1st Impression - GTO - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

zackwatt · 08-02-2007, 01:38 PM

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 · 08-02-2007, 01:45 PM

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 · 08-02-2007, 02:59 PM

Quote:

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.

zackwatt · 08-02-2007, 03:17 PM

That must prove it then, I have liked the 3 previous generations of the WRX. I hate the new one. Also like the way the GTO looks. Like I've said, I've been known to have poor taste. LOL

SC986 · 08-02-2007, 03:48 PM

I am surprised that there is 400hp under the hood. Never would have thunk it.

I think it's a crime for this to wear a GTO badge. Truly a great muscle car that deserves its legacy or a revival worthy of its past. Just cheap attempt by Pontiac to get sales of the name.

And this coming from a former fan, I had a 72 GTO 455 and 73 455 Trans Am.

Oh well.

08-02-2007, 03:56 PM

Looks pretty funky with 400hp if you ask me. I'd trade for a day.

Grizzly · 08-02-2007, 05:49 PM

Quote:

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.

humara · 08-02-2007, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grizzly

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.

Umm, isn't that exactly what the original GTO was? they took some already in production car (the tempest) and slapped a new grille and engine in it and called it a gto. the name gto isn't even original. the name was "inspired by" ferrari. and when they say "inspired by" they mean ripped off. that coke head john delorean probably didn't even know what gto stood for.

Grizzly · 08-02-2007, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by humara

Umm, isn't that exactly what the original GTO was? they took some already in production car (the tempest) and slapped a new grille and engine in it and called it a gto. the name gto isn't even original. the name was "inspired by" ferrari. and when they say "inspired by" they mean ripped off. that coke head john delorean probably didn't even know what gto stood for.

The difference is that when Gee, Delorean, Estes, Knudsen, Wangers and the others got together and built the first muscle-car, they were doing something totally new. They took a cheap, midsized car, stuffed it full of motor and went hunting a previously unfulfilled market.

The fact that they named the car GTO was no accident. They pilfered the name on purpose, as a tongue in cheek shot at Ferrari. The purists went nuts, which was exactly what marketing genius Jim Wangers was hoping. It caused a stir within the automotive community and attracted a lot of attention that the car may not have otherwise garnered. One of the car magazines at the time actually pitted the Ferrari GTO against the Pontiac GTO. Much to Ferrari's chagrin, the Pontiac handily outran the Ferrari in straight-line acceleration (the only thing Pontiac really cared about), further solidifying the Goat's street cred.

Those guys built an entire automotive movement by doing something that hadn't been seen before, and targeting a specific and under-served market segment. As a result, the Pontiac GTO name became automotive legend. Pontiac made a bad choice when they chose to revive the nameplate and stick it on a completely uninspiring vehicle, which doesn't give even the slightest nod to GTO's history.

Had Pontiac taken the performance of their current car and wrapped it in an attractive body, which was reminiscent of the GTO's storied past, the car could have been great, and Pontiac's sales numbers might have reflected their success. Instead, they dropped the ball, and the final chapter in GTO's history is one of dismal sales numbers for a fast Sunbird look-alike.

yellowboxster01 · 08-03-2007, 01:04 AM

Grizzly are you speaking of the 288GTO?

08-03-2007, 04:31 AM

Grizzly, good history lesson. Thanks!

Grizzly · 08-03-2007, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowboxster01

Grizzly are you speaking of the 288GTO?

It was the 250 GTO, produced from '62 - '64. The 250 GTO was an interesting story in itself. Ferrari was able to convince the racing regulators that the GTO was a 250 GT, which had been converted for racing, when in fact, it was a largely different, purpose built race car. Only 30 or so Ferrari GTOs were ever built. I don't know how many survived, but when they're offered for sale, they go in the ten-million dollar range.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmussatti

Grizzly, good history lesson. Thanks!

Yeah Bill, I'm a wealth of completely useless muscle car information, but ask me if I remembered to take the trash out. I have no idea.

yellowboxster01 · 08-03-2007, 10:57 AM

So they ran a modern day GTO against a early 60's model Ferrari. Big deal, run that GTO against any modern day Ferrari and they'll get their ass handed to them. The GTO250 was top dog in the 60's and 70's but, really is nothing compared with any of the F series.

I remember a few years back an American car company ran one of their new cars and said "beats a Ferrari in the quarter mile". No where in there did it say which model, it turned to be a Mondial.