Arizona can be an intriguing and wondrous place. This year we decided to drive from Pennsylvania to Pontiac Heaven 11, which was held on April 4, 2009, at Speedworld Dragstrip just outside Phoenix. Once in the state of Arizona, within a 1-hour period, the weather on Interstate 40 changed from sunny and 70 degrees to dark with a sandstorm, and then to 30-degrees and snowy at Flagstaff. The effect that altitude has on weather is pretty amazing.

By early November, many hobbyists in the Northeast are in the process of putting away their Pontiacs for a long winter's hibernation. Not so for the intrepid couple-of-hundred who make the Pontiac Fall Nationals at Atco Raceway in Atco, New Jersey, the final fling of each year's show season.

2010 Model Year Meltdown
On April 27, 2009, GM announced it would phase out Pontiac by the end of 2010, but don't expect any '10 models to even be manufactured. According to GM, buildouts have occurred on all retail Pontiac models-the Vibe was the last model, and it ceased production in August, 2009-and whatever is left on dealer lots is it. Are you looking for the last of the great Pontiacs? A G8 GXP (see "Quarter-Milestone" in this issue) and the Solstice GXP coupe are sure-fire performers and destined to be instant classics.

Part I: On The Show Field, At The Dragstrip, And More

What did you do on your 19th birthday? If you were the Pontiac Uprising All-Pontiac Race and Show, sponsored by the GR-RRR 8-R Wichita GTO Club in Wichita, Kansas, you brought together Pontiac hobbyists from across the Midwest for a great weekend of drag racing, show cars, and camaraderie.

Here are a few photos of the shootout cars from the November 2009 issue that were not included in the story.
Rick Unterseh: of Phoenix owns the NHRA O/SA Turbo Bird. After some mechanical hardships the last time the car was to compete in the shootout, this year, it's dialed in and ready run 12s with its 301 turbo engine, Turbo 350, and 4.10:1 rear.

Les Iden: is no stranger to HPP Shootouts, as this is his third, competing with a different Pontiac. His '72 Firebird has a mild 462 under the hood, a 4,430-lb race weight, a Turbo 400, and better-for-Bonneville 2.73 rear gears. How will it handle the quarter-mile? And will Les be able to drive it home to Hacienda Hts., California, after the race? Stay tuned.
For the full story, see the shootout section on this website.

Here are some more photos of the Pontiac Fall Nationals at Atco Raceway in New Jersey. The "10th annual" edition, held on November 1st, was hosted by the Delaware Valley Old Goat Club. For the full story, see the November 2009 issue of HPP.

Pontiac Heaven 11 was held on April 4th at Speedworld Dragstrip just outside Phoenix. Here are a few more photos that we couldn't jam into the magazine. For the full story, see the December 2009 issue of HPP.

Over the last decade, Pontiac's offerings at the Chicago Auto Show have slowly reverted to more production-based show cars from concept cars. In this final installment highlighting Pontiac's participation in the Chicago Auto Show, sponsored by the Chicago Automobile Trade Association, we will examine 1998-2008.

Finally, after enduring periodic rainouts and even a snowout in 2007, HPP Day at E-town was moved from the volatile weather of early April to the summertime. The result for the June 28, 2008, event was a fantastic day of racing and showing Pontiacs at one of the East Coast's premier facilities-Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey.

On July 5, 2008, the weather was nasty in New Jersey, cruel in Connecticut, and pathetic in Pennsylvania, but it was oh-so-sweet in Saratoga Springs, New York, as Firebirds fled rain and clouds from those states to be part of the 6th Annual All-Firebird Lawn Show. The gathering at Saratoga Auto Museum in the SPA State Park strives to be a down-home, feel-good, low-stress family friendly meet, and this one went off as planned without a single raindrop. Firebird Nation of North America (FNONA) club members teamed up with Special Olympics Saratoga County coaches, volunteers, and athletes to produce another All-Firebird Lawn Show, setting records in both attendance and donations to the Special Olympics.

Friday, June 6, 2008 was the beginning of the eighth year of "Pontiacs in Pigeon Forge" as many beautiful Pontiacs rolled into the Music Road Hotel. Pontiacs from Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, North and South Carolina as well as other surrounding areas begin to fill the show area. The show attendance is 100-150 Pontiacs each year. Over the past few years, on Friday evening Floyd Garret of Muscle Car Museum has invited us to tour the museum after hours.

Part II: 1969-1983
Pontiac displays today are rather sedate now that the brand is part of the Buick-Pontiac-GMC combo, but that wasn't the case from the late '60s through the '80s. While domestic automobiles generally were considered rather dull in much of the '70s and '80s, in contrast to the glories of the musclecar era, Pontiac's displays were at the forefront in excitement. Outstanding were production cars like the Firebirds, show cars, and general appearance of the displays themselves.

Every year in late August, Dayton, Ohio, is overrun with Firebirds congregating for the Trans Am Nationals, an event that has taken on a life of its own.

Here are the results from the 4th Annual GTO Track Day along with their LS1gto.com user names where applicable.

This is now the fourth year in which members of LS1gto.com have worked together to create an outstanding event. The event was held at Bradenton Motorsports Park on Sunday February 8th and there was an excellent turnout. Spectators and racers were treated to warm Florida rays all day without a hint of rain. Last year was much colder and made for some pretty excellent racing conditions as Goats were getting new personal bests all day. This year was sure to impress, too. Goats from across the US gathered to be punished down 1320-feet and spectators were fortunate enough to witness a new late model GTO ET record set by Mick Barger in his 2004 Twin-Turbo GTO.

The Ames Performance Tri-Power Pontiac Nationals, the largest Pontiac show of 2008, was held August 8-10 at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. As has been tradition over the last 17 years, the event pleased racers, vehicle owners, and show-goers with another great weekend of Pontiac-themed excitement.

Part I: 1959-1968
American auto shows have cultivated a rich history by providing a venue in which the automakers may present themselves in a positive light and reach a broad audience. For more than 100 years, everything from dream cars to purpose-built show cars and production models debuted at auto shows across the country in an effort to gauge public opinion on the latest trends, styling, and technology. By the '50s, the pageantry of some of the introductions and the lavish visuals surely made in-house auto industry accountants convulse, but such was the norm back when computers needed their own rooms, television screens were 12 inches diagonally, and the yearly introductions from the automakers were a major event on Main Street, USA.

There was a storm brewing, but luckily for all those attending the first Pontiac Spring Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Pontiac excitement and the rumble of powerful motors created the whirlwind this weekend.

Along with YearOne, HPP partnered with Corvette Fever, Mopar Muscle, and Vette magazines to enlist the talents of our respective readerships and gather them and their quick street/strip cars at Atlanta Dragway on the first day of the '08 YearOne Experience. There were just two rules for the inaugural YearOne Street-Strip Challenge: Each car had to be street-legal, as well as NHRA-legal for its e.t. Desired entrants should be lightning quick on the track and able to devour large chunks of interstate and scenic byways in a single 25-mile bound, without incident, to solidify their duality.

Once a year, Pontiac fans from across the country gather at the GTOAA International Meet to immerse themselves in all things GTO. Whether concours-judged, popular vote, autocross, or drag-racing GTOs are your thing, this year's event offered something for everybody.

Some say you can't go home again. I say, yes, you can-if not figuratively, then literally. It just so happens I lived in Spearfish, South Dakota, when I was a kid, and I've been trying to find an excuse to get back there ever since. POCI provided a great one-its '08 convention.

Coverage of High Performance Pontiac Day at Raceway Park in Old Bridge Township, NJ will be presented in the June 2009 of HPP. In the meantime here are a few exclusive photos of the race portion of the event to whet your appetite.

Here is just some of the great Pontiacs there were on display at High Performance Pontiac Day at Raceway Park in Old Bridge Township, NJ. Full coverage of the event will be presented in the June 2009 of HPP.