CHICAGO — The goat is being put out to pasture — again.

Pontiac will halt production in June of its high-performance GTO, affectionately dubbed the goat when it bowed in the mid-1960s, which helped pioneer the muscle-car era.

GTO was dropped from the lineup after the 1974 model year due to gas shortages and high insurance rates, but it returned in December 2003.

Just because the GTO is disappearing doesn't mean it's gone forever. It looks like GM has revived plans to develop a midsize, rear-wheel-drive platform that could accommodate GTO as well as a variety of Chevrolets and Pontiacs.