John “Gunner” Gunnell is a frequent contributor to Speedville and Engine Builder magazine, and owns Gunner’s Great Garage, a restoration shop in Manawa, WI.

With all the hoopla surrounding the Mustang and it’s yearlong celebration, lost in the media frenzy is that the car most responsible for the muscle car era has also reached middle-age. (Maybe now the insurance premiums will go down.)

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he Ford Mustang has been in the limelight for reaching its 50th birthday this year, but it is also a half century since John DeLorean, Pete Estes and Jim Wagners dreamed up the Pontiac GTO – the car that started the muscle car craze.

The GTO Owners Assoc. of America (www.gtoaa.org) International will celebrate the “Goats” golden years when its Convention kicks off on July 1 in Pittsburgh, Pa., It will also be the club’s 35th convention.

Activities listed on the official event schedule include a Kickoff Cruise, tours to Pittsburgh, a trip to the 9/11-linked Flight 93 Memorial, nostalgia drag racing, discussions and seminars, an awards dinner and a parking lot party with a live band and fireworks. Jim Wangers — the public relations genius who came up with the GTO option concept — will be among those presenting seminars.

Pontiac author and historian Don Keefe, parts guru Dennis Kirban, Jim Mattison of Pontiac Historic Services, GTO collector Judge Frank Fregiato and Pontiac-Oakland Automotive Museum director Tim Dye will be among the other celebrities and VIPs presenting seminars.

Additional details are available from the host chapter— the Greater Pittsburgh GTO Club — at www.greatepghgto.com.