OK Solberg: 00:00

I wanna again welcome you to The 405 Coffee Break. It's gonna get hot, guys. Monday, get your cup of coffee, glass iced tea, or bottled water. Let's see what's happening out there.

OK Solberg: 00:09

Spring wheat it's improving a bit, $6.54 a bushel. 550lb steer calf, Ty Thompson himself, $5 to $5.15 a pound. And a 100lb fat lamb in Billings $3.30 on the top end, where they've been for a month or more. Guys, there's more, much more.

OK Solberg: 00:33

Okay. Okay. It's Jay and Joe's Motor Monday, the day we look at horsepower one Monday at a time. I'm gonna try to find us a bible verse and then into a history of Pontiac. You remember the Pontiac?

OK Solberg: 00:51

Genesis 24:10 Then the servant took 10 of his master's camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. Again, Genesis 24 verse 10.

OK Solberg: 01:09

Now, guys, I picked that verse because I wanted to ask this question. If you have to travel to a town of many miles away, would you rather ride a camel or a Pontiac? I myself, well, you know, not a hard choice.

OK Solberg: 01:25

I'd rather ride in a Pontiac and to be specific, a Catalina. Do you remember the 1970 Pontiac Catalina? With the big beak nose or the V nose? My dad liked Pontiacs. We had several of them, and he purchased them from where? Right here in Malta, Montana, Riverside Equipment down there near the old library. Do you remember Riverside?

OK Solberg: 01:52

So today, a short history of Pontiac. Here's the story and the title, the Arrowhead that pointed America towards speed. There was a time when an arrowhead on the hood meant something. It meant you're looking at a Pontiac.

OK Solberg: 02:10

The Pontiac name first appeared in 1926, introduced by General Motors as a companion to Oakland. It was an immediate success and within a few years, Pontiac became the division's primary nameplate. Now for generations, it earned a reputation for dependable affordable automobiles with just a little extra spirit.

OK Solberg: 02:36

Then came a moment that changed everything. It was 1960 on the blinding white expanse of the Bonneville Salt Flats, race driver Mickey Thompson. Ever heard that name? Look him up. Mickey Thompson climbed into a sleek streamliner called Challenger One, but hidden beneath its aluminum skin were 4 supercharged Pontiac 389 cubic inch V8 engines.

OK Solberg: 03:06

Those Pontiac engines produced enough power to, well, make history. Thompson became the 1st American now, guys, listen to this. Thompson became the 1st American to exceed 400 miles per hour. Put your finger down there. I had to check and recheck. I thought it should be 200. Nope. 400 miles per hour in a wheel driven vehicle recording a two way average of 406.6 miles per hour.

OK Solberg: 03:39

Suddenly, the Pontiac's name wasn't just associated with family transportation, it was connected with one of the greatest speed achievements America had ever witnessed.

OK Solberg: 03:50

Now back in showrooms, Pontiac was finding another kind of fame. For the 1959 model year, the Catalina became its own model after Pontiac retired the Chieftain name. It was a full sized automobile that families could drive every day, yet with its available V8 engine has also found success as NASCAR tracks at NASCAR tracks and drag strips.

OK Solberg: 04:16

The Catalina proved that practicality and performance well could ride together. Then came 1964, a young engineering team led by John DeLorean, Bill Collins, and Russ G tucked a 389 cubic inch V8 beneath the hood of the compact Tempest Le Mans as an option package. They called it the GTO.

OK Solberg: 04:48

General Motors expected to sell about 5,000 of them. Instead, more than 32,000 cars, GTOs, found buyers in the 1st model year. Historians widely credit the 1964 GTO with launching the American muscle car era.

OK Solberg: 05:09

It wasn't just another automobile, it became a movement. For decades afterwards, Pontiac thrilled drivers with names like the Bonneville, Grand Prix, Firebird, Trans Am, you remember them all. But if you listen carefully, you'll still hear two echoes from Pontiac's greatest years.

OK Solberg: 05:29

One is the roar of the 4 Pontiac v8 engines carrying Mickey Thompson past 406 miles per hour across the Bonneville Salt Flats. The other is the rumble of a 1964 GTO leaving a stoplight. One chased records. The other captured Americans' imagination.

OK Solberg: 05:51

And both reminded us that something, an Arrowhead, doesn't just point the way, sometimes it points to history. For eighty four years, from 1926 until the last Pontiac rolled off the line on 11/25/2009.

OK Solberg: 06:10

You hear taps playing in the background. The Arrowhead emblem stood for a little more excitement in an American automobile. Then factories fell silent. But to Pontiac enthusiasts, the rumble never did. And guys, that's the way it was, and we liked it.

OK Solberg: 06:32

So until next time, as you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.