In case you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, Riding Shotgun with Michelle Rodriguez is a new series from Yahoo Autos. As you may have guessed by the name (and the star), the series is profiling and test driving a whole bunch of cool cars. Featured in this episode is a 1968 Pontiac GTO, a car still owned by the same person who bought it.
The original purchaser, John Romano, bought his GTO for around $3,600 many years ago. John’s wife used to drive around town in it, and his daughter pretty much learned how to drive behind its wheel. The car has more stories than miles with only about 150,000 miles on the odometer — that’s around 3,000 a year driven on average. Its engine has a few small tweaks, and is backed by an untouched stock transmission. The car has even been certified as original by the Pontiac Historical Society.
John notes that there’s been at least five attempts to steal the car, so he’s got a lot of little security features added throughout. The last attempt by a thief ended in a bloody mess. John had rigged the vehicle with a substance like tear gas, so when the crook tried to take off, he was disabled by the gas, hit his head on the window, and left a trail of blood for the cops to follow.
Taking this 1968 Pontiac GTO around the track, Michelle notes that it’s a beast of a car. Weighing in at around 4,000 pounds before passengers, she compares it to a cruise ship. She did, however, note that it carries its weight very well and has some pep, especially for being an (almost) 50 year old car.
This GTO is more than just the grandfather of muscle cars, it’s a look inside the linage of a family. It’s amazing how well cared for the machine is, proving that cars like this one can easily become a member of the family.
Elizabeth is hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
