I had a number of readers chat with me about the last post, which was basically part one of this series, and were wondering if I had any other ramblings in the same vein. Well, let's try to branch out a bit further this time, while still sticking with mainly the 1960's. The first topic may ruffle some Chevrolet feathers (or piss people off depending on their loyalty factor). But let's look at both sides of the coin.
On the one side, GM was put in a very tight spot. In early 1956, the
U.S. Justice Department of the
Eisenhower administration began thinking
about the unthinkable: breaking up General Motors. Stanley
Barns, an assistant attorney general in charge of antitrust, saw GM's
50 percent share of the market as a threat to the industry. The largest portion of this market share belonged to Chevrolet. Barns' staff
labored for years to prepare an antitrust case against the automaker. Because of this threat, which lasted for more than a decade, is one reason why GM announced their corporate wide racing ban starting in 1963 as well as their engine size mandate in relation to a substantial number of automobiles and their curb weight that lasted until the 1970 model year, amongst other items. One aspect the top brass at GM as well as at Chevrolet did not count on however, was Pontiac.
This is the other side of the coin, where some enthusiasts view Chevrolet as a bunch of cry babies. Pontiac, in addition to like minded performance nuts like Jim Wangers, John DeLorean, as well as dealerships like Ace Pontiac in Royal Oak Michigan, always attempted to strive to be different, innovative, and offer the customer an alternative to the GM mold and thinking. For years, Pontiac turned the thumb screws to Chevrolet. First, it was the wide track design that started in the late 50's. Then Pontiac dominated drag racing and the NASCAR circuit up until around the fall of 1962. Then came the GTO in 1964, which continued to be the best selling musclecar until the late '60's. By 1965. Buick and Oldsmobile even got in the performance act with their GS and 4-4-2 models. Chevy didn't get it in gear until the 1966 model year with the 396 cubic inch option on the Chevelle SS. And yeah, Chevy released that same option in 1965, but they only sold 216 units due to a late production start and poor advertising. Getting back to the GTO, in the February 1968 issue of
Hot Rod, one observer of the magazine's road test of the completely redesigned musclecar stated,
"One of these years, Pontiac will rejoin GM." In lieu of these situations, at numerous times, Chevy acted like a jealous sibling in the GM household. One glaring example was the doomed 1965 Pontiac Banshee.
Never heard of it? It was a concept car that arrived on the scene in 1964. Referred to as the
"XP-833" within General Motors, the two-seat coupe was slightly smaller than the
Corvette in terms of size, with aggressive styling as well as a chassis
and drivetrain combo intended to fight off both European sport cars as
well as the unforeseen success of the Ford Mustang. Even with a proposed V-8 engine option, it was going to be priced less - substantially less - than the Corvette. The XP-833 was a car that seemed poised to give Pontiac an
even stronger identity among the many young voices crying out for attention
within GM’s portfolio. With eye-searing looks matched by nothing else on
the market and a price tag that would have put it in reach of the average buyer, it could have served as a one-two punch alongside the
GTO that drove hordes of customers into Pontiac showrooms and set the
tone for the division's future. Instead, the Banshee was stabbed in the back by a jealous
Chevrolet, which then unceremoniously stole several of its styling cues
to serve as the basis for its own flagship sports car by the 1968 model year. Sorry, Chevy lovers - but facts are facts.
Moving onto the toy scene, during the early '60's, slot cars were extremely popular in this country. However, during the early years of development, before manufacturers like Aurora, Tyco, Eldon, and Cox got the knack of making them electrical, they used the tried and true model of making them gas powered. Even though Lionel produced the first commercial slot cars as early as 1912, it wasn't until the late 1930s, serious craftsmen/hobbyists were racing relatively large
(1:16 to 1:18 scale) model cars, powered by small internal combustion
engines, originally with spark-ignition, later with glow plug engines that ran on diesel fuel. By the late '50's when electricity became the prime power source for slot cars, mostly so they could be raced indoors, gas powered model production continued until around 1965. By then, the cars usually ran on a mixture of caster oil and gasoline. And yeah, you could smell the fumes! The slot car and track sets of this type of toy was specified as outdoor use only. However, most enthusiasts believe they were pretty much discontinued due to liability and expense. Note the magazine ad from 1964 where one of it's advertising points was the smell the toys produced!
Another toy I remember as a kid, which while not an official Hot Wheels car, it was produced by Mattel and sold along side Hot Wheels. They were called Hot Shots and were an extremely short-lived series produced from 1972 until 1973.
The selling point of the castings was their use of RipFire motors,
which were essentially extremely powerful ripcord motors allowing for
the castings to wheelie and burnout. The cars, advertised as "Power
racers with RipFire motors", were also purportedly able to spark as they burned out. By the way, the sparks were created by pieces of flint that were positioned by the rear wheels and friction from the rip cord started the fun. The artwork on the packages showing the sparks was actually very realistic. Be sure to groove on the small print disclaimer, "Not recommended for children under 3."
Some folks say, "... the good old days weren't always so good." In some cases, however, I sure do miss some of the crazy shit that was offered to the general public. Be it high performance vehicles, toys, or just general kiddo mayhem.
Until next time, peace out. And maybe live just a tad dangerously...
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