scottmandoo

I agree, it doesn't look like a Cavalier. It looks more like a Sunfire to me.





I do respect the performance, interior, and exhaust note of the new GTO. I just wish it didn't look like a Sunfire with some extra badges, a different spoiler, and new rims. :R:

No matter, my next car will be a 'Stang, funky GTO or no!

Sorry.

Dan

I still think that if it were called anything but a GTO people would be :worship: :worship: .

Even with bland styling, it is still badarse from a mechanical viewpoint.

GhostTX

Should have named it the "Super Sunfire" or "Sunfire eXtreme" <_<

Kotzenjunge

A new Knight Rider?

Don't tease me...

HammyZTS

Yeah, any name other than GTO would have gotten such an amazing response from everyone. They could have given it any pontiac name period, or a lame new one, it would have been amazing.

Using GTO though made it seem like a letdown, instead of the really fast car that it truly is.

Personally, I like that they names it GTO so now no one likes it... and I have more reason to rip on it when I see one.

HammyZTS

speaking of which....

http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?por...t_code=05812991

kevinb120

lol just saw that too:

Slow Goat: Controversial styling, high price hobble initial sales of new GTO

DETROIT - The Pontiac GTO, a pet project of General Motors product czar Robert Lutz, is off to a slow start.
Dealers say the GTO - touted as a halo car for Pontiac - suffers from bland styling, a high sticker price and no incentives.

"The car is more conservative looking than today's customer expects," says dealer Hugh Fiore, owner of Harbor Motors in Old Saybrook, Conn.

So far this year, Pontiac has sold just 2,451 units. Discounting seasonal differences, that amounts to an annualized rate of 7,300 units - well below Pontiac's 16,000-unit target. GM has a 168-day supply of GTOs, well above the 60-day supply that is considered ideal. A December launch slowed sales of the Australian-built car, says Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson. "Winter probably isn't the best time to launch a rear-wheel-drive vehicle," he says. "However, we're already beginning to see sales pick up with the nice weather."

Pontiac sold 719 GTOs in March and 650 in April.

GM launched an advertising campaign for the GTO in November. Pontiac hopes the USA Network cable TV movie The Last Ride will help spread the word. The movie features the GTO.

Lutz, vice chairman for product development, pushed the Australian car to the United States with only minor changes.

GM engineers reworked the Holden Monaro, giving it left-hand drive and a Pontiac front end. The V-8 received 48 more horsepower, for a total of 350 hp. The exterior received a new front fascia and a spoiler.

Lutz praised the car's "brawny, muscular stance." But many enthusiasts say the reborn GTO lacks the in-your-face styling of the original muscle car, fondly nicknamed the Goat.

"When you come back with a name like GTO, you need something more," says one Detroit area sales manager who declined to be named.

Last week at a press event in Detroit, Kip Wasenko, director of design for GM's performance division, said, "You heard me talking about heritage. That's probably one of the things the GTO could probably use a little more of. But other people find it quiet and reserved because not everyone wants in-your-face, look-at-me kind of style."

Some dealers say the market for coupes is limited, and the sticker is high. The GTO starts at $33,495, including the destination charge. The 2004 Ford Mustang with a V-8 starts at $24,300.

The GTO lacks popular extras such as hood scoops, a sunroof and factory chrome wheels, some dealers say. Rumors have circulated that the 2005 model will have different styling and more horsepower, but GM declined to comment.

Uneven allocation to dealerships may be one factor in the slow sales start. One dealer, for example, says the Detroit area is flooded with GTOs. Hopson says the company has changed its allocation, shipping more vehicles to dealerships where the car is selling.

Some dealerships report brisk sales. Dennis Hadd, sales manager of McNamara Pontiac in Orlando, Fla., says, "All but a couple of our allocation are sold. A vast majority were pre-sold." McNamara has sold about 10 GTOs.

Last year the company said it planned to sell 18,000 GTOs. But Holden plans to assemble 16,000 GTOs this year in Australia. The GM subsidiary can produce up to 18,000 GTOs annually in coming years.

As of last week Holden had built 8,500 GTOs. At least 6,000 are in the United States, and another 1,000 are in transit, GM says.

http://autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?...t_code=05812991

((ShocK))

Who cares, it's what people want.

kevinb120

its exciting, thats for sure- Jeff wants one!

stupidgenius36

Flyinlow

So the GTO looks like a Sunfire because it has a long hood, short deck, two doors and the C pillar is shaped the same way. I actually had a guy at an auto parts store look out the window at it from the about the same angle as the picture and thought it was a Mustang! (I'm not kidding). If you showed the front of the Sunfire compared with the front of the GTO you would see a large difference. All I'm saying is brand identity is important to some vehicles, look at the post someone had earlier about the Escape and the new SUV, they look the same from one view.

I agree the car could have had more muscular looks, but they didn't want to wait til 05, which is how long it would have taken them to modify everything from the existing Monaro. The sales have also been slow because alot of dealers have marked them up or are not flexible on pricing, thinking that the car is some kind of rare car. I got mine for the GM supplier price of 31171 plus TTL. If I would have had to pay MSRP, I wouldn't have bought it. GM supplier is similar to Ford Xplan. I won't pay MSRP for a Mustang either, I will just find a dealer who will do Xplan. I don't know why dealers do that, because the little bit of money they make off of that isn't worth pissing off customers. Now if it was a car where every dealer only got one or two, I maybe could understand it. The one nice thing with the low production numbers is that 20 years down the road, the car is not that common versus the 180000 Mustangs they are going to build this year, not that theres anything wrong with that!

Kotzenjunge

If they had waited until 2005, they would have also been competing with the new Mustang and their own in-house Corvette product. I know the GTO and the Corvette aren't in the same car class, but I'm sure GM wanted to keep the Corvette as the only big debut for 2005.

future9er24

i loved that TV show

DarkStallion2K

I'm all about the new concept Camaro...and the Charger...bring 'em all back...it's time for the True American Re-Revolution. Let's get the good 'ol redblooded rivalry back with Ford, Chevy, and Mopar....bring 'em all back...bring 'em all on.

scottmandoo

That's an excellent point, about collectibility. Also, even though the Pontiac cars share design elements, there is a definite difference in quality feel, that can really be appreciated in person. GTO has tight gaps, quality hardware, and looks solid, while the Sunfire looks like, well, a car that costs $15-20K less. The front of the GTO is more like a previous-gen GP than a Sunfire, you are right.

I know the current GTO fans/owners have taken a lot of crap. It's easy to jump on that bandwagon. I acknowledge the car's many positives, but would like to see GM try a tad harder to differentiate styling next time. I love the interior, though, for sure.

FrankBullitt05

The main problem with the GTO, is that even though it has the power and moves, it doesn't look like a GTO. That doesn't mean it has to be retro, see the '99 Dodge Charger concept (the production one better look somewhat close to that, even just a little) or the Cadillac Sixteen(yeah, I know that has no predecessor, but you can tell its a Caddy). GM even messed up on the last gen Camaro, by not havin the black outline around the headlights(just a little thing, but it puts purists off).

90five0

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This guy deserves an award.

FrankBullitt05

Every generation should experience a muscle car era....

Galaxie

The Charger WILL be back for 2006. My friend that works at the assembly plant where it will be built has seen it, he comments that it looks really aggressive, even for a 4-door sedan.

Flyinlow

The only thing I worry about is the insurance industry stepping in again. Lets face it, who needs more than 250 horsepower in a car. (Me!).

Even though the cars are built much safer and people walk away from crashes that they didn't used to, the replacement cost of the vehicle is now much higher. If claims start going up, there goes the business.

Hopefully, that doesn't happen.