Well, I guess I have to change a few things I've said previously about the GTO. The side profile doesn't look like a Dodge Stratus, it looks like a larger cavalier from the side. That's pretty much it. The car looks even duller in person, and all 6 of my buddies that were with me thought so too.

But enough dwelling on the "GTO". I have a few other comments to make. As a vehement Chevy supporter, it pains me a bit to say the coolest automobiles were found at the Ford section.

The 05 Mustang concept looks better in person than in the pictures. In the pictures, the car looks bloated and not slick enough (ie. too BMW-ish). In real-life, the Mustang concept looks very sleek, and very much like a sports car.

The Saleen display was very flashy, especially with the bright orange, chromed-out, Saleen S-281 convertible. Certainly a plus, but I wish there would have been a Lingenfelter section.

What surprised me was the Ford trucks. Now, I've never been a truck guy at all, but the new F-150, the Lightning, and the 03 Harley Davidson truck were awesome. If I had a truck, it would be one of those three. Very nice.

But as I made my way towards the Chevy section, from a distance, I seen what I had come for. Like a light-house shining through a stormy night at sea, in the middle of the Chevy section, sat the C5 anniversary Corvette. A reminder that GM is still capable of putting exciting cars into production. The Corvette had it's usual line of people patiently waiting to get in the driver's seat and envision what it would be like to drive one of the original American sports cars.

There was a rather large empty spot in the Chevy section, almost like it held the ghost of the Camaro. It is a shame to go to the auto show and not have the chance to see the latest offering from the Chevy Camaro. I looked at the large empty spot on the floor which was now occupied by a middle aged women waking along with her adolescent children, and her husband by her side. He was talking on his cell-phone, something about stocks, or Wall Street.

After a brief stay at the Chevy section, I walked back to the Ford area, where the rest of my friends were waiting for me.

 

a sad day indeed.

 

You described the looks of the GTO pretty much how I see it in allthe pictures... a 97+ Grand Prix from the front, and an oversized Cavalier from the side...

Again, I don't think it is ugly by any means... just on the bland / too familiar side...

A lot of people say it is different in person, you are the first to go against that... Thanks for the info!

 

i don't see how you would compare the GTO to a cav or a sunfire or anything like that.... maybe its because of that back wing, which by the way "no - one options a wing on a Monaro in aussie.'

i will again show you a video of one driving past.... (if you cant see the diff between a cav, or stratus and the gto, then sorry but your not very observant for an enthusiast.)

http://www.micro-op.com.au/execls1/nm.mpeg

and i am also surprised how you all worship a concept car (the mustang), all because of the hate of the discontinuation of the f-body, has turned you all anti GM.

Couple that with the fact that the GTO is made in australia and it hurts your feelings...

it is quite a reciepe for disaster...

but regardless the GTO will sell, strong... all 18K !!!

in the mean time the 'show car' mustang will be undergoing changes, to bring it back down to earth , and compete at a GT's price and power... ,and by '05 the GTO will get LS6, scoops , dual exhaust..

i think things will not be so lop-sided by the time '05 stang , is actually production ready.

Two seater mustang? mustang gt with 400hp ?? yahhh... its nice to dream....

oh and to everyone that thinks the GTO will be mistaken for a GP or cav... etc.... the GTO will make you recognise it by methods other than its good looks... click here

 

I agree with pentatonic. I saw the gto at the detroit auto show, I spent a good deal of time looking at it from every angle, and it really looks dull, not ugly, just really dull. It really does look like a cavalier from the side, a little bigger though. I also agree that the mustang looks spectacular. Sure, it's a concept, and it will change in production form. But that concept looked ALOT more exciting than the gto. That's not just my opinion, there were so many people around the mustang, it was tough to get near it and take a good photo. I think there were about 6 - 10 people around the gto, two of which i heard say they don't like it.

Ude-lose, I don't think seeing your video would change my mind. I'm not bitter and anti-gm. But to me, the gto is the plain vanilla of performance cars.

Oh, and being from Canada, it doesn't bother me that the gto is made outside of the U.S.

 

I'm going to NAIAS tonight. I'll let you know what I think.

 

Sheez, I may as well not even bother going when the Cleveland show comes around , because after reading your upcoming post-trip report, I'll know how I'll react to everything, since we always see everything in the same light!!! LOL!

 

I went to the auto show yesterday as well and took a look at the GTO ( one of the first on my list) and hoping that it would look better in person than it did on the screen. I too was disappointed, I agree that it was plain, too similar to the current line of Pointiacs, the front looks like a grand am-prix, and the back of the car was very boring, no more exciting than that of a camary, especially with its two small exhaust pipes, side by side, the interior looked nice and the engine looked great, although I saw that they lowered the output to 340 HP. I even came back to it later when I was about to leave, hoping maybe I would see something more, I didn't, and I also heard most poeple commenting that they didn't like it. My dad did not like it either, He used to own an old 69 GTO and was disappointed at what it is now.
I personally didn't like it and would not concider buying one. I too liked the new mustang as well as the new RX-8($25k) and the 350Z wasn't too bad either ($35k). I was really hoping that they would have the new CTS-v out so I could take a look at that. Its one of the few GM cars I'd concider buying at abpout now, there is the Vette of course but the price is a bit too high for me to handle.

The SS looked the same in person as it did on the screen. I like it for the most part, the rear is great as well as the profile, but there is something about the front I just don't like. I was also disappointed that the sky, and solstice were not there.

And man were there a number of trucks there, the new lightning is very nice, the Silverado SS is nice too, but anemically powered .

Yeah I was hurt a little, but I am not anti-GM, its just that GM has nothing in production that I like AND that I can afford .

I want a ~$30K RWD high performance car. Plain an simple in production Nissan, Mazda and ford has them, GM does not.

Sorry this got so long

Chris

 

Production Mustang's already done. The concept was actually made after the production version was...the concept's based on the actual 2005 Mustang, not the other way around .

The GTO already has duals, it's just that the both exit on the same side.

The upgraded 2005 GTO LS6 will infact have some more cues (scoops & rear end). But what's even more interesting, the ALL NEW GTO will be out only about 1 year after the new Mustang.

 

Quoted from a ford exec..-------------------------
"Officially, they're concepts, but dont let the label fool you. This is Ford's 22005 Mustang.
"There's not spitting distance between the two," admits Ford sesign chief J Mays. "If you like this car, you'll like the production car."
Yo will have to look past the conceot cars embellishments. The convertable's roll bar and its cut down windshield, for example, are clearly show pieces. Both versions of the concept are 2 seaters--the coupe has its spare wheel located under the rear glass where the back seat would be--but the real Mustang will retain its 2+2 seating.
----------------------------------------------------------

 

like i said by 2005 the race will have evened up between the stang and gto... has anyone seen this production '05 mustang that looks like the show car, i would like to see a pic... and not a just a cad drawing...of it.

whats this big surprise at the GM stand for the chigago show everyone is talking about ?

if its not a camaro.... it must be the el-camino....SS

judging by the rection of the north american continent re: the GTO there will be some nice examples sitting on dealers lots, at under sticker price....

 

Front of the Mustang is dead on to the production, the rear has smaller 3 part taillights, and the rear quarters were triangular windows, not the Shelby-ish fill ins. It also had what looked like a fake gas cap between the rear lights. Sorry, no pictures.

Except for the Corvette salon, I don't think there is anything new at Chicago, though knowing that there won't be a C6 preview till introduction, I'm really curious as to what a Corvette salon is.

My prediction of the GTO:
The 1st batch will sell out to the 'gotta have it' crowd; the '05 will be the one to sell to the ' new GTO's boring' crowd, because of LS6 engine & scoops; and finally, the '06 will sell to the 'it doesn't look like a GTO' crowd, because it's the one that will be redesigned, & is likely to be 'stupid fast' (new engine..Gen3). Also by that time, the new GTO's performance reputation will be very solidly entrenched.

 

God I hope Pontiac styling doesn't flow back into Aus

You can keep your Ribs and Hood Tachs etc.

If I wanted tacky add-ons I'd buy a Ricer.

 

middle ground.pontiac needs a middle ground.you can be understated without being boring,look at the '70 firebird formula,understated,yet very aggressive and sexy.any GTO from '64 to '74,very understated(except that gaudy judge) yet muscular and definately not boring(even '73 and '74).this new GTO makes vanilla look sexy.

 

Is it me or does that car's body look a little different than the GTO from the side??