Maybe NOW do you understand what the GTO needed?

[funkypunnk]

With all of the people salivating over the new Camaro, the GTO lovers finally may understand what all of us really wanted with the new GTO.

Styling that was worthy of the GTO nameplate, like that which the new Camaro got!!

I am just glad GM is doing it right this time, and the money I didn't spend on the jellybean GTO will now gladly be spent on a new Camaro!!!

Edited January 10, 2006 by funkypunnk

[z28luvr01]

The problem is, we'd still be waiting for a GTO if GM decided to allocate more time/funds to make one than it did. The whole purpose of GM rebadging the Monaro was to give GMNA a credible RWD performace vehicle as soon as it possibly could. The GTO really deserved a much better reaction than it got. I remember when Lutz first went to Australia to drive the Monaro, enthusiasts en masse were saying "Bring it here, now". Yet, when it got here, it was derieded for looking like a jelly bean, fat Cavalier, Grand Prix, or whatever.

[funkypunnk]

The problem is, we'd still be waiting for a GTO if GM decided to allocate more time/funds to make one than it did. The whole purpose of GM rebadging the Monaro was to give GMNA a credible RWD performace vehicle as soon as it possibly could. The GTO really deserved a much better reaction than it got. I remember when Lutz first went to Australia to drive the Monaro, enthusiasts en masse were saying "Bring it here, now". Yet, when it got here, it was derieded for looking like a jelly bean, fat Cavalier, Grand Prix, or whatever.

The fact is that they still spent the money to design a new front fascia for it, why not design something with a little more style to it. I had cash in hand waiting for it, but could not commit due to its average looks. I understood the main profile would not change, but the front fascia could have easily been done in a way to be a little more distinctive than what it ended up with. The scoops should have been present from day one, and if you're goinna have a Grand Prix fascia, AT LEAST GIVE THE GRILLS A LITTLE DEPTH NEXT TIME.

[ponchoman49]

The fact is that they still spent the money to design a new front fascia for it, why not design something with a little more style to it. I had cash in hand waiting for it, but could not commit due to its average looks. I understood the main profile would not change, but the front fascia could have easily been done in a way to be a little more distinctive than what it ended up with. The scoops should have been present from day one, and if you're goinna have a Grand Prix fascia, AT LEAST GIVE THE GRILLS A LITTLE DEPTH NEXT TIME.

I too believe that GM could have done better with the Monaro. The car as you said should have had the good stuff from the get go. The styling could have been tarted up a bit and the dated looking rear end given a pruce up. The 04 GTO will go down in history as the blandist performance car secret from the General. It takes more than a Pontiac Grand Prix grille to make a legend.

[97regalGS]

I too believe that GM could have done better with the Monaro. The car as you said should have had the good stuff from the get go. The styling could have been tarted up a bit and the dated looking rear end given a pruce up. The 04 GTO will go down in history as the blandist performance car secret from the General. It takes more than a Pontiac Grand Prix grille to make a legend.

The only thing wrong with the GTO was the name. The shoes were too big to fill. Had it been called something else, anything else, it would have done a lot better in the press, and maybe even in the sales department.

[Cory Wolfe]

I agree that the General could have done more to it in the looks department, but technically it is a modern reincarnation of the original. Like it or not, it is. The orginal GTO was nothing special. It looked like any other Pontiac of the time and fit in with automobiles of the the same era. It packed a punch, however. All of that just like the new GTO except it is more original being that it isn't just a Tempest with a big engine and some styling enhancements. There are no other Pontiacs like it. Asking for a retro GTO, well first off it would be copying the original design(s) and second, it wouldn't be as true to the original. The current GTO is like one that had evolved over the years with styling that was modern or current of the time.

With that said, I do think the somewhat bland styling and high original price hurt sales. A much more unique and aggressive GTO is what is needed. I'd prefer it to be thoroughly modern and not retro, but the entire American auto industry seems to be going through a fad... It will pass with time, hopefully.

[mphmag]

I think, and many here have said it before, the new GTo was actually designed just right. it looked like a sleeper. just like the original. There are NO design cues you'd want to keep from the original. The fact that the original became a muscle car icon was a mistake to begin with.

I never liked the new GTo's ride and characteristics. it was just too brutish. of course it won the MPH challenge versus the Charger and Mustang a while back because of that

I think with this new Zeta Light platform we might get a more refined (one would hope!) GTO. Do they need one after the camaro? I dunno. Why would you buy a GTo over a camaro with presumably the same engine?

Edited January 11, 2006 by mphmag

[regfootball]

I like the GTO fine and with some aggressive fender reshaping its a good car. Some of the HSV Monaros are killer looking.

The Camaro concept is a good looking car but really its still gonna be the bait for all sorts of mullet/redneck and gold chain jokes again. Its a great reiteration of the muscle car look again, but I think I prefer the GTO with some mods. The new Camaro concept car only appeals to the same bunch all over again and will only amplify the already bad rap it gets even more, once the newness wears off in a year or so. No one will be trading their G35c's or 3 series coupes for them.

Edited January 11, 2006 by regfootball

[C.H.U.D.]

I like the GTO fine and with some aggressive fender reshaping its a good car.  Some of the HSV Monaros are killer looking.

The Camaro concept is a good looking car but really its still gonna be the bait for all sorts of mullet/redneck and gold chain jokes again.  Its a great reiteration of the muscle car look again, but I think I prefer the GTO with some mods.  The new Camaro concept car only appeals to the same bunch all over again and will only amplify the already bad rap it gets even more, once the newness wears off in a year or so.  No one will be trading their G35c's or 3 series coupes for them.

That's why I wouldn't mind seeing, as Sixty8 said, a more upscale GTO with Northstar or possibly UV8 power.

[pow]

GTO sales seemed to have a slow start (probably from the whining of traditionalists), but around here, dealers are selling all they've got. I suspect it would have done better as a Pontiac Monaro, targeted against the G35 and 3-series coupes -- "a BMW M5 for $30K" or something. The dealers would then have needed to improve, of course.

[thegriffon]

I think with this new Zeta Light platform we might get a more refined (one would hope!) GTO. Do they need one after the camaro? I dunno. Why would you buy a GTo over a camaro with presumably the same engine?

Size and space.

[ocnblu]

Pontiac style. Something the current car is lacking.

[Croc]

Pontiac style.  Something the current car is lacking.

Well...the current one has Pontic style, though it is caught in a bit of a time warp circa 1995.