Customer Reviews

Glory Days: When Horsepower and Passion Ruled Detroit

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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!

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.

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.

I loved this book. Having worked for Chevrolet Engineering div. of GM in the mid-60s, I can say that Wangers' biography rang true to me all the way through. His depiction of the corporate suits at GM, their conformist, play-it-safe, don't rock the boat attitudes sure brought back memories. On a personal level, it brought back to me the reasons why I left that stifling work environment. Wonderful reading about the many successes he had when he was left free of obstructions and able to use his talents to do what he was paid to do, i.e. increase sales (particularly at Pontiac). Great read for anyone wanting to gain insight into the automotive industry of those mid 20th century years.

If you want to know everything - and I mean everything - that went on with Pontiac between 1959 and 1980, including the birth of the GTO, you must read this book. All aspects of the auto industry are covered in an easy to read format and writing style. Excellent read for any enthusiast.

Glory Days is an insiders view of the years when Detroit ruled and muscle cars were born. This is the history of the Pontiac GTO. The car that gave birth to the "Muscle Car". If you love the car, you must read the book.

Fantastic book, great reading, husband read it in one weekend reminiscing our days when we were teenagers and first met.

This book follows marketing guru Jim Wangers from his beginning with Kaiser and Packard, through the sixties with Pontiac, to his independent business ventures through the seventies to today. Wangers began working with Pontiac in the early sixties, when the "Wide Track Pontiac" marketing theme was turning the division into a raging success. Wangers was instrumental in shaping Pontiac's racing image, and even drove a Pontiac in the NHRA Championship. Wangers was also there when, in 1963, a group of Pontiac engineers led be John Delorean "invented" the signature car of the era, the GTO. A major section of the book is devoted to the integrated marketing program, built around the GTO, that propelled Pontiac's dominance of the musclecar days of the late sixties. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the car culture of the sixties (of course, Pontiac takes center stage). As an MBA student, I must say it's also an excellent marketing text on building and maintaining brand identity. Glory Days is a very easy read, with some great action photos and reproductions of classic advertisements.

Mr Wanger's book is an interesting historical perspective on the development of the muscle car era at the Pontiac division. It seems to be a very complete history of the development of the GTO with details that can only be known by a industy insider.My only critisim is that that while he alludes to the real bad boy Super Duties in several places he never really spells out what they were "bad to the bone dual quad, 12to1 compression ratio 421's" These were truly Pontiac's finest hour. He also does not do justice to the great Malcom MacKeller whos genious was reponsible for the development of a whole series of camshafts used at Pontiac includ- ing the Super Duties. Wangers remembers lots of racing in the book and the cheating that often took place;he does not recount the night that after bragging that he had the fastest" GTO on Woodward " he ran a race against a 1962 white Catalina with a real 421 Super Duty not a consumer version with three two's. The outcome of that encounter very well could be be deeply reperessed as the Catalina led him by a football field at a 110 mph. This encounter happened in 1967 and it might be called Wolf in Sheep's Clothing or The Night Encouner with Super Duty #3 vin#16373. All in all I would recommend this book to anyone in Pontiac history but its not the last word on on the subject.

If you're a Pontiac enthusiast, Glory Days: When Horsepower and Passion Ruled Detroit (Pontiac) is a must for your collection. Jim Wangers was part of the Pontiac culture during Pontiac's best years. His perspective and involvement during the 50's-70's is invaluable. It's also important to note that this is a history of Jim's career in the auto industry, so even though most of the material covers Pontiac, it also covers his work with other auto makers such as Chevrolet, Ford and Keiser.

Though this book is not a marketing/advertising book, it's very insightful for that purpose. If you work for an auto maker today and are involved at some capacity in marketing, this book is a must. The same rules Jim learned in the 60's and 70's apply today.

One other take away is product involvement. Jim not only marketed Pontiac, he drove and hot-rodded them too. This put Pontiac ahead of the curve during the 60's. This applies to any industry; if you sell ice cream, your marketing department better love to make and eat ice cream too. Sad to say but no one who markets cars today live a car life style and it shows in the marketing.