Pontiac, thanks to John Delorean, GM's performance brand. He transformed Pontiac from grandma's car with an amber Indian head hood ornament to the hot ones. Pontiacs with 389s and later 421s did well in NASCAR (when stock car racing meant stock cars) and the drag strips.
Pontiac found a work-around GM policies and offered the 389 as an option in the midsized Pontiac Tempest in 1964, the Tempest GTO, and the 60s were never the same again.
The big Grand Prix had style, luxury and power, and in its golden days, could be had with a 4 speed manual.
The split grill performance brand could have been our BMW, but GM management managed to suck the quality and distinctiveness out of its cars in search of a few more beans.
1970 Trans Am, a beauty.
