Here comes the Judge; here comes the Judge. In 1969 the Rowan and Martin show was a hit. The show also helped Pontiac have a "hit" too! That "hit" was the Pontiac GTO Judge. Pontiac advertisements used those same words that were made famous on the Rowan and Martin comedy hour; Here comes the Judge.

The GTO Judge was originally meant to be a lower cost GTO that was stripped of some accessories. During the vehicles development, minds changed and the decision was made to make it the ultimate street machine. The Judge ended with a $300 higher price-tag than the basic GTO.

Pontiac put the best into the Judge. It came stock with the Ram Air III engine, a Hurst specially made shifter with a "T" handle, beautifully styled rims and wider tires. They also put decals on the automobile and it had a rear spoiler. The spoiler did nothing for performance unless you were traveling at very high speeds, but it sure made the car look sharp.

Pontiac released the GTO Judge in just "Carousel Red" at first but late in 1969 other colors became available.

In 1969 I was a teenager. I did not own a Judge, But two of my friends did. If my memory is correct, I recall I was jealous of those guys because all the "honeys" were hanging out with them. My Olds 442 just wasn't good enough.

In 1969 there were 72,287 GTO's sold, and 6,833 were Judges. Pontiac did pretty well with this line. Vehicles that surpassed Pontiac was the Chevelle SS 396 and the Road Runner

The Judge has become quite the collectors item. I just recently did a search on prices on fully mint Pontiac GTO Judges and I found an average of $130,000 will purchase you one. Those figures make me wish I would have bought one brand new and parked it in a garage. In 1969, a brand new Judge cost approximately $5000. That would have been a nice profit.

There were extras you could get with ordering a Judge too. With some more cash you could get the new Ram Air IV engine. It had a radical "cam" that only very skilled drivers could handle. You could have a close ratio four-speed or spend more and get an automatic transmission. You could even order it with a hood mounted tachometer.

At those prices I will probably never own a GTO Judge. If you are a car collector and you don't have one yet, I would suggest getting one soon. The Judge is getting more rare everyday. You will be the King or Queen of your town if you are behind the wheel of a beautiful 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge!

Learn more about this author, Greg B..
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