Glory Days: When Horsepower and Passion Ruled Detroit (Pontiac) [Paperback]

Jim Wangers (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0837602084 | ISBN-13: 978-0837602080 | Publication Date: April 1, 2003

The automobile industry is one of the most capital- and marketing-intensive industries in the world today. Common wisdom states that the keys to sales success in the industry are no different than in any other: brand management, product positioning, and brand imaging. But what do these commonly traded buzzwords really mean, and how do they translate into a successful brand campaign? In Glory Days, Jim Wangers uses his 45-year career in Detroit as the basis for explaining successful brand marketing for automobiles: * Why brand management for cars is not the same as for other "branded" products * How to position a model for the best possible tie-in promotion-and how not to * What it takes to establish and evolve a brand image

Editorial Reviews

Review

A genuine inside story well told is always welcome. Which is why I had a great time reading "Glory Days" by Jim Wangers.

Wangers was the man who gave us the Pontiac GTO, the Judge, and marketed horsepower unashamedly. He craved the action of the auto industry, yearned to sell cars, create mad desire in the consumer heart. And Wangers was also a bit of a scalawag who was not above switching engines - or whole cars, for that matter - to win a race and get a leg up on the competition.

Wangers offers insight into where Detroit went wrong with passionless interchangeable executives running the business. And perhaps intentionally, perhaps not, Wangers also gives us insight into what goes wrong when the marketing whizzes have it all their way.

He spent 45 years in the business and had a pretty good time, it would seem. You can relive it in a couple of hours and have a pretty good read. -- John R. White - Boston Globe, November 21, 1998

If you read stories in The [Shreveport] Times, USA Today, or many national publications about GM, periodically you're gong to run into Wangers' name and quotes. The reason is simple: He is one of the most respected automotive marketing professionals in the country. If you are looking for a good read or . . . interested in either marketing or the automotive industry, this just might be your gift. -- The Shreveport Times, 11-29-98

This book has received the prestigious MOTO award presented by the International Automotive Media conference for the Automotive Book of the Year (1998). Perhaps never was a copywriter more born to write about the topic he ended up with than Wangers . . . This book is filled with fascinating portraits of a variety of personalities [and] fascinating trivia . . . It is filled with the wisdom of someone who knows the game better than most. -- Northwest Motor Magazine, January 1999

To some of us, there was only one GTO built in the '60s. Others acknowledge that Pontiac built a car called by the same name. To that second group of enthusiasts, the name Jim Wangers is well known. His work as an advertising executive at Pontiac spanned the "glory days" of the '60s when horsepower numbers went up as quickly as the quarter-mile times came down. Glory Days is an interesting chronicle of Wanger's involvement with and passion for automobiles while employed at Kaiser-Frazer, Chevrolet, and Pontiac. Wangers takes us inside the boardroom, to the dragstrip, and to the marketplace in a way that few auto books ever have. It's almost required reading for any student of the domestic muscle car market in the '60s and interesting reading even for those of us who don't often put Pontiac and GTO in the same sentence. -- Sports Car Market - March 1999

Within the pages of Glory Days is an extraordinary account of an individual at the executive level who helped reshape the American automobile of the late '50s, '60s, and '70s as well as a look into GM's top management - its successes and failures . . . interesting reading for any automotive enthusiast." --High Performance Pontiac - February 1999

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Bentley Publishers (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0837602084
• ISBN-13: 978-0837602080
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,267,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A view from the inside, January 12, 2000

By 

Bob Davis (Jacksonville Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glory Days: When Horsepower and Passion Ruled Detroit (Hardcover)

This book takes you back and gives you a private look at the planning and development of the car that started the whole Muscle Car Craze. From figuring out how to get this car built around GM's policies on horsepower to weight ratio, to fighting off the compitition in 1969 with the introduction of "The Judge"! How they developed the Royal Pontiac cars, and how they had to fight every step of the way with the EPA, and other government agencies! Lots of photos, and history here!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jim Wangers, the ultimate Detroit insider, makes Wide Tracks, October 28, 1998

By 

Robert T. Dillon "Follower of the mighty Chie... (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Glory Days: When Horsepower and Passion Ruled Detroit (Hardcover)

Jim Wangers' book about the birth of the Pontiac GTO and other famous Pontiac musclecars is loaded with insider information about the political infighting it takes to get a new concept to market. It was surprising to me that, even after the GTO and it's other Pontiac supercar brethren were proven runaway successes with baby boomers, bean-counting auto executives who looked at autos as just another product had to be sold and re-sold on the concept. Wangers was obviously perfect for this job, as a true "car guy" who not only understands how to move metal, but has obvious love and respect for the cars themselves, not only as cultural icons, but as metal sculptures that happen to move quite quickly. Few ran as quickly as Jim's beloved Pontiacs! While the most interesting parts of the book for me referred to his days working with Pontiacs, I was also interested in the jobs he held with various automakers and ad agencies. A fine effort by Wangers. Recommend for all "car guys" and especially us Ponchophiles.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Briliant Marketer, September 1, 2009

By 

John Mccarrier (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Glory Days: When Horsepower and Passion Ruled Detroit (Pontiac) (Paperback)

This is the best book ever written about marketing and promotion in the auto industry. It is also one of the best books ever written about the birth, life, and death of the muscle car era - from a guy who was in the thick of it all.

Instead of a assembling a self promoting ego trip, Wangers gives an excellent warts-and-all look into his career in the auto industry. He presents his failures along with his triumphs. His experience is so varied that he gives the reader insights into the entire U.S. auto industry for 40 years.

This is not the story of "How John Delorean and I invented the GTO," but of one person's involvement in a glorious era of U.S. automotive history.

The best part of the book is what is not there. Wangers does not discuss the juicy details of how and why John Delorean left GM or what he did afterwards. He certainly knows a lot about Delorean's failures but that is a distraction and not part of his story.