AzNxJ32Aspec

How hot is the new GTO?!

coop1018

Personally I think it is quite ugly. It looks like a cavalier!

Skeedatl

I think the GTO is lacking in exterior styling, but the performance goes a long way toward making up for it. Not bad for an Aussie transplant. It'll be better once the aftermarket takes hold of it.

VTEC=happiness

I agree with the opinions so far...its visually ugly, but a great performer. It is just another sign that the American car companies are lacking in good original products (as this one is a current Australian model like Skeedatl mentioned). Though the speed and power are great, as I like to tell my friends, I would rather drive a really slow Maybach over a really fast 1982 Sentra....in other words, the speed alone does not make the car worthy of praise, and does not earn any points in my book. If it was just kind of fast in a nicer package, I think it would be a vehicle legitimately worth $35-40K.

Pug

The new Goat has the honor of getting hit with the U.S. gas guzzler tax, too. ($1k-$2k)?

roadman

Rather strange styling. I never saw a car with true dual exhaust have them exit together on one side, seems awkward.

I beleive the US gas guzzler tax is only for the Auto version (8 mpg hwy is a huge diff)

EPA City 17; EPA Hwy 29w/Manual Trans; 16/21 w/Auto Trans

VQ35DE

IMO, it's probably the best car to ever wear a Pontiac badge. Outside of the WS6 TA and maybe the Turbo TA (89), I've never seen ANY Pontiac as attractive or even remotely desireable.

That said, I am eager to see if 'The Judge' model comes out.

Peace.

vtechbrain

If you put a corvette engine in anything it will be fast. Holden has a history of making very unreliable cars I personnaly don't think its ugly at all. Only time will tell how this one will hold up.

GaleForce

Its a good car if all you're looking for is car to race. Not in the same class as the TL.

BlackSunshine

It's an overgrown Poontiac Sunfire or Chiddy Cavalier... at least on steroids.

It rides nice and has lotsa power, but it definitely needs help in the aesthetics and details area. I mean... plastic honeycomb grill? I almost pulled the sucker off. Fuel tank take most of the trunk space, inverted.


It was a decent test drive.

Up next... Chrysuckler 300C (Hemi). The nearby dealership just got two in today. Gonna go have some fun!

Corn

The only reason I'm driving a TL is because my dealer screwed me over and sold the GTO I had a deposit on (for 6 months I might add) to someone else because he was willing to pay sticker + $5k. Evidently the dealer didn't count on the huge online GTO community and the efforts of a certain website that helped track orders by our order numbers. The dealership was fined by GM, but the damage was done and an available car matching my specs wasn't due for another 4 months. Since I sold my previous car I was in a bind and purchased the TL.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My opinion is that the GTO was a steathy beauty. I saw the GTO much the same way as I saw my Audi S4: Clean bodywork that doesn't attract the attention of the law.

The GTO and TL are different cars aimed for a different audience--the most basic of which is you'll find very few cross shopping a coupe and sedan. The GTO is a solidly built car, and something for GM to be proud of--even if only developing it to suit our tastes and climate (the basic car has been in production for 2 years now by Holden).

ck37

I think pontiac completely missed the boat on the new GTO. All they have is a americanized CLK500. If they were really smart about it, they could have done a whole modern/retro feel much like Ford is doing with the new Stang, and brought back some of the nostalgia of the GTO in it's prime.

I think it was a cop out on their part to go look elsewhere for a design rather than hire a team of people to come up with something creative.

As for comparison, both cars are aimed at different markets. really cannot be compared.

Corn

The new stang looks nice, but c'mon, it doesn't even have an independent rear suspension. My best friend penned a significant portion of the bodywork on the new Stang. He told me the bean counters at Ford put the kabosh on the indie rear suspension to save a whopping $23 per car........this just kills me.

Besides, "retro" does not guarantee success, just look at the T-Bird, a fantastic looking beauty that no one wanted to buy..........

cali TL

the fact is pontiac/gm probably doesnt have the resources with its current financial situation plus with huge expenses coming up on alt fuel cars to R&D a new car, so shoved a vette engine in an existing car... sounds like good profits to me

i like the gto btw

Type S Lady

What's the hp on the GOT?

Corn

350hp, 365 lb-ft of torque.

Basically alot more than the puny tires it ships with can manage. Reminds me of a certain Acura...... :licka:

2004MT6TL

It's a sad car. I cannot believe that the American car compainies are taking a Austrailian GM Holden and making a half-hearted attempt to give a re-birth to the GTO. A car that looks like a Cavilear does not give justice to the orginal GTO, they should be ashamed. If you were going to remake the legend of the GTO proper, you would have to take the styling cues from the orginal version, not rebadge an already existing car and drop a vette engine in it. Same goes for the Bonneville, Malibu, or any thing like that. As much as I dislike American cars, I really admire ford for hiring a designer like J Mays to design cars like the new GT, Mustang, Cobra, etc. it shows taste and respect for the orginal designers. My .02

Type S Lady

Dang, they basically own the road then. American muscle, hate but can't beat it. :worship:

Corn

Ummmm, what do you think the "original" GTO's were? Simply a rebadged Tempest/LeMans with a hopped up engine. The only thing missing from the current incarnation is hood scoops..........

The fact is that the original GTO's were bricks on wheels. As I stated before, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but personally I'll take the more modern interpertation of what made the GTO great (affordable mid sized coupe with crazy performance) than a "new" brick on wheels.

Type S Lady

Corn, why didn't you just wait the 4 months for the GTO?

Corn

In anticipation of my late December arrival date for the GTO I ordered, I put my Audi S4 up for sale. Ended up selling it to one of my neighbors who had been eyeing it for a couple years. I simply cannot go 4 months without transporation and didn't feel like enduring the hassle of purchasing a beater or sharing the Pacifica with my wife.

Believe me, I did a lot of agonizing over my purchase decision, in the end it just came down to the simple fact that I have a 30 mile commute to work and I needed a car to get me there.

Besides, the TL is a pretty sweet ride, even with the craptanza's and droopy headliner.

Type S Lady

Now I understand. Craptanza's (that is funny)! Atleast it ain't the tranny!

berzerker

The GTO I saw at the Atlanta car show already had pieces of plastic interior trim popping off/coming loose. This from a car on a pedastal that nobody could get in to much less even touch.

ndabunka

The GTO has 350HP and good torque but the performance isn't that good for that much power. Zero to sixty in 5.4? In comparison, the CLK55 is 342HP/376Torque and zero to sixty in 4.9. The GTO "barely" squeaks into the high 13's. The CLK is mid to low thriteens. Where's the value? Besides the radio volume button is on the wrong side (ala foreigners car).

Corn

Can't keep the rubber planted. Unfortunately that car is waaaaay under-tired.

edit: That comparo with the Merc was an Auto. The 4-speed auto is a relic from the past, no doubt. Of course I'm partial to the 6-speed manual myself. The only way to drive!

jjsC5

Where's the value, you ask! I read the same road test. The Mercedes cost twice as much. For that it runs 1/2 second faster in the quarter. Do you think THAT is value?

I understand the issues with the bland styling, but we must remember if it wasn't an existing car, it wouldn't exist at all. We should be giving GM credit for doing what they did with it. And is also has a reputation for being a very refined, solid car. Does it have shortcomings? Absolutely. But it does exist, and it offers some "qualities" that nothing else in it's class offers.

Four years ago I had a Volvo C70 coupe. Damn nice car, with excellent performance. I kept saying to myself - if only it had a torquey V8 and RWD (too much turbo lag in the Volvo). Well, that's exactly what the GTO is - it even looks a lot like the C70.

caball88

the GTO is really ugly, alot of american cars need to rethink their styling. there are only a few that are decent looking.

jjsC5

I have to agree with you on that. But the Americans aren't the only ones (and the GTO is not American styling).

Have you seen the shnoz on the upcoming Audi models? And Audi used to be the epidimy of good taste. Only Aston Martin seems to understand good looks from every angle.

ck37

Well the T-Bird was priced wrong, not enough power, in the beginning, and the options were a joke. Also, from prototype to production, it lost the luxury(ie. interior) that it needed to hold a 35,000+ price tag.

Norse396

Thank GOD Ford went with the old live axle, less crap to break. When I buy my new Stang it will be something I can work on, that 8.8 is something millions of guys know inside out. Throw in the '03 390hp V8 and I'll be smiling all the way into the 11's. The 2 dealers by me have sold every single T'Bird they were given to sell, Ford's problem was it's priceing of the T'Bird, heck look at the new Chevy SSR, tell me that pig is worth 45k, no way no how.

ck37

They are all sold because hertz rental cars has them!!
Isn't it funny how the american car makers, build something unique and over price the sucker so no one buys it? The Mustang seems to be priced right, but your right, the SSR is a joke.
The only attractive American car right now that is priced decent is the 300C.

I have a feeling once the inital hype of the GTO wears off because it will, it will be in the same boat as the T-bird. This could have been Pontiac's big break out, but instead they choked. Sorry to all that have the GTO, but there is nothing original about the car, minus the engine. Even that isn't anything to write home about.

bunyip

My choices in a new car came down to the GTO and the TL. Wife said I "had" to have at least 4 doors. So the decision became academic at that point.

And maybe because I grew up with that styling, I really like the GTO.

BrandHdriver

You're out of your f-in mind, homeboy. Take a look at the '67-68 Firebird and the '68 GTO. Or, try the '65 GTO. :argue:

AzNxJ32Aspec

actually according to the Pontiac website this car runs Sub 14's...which basically means 13.7? 13.9?....i mean...dude the TL does the same....they're both FWD, but u know what? 1K gas guzzler for GTO not to mention its a 5.7L V8....dude if Acura was tuning with an 8cyl engine....4.2L is more than enough to crank out 350 ponies on the V-tec....not to mention our TL's ARE SOHC....

1SICKLEX

Well since it seems only 1 or 2 people here no anything, the original GTO was not a looker either. Delorean just slapped a big ass engine in the Pontiac Tempest (I think it was the Tempest).
The Morano is an old car, remember the Caddy Catera? Think 2 door version (and that is based on an Opel). Imagine how old this is. It only took $25mill to make it into a coupe by Holden. That is AMAZING, so they had LIMITED funds to work with and made a marvel.

The Morano is incredible, period. Bob Lutz recognized the potential to bring a quality made, REAL GTO here. Not so sissy V-6, FWD (no offense) Monte Carlo SS or Impala SS. SHAME they use the SS name with that kind of setup.

Yes, the styling is pretty snore but sans the new TL, every Acura is a bore to look at. Slap some wheels, import a Morano bodykit and it changes. The AWD Morano has fender flares which really helps the looks.

The interior is one of the best GM has, even though it lacks a sunroof and some newer tidbits.

We are talking the Vette engine. The possibilites are ENDLESS. Rhys Millen is drifting the GTO too!

For all this talk of Americanized CL, the Acura CL was compared to the Ford Thunderbird. And it is no longer made. The GTO, IMO is a value for 33k, IMO a tossup with the G35 coupe. I'm leaning toward the GTO.

ck37

Your right, the origianl GTO wasn't anything to right home about, but after the first year, Pontiac saw what they had and capitalized on it. It in turn progressed into a looker.
However we are not in the early 60's any more. The GTO has a name that stands for something in Automotive history. if you are going to revive it, do it right. Don't go shopping in Australia for a car that looks like a grand am, hell if you are going to look elswhere, look at something that signifies what the GTO is about!
As for the interior, if it is anything of the quality of the 04 Grand Prix, because it resembles it in some ways, I would look elswhere. I had one for four months. The dash was F__kin hollow!! Talk about cheap? sit in one of those for a minute, you will understand why GM is lacking in many ways.

Corn

Trust me on this, it isn't. Maybe not the equal of the TL, but its solid and made of nice materials. Hands down the best interior GM has ever produced, especially the seats. My only complaint is the color coded dials, blech!

AzNxJ32Aspec

you're comparing a 80K mercedes with a 35K Pontiac.

AzNxJ32Aspec

power+value > looks

niko14

Get the FACTS Straight...
The AT on the GTO is CRAP and the numbers are very weak... 6 speed on the GTO are in the low 13's and comprable #'s to CLK55. And remember the CLK has no manual option, so i guess you have to compare it with the AT GTO, but give me a break 6speed on the new GTO is a MUCH better comparison. And put down the motertrend