You Be the Judge

In the mid-1960s Pontiac wasn't playing by the rules. Parent company General Motors was opposed to trend toward high performance that became known as muscle cars. For a short while they were even limiting the size of the engines their brands could drop into cars. Pontiac didn't care. They ignored the rules and instantly became a hit as GM's high performance line.

At the top of the heap was the iconic GTO. The GTO was without a doubt one of the fastest, meanest stock muscle cars on the road. Introduced in 1964 with a 389 cubic inch V8 that churned out 325 horse power, everyone with speed in their blood lusted for one.

When the second generation of Goat came out in 1968, one of its trims was called the Judge. The name, like the one Pontiac used for its Road Runner, was something of a poke at established ideas at the time. The late 60s was a time of more radical thought and of not trusting "the man." Highlighting that attitude was comedian Flip Wilson who had a weekly variety show. One of his catch phrases was "here comes the judge." What Pontiac had in mind was a car that, like a real judge, could and should command respect but also not take itself too seriously.

What was under the hood, though, was totally serious. The Judge came standard with Pontiac's 400 cubic inch Ram Air III engine that punched out 366 horse power. Or you could dish out a little more cash for the optional Ram Air IV version that was barely street legal at the time. Hot Rod magazine clocked this engine at 14.7 seconds and 97 miles per hour in the quarter mile. The version Motor Trend tested did even better, 14.45 seconds and 98.2 miles per hour.

By 1970 GTOs were being offered with engines as large at 455 cubic inches, that wasn't an option for the Judge. Pontiac always saw the Judge trim as a more economical version of the GTO. So their idea of an economy muscle car came with an engine pushing 390 horse power. Talk about an oxymoron.

The second generation of GTO ran through 1973 and along the way it changed a number of its trims. That meant losing the Judge all together. Still, for its short run, the Judge built up quite a following and it is still nice to see some of them, like this 1969 model, still holding up the Pontiac tradition. Was this a special car? You be the judge.