1st Impression - GTO

[humara]

Originally Posted by NickCats

My co-worker bought her 16 yr old son a Pontiac GTO for his birthday ( she told him she would if he got straight A's ) and she brought it to work yesterday and let me take it for a spin.

Nice car, more of a luxury coupe than a pure sports car ( with a big old engine - 400 hp ). Very quick off the line, nice interior, and Blaupunkt stereo.

Gotta say, though, once I got back in the Box for the ride home, I still like my car a hell of a lot better

Nick

obviously i am not going to debate the merits of shoehorning a big v8 into an otherwise mundane car, but damn, that is about the ugliest POS out on the road. this truly is a case of the "putting lipstick on a gorilla". since it is so fast, you'd think they'd at least make the back of it nice.

[Pat]

Proof you can't polish a turd.

[Perfectlap]

ouch...tough crowd.

For an American car its not so bad. I saw a red one in traffic yesterday and it caught my eye. I dind't realize it was a Pontiac until I looked closer.
I think last year they had a TV movie where the new GTO was like a central theme with a ton of Pontiac commercials. At one point the main character had to disguise the GTO to avoid the police so they modified it with new paint and new wheels.
Can't believe I sat through the whole thing...

[Grizzly]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

ouch...tough crowd.

For an American car its not so bad

You're kidding, right? It looks exactly like a Sunbird. It may be quick, but that thing is a disgrace to one of the most revered names in Musclecardom.

[spark00]

Originally Posted by Grizzly

You're kidding, right? It looks exactly like a Sunbird. It may be quick, but that thing is a disgrace to one of the most revered names in Musclecardom.

Totally agree with Grizzly about it being disgrace to American Muscle cars. I love the way vintage muscle cars look but whatever they are producing these days are just ugly. I wanted to stay away from commenting on look of GTO since it is more personal taste question but I can't get over how it looks as ugly as Cavaliers. Most of us in this forum has some idea on what looks good since we drive one of better looking cars out there. Maybe I'm not seeing it but GTO is one ugly car with gas guzzling engine in it. I heard this from someone and it's somewhat true these days about American auto industry. "Americans don't make cars, they make people transporting devices with 4 wheels"

[zackwatt]

WOW Guys, It's hard to watch you trash one of my favorite cars.

First off, I know its got a Pontiac badge, and that instantly takes away any possible coolness. For those who don't know this is what this car really is:



A Holden Monaro, for the Aussi's, or a Vauxhall Monaro for the European Union.
This is a great car, especially for the money. For those of you who are Top Gear fans, you understand that this is good simple Australian muscle and that this car handles! This car fools alot of people, but it can keep up with many of the mighty cars of today. I also like the looks. I admit they are love it or hate it, but the simple clean look is timeless and classic. Although I've been known to have poor taste . The downfall of this car was poor advertising. It's that simple. I think GM did the best they could to have this car live up to the GTO name, It just did not work out. I like it better as a Monaro anyway. At least they did not ruin the name like Dodge did to the Charger.
Don't let that Pontiac Dress blind you from a truly great car.

[spark00]

zackwatt, you can't have poor taste since you seem to own 2 of my favorite cars, FX and Boxster. i'll see if i can forgive you for liking the looks of GTO. haha.

not the right thread but Top Gear Rocks!!

[humara]

Originally Posted by zackwatt

WOW Guys, It's hard to watch you trash one of my favorite cars.

First off, I know its got a Pontiac badge, and that instantly takes away any possible coolness. For those who don't know this is what this car really is:



A Holden Monaro, for the Aussi's, or a Vauxhall Monaro for the European Union.
This is a great car, especially for the money. For those of you who are Top Gear fans, you understand that this is good simple Australian muscle and that this car handles! This car fools alot of people, but it can keep up with many of the mighty cars of today. I also like the looks. I admit they are love it or hate it, but the simple clean look is timeless and classic. Although I've been known to have poor taste . The downfall of this car was poor advertising. It's that simple. I think GM did the best they could to have this car live up to the GTO name, It just did not work out. I like it better as a Monaro anyway. At least they did not ruin the name like Dodge did to the Charger.
Don't let that Pontiac Dress blind you from a truly great car.

it's not ugly because it's a pontiac. it's just ugly. call it what you want, holden monaro, vauxhall, whatever. the brand doesn't change the looks. it's fine to have a fast and ugly car. i had a wrx for 3 years. another great (ugly) car for the money. great value, sure. great looking, no. it's just bad. any positive attributes you see in the car are from its performance, not from its looks.

[Grizzly]

Originally Posted by zackwatt

For those who don't know this is what this car really is:
A Holden Monaro, for the Aussi's, or a Vauxhall Monaro for the European Union.

My point exactly...You don't take some already in production car, regardless of how good it may be, slap a new grille in it and call it a GTO. For those who don't know, the original GTO was the first true musclecar. It started what I consider to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, periods in the history of the automobile. I'm not a GM fan necessarily, but it is impossible to discount the original GTO's contribution to automotive history. Without the Goat, many of the most desirable nameplates on the planet may never have come to be. While a few manufacturers have been able to successfully evoke the passion of their golden past, Pontiac certainly missed the mark with the new GTO.



If you want to see how to do it right, just check out the 2005 Ford GT, 2008 Dodge Challenger, 2008 Chevrolet Camaro or 2008 Shelby GT500KR.

[silver arrow]

I test drove a 2005 GTO before I bought the STi back in 05. The GTO was the nicer car right up until the point in went around a corner.

Turn in.........................weight starts to transfer.........................car takes a set and turns. It felt like steering a cruise ship rather than a sporty car. The STi instantly turned in, just point and shoot. Had a terrible ride quality though and drew lots of attention. The Boxster is much lower key to drive normally and a blast to drive when I want to. Gets much better gas mileage than the STi too.

[Frodo]

Quote:

"No, no, no. They ran the '64 Pontiac GTO against the '64 Ferrari GTO back in 1964. If I remember clearly, it was Car and Driver Magazine, but I could be wrong."

Posted by Grizzly.

Yep, twas Car and Driver:

http://www.web-cars.com/gto/c-d_pf-gto.php

I hadn't realized this before, but sounds like Pontiac may have pulled a fast one, engine-wise:

http://www.contes.com/ccvmore.htm

In any case, as you point out Griz, they achieved the desired effect. The Goat sold pretty well!

[Brucelee]

All of these cars need to be considered in context.

Time period.

Market targetted

Price point

So, for the price, target market, and time period, the original Pontiac GTO was a real winner.

For other reasons, the recent GTO was not. However, comparing a recent GTO to a Box certainly is out of context. It was a large coupe with an very large engine.

Not exactly a Box competitor.

The early reviews on the Pontiac G8 are very positive. Will be interesting to see how it sells.