Test drove a GTO...keeping the 911

[Oh Haha]

Flame away, fellas!
I took a 2004 GTO for a test drive today. Came away not very impressed. Sure, the car is quick but, I just didn't think it was overall that impressive.
Had to go out in the SC after. Even at 23 years old, it is more fun to drive. Like I told the wife,"If I am going to spend 35,000 on toy, it's going to be a newer 911 or a Turbo.
I guess once you have driven a Porsche, you CAN be a lttle biased.

My SC sounds better than the GTO too!
Wayne

[kqw]

Can you be more specific?

My first car was a '67 GTO and my second car was a '69 GTO.

Just wondering if GM/Pontiac is belching propaganda?
Thanks

[Oh Haha]

The best way for me to describe the car is "clunky and heavy feeling".
I am sure that with more time "testing", one would adapt to the car but I just wasn't impressed with the feeling of the car. I did a launch from about 1500 RPM and it is certainly quick. I am not a race car driver or anything like that. I am just a car guy like the rest of us on this board.
One of my employees told me this after telling him about the test drive:
"
You drive a world reknowned sports car, did you expect to be blown away?! "He is considering ordering a 2005 GTO, BTW. I guess every once in while, the old street racer in me gets out and I consider getting back to American muscle for ease of parts and repairs. Then i go for a long drive with the SC and it reminds me how unique and fun our cars really are. (I didn't see any heads turn when out in the GTO, unlike the SC)
Just my two cents on a Monday.
Wayne

[cegerer]

I have difficulty differentiating between the new GTO and a Pontiac Sunbird.

[masraum]

The GTO is horrible. I haven't driven it and that's not what I'm talking about. It looks as much like a Grand Am or Grand Prix as anything else. The looks are horrible which should not be the case for a retro car that is looking to get some attention. The mid 90's Impala SS was a great car for what it was, and there have been some other good cars in the past 10 years or so (good compared to the rest of the "normal" crop), but the GTO is a Camaro that's visually very plain and boring. The original GTO even though it was a large car was not plain or boring.

Ah well, the defaming of the memory of a car like the GTO sticks in my craw.

I'd rather have a Porsche, 911, 928, 914, or 944, and if I couldn't have one of them I'd rather have a miata than a new GTO.

[Craig 930 RS]

The car is so dull that hood scoops and a few other tricks are optional for 2005. Nice interior, but cripes the exterior says "Rental Car"

[Oh Haha]

HAHAHAHAHA! My wife thought it was a new Sunbird the first time we saw one on the road. I then had to explain the history of the original GTO. My best friend had one when I was in high school. A 1968.
Had my first date with that car. No kidding guys, I took her home so I could head uptown and cruise. I was/am a dork!!
See ya,
Wyane

[Oh Haha]

@^#%#&$&$*$
I can't even spell my own name!!
Must be time to sleep.

[kqw]

Back then GTO's were cool. I loved my '69 but as fate would have it, my roommate purchased a 914 (2.0) and one day we traded cars.

That 914 handled like a go cart and on the highway it would run forever at max speed. I needed to know more about this car and thus fell into the hole of having to own a Porsche one day.....

[masraum]

Whaddaya mean, you spelled D-O-R-K right?!?

[oneblueyedog]

I worked on a friend of mine's 68GTO in high school back in 77/78. We put a shift kit in it. It was a bomb. There was a pilot down the street that had a 911S. It was in perfect condition. Some kind of metallic blue as I remember.

I thought the GTO was a worthy car to have, even though it had that crumbly rubber nose. My friend sold it.

I bought a Triumph Spitfire, fixed it up (rebuilt the engine, had to beat the pistons out of the block with a sledgehammer) I drove it a while in college until some guy offered me $4k for it. Sold it and bought my first 914 2.0. Much better car that served me four years. Four people could fit in it in an emergency, my girlfriend, one of my friends and his girl and me as the driver. Emergency trips to the lakehouse about 90mi away happened often.

I got a job after graduation and had to get a new car so that was the time the Fiero GT came out. With the 6 cyl engine and 4 speed ('84) and mid engine it felt right at the time. Mine didn't have a wing. The month I paid it off it was stolen and seats stripped and crashed and shot up to open the electric trunk.

I liked that car. It had no trouble effortlessly cruising at 120mph. It could only hold 2 people though. I liked it that Pontiac had made a great original car.
The fiero was perhaps too original and odd for the masses. I actually priced some a few weeks ago. The garage queens were high. The apartment complex ones were salvage priced.

Traded in the hulk for an Eclipse. Enjoyed it for a while until I had my first son. I had to get something more practical. A 914 1.7. (I rebuilt it, partial resto)

My second son forced me to get the car I have now- 78 911SC coupe. I still would like to have a 914-6 someday.

I might test drive this GTO. It may be another car in that vein of fun. But original? I suspect that the Cobalt is a like-chassis of the GTO.

I think that's OK. That brand needs a lot of help. Hope it works.

Lee
78SC

[Porschekid962]

The GTO is built on a Holden chassis in Australia if I am not mistaken. It does look eerily like a firebird now that you guys put pics up. Saw one crusing down my street the other day, very bland looks and the usual american v8 sound. The new mustang GT with the new bodystyle looks very promising for american cars though.

[kqw]

Sheesh...I must be getting old. I think if I ever run upon an original '69 GTO I'd probably buy it just for the nostalgia. But on the other hand, a '98 C2S is the next car and my Carrera will go under the knife for performance mods....

[Oh Haha]

Oneblueyeddog--My friend traded in the 68 GTO on a new Fiero in 1984.
What a piece of crap that was! I think the stereo fried two days after he took delivery. He also introduced me to the 911. he purchased a 1970 911T. Traded that in on a new Z28 in 94. He doesn't keep his cars very long so I bought that car two years later from him. Now he has a Eurovan and a BMW 325 Conv. Sorry guys, I'm rambling now.
See ya tomorrow,
Wayne

[Matt Holcomb]

The '04 GTO is actually a re-badged 'Monaro', designed and manufactured by GM's Australian subsidiary, Holden.

http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/modeloverview?modelid=12002

A lot of Australians, including me, consider the Monaro to be an overrated bit of kit -- they're too heavy (approx. 3900lbs!) and unwieldy to be a bona fide sports coupe.

Like most of Holden's "high-performance" products, the Monaro is a misleading marketing exercise -- a variant of Australia's most popular family car that's passed off as a sports car because it has two doors and a Corvette engine.

It's the same as fitting bigger jet engines to a 747 and calling it a fighter plane.

[Fishcop]

To follow up Matt, the concept started as a European Vauxall model that GMH-Holden bastardised by lengthening and widening "Australianizing" and dropping a bent-8. It was now a large (by Aussie standards ) family car. Some design gurus started working back on their own time to create a two-door sport version of the monster to pay homage to our original Monaro from the 60's and 70's.... it was well received over here where we are perhaps a little parochial or at least nostalgic. Some how one of your GHM people felt with some styling modifications it could be the next GTO! This not a sports car, but they do make a nice GT style of jalopy.

The better adaptation of the vehicle is the utility/SUV version... watchout, it could be your next Elcamino

[KobaltBlau]

Originally posted by cegerer
I have difficulty differentiating between the new GTO and a Pontiac Sunbird.

The difference is _OBVIOUSLY_ the idiot in the red wings jersey!!

(no offence red wings fans, the guy is clearly an idiot.)

[jkarolyi]

The second car in the above picture is a SUNFIRE, not a Sunbird. The Sunbird hasn't been made since 1994 when the Sunfire replaced it. I'm hanging my head in shame for actually knowing this.

[EdT82SC]

I drove a new GTO, and I was also not impressed. It leans a lot in corners, and the breaks suck big time. Sure, it has a lot of power, but I bet I could turn faster laps with 1/2 the HP in my 82 SC.

[Matt Holcomb]

Here's Holden's GTO:



Now, this Monaro variant is from Holden's special vehicles stable, HSV, which is an acronym for, you guessed it, Holden Special Vehicles!

Here's the electronic brochure for the HSV range:

http://www.hsv.com.au/cars/vy2/y2brochure.pdf

Basically, HSV is to Holden what STi is to Subaru. The HSV Monaros are considerably more expensive than the cars they're based on, but unlike an STi Impreza, the performance "gains" are not commensurate with HSV's cachet tax.