Top Ten GM Standouts-- Part 2

Jim Mateja, who has been writing about autos for the Tribune for 30 years, lists ten things General Motors has produced that he'll never forget.

Yesterday, I covered his 50s threesome. Today it's the three from my era, the sixties.

1960 CHEVY CORVAIR-- Immortalized in Ralph Nader's "Unsafe at any speed. Sorry Road Maven. Gave birth to consumer watch dog groups and federal agencies. But the way I lok at it, it made sporty looks affordable and paved the way for the Mustangs and GM pony cars.


1964 PONTIAC GTO or "GOAT"-- A trim level of the Lemans that launched the muscle car era in the US, although sadly, an attempt to bring it back a few years ago on an Australian chassis failed. I had a 1967 Pontiac Tempest that looked just like a GTO and had a V-6. It flew. I was in Australia a short time before the release of the new GTO. After seeing the Holden, I knew it wouldn't have much of a chance of making it. A person buying a GTO wants something that looks like a sports car.

One More Sixties Car to Go and to Me, It Was the Best. --RoadDog