Nope - interior trunk release button

 

Ah... I misunderstood.... not encouraging nonetheless, however, this is literally the first semi-bad thing I have heard about quality on this car... so I'll take it with a grain of salt. And your pilot car point is valid, though you'd think the part would have been used in production Monaros for some time now...

 

Nice to see more people joining my initial and early opinion on the verdict on the new GTO!

It's great to hear pretty much all the points I made (especially the nice interior, that large back seat, and the fact it's NOT the size of a Monte Carlo but is roughly Mustang sized) restated by others as they see the car 1st hand.

In a year, I expect all those naysayers over at the other so-called GTO website (the one that posted a Mustang as car of the month) to look like complete and total a**clowns for the way they've been acting regarding this car.

 

I think it is about the size of an MC, matter of fact I was in a group discussing it and that was the conclusion. This is definatly a longer car.

 

Looks good. My only concern after watching the videos is the steering ratio. He was spinning that wheel driving around the parking lot.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to sit in the car, or even get a good look at the interior. From what I could tell it looked very good, inside and out. In fact, I'd like to own one eventually.

 

To get into the back seat...I had to lift a lever on the top side of the passenger (or driver's) seat and there was a handy button just below it that used the power seat motor to move the seat forward....but DANG is it sloooooow....should one be caught out in the rain, I'd be PO'd to say the least.

Also, the suede insert seems out of place and could be a maintenance problem a few years in the future..keeping it clean. The weatherstripping along the top edge of the doors was felt looking and I'd imagine this would be a small PITA to keep the lint and dust off of....

That being said...I must say I was damned impressed with the over all touch and feel of this car!

Switch gear and other surfaces were top notch.

Once I finally got into the back seat it was very comfortable and supportive.

This is a smaller car than I imagined...I'd also say it's MC sized. Still too tall for my tastes...but my car only has <3" of ground clearance so.... I am afraid that the 5th gen, built on the VE will be near this height...

The front seat side bolsters are a touch far apart to give a good sense of lateral support for the average guy....a couple of us felt like we would slide around a little during aggresive driving...and I ain't no petite dude either....not too bad though.

Spark plug access is much better than an f-body...

Exhaust manifolds look more Z06/C5 like and almost header like...hopefully an aftermarket y-pipe won't be a floor banger like it is in the LS1 f-bodies....

One last possible problem...the fuel door is on the top side..well about half way over the 1/4 edge and fill-ups will require a Corvette like approach to drips and spills...and possible scratches from hoses...

Over-all, this car is an inside the park home run.....and when we get a few more "Heritage styling ques" it'll be out of the park!

BTW...One of the magazines recentry showed a rendering that simply outlined the grille inserts and bisected them horizontally with small chrome accent lines and had hood scoops...seems this is what a smart aftermarket company should do! Really pulled the GTO theme off with a minor investment.

 

You mean aftermarket H or X pipe.

 

true...true....

 

please tell me thats not how its going to be in production..

 

Don't say that too loud... we may end up with a Quad Coupe Gto or even worse a Quad Coupe Camaro. Try saying that 5 times fast

 

Thats exactly what I thought when I looked at that pic. I can sort of understand GM's logic for doing this... but come on, this isnt a work truck! I think it really cheapens the truck.

 

GTO

TRACK Front 61.4in

Rear 62.1

WHEELBASE 109.8

EXTERIOR DIMENSIONS Length Width Height

188.7 72.5 55.0

INTERIOR DIMENSIONS Head Hip

Front 37.2 58.0

Rear 33.4 50.2

CARGO (L) 370

Monte Carlo

DIMENSIONS
NOTE: All dimensions shown are inches/millimeters unless otherwise noted.

Exterior

Wheelbase
110.5/2807

Length
197.9/5026

Width
72.7/1846

Height
55.2/1403

Tread width

— front 62.1/1576

— rear 61.2/1554


Interior
Headroom

— front 38.1/967

— rear 36.5/927

Legroom

— front 42.4/1076

— rear 35.8/909

Shoulder room

— front 58.3/1480

— rear 57.8/1468

Hip room

— front 55.2/1402

— rear 55.5/1409

 

Almost a foot shorter than a Monte, right?

 

MC is about 9"

A Mustang is about 183" long, so overall lengthwise it is closer than the MC. The reason I think it looks bigger is the Mustang has a 101" wheelbase and the MC and GTO are both at ~110"


And yes the Velcro wood trim is real..this is a production model. Also I have a few issue with the build quality on the SSR there. First off the cover for the slide in cupholder on the dash became MIA at some point in the weekend, secondly, the simulated aluminum HVAC controls felt cheap, like if you didn't pay attention they would easily come off. The aluminum shifter, or whatever it was, got really hot after sitting with the top down in the sun, and the aluminum bar on the steering wheel created wicked reflections in the widshield depending on the angle of the sun.

The question is not if the SSR is cool, but more What price are you willing to pay to be the SSR's brand of cool?