Why The Pontiac GTO Gained The Nickname 'The Judge'

Pontiac's GTO is considered by many to be America's first true "Muscle Car." Yet, when it originally dropped in October 1963 for the 1964 model year, it did so as a $300 option package for Pontiac's LeMans before becoming its own vehicle. The GTO got its designation from Ferrari's 250 GTO, the "GTO" standing for (in Italian) Gran Turismo Omologato or Grand Touring Homologation (in English).

It was available as a two-door coupe, hardtop, or convertible with a 325 horsepower 389 cubic inch V8 with a four-barrel carburetor. A litany of muscular features like dual exhausts and wider wheels, hood scoops, an anti-roll bar, stiffer suspension, bucket seats, and all the requisite racing gauges you could want made the GTO stand out.

You could get it with an optional Tri-Power carburetor that boosted the horsepower to 348, mated to either a two-speed Super-Turbine automatic transmission or a three-speed manual with Hurst shifter. The 325hp version went from 0-60 mph in 7.7 seconds, did the quarter-mile in 15.8 seconds, and had a top speed of 115 mph, while the Tri-Powered 348 did 0-60 in 6.6 seconds and the quarter mile in 14.8 seconds.

A few years later, the hippie counterculture revolution emerged, and in 1969 GM released a new version of the GTO called "The Judge." It was the automaker's attempt at being more "hip" and in tune with the current generation. To do this, they took inspiration from a comedy show called "Laugh-In."

"Laugh-In" was one of the most popular shows on television during its 140-episode run on NBC from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973. Hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, it was a fast-paced sketch show with an ensemble cast that included the likes of Lily Tomlin, Richard Dawson, Goldie Hawn, and Arte Johnson.

Sound familiar? It should, as it was the forerunner to "Saturday Night Live," which aired on the same network in 1975. The show's title was a play on words taken from terms like "Love-In" and "Sit-In" used by the hippie movement spreading across the country at the time.

A popular skit called "Here Comes The Judge," first made famous by comedian Flip Wilson and then Rat Packer Sammy Davis, Jr., featured a judge wearing an old-time powdered wig who jokingly quipped with defendants and then hit them with a cartoonish gavel. Davis Jr. took it to new heights with his song and dance routines. 

The Judge – initially called the GTO E/T (for Elapsed Time) – was meant to be an inexpensive, stripped-down model meant to compete with Plymouth's Road Runner, but by the time GM got done, it was the most expensive version. Slogans like "All rise for the Judge" and "The Judge can be bought" were used to sell the car, which was on the market for three short years. Only 11,004 were sold during that time, making it a fairly rare version of the muscly GTO.