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Curbside Classics Archives
GM Brands 1960s Archive
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![The full-size Oldsmobile line was all-new for 1965, with crisp new styling, a new engine, a new transmission, and a new mid-level trim series called Delta 88. Car Life […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/1965-Oldsmobile-Dynamic-88-Delta-2HT-Lucerne-Mist-RD-Classics-CCA-front-3q-right.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Oldsmobile Delta 88 — “The View Through GM-Colored Glasses”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Oldsmobile Delta 88 — “The View Through GM-Colored Glasses”
Posted on July 21, 2025 | 17 CommentsThe full-size Oldsmobile line was all-new for 1965, with crisp new styling, a new engine, a new transmission, and a new mid-level trim series called Delta 88. Car Life […] -
![In the mid-1960s, Pontiac was riding high on its sporty image. The full-size Pontiac Catalina was a big hit, and the muscular midsize Pontiac GTO was a great success, […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/1965-Pontiac-Catalina-2plus2-Fontaine-Blue-Mecum-Auctions-S87.1-front-3q-right.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 421 HO – 2 Plus 2 Does Not Equal GTO")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 421 HO – 2 Plus 2 Does Not Equal GTO
Posted on July 10, 2025 | 21 CommentsIn the mid-1960s, Pontiac was riding high on its sporty image. The full-size Pontiac Catalina was a big hit, and the muscular midsize Pontiac GTO was a great success, […] -
![Between 1965 and 1969, General Motors corporate policy limited most smaller GM cars to engines no bigger than 400 cubic inches, with no more than 1 rated horsepower per […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/1968-Hurst-Olds-AC-Mecum-Auctions-F233.1-front-3q-left.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage M/T Review: 1968 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds – Olds Breaks The Rules, Hurst Runs Interference")
Vintage M/T Review: 1968 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds – Olds Breaks The Rules, Hurst Runs Interference
Posted on June 18, 2025 | 18 CommentsBetween 1965 and 1969, General Motors corporate policy limited most smaller GM cars to engines no bigger than 400 cubic inches, with no more than 1 rated horsepower per […] -
![Dressed in bright orange (“Carousel Red”) and festooned with decals; offering flashy looks, high performance, and a lengthy list of gimmicks; and bearing a name inspired by a popular […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1969-Pontiac-GTO-Judge-RAIV-Carousel-Red-Mecum-Auctions-R309-front-3q-right.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1969 Pontiac GTO Ram Air IV – Here Come “The Judge”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1969 Pontiac GTO Ram Air IV – Here Come “The Judge”
Posted on May 20, 2025 | 35 CommentsDressed in bright orange (“Carousel Red”) and festooned with decals; offering flashy looks, high performance, and a lengthy list of gimmicks; and bearing a name inspired by a popular […] -
![Pontiac was riding high in 1965, but the division’s big flagship Bonneville was in danger of getting lost in the shuffle. In August 1965, Car Life tested a Bonneville […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1965-Pontiac-Bonneville-Vista-4HT-Clasiq-Auctions-front-3q.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1965 Pontiac Bonneville Vista – “Excellent Within Reason”")
Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1965 Pontiac Bonneville Vista – “Excellent Within Reason”
Posted on April 21, 2025 | 47 CommentsPontiac was riding high in 1965, but the division’s big flagship Bonneville was in danger of getting lost in the shuffle. In August 1965, Car Life tested a Bonneville […] -
![Even before their test of a 1967 Ram Air GTO appeared in print, the editors of Car Life had gotten their hands on the redesigned 1968 Pontiac GTO. Their […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1968-Pontiac-GTO-Ram-Air-AutoHunter-front-3q.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1968 Pontiac GTO Ram Air – “It’s The Wildest”")
Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1968 Pontiac GTO Ram Air – “It’s The Wildest”
Posted on April 14, 2025 | 24 CommentsEven before their test of a 1967 Ram Air GTO appeared in print, the editors of Car Life had gotten their hands on the redesigned 1968 Pontiac GTO. Their […] -
![The Buick Riviera got a facelift for 1968, arguably a step in the wrong direction for one of GM’s most handsome cars. Car Life tested the new model in […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1968-Buick-Riviera-Mecum-Auctions-front-3q.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1968 Buick Riviera – “Lots Of Sound, Well-Styled Automobile”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1968 Buick Riviera – “Lots Of Sound, Well-Styled Automobile”
Posted on April 12, 2025 | 18 CommentsThe Buick Riviera got a facelift for 1968, arguably a step in the wrong direction for one of GM’s most handsome cars. Car Life tested the new model in […] -
![In another CC post a while back, I charted the decline of the stripped-down full-size Chevrolet throughout the 1960s, as more and more buyers ordered V-8 engines and convenience […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1967-Chevrolet-Impala-SS427-Mecum-Auctions-front-3q-left.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1967 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 – “A Family Car For A Swinging Family”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1967 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 – “A Family Car For A Swinging Family”
Posted on April 4, 2025 | 41 CommentsIn another CC post a while back, I charted the decline of the stripped-down full-size Chevrolet throughout the 1960s, as more and more buyers ordered V-8 engines and convenience […] -
![Is this the grandest Grand Prix? If you could poll every living Pontiac fan, the 1969 GP would stand a good change of coming out on top for its […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1969_pontiac_bonneville_1969_pontiac_bonneville_575046f4-a70f-4d9f-b583-c884ce46a983-OrDfXV-27936-27937-scaled-1.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix Model SJ – “Tiger In Tuxedo”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix Model SJ – “Tiger In Tuxedo”
Posted on March 31, 2025 | 36 CommentsIs this the grandest Grand Prix? If you could poll every living Pontiac fan, the 1969 GP would stand a good change of coming out on top for its […] -
![The Pontiac GTO arguably started the big-engined intermediate Supercar craze in 1964, and it was the one to beat in this hotly contested segment. Its performance didn’t always live […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1967-Pontiac-GTO-turquoise-Mecum-Auctions-front-3q-right.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1967 Pontiac GTO Ram Air – “King Of The Supercars”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1967 Pontiac GTO Ram Air – “King Of The Supercars”
Posted on March 26, 2025 | 34 CommentsThe Pontiac GTO arguably started the big-engined intermediate Supercar craze in 1964, and it was the one to beat in this hotly contested segment. Its performance didn’t always live […] -
![The first of Chevrolet’s big-engined intermediates, the rare, limited-production 1965 Malibu SS396 Z16 was a complete performance package, featuring only the hot 396/375 engine, but also an upgraded chassis, wheels, […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1965-Chevrolet-Malibu-SS396-red-Mecum-Auctions-front-3q.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS396 Z16 – “First Of The Red-Hot Malibus”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS396 Z16 – “First Of The Red-Hot Malibus”
Posted on March 19, 2025 | 22 CommentsThe first of Chevrolet’s big-engined intermediates, the rare, limited-production 1965 Malibu SS396 Z16 was a complete performance package, featuring only the hot 396/375 engine, but also an upgraded chassis, wheels, […] -
![Writing in CARS in 1968, Roger Huntington had demonstrated the effectiveness of the Oldsmobile Force-Air induction system on the hot Olds W-31 350 engine, but how did it actually […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1969-Oldsmobile-Cutlass-S-W-31-RK-Motors-left-front-3q.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage C/D Review: 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass S W-31 – “The Difference Between Transportation And A Trip”")
Vintage C/D Review: 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass S W-31 – “The Difference Between Transportation And A Trip”
Posted on March 13, 2025 | 25 CommentsWriting in CARS in 1968, Roger Huntington had demonstrated the effectiveness of the Oldsmobile Force-Air induction system on the hot Olds W-31 350 engine, but how did it actually […] -
![The 1963 Buick Riviera has won worldwide acclaim for its crisp styling, but how did its performance and road manners measure up to European standards? In November 1963, the […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1963-Buick-Riviera-Ricketts-Motors-front-3q.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage AMS Review: 1963 Buick Riviera – “It Can Be Driven Faster Than Its Wheelcovers Can Handle”")
Vintage AMS Review: 1963 Buick Riviera – “It Can Be Driven Faster Than Its Wheelcovers Can Handle”
Posted on March 10, 2025 | 24 CommentsThe 1963 Buick Riviera has won worldwide acclaim for its crisp styling, but how did its performance and road manners measure up to European standards? In November 1963, the […] -
![The sometimes-treacherous handling of the early Chevrolet Corvair has been a subject of controversy since soon after the Corvair debuted in late 1959. In this revealing 1960 article from a […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Why-Doesnt-the-Corvair-Handle-lead.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Review: Racing Driver Jerry Titus Asks, “Why Doesn’t The Corvair Handle?”")
Vintage Review: Racing Driver Jerry Titus Asks, “Why Doesn’t The Corvair Handle?”
Posted on March 7, 2025 | 46 CommentsThe sometimes-treacherous handling of the early Chevrolet Corvair has been a subject of controversy since soon after the Corvair debuted in late 1959. In this revealing 1960 article from a […] -
![In the December 1968 issue of Hi-Performance Cars (aka CARS) magazine, automotive writer Roger Huntington examined four GM cars with ram induction systems — a Camaro Z/28 with the […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1968-Pontiac-GTO-Ram-Air-II-Mecum-Auctions-front.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Pontiac Ram Air II, Oldsmobile Force-Air Induction, Chevrolet Cowl Induction – Did These Ram Induction Systems Actually Increase Power?")
Pontiac Ram Air II, Oldsmobile Force-Air Induction, Chevrolet Cowl Induction – Did These Ram Induction Systems Actually Increase Power?
Posted on February 28, 2025 | 24 CommentsIn the December 1968 issue of Hi-Performance Cars (aka CARS) magazine, automotive writer Roger Huntington examined four GM cars with ram induction systems — a Camaro Z/28 with the […]
