GTO isn't selling = sales failure. At this pace it will take them 4 years to sell the 04's and we are in the summer months. Oh, and saying the GTO is a GREAT car is stretching it a bit.

 

It's very dangerous to assume that the current monthly sales rate will continue at a new price. Demand for muscle cars is a major function of price. They will sell a lot quicker at a better price IMO. And yes as a matter of fact I do consider this a great car. YMMV. It's a stretch to say however that it's not selling. It's not selling at a pace that satisfies the Monday AM quarterbacks here, who thankfully are not captains of the industry ( ) -- but it is selling and from what I've seen it's putting a grin on the face of every buyer so far. If anyone has quotes from a dissatisfied 04 GTO owner... post 'em... I'm all ears

 

agreed. I have yet to find a unhappy GTO owner. I know 2 personaly, and they love there car.

 

Personally, i'd rather slap down $2k for a decent thirdgen and $4k for an engine tranny to throw in and outrun the GTO. I like the power, but the body is just Bleh, too conservative and ricey.

 

didnt know you could buy a third gen brand new? I agree with you on the looks and power...but Im talking about new cars vs new cars. IMO, I like the GTO's stance.

 

 

conservative and ricey, aren't those opposites?

 

Here's an article from Forbes that pretty much sums up both sides of the argument, but he feels the negatives outweigh the positives.

Forbes on GTO.

 

So they are going to have to heavily discount the car to sell it now. Kinda supports the sales failure I was talking about.

Gee, and I always thought muscle cars sold best in spring and summer.

Again, Look at my first reponse to quote #1

Well not enough people do to sell 18k units. OBTW, what color is yours?

Its not selling enough to satisfy anybody but GM's competitors. I'm sure GM is VERY concerned about the way it is selling, and yes, GM is a "captain of the industry"

Of course you won't find one. They liked the car and bought it. Its the other 6 billion plus people that DON'T like it enough to spend $33k on it that makes it a sales failure.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by GN1270
[B]So they are going to have to heavily discount the car to sell it now. Kinda supports the sales failure I was talking about.



by your thinking, most of gm's vehicles are sales failures then because most of them have discounts.

 

No, GM sells tens of thousands of most of those cars and GM is striving for market share right now. This is GM's ONLY sports car under $44k, and its the return of the GTO and it still can't sell. Why can't you people admit that it is flopping? How many units less would they have to sell before you consider it a sales failure?

 

I really hate to beat a dead horse here, but I really beleive that it all boils down to the same issues that were brought up with the design when the first concept pictures were issued out:

IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A GTO!

It doesn't look like a classic model, and it doesn't look like a modern interpretation, or evoloution of a GTO..It looks like a re-badged, re-front & rear facia'd MONARO. This is the very issue the GTO "purists" had with the vehicle since day one, and I believe the general public is of the same opinion.

Yes, it doesn't help that dealers are gouging the heck out of the pricetag, but I'm sure that diddn't slow the sales of Regal GN's, or Typhoons, or Syclones back in the day (although admitted the sales volumes are different).

And to be honest, it's really a shame, because other than styling I think it's a great car. I had the opportunity to sit in one at a local dealership, and the quality of interior materials, fit & finish, and interior styling is excellent! Right on par with BMW IMO..
The performance is certainly there with the LS-1 powertrain and IRS setup...

But, just like the musclecar era of the sixties, styling is one of the key factors to the appeal of the vehicle, and it just isn't there with this car....

Again, I re-iterate that at the POCI [pontiac-oakland club international] event I attended, the Bonneville-GTO-Grand Prix vehicle line manager stated "This is NOT the best GTO yet". Which tells me that, in some sense, they knew they were not putting out the best product that they could have first go-round.

And it shows...

 

I'll admit that it has failed so far. I was just pointing out that discounts don't mean its a failure. Yes, bland looks are part of it. But i like the looks, I simply cannot afford one, and I think that is the true problem...its price. I feel that GM misjudged this one and if the pricing were in the upper 20's, it would probably do better. Not that they would sell like hotcakes, but at least much better than they currently are doing. That is all my opinion though.

 

can you explain what a GTO looks like? Wait..I got it...a Tempest with a hood scoop. Cause guess what? Thats what it was. This has been discussed over and over. The GTO we think of now of this mystical muscle car really is just a simple compact car with a hood scoop and an powerful engine.


It was never ment to look like a GTO. And tell me, if the Fbodies stopped production in 69, and then in 99 they brought it back to what it looked like in 99....would you see the evolution? Hard to talk about evolution of a car that died. You can see the evolution of the rest of Pontiac cant we? And whats the largest complaint of the GTO is that it looks like another Pontiac, which I have yet to find a problem with as it always looked like another Pontiac.

2 totaly different stories. the GN, And Sy/Ty's were just performance models of a mass-produced sedan or truck. And if I recall, the Sy/Ty's sales were kind of on the down side.

Exactly, why not take the car for what its worth? It is a nice car and it is very powerful. Its styling is not a problem as it is a very nice looking car. Your problem, as with everyone else, is the badge.

well, let me check.....yep, its 2004. Things change.

well, HPP had something different to say, and Id like to see how its not the best GTO ever made.
Fastest? Yep
Best Handling? Yep
Best breaking? yeah
This IS the best GTO ever made, yet no one cares because its not a retro mobile.

The GTO doesnt sell well not due to styling. A lot of people drive Camary's, Accords, and Taurus, and they have ZERO styling. The GTO looks 100x better then any one of thoes 3 cars.
Price is what is holding this back. No one wants to spend 32k on a Pontiac, no matter how nice the GTO is. On top of that, dealers marking it up to near 40k isnt helping the people that actualy do want the car. Styling is not a problem as the GTO is an awesome car. If the GTO was priced at 25k, they would sell because it is a great car, and for 25k, you should be locked up for stealing that car. Pontiac has yet to show that it can command upper 30's for a car like Acura or Infinity.

 

Very well said about the pricing...that is exactly what I feel is the problem.