I like the interior and the drivetrain but not the body styling. On car and driver they said the suspension was way to soft because some form of the car was already being sold in australia, and they have bad roads, but not under the name GTO. So basically GM took a car in production from australia, brought it to the US, beefed it up and called it the GTO.(or so says car and driver)
it doesnt seem like GM spent too much time on this car...

 

The Holden (GM's Australian division) Monaro is the Australian counterpart to the GTO. The only differences between the GTO and the Holden are the left hand drive, front end treament, true dual exhaust, and a few saftey features and such. Other than that, they are the same car. The Holden is an excellent car that has a pretty good reputation in it's race car form in the Australian touring car circut. Since Holden is a GM company, GM actually spent plenty of time on the car.

I'm starting to like the GTO. It's styling is a bit bland, but everything else about the car is great. Bob Lutz announced before the GTO even went on sale last fall that the 05 versions would have a few more aggressive styling cues, as wel as more horsepower. I have to believe that that is contributing to the slow sales. People are waiting for the 05's this fall knowing they will be getting a better car.

 

thank you for the enlightenment.
BTW: I try not to take Car and Driver too seriously because they are really hard on almost all GM cars and trucks, for example: I read an article on the 05 corvette(which is awesome) and they pretty much gave it an OK even though it now has 400 hp and looks way better. I hear they are known for being hard on GM.

 

i think that if they had priced it lower, it would have sold better...26-28K and they would seel alot better....

 

I liek the GTO, I just really think GM overpriced the vehicle, as they did with the Camaro and Firebird. This is just my opinion, but people want something that performs that they can afford fairly easily. Why do you think high school kids modify civics and other little cars? Because they can get 40 mpg, and "go fast"(import def. of fast). Cheap thrills if you wanna put it that way. Also, I have looked at Car and Driver several times, and they do nothing but downgrade American companies. Lately though, they've been kissing up to Dodge and their "HEMI", now their new fling is Almighty Nissan Titan. But C & D is def. hard on American companies, especially GM.

 

They put a GTO badge on it, and stopped the design team there.
All that's going to do is get folks nastalgic, and look once.

Instead of a design team project, they should of had a design team contest.

In a way, didn't Ford learn this lesson with Mustang.

GM should know better, remember the Cadillac that was all hood and no trunk.

 

Ford had their own version of the "French Curve" Cadillac Sevilles. Anyone remember the Lincoln Versailles?

<shudder>

 

It costs too much. It costs about 35K, plain jane. It's pushing 40K with most the option packages available. People that want a Pontiac toy can't justify spending that much. Average Joes might spend 35-40K on a do everything truck, but not a car. People that will spend 40K and up on a performance car arn't going to buy a Pontiac. American name plates, particularly GM, don't carry the same chic with the well to do crowd, as Foriegn name plates like Porshe, Lexus, BMW...ect.. That's why the new T-bird didn't sell well, because most people with money to spend on that kind of car, are going to buy a Mercedes for a few dollors more. The Corvette will always have a small following though. The Vette is good performance value compared to a Boxer or a Viper, and about the only good looking vehicle in GM's entire line up. The SSR cruck costs 50K, so it's not going to sell either.

Mustang is a respected name plate, and will continue to be, given what a good job they did on the 05, provided the GT and base cars are not priced too high. It's all about bang for the buck. The Mustang is a good looking, great value, and has for most of it's history carried a coolness factor that the GM F-body imitators could never match. People with an expensive SUV/truck or a Foreign car don't mind parking a stang next to it in the garage. A modern V8 Mustang can knock down 30MPG on the highway too.

 

Um, the T-Bird didn't sell well for the plain and simple reason that the handling SUCKED. Retro looks, retro "numb" steering and handling. Bleah.

 

I disagree. I think the Bird didn't sell well because;
*Ford diddled-around with the release too long.
*It could have used more power, and tighter handling...but it was ment to be a cruiser, not a Vette.
*It was over-priced.
*The dealers were gouging the public by selling them for way over sticker.

My wife really wants one, but we'll have to wait til the used Bird prices come down. For her the car is perfect...maybe that's what Ford intended.

MR

 

Um, it's got terminal understeer; several reviewers said that the handling was just frightening in a modern car. I tend to agree with them. They did just fix the power issue, though.

 

After seeing the promo for the GTO on USA(The Last Ride), I will never buy one. I would have rather seen them crash 50 new GTO's then the 1969 GTO Judge. Makes me sick to my stomach every time Hollywood crashes a true musle car, being GM, Dodge, or Ford and leaving the rice burners intact.

Sorry about the rant
Had to get it off my chest and thought this would be the time to do it.

 

They didn't crash a real 69. It was an old Tempest that got repainted and rebadged - and nobody cares about a Tempest.

 

Y'all catch the way many of the 'car action' scenes were shot?
They didn't really want to show a continuous shot of the hum drum Pontiac wallowing around a corner so they used that speed/slow and then cut process (I know there's got to be a name for it, but I don't like it anyway), didn't want to show the mechanical star of the show bottoming out its tires on the fenders.
Ending was dumb, real dumb. Not a bad story line though, seems like they could have managed to save one scrap of evidence somewhere.

OK, never mind the story line, WHAT A BABE!!!!!!!

 

The only option available on the GTO is the 6 speed manual transmission which costs $700. Other than that, the only choices are the colors, there are no "option packages." With the 6 spd, the GTO goes for $34,000, not any where near $40,000.

I don't think the price is contributing to the slow sales as much as, like I said before, the promise of a more powerful car in 2005. If you had the choice to buy an 04 right now, or wait 4 months and get an 05 with 50 more HP at about the same price, what would you do?