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The prized golden 1965 Pontiac Hurst GeeTO Tiger is headed to auction

Once upon a time, a Pontiac advertising executive named Jim Wangers created a countrywide contest with this gorgeous 1965 Pontiac Hurst GTO serving as the grand prize. The contest was centered around "GeeTO Tiger," a song by musical artists The Tigers. A 19-year-old took home the golden muscle car at the time, but now anybody can buy the rare car through an upcoming Mecum auction.  As a way to boost sales and awareness of the Pontiac GTO and its performance parts, Wangers partnered up with Royal Pontiac, George Hurst, and Petersen Publishing in 1965 to create a contest. Royal provided the car, Hurst dressed it up, and Petersen distributed the contest in publications across the country.  In order to participate, people were asked to provide a reason why they wanted the car and identify how many times the word "tiger" was used in the promotional song "GeeTO Tiger" (pronounced G-Tee-Oh) by The Tigers. A 19 year-old kid named Alex Lampone from West Allis, Wisconsin, won the contest and took delivery of this jazzed-up GTO at the 1965 NHRA Indy Nationals.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The Tigers - GeeTO Tiger The prize car was completely kitted out and described by Wangers as "the nicest GTO you could put your hands on." It had more than 28 factory options, including a black cordova top, power windows, power steering, power brakes, a tilt steering wheel, a power driver's seat, dual-speed windshield wipers, a custom sport steering wheel, a rally gauge cluster, a push-button AM/FM radio with power antenna, and a Verba phonic rear speaker. What makes it stand out is the Hurst-inspired gold theme, which includes gold paint, gold mag wheels, and a gold-plated Hurst Shifter. Under the hood, this GTO has a Tri-Power 389 V8 engine that pairs with a four-speed manual transmisison. It also has a 3.55 Safe-T-Track rear axle and dual exhaust. Throughout the years, this car has exchanged hands many times and has undergone a few changes. It's been repainted, and the engine has also been rebuilt, but Mecum says it's otherwise highly original. Ony 59,000 miles have turned over on the odometer.  The GeeTO Tiger Pontiac is scheduled to go up for auction in Indianapolis this June. Visit Mecum for more information. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Woodward Dream Cruise Time Lapse Video

Burt Reynolds' movie re-creations fetch $379,500 in Vegas

The recent death of Hollywood legend and automotive enthusiast Burt Reynolds helped drive up the value of four of his former cars from the 1970s and '80s, which sold last weekend at Barrett-Jackson's Las Vegas auction for a combined $379,500. Reynolds, who died Sept. 6 at age 82, had offered three Pontiac Trans Ams — two of them re-creations of the cars he drove in "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Hooper" and the third from 1984 used to promote his United States Football League team, the Tampa Bay Bandits. The fourth was a 1978 Chevrolet R30 pickup truck, styled like the one featured in "Cannonball Run." The "Bandit" re-creation, a 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am that Reynolds ordered to be as "movie-correct" as possible but featuring a custom-built 200-4R automatic transmission, sold for $192,500. The car features a freshly built Pontiac 400 cubic-inch V8 mated to a four-speed automatic and featuring all-new Butler Performance parts and air-conditioning components. Reynolds reportedly said this was his favorite car from his films, and it even came with an authentic movie-correct CB radio and CB antenna. The red retro-rocket "Hooper" '78 Firebird, with a 403 cubic-inch V8 and a three-speed automatic, hammered for $88,000. By comparison, a gold 1978 Trans Am also offered at the Las Vegas auction but not connected to Reynolds fetched $27,500. The 1987 Chevy R30 pickup was a re-creation of the Indy Hauler pace truck seen jumping over a moving freight train in "Cannonball Run." It hammered for $49,500. The fourth car never appeared in any of Reynolds' films but is instead the only surviving example of two Trans Ams used to promote the Tampa Bay Bandits of the now-defunct USFL, having been driven out onto the field by Reynolds and his late friend and co-star, Jerry Reed, during opening day one season. It also sold for $49,500. At the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction in 2016, Reynolds accompanied a 1977 Trans Am used to promote "Bandit" onto the auction block. That car sold for $550,000. Related Video: Featured Gallery Burt Reynolds 2018 Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas Auction Image Credit: Barrett-Jackson Celebrities Chevrolet Pontiac Truck Coupe Performance celebrity pontiac trans am pontiac firebird burt reynolds

Remember when Pontiac made a Trans Am Kammback grocery getter?

Despite muscle cars having strong reputations as some of the most impractical cars one can buy, they've occasionally had one of the most useful and practical features a car can sport: a hatchback. In the 1980s, General Motors' Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird had one, and it added respectable utility to the sports cars. But the people at GM thought they could make the F-Body cars even more useful. So, after a few clay-model experiments, Pontiac built three examples of an extended-roof 1985 Pontiac Trans Am Kammback concept. Spotted by GM Authority, one of these Trans Am Kammbacks (although "shooting brake" seems like the more apt descriptor) is going on the block at the Mecum Kissimmee auction in early January 2019. Reportedly only three of these prototypes/experiments/test mules were built to driveable specs, and this example, VIN No. EX4796, has additional history that might make it the ultimate example. According to Mecum, the show car, which has made appearances at numerous auto shows, also spent some time at the race track — just not as a participant. It was used as a pace car for PPG and IMSA racing and temporarily had a light bar and "two-way communications equipment." Following its pace duty, and after GM stopped the project from going any further, it was put into Pontiac Engineering's private collection for 13 years. Famous Michigan car collector and Pontiac dealership owner John McMullen then bought the car. He eventually sent it to Pontiac specialist Scott Tiemann for a full restoration to the gorgeous condition it is in today. As seen in the photos, the Trans Am features white paint over a gray leather interior. It houses a 5.0-liter V8 under the hood and has a five-speed manual transmission. The wild concept is rare enough to be super cool, but we can't help but think of an infinitely more practical, more modern, more powerful, and arguably more interesting car we'd rather have. Manual Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon in Black Diamond anybody? Or, if you don't care about the extra doors, perhaps the Callaway's Corvette AeroWagen is more applicable. Either way, we're in full support of any shooting brakes we can find. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.