[/I]Car and Driver declared the Mustang GT the winner in its Mustang GT versus GTO comparo ["21st-Century Muscle Cars," cover story, C/D, January 2005]. The Pontiac whiners have been writing letters to the editor ever since; C/D states in their April 2005 issue that they have received 123 letters opposed to their choice, versus two letters agreeing that the Mustang is the better car. If you would like to tell C/D why you think the Mustang GT is the better choice, please e-mail them at editors@caranddriver.com.

 

I forgot...be sure to include your full name, and city and state; otherwise they will not publish your letter.

 

it was funny because me and my wife went to Fun Ford Weekend and a GTO was there while we were waiting to get in the parking lot and all the stang folk were stairing him down

 

Being a previous GTO owner, (400 H.O., rated at 360HP with 4-speed), I decided to check out both the 2004 and 2005 models. Boy, was i dissappointed! Both cars lacked the real appeal of the classic goat. Not only that, the 'fit and finish' of the cars were less than impressive. Dealer was trying to tell me that the workmanship, Australian, was just like a european built car... I laughed out loud. Obviously the guy has never sold BMW's (probably just wanted to make the sale). The car just looked to cheap and poorly put together...even the door squeeked when I opened it up!

Anyway, I did like the '05 GTO better but did not even test drive it. Just not what I was looking for. On the other hand, I was sold on the Mustang GT after the first look AND test drive. Just hope the quality of my GT comes close to the that of euro or even Japanese cars. After some real bad luck with a brand new '84 Pontiac T/A, I swore never to go with a US built car again. My '92 Ford F150 SWB 4x4 has given me hope for US built cars...had it since new, now has 142k and still going strong

p.s. sure do miss that 'ol '68 goat...best car ever.

 

This whole GTO Vs. Mustang competition and this report makes me think of a couple things:

1) Good similarity of the 2 car competition to boxing. Boxing industry always looks for the best "pound/pound" fighter. The mustang has the best "cost/HP" ratio by far.
2) Yes they will have several people write in to disagree. You only hear from people who disagree with something. You never hardly ever hear from people who agree about something. (Do you call a company if you agree about a bill or only if you disagree?)
3) Just think of how many letters they would have gotten in comparision if they picked the GTO over the Mustang. I bet you they would have been overwhelmed.

I'll e-mail them tomorrow when I get a chance at work.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Well obviously if the Mustang won, people aren't going to see a need to write.
People usually don't protest things they agree with, lol. This is silly.
IN addition, the GTO is a fine car, but in no way should it be called a GTO. It resembles more my old 1990 Grand Prix in exterior styling at least, than a GTO. I think it would have done better if they just gave it a different name, it's too easy to make fun of calling it a GTO.

 

You are exactly right! Here is what I said in my letter to C/D:

"Jeez, I guess I'd better weigh in on this matter and tell you that your article was right on the money. Speaking of "gotta have it" factor; the waiting time if you are ordering a Mustang GT is about four to five months, unless you are willing to pay a couple of grand over MSRP; something tells me you aren't going to be standing in a very long line for a GTO. Is the GTO an awesome performing car? Most definitely! However, for substance and style, my money (and a lot less of it, thank you) is on the Mustang GT. Car and Driver has either only been hearing from the whiners, or I'm subscribing to the wrong magazine."

Time for Mustang GT owners to stand up and REPRESENT!

 

So all 123 people who actually purchased that thing are writing in and complaining huh?

 

My father-in-law sent me a write-up from Autoweek (January 10, 2005). They had the Mustang GT beating the GTO as well. "Sound the bell, it's no contest: The winner is the Mustang GT." The article was written well. It didn't sound biased or bashing. It really sounded like a fair shake comparison. I don't see how people could really complain about it, except when pride is taking a straight up beating. I do agree with the fact that they should have named it something else, because that car is very ugly and by no means resembles the classic GTO look. "Overall, the Mustang backs up its look with a handling performance that puts to shame the GTO's." I love my car!

 

It's because Mustang owners are too busy driving their cars to write a letter.

 

 

I don't see why I should waste my time because of the 123 whiney GTO owners. C&D said the Mustang won. That's enough for me.

 

 

I couldn't agree with you more! :drive:

 

Here's my note to Car & Driver:

Wha...wha....what happened was....so many of your long time readers were so astonished by the fact that you actually LIKED a Mustang that, for a while, we couldn't write to thank you. Instead, many of us went out and ordered new Mustang GTs', even though very few cars were available for test drives (they were sold before they got to the dealers).

No one is surprised that 400HP and a 6 speed gearbox could out-perform the Mustangs' 300HP 5 speed. For 4 to 5K more dollars, Ford could have easily installed their 32 valve, 5.0 modular V8, and left the GTO doorless. That Ford made the right choice is reflected by sales figures, and the wide-spread affection for their new Mustang.

By the way, my new Mustang GT is a much better car than you said it was.

Bob Slocum
Mesa, AZ
bob@slocums.net

 

[/b][/quote]

 

Yeah, that's the best line yet, someone submit that to "Car and Driver" I'd like to see the psuedo GTO owners read that in the letters to editor !!!!!

 

Fact of the matter is, the buying public has been voting with their checkbooks.

 

The reasons I ordered a Mustang instead of getting a GTO are
1) the GTO styling is boring and common
2) the base price of the GTO is about $33,000
3) the GTO is an American Muscle Car made in Australia?????

Long live the MUSTANG!

 

Forgot where I read this article online but they were comparing the 05 Stang and GTO.... yeah, its got 100 more Ponies, sure.... but besides agreeing on the LACK of styling/excitement with the GTO, the one reviewer wrote about how impressed he was driving the 04 GTO and the handling in an earlier test...... so when the time came for the 05 test, he was looking forward to driving the 05 GTO... until he drove the Stang....


It ruined him - because he said after that, the GTO (even the new 05) seemed so much less than he remembered after driving the 04, because the Stang was so much more responsive and handled so much better.

Gotta love it! B)