The G T O Tiger Times
March 2015
Volume 20 Issue 3
The Voice of the G T O and Pontiac Enthusiast in Central Pennsylvania
Next Meeting:
The next regular club meeting will be Sunday, March 8th, 1pm at Hillside
Café. Car show committee meets at noon.
The GTO Tiger Times, A 2006-14 GTOAA Award winner for Chapter Newsletter Excellence
President’s Message
By now you should be aware of Ames Performance Engineering’s acquisition of Performance Years. Some are
still asking what now? Ames Performance will now be
the only Pontiac exclusive supplier of Classic Pontiac
parts. All advertising through Performance Years has
halted and their inventory absorbed by Ames. If you call
Performance Years you are being routed to Ames, if you
were on Performance Years website to order or browse
inventory you were directed to Ames’s online catalog
and website. If you have gift certificates through
Performance Years, Ames will honor them.
Performance Years has now become Max Performance.
Max Performance will now concentrate on the development of parts for Classic Pontiacs, they will now be a
supplier to Ames while Ames will now be the retailer.
Many would be able to visit Performance Years and pick
up parts they ordered, that practice has now halted.
Along with Max Performance, their new gen GTO/G8/TA
business will be developing and retailing parts for those
new gen cars. Owners of these cars know how hard it is
and how expensive it is to obtain parts for those cars.
For example: Sports Appearance Grilles. Pontiac’s SAP
grilles NIB are bringing obscene prices, some have sold
for 1,000 a set, and many are selling in the 5-600 dollar
range on ebay. Those grilles are now being reproduced
with a higher quality than were the originals and are
retailing for 249.00 a set through GTO/G8/TA.com.
They’re also retailing other hard to find parts for those
cars that if located are bringing very high prices. Pypes
Exhaust has not been affected by this acquisition. Chris
is committed to the Pontiac hobby but has changed his
format from retail to a supplier of Pontiac parts.
Some of the feedback I have been reading are concerns
on price increases since Ames will be the only go to for
Pontiac Parts. This is speculation. Year One south of us,
and OPGI on the West Coast are other competitors and
if you have ever looked at their prices you’d notice Ames
offers better deals, at least at items I compared in the
past, and these places get most of their parts from the
same vendors. Personally when I order a part from
Ames I have it the next day or the day after. But setting
that aside that concern, Ames’s reputation and pricing is
second to none, is a supporter of the GTOAA, donates
money to both the GTOAA and POCI, Ames is part of
the Pontiac family. If you ever attended a GTOAA convention you’ve most probably enjoyed free meals at the
parking lot parties sponsored by Ames. Then there is
Norwalk, every Pontiac-er knows Ames’s Norwalk event,
if they don’t then that’s on them. When I read the
fodder on concerns of Ames possibly doing this or that
and deviating from what their reputation was built on
makes me wonder just how many bringing these concerns up have benefitted from Ames Performances generosity. Ames gives back to the Pontiac family but if
those having concerns on Ames possibly doing this or
that, most probably never attended an Ames sponsored
function.
Vic
SVGTO.COM
2015
Random Pontiacs
Club News
There is no Update this month as
February's meeting was postponed
due to weather.
MECUM UPDATE
I have as of this publication: 68 total people signed up. 5 on a waiting list, 55 for
Thursday, 54 for Friday, and 51 for Saturday, some not as of yet committed to a
day. As it was last year I expect to have
more volunteers as this event nears. A
couple have notified me of volunteering
but neglected to tell me days of availability or shirt sizes and have not returned
my email asking for them. If you are one,
I have defaulted an XL shirt size for you
and the day is up in the air until you notify me. Any former SVGTO members who
notify me of interest to participate in this
event will be placed on the waiting list.
People that are on a waiting list will be
selected in the order I received the request. More updates to follow.
2014 SVGTO Banquet
ATTENTION!
Be sure to check out the website
www.svgto.com
For the latest information of
upcoming events.
Our 8th Annual All Pontiac Show
Donations are beginning to come in. The awards are a work in progress. For our 20 th year
celebration we are having custom awards made including Milt Schornack Celebrity Picks,
one for the open showfield and one for the SVGTO showfield. Everyone will receive a
lexan framed 6x4 photo of their car. If you would like one of your car please arrive early
so you can get your photo taken then proceed to our showfield.
Membership Update
Total Members: 59
December 2015 new member: David Briggs, David has a 1965 GTO
Mid-January new member: Tom Driscoll, Tom is in search of a GTO preferably a 1966.
February: Dave Saneman, Dave has a 1965 GTO
Welcome to SVGTO!!
Page 2
If you have comments
about, or suggestions to
help improve The GTO
Tiger Times, please
contact Russ Esenwine.
macgto@comcast.net
Recent & Upcoming Events
GTOAA Eastern Regional News
June 19-20
Everyone was emailed the update, in particular, Lodging:
A new Hotel opened in September: The Courtyard
(Marriott) Philadelphia Lansdale. I got a group rate of
99.00 /night for a King bed and 109.00 for 2 double beds
this is 40.00 off their normal rate.
In addition, I’ve secured a group rate at the Holiday Inn
Lansdale: 90 per night King or Double Beds.
An email was sent out to the membership with contact
info on both and how to register for group rates.
We could use some more volunteers for this event. Things
have changed at what is now: Max Performance regarding this show. Although Chris Casperson wants to keep
holding the GTOAA Eastern Regional there and willing to
incur the costs associated with it, he is looking for GTOAA
chapters to take a more proactive role in this event as I
detailed in the email. If we want to remain a cohost of
this event we will need to be committed. With volunteers
from other chapters joining in, the additional work will
(hopefully) be minimal. This event is a fundraiser for us
and everyone in SVGTO benefits from our involvement.
SVGTO.COM
Christmas / End of Year Banquet
To say the switch from our former host provider was a
success is a bit of an understatement. Enck’s Custom
Catering in Manheim was the location for our 2014 banquet and many whom attended were impressed with the
facility and the food. We enjoyed our largest turnout
ever with over 70 members and family in attendance
and were entertained by Steve Jago's quartet:
Chromed Classics who sang some oldies for us. Meanwhile nearly 1,000 pictures of our 2014 season looped
on the huge 10’x10’ screen. The food prepared for us
was fit for a king or NASCAR drivers. NASCAR? YEP. You
see, for a very long time, Enck’s Custom Catering was
on the NASCAR circuit as NASCAR’s contracted caterer.
Enck’s traveled the circuit and each week in a different
city and would feed NACASR drivers, their families, and
others who traveled the circuit. With our guests constantly complimenting Enck’s food services at our show
and their reputation locally, and nationally, and if they
satisfied NASCAR with their efforts, well, feeding some
GTO people would be an easy task. We hope you consider attending our end of year banquet this year on
November 21, @ 5:30 pm. There’s plenty of great food
and camaraderie to be had.
~~~~~~~ Vic
Here a little bit of SVGTO nostalgia
courtesy of Doug Warble.
This is a Chapter Display for SVGTO
(then, known as the GTO Tigers) from
about 10 years ago. My how things
have changed.
Anyone remember geocities?
Page 3
The Back of the Garage
2015
Club Officers
Vic Schreck- President
gtojudgepa@verizon.net
Brian Little-Vice
President
bsalittle@embarqmail.com
Bob Krewson Treasurer
bkrewzn@comcast.net
Russ EsenwineSecretary
macgto@comcast.net
Classified ads by SVGTO members will be placed in the GTO Tiger Times free of charge. Please email your ads to
Russ Esenwine, at macgto@comcast.net. I will try to get the ads placed in the next issue. If you include a photo of the items
that you are selling, please send a clear digital photo in .jpg format. I will include your photos if space permits.
One of General Motors, biggest missed opportunity was
and still continues to be its Global RWD Architecture,
also known as the Zeta platform.
The world got its first glimpse of the Zeta platform
when GM Australia rolled out the fourth-generation
Holden VE Commodore for 2006. But even before the
VE Commodore went on sale, internet forum boards,
car blogs, websites and buff mags were buzzing with
rumors that the Zeta platform would give birth to a
whole host of new rear-drive cars for the General beyond the Land Down Under. That list included: a
new Camaro and a new rear-drive Chevrolet Monte
Carlo and Impala; a new rear-drive Buick or two; a new
rear-drive Pontiac sedan and a new GTO. Even Cadillac
was supposed to get a flagship car based on Zeta.
Then in 2005, word got around that GM had pulled the
plug on the Zeta program. Indeed it had done just that,
instead choosing to use the money for Zeta to speed
up development of the sixth-generation Chevrolet/GMC
trucks and SUVs. However, two cars eventually managed to squeak through in the end: the Chevrolet Camaro and the Pontiac sedan we now know as the G8,
which was a rebadged version of the lovely VE Commodore. But the story doesn't end here.
Now GM didn't need much to promote the new Zeta
Camaro. It had been hyped to hell and back since it
was unveiled as a concept car at the 2006 Detroit Auto
Show. But it showed little interest in attracting buyers
to the Commodore-cum-Pontiac G8. The only decent ad
GM released for the G8 was a sort of live action remake
of the '80s arcade game "Spy Hunter" and it was ruined
by a tagline written by a simpleton: "Pontiac is car."
Then there was the G8 ST debacle. The G8 ST, which
would've finally brought the VE Commodore-based
Holden Ute to US shores and carried on the legacy of
the Chevrolet El Camino, was revealed at the 2008 New
York Auto Show and was slated for a 2010 model year
release. In January 2009, GM pulled the plug on the ST
as it scrambled to rearrange the deck chairs on its
quickly sinking ship. The G8 itself soon followed the ST
into oblivion when GM shut down the Pontiac brand,
Susquehanna Valley GTO is an affiliated chapter of the GTO Association of America,
the premier national organization for GTO enthusiasts. Each month GTOAA members
receive The Legend, a Golden Quill Award winning publication. Members can read
the technical articles and have access to the GTOAA Technical Advisors Staff, use 50
words of free advertising monthly, view the feature articles on some of the most
interesting GTOs you’ll come across, and have access to the GTOAA Club Store merchandise. For an on-line preview of The Legend, go to www.gtoaa.org. For local
chapter information, send an e-mail to Bill Vantuono at chapters@gtoaa.org . To
receive a membership application by mail, write to: GTOAA, PO Box 213, Timnath,
CO. 80547, or send an e-mail to: membership@gtoaa.org for more information.
The GTOAA National Meet is hosted by various local chapters, and is held annually.
The acclaimed Concours and Popular Vote Car Shows bring some of the finest GTOs
together for superb viewing. Other highlights include many renowned Technical and
Special Interest speakers, the multi-day swap meet, drag tracing, and other great
events.
leaving the Camaro as the only Zeta-based car to
be sold in America.
The story still isn't over. Although there was support within GM from folks like Bob Lutz and Mark
Reuss to reintroduce the Commodore/G8 as a new
Chevrolet Caprice, that plan was met with resistance, including from GM's then CEO Fritz Henderson. Henderson would eventually cave and allow
the long-wheelbase version of the Commodore to
enter the US as the Caprice PPV, limiting its sales
to law enforcement.
It would take the Holden Commodore five years to
come back to the United States as the Chevrolet
SS, once again facing some of the same issues that
put it in a stranglehold as the Pontiac G8. This
time, though, it's been labeled with an expiration
date right out of the box. When Commodore production in Australia ceases in 2017, the Chevy SS
will go with it.
Zeta could've been a real winner for GM, had they
managed to follow through on their initial plans or
at least just marketed the cars it chose to bring
here (the Camaro notwithstanding). Around the
time Zeta was being planned for North American
consumption, buyers were going gaga for retro-ish
rear-drive American cars (i.e. Dodge/Chrysler). And
for those of you who want to pull the whole
"Australian-to-US dollar" card, consider this for a
second: it's said that GM's assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada has had the capability to produce any Zeta car in production since it started
building the current Camaro.
National Organization Information
1995
2015
Official GTOAA Chapter, Since 1995
Page 4
unexpected.u
unforgettable.
HOSTs:
Host Hotel:
Clarion Hotel & Conference Center
2480 Jonathan Moore Pike
Columbus, IN 47201
812-372-1541
Convention Chairperson:
Bill Sanders
765-432-9333
Convention Co-chair:
Doug Pulskamp
812-212-6280
Convention Co-chair:
Paul Freese
812-614-3332
www.gtoaa.org
Sponsors: