1960-1974 Pontiac PerformanceThe Era of Super Duty, H.O. & Ram Air Drag & Muscle CarsBy Don KeefeForword By Arnie The Farmer BeswickIn an era before corporate average fuel economy (CAF) requirements and emissions standards, a pioneering General Motors executive was tasked with taking over a dying division and returning it to profitability. In June 1956, Semon E. Bunkie Knudsen became the general manager of the Pontiac Motor Division. He injected the stodgy, boring product line with a large dose of performance. Race on Sunday; sell on Monday was Knudsens philosophy.Although the idea of Pontiac getting into racing was far-fetched in 1956, Knudsen had a plan. In 1957, Pontiac released the Bonneville, which was a limited-edition, fuel-injected, high-performance convertible that was aimed directly at the burgeoning enthusiast market. Knudsen skillfully crafted a new youthful persona for Pontiac, and the sales began to climb.Pontiacs Super Duty factory-built drag cars produced an amazing line of winners. The performance mentality was clearly working, as Pontiac sales jumped to third place among the manufacturersbehind only Chevrolet and Ford.After GM ceased all racing activities in 1963, Pontiac hardly missed a beat. In 1964, the GTO was released, and a new market segment (the muscle car) was born, which sent the competition back to the drawing boards.In addition, Pontiac continued to create iconic muscle cars, including the 2+2, the Ram-Air GTO and Firebird, the Trans Am, the Judge, and the Firebird Formula.Re-live Pontiacs golden era withPontiac Performance 19601974: The Era of the Super Duty, H.O., & Ram Air Drag & Muscle Cars!Published by CarTech # CT694Paperback 160 Pages