If you read my initial post I actually said that I LIKED the 74 GTO. Honestly I cannot lie, I just don't like the looks of the 73. I'm not saying it to pick an argument or hurt anyone's feelings, it's just my personal preference.

The OP started this post asking about why 74 GTO's were not as accepted as the earlier cars. Personally I feel that's it's based on the fact that the 64-72 cars have a certain aura about them. It's not just specific to GTO's either. 73-74 Chevelles aren't as popular as the 64-72 models. How about Mustangs? The 64-70 Mustangs are WAY more popular than the 71-73 models (I'm not even going to mention that 74 Mustang II turd). The same even goes for Corvettes....I'm not a big Vette guy but I'd take a 67 427 3x2bbl car over a 75 350 auto Vette any day of the week.

If I see a 74 GTO at a show or a cruise, I would definitely check it out and talk to the owner. Not once did I ever say that they weren't true GTO's. I simply stated my opinion, which is that they were not as popular because of the performance drop off.