The problem with GTO......it hit me!!!!!!

I went to a local cruise night tonight.

Parked at the end of one of the rows was a Quicksilver Metallic '04 GTO. I think they look sharp in that color.That shade seems to translate the understated sportiness of the original '64/'65 faithfully....for the 21st century.

Afew rows down was a white '64 GTO. As I was checking it out...I imagined how much sportier this car must have appeared in 1964, compared to a base six cylinder Lemans...what, with it's sporty hubcaps, redline tires, fake hoodscoops, splitter exhaust tips, tri-power 389, Hurst 4-speed shifter and GTO badging.

AND THEN IT HIT ME!
The problem with the GTO is that we have no base car to compare it to. If we only had a base Lemans V-car here. Beige, with mouse fur bench seats, column shifter, 15" wheels with hubcaps, base drivetrain,........etc. Compared to that, I'd doubt that there would many complaints about how sporty the GTO looks.

AHAHAHAHAHAH :lol:

awesome. Yeah, all we need is a low quality Monaro here, that will fix everything. :)

AHAHAHAHAHAH :lol:

awesome. Yeah, all we need is a low quality Monaro here, that will fix everything. :)

Now thats what we have low quality Pontiacs for.

The interiors of even the new GM FWD cars are a JOKE!!! With the exeption of Caddy the rest of GM is still behing in interior quality.

I wouldnt go that far....
My Maxx has a pretty good interior. Its not Lexus, but I didnt expect that. Everything feels great, no more cheap mouse fur, and the Cobalt will up the bar when it is released.
The G6's interior is also top notch as well. The Impala will also get a new interior when the redesigned model hits next year.
GM is improving interiors, and they keep stepping it up everytime a new car is released.

You know, I finally found the exact person they're marketing the GTO to today. A 20-something co worker wants something sporty and fast, but he doesnt want flashy (no camaro/firebird/mustang) and the EVO / STI are too over-the-top for him. I showed him the GTO and he fell in love with it. He couldnt stop asking about it, and of course I was giddy to give him information.

Another interesting thing is that he didnt care it gets the LS2 next year, as the 50 hp does not make a difference to him, as long as it scoots ok and has a 6 speed. Too bad I end my rotation next week or I'd get to drive a GTO soon ;)

Yeah, all we need is a low quality Monaro here, that will fix everything. :)

Not so much a "low quality Monaro"...but a reference point, to let people know that this is the special one.

Yeah, it's certainly a sleeper, and alot of people don't really appreciate or want those these days. But if it's what you're looking for, it looks great.

Don't know.

But i certainly would welcome one that wasn't fully loaded already. Give it a standard list of options, knock 5 grand off the sticker, still give it the ls1/ls2 and A4/6spd, and let the buyers pick their options from there. Imagine getting a base Ls2 goat with a T56 for 26-27k. No more b!tching about price. Us cheapies can go after the real base model without all the fluff, and still walk away with 90% of the car. At that price, i'm sure people can look past the understated looks. I know i could:).

I went to a local cruise night tonight.

AND THEN IT HIT ME!
The problem with the GTO is that we have no base car to compare it to. If we only had a base Lemans V-car here. Beige, with mouse fur bench seats, column shifter, 15" wheels with hubcaps, base drivetrain,........etc. Compared to that, I'd doubt that there would many complaints about how sporty the GTO looks.

You do have a point there..

here is what you would be thinking of... base model tempest.

v6 or optional v8 and six speed and 3.46 lsd.

cloth trimmed interior, no leather wheel or gearknob, or stiching in iterior

plain guages, no satin nickel trimmings.

no cruise control.

no traction control.

no power windows.

no cd stacker/ premium sound system

15" steel rims with hub caps

and possibly below or just barely above 20k ?

well here it is (http://gallery.consumerreview.com/car/gallery/pictures/EXECLS1.jpg)

well here it is (http://gallery.consumerreview.com/car/gallery/pictures/EXECLS1.jpg)

:eek:

I'd defintely buy that. I do'nt know how many other people are like us, but a low optioned very basic vehicle with a awesome powerplant is exactly what i want.

:eek:

I'd defintely buy that.

Ude_lose did buy that ;)

Ude_lose did buy that ;)

and posted a best of 13.6 @ 103 mph ... stock.

good thing it weighs about 100lbs lighter than a GTO too due to its stripper nature.

i have updated the rims and done a bit of ls1 edit magic since :D see here (http://www.micro-op.com.au/execls1/3a.jpg)

I'd agree with Ude Lose accept the 15" wheels. Caps or low grade alloys at least 16". It's just part of the image of the vehicle. They have a 300 here for sale and correct me if I'm wrong but it has 17" hub caps!?!?! :eek:

A V8, low grade or high grade deserves some decent rubber.

You do have a point there..

here is what you would be thinking of... base model tempest.

v6 or optional v8 and six speed and 3.46 lsd.

cloth trimmed interior, no leather wheel or gearknob, or stiching in iterior

plain guages, no satin nickel trimmings.

no cruise control.

no traction control.

no power windows.

no cd stacker/ premium sound system

15" steel rims with hub caps

and possibly below or just barely above 20k ?

well here it is (http://gallery.consumerreview.com/car/gallery/pictures/EXECLS1.jpg)

EXACTLY!

AND THEN IT HIT ME!
The problem with the GTO is that we have no base car to compare it to. If we only had a base Lemans V-car here. Beige, with mouse fur bench seats, column shifter, 15" wheels with hubcaps, base drivetrain,........etc. Compared to that, I'd doubt that there would many complaints about how sporty the GTO looks.

The problem with the GTO is that, as far as styling goes, it is pontiacs base car.

You do have a point there..

here is what you would be thinking of... base model tempest.

v6 or optional v8 and six speed and 3.46 lsd.

cloth trimmed interior, no leather wheel or gearknob, or stiching in iterior

plain guages, no satin nickel trimmings.

no cruise control.

no traction control.

no power windows.

no cd stacker/ premium sound system

15" steel rims with hub caps

and possibly below or just barely above 20k ?

well here it is (http://gallery.consumerreview.com/car/gallery/pictures/EXECLS1.jpg)

Can't get Exec V8's anymore....how much would the SV8 be in $US dollars?

Yeah, it's certainly a sleeper, and alot of people don't really appreciate or want those these days. But if it's what you're looking for, it looks great.


I hate how pontiac tried to make it an upper class sports car. Plane and simple..pontiac is what most people remember as the wild styleing and the sportier versions of chevy cars. Now, if you want a plane jane rwd sports sedan get a friggen BMW M3, roadster etc. Same goes for Mercedes and lexus they all have plane jane performance models..and guess what they have been high class since the get go...you cant just switch your target market and expect to do well, cause a) your just gunna piss off the market you were targeting last year and B) you wont have enough of a loyal fan base to do so. Just because you charge 35k for a car doesnt mean that your gunna be takeing buyers from BMW Luxus etc. Its like buick trying to be the new lexus, and caddy has always been up scale...just leave bmw etc to caddy and let pontiac be the wild styled cars that offer that something different that you cant get anywhere else. Pontiac will always be known for the older GTO, bird, etc.

I hate how pontiac tried to make it an upper class sports car. Plane and simple..pontiac is what most people remember as the wild styleing and the sportier versions of chevy cars. Now, if you want a plane jane rwd sports sedan get a friggen BMW M3, roadster etc. Same goes for Mercedes and lexus they all have plane jane performance models..and guess what they have been high class since the get go...you cant just switch your target market and expect to do well, cause a) your just gunna piss off the market you were targeting last year and B) you wont have enough of a loyal fan base to do so. Just because you charge 35k for a car doesnt mean that your gunna be takeing buyers from BMW Luxus etc. Its like buick trying to be the new lexus, and caddy has always been up scale...just leave bmw etc to caddy and let pontiac be the wild styled cars that offer that something different that you cant get anywhere else. Pontiac will always be known for the older GTO, bird, etc.

so by your thinking , since the GTO isn't good enough in your mind, pontiac should have nothing except the GP , till '07 - '08 when the next body style comes in... thats a bit selfish on your part, just because you don't like a flat 13s 6.0L GTO thats coming next year :confused: