1970 Pontiac GTO Judge

Pontiac might not have been the first car company to put the engine from a full-size model in a smaller platform, but it did do a great job of creating a brand around it, and in fostering the image of that brand. So effective were Pontiac's efforts at creating a powerful, good-looking car with a cool aura that the GTO was the best-selling muscle car for several model years, peaking in 1966 with just barely shy of 100,000 units.

But, after Plymouth rolled out its bare-bones Road Runner, the GTO was dethroned as the top-seller in the segment, prompting Pontiac to devise a new model as a lower-cost performance offering. That project never materialized in showrooms, and at some point in the planning process, a new directive to create a premium offering, above and beyond the regular GTO, took precedence. According to insiders, John DeLorean himself dictated its name: The Judge.

The story is familiar from there--a debut in Carousel Red (really orange), bold stripes, hip graphics, front and rear spoilers and a Ram Air III engine as standard equipment. More colors would follow, and Pontiac moved a little less than 7,000 of them. The package returned for 1970 with even bolder stripes, a more outrageous rear spoiler and Orbit Orange (really yellow) as a new signature hue. Sales fell nearly in half, but the impact of the model could not be denied.

In the aftermath of the muscle era, the GTO Judge has always remained a touchstone, seeming to contain all the elements that made the genre what it was. So established was that image that, for years afterward, it was respected as a serious contender in the stoplight wars from coast to coast, whether it deserved the reputation or not. While the Judge could appear almost as a caricature to non-enthusiasts, gearheads have loved it since its debut.

Naturally, with a long-admired look and image and relatively minor production numbers, the '70 Judge would seem to be a collector car all-star, a position many casual observers assume it's held for years. However, a closer look at the value history of the model shows a somewhat different tale.

First, it's important to note that for 1969 and 1970, the Judge could be ordered with the optional Ram Air IV engine, an expensive upgrade aimed at the hard-core performance enthusiast, and not often selected. Today, any Pontiac with a Ram Air IV engine is treasured, particularly a Judge, so they really have to be viewed separately--guides tend to consider them to be 35-50 percent more valuable than their Ram Air III brethren, and even that may be conservative. Similarly, convertible Judges were produced in small numbers and have always commanded significantly more than coupes.

But for the bulk of Judge coupes produced for 1970, values have remained quite steady, wavering up and down occasionally, but generally arriving back where they were over the course of the last 10 years. Prior to that, there were periods of growth, but those appear to have followed trends displayed across the market at those times, and were usually followed by durations of consistency. Our value trend graph charts figures for average condition RA III coupes, which have remained fairly flat since 2006. Concours quality examples displayed a dip after the economy took a turn in 2008, but later returned to just about the same place they had been in 2006.

Today, one could interpret that a 1970 GTO Judge is a sound place to invest, if the objective is to own a vaunted slice of the muscle era without having to worry much about a depreciating asset as time goes on. Whether that investment yields any gains down the road will likely depend on where the market for muscle cars in general heads.

Value Trend

1990 $9K

1995 $11K

2000 $20K

2006 $47K

2010 $52K

2016 $54K