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Pontiac GTO
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Comments
I've seen one 04 GTO. That's it.
Those Mustang guys just don't get that.
Try counting the Mustangs on the road during your commute sometime - it is unbeliveable.
Flipper Dippers, eh? I have not heard that one. Standard cooking of ab's is pound the heck out of em, dip in egg then bread crumbs and fry. Really good fresh.
And yes - that heat in the So. Bay can get bad, tho personally, it sounds good to me right about now (being in foggy HMB). This has been a lousy summer weather wise. Hoping to see a nice Indian Summer coming up.
Better watch out at work - a lot of companies are starting to crack down on that.
I bought my GTO in July and so far so good...only about 700 miles at this point and no problems. Love the GTO.
On last check, mileage is averaging 16.5mpg with primarily in-town driving.
I agree, sound system could benefit from speaker upgrades...just hate to have someone mess with replacing that sort of thing.
dealer has had the car for 2 weeks and have apparently neither fixed the body damage nor the broken antenna modulator nor the seatbelt adjuster they broke on the last service. i might to visit them in person tomorrow on the way to work. i'm going to send them a payment book if they keep it much longer -they can start making payments to me for every day they have the car - ha ha.
Unfortunately, we are all feeling the pain at the pump!
Thanks for posting.
Everyone interested in the comparisons between the GTO and Mustang ought to read this one.
in other news, all the local gas stations raised prices today by about 50 cents per gallon, woo hoo.
and yeah, ya gotta love that article posted above. it tells it like it is!
Those Mustang guys just don't get that. ...
They do get it. It just doesn't bother them anywhere near as much as it seems to bother some of you GTO folks. :sick: And I've seen about as many GTOs as I have '05 Mustang GTs.
BTW, the California Duster doesn't affect Zaino. Just make sure to go over the car with some Z6 Gloss Enhancer Spray if you plan on putting on another coat of Z2/Z5 after dusting it.
to name the best car he'd ever owned:
Besides my new bright-red Ford GT, which I take out for special occasions, I am really enjoying my current everyday car. It's a Charcoal Gray 2005 Pontiac GTO, and everything about it is stealthy for obvious reasons. I took off the rear wing and put on a 2004 hood without the fake scoop,. It has a very developed Corvette-style small block V8 and is the closest thing to a NASCAR Cup car for the street.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
although i've only jawboned about wanting to get rid of the wing and put on a 2004 hood... mine is 'cyclone grey' too. i think that's the actual color name...
Lovin it so far.
Lovin it so far."
I too like the hood scoops. They are at least functional in the respect of channelling
air into the engine compartment and add a good looking trade mark touch to the car in my opinion. I have no problem with the body style either. This is a new generation of the GTO and the concept of it was not compromised, but enhanced in the smaller car big powerful engine category, of which the GTO was noted for and not just it's body style. Folks in the old days for the most part, bought the car for what was under the hood, not it's looks.That was the big factor that popularized the GTO. It was the factor that influenced my purchase of a new 1967 GTO back then......And darn sure influenced the purchase of my new 05.
Even the GTO song that came out by Ronnie and the Daytonas back then sang about the engine and trans. "Three deuces and a four speed and a 389"...
Do any of you remember that one?
just got back from the baseball hall of fame. finally got to air out the engine. WOW. the warp-drive works well. 'ironically', affter i had slowed to sub-light speed after getting near home this evening i got bagged by an unmarked state cop - but zero paperwork ensued, just a polite conversation.
now, about mpg. 28 mpg you say? i wouldn't have believed you except for some slow (<70mph) travelling on NY state highway #20 and slowly through small towns before i reached the thruway - before the thruway the avg mpg was showing above 30 mpg! i suppose that's because keep this car in a way taller gear than i did while driving any of my manual Z28s. the torque is astounding.
one of the goals of my trip was to see the mpg at 'realistic highway speeds'. 80+ that is, and compare 87 octane with 91. with 87 i was seeing 21.8 mpg, over 250 miles. with 91 over the same range the car got 23.5 mpg, much of that at 80+++ ! this surprised me. ok, it's 91+ octane from now on. the engine is so powerful i did not notice any power/torque difference between 87 & 91. on the other hand, one possible explanation is that the additional engine break-in caused better mpg on the return trip - it's only got 3000 miles now. i'm going to have to run some more long-distance-cruise tests to verify these results - there were enough other variables/stop/traffic-conditions that i can't be 100% sure that it was the octane that made the mpg difference.
i'm getting much more used to the car now, especially the incredible handling. it totally blows away any of the 6 V8 f-body car's i've owned in both handling &usable power/torque. did you know that as the car approaches the speed of light, the length of the car shrinks? it's called 'lorentz transformation' .
I LOVE THIS CAR.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
in my experience, cupping can be normal, once there are enough miles on the tires. cupping/bad-wear by 26k does not sound entirely unreasonable for a performance/Z-rated tire. usually i rotate tires no more often than 10k miles, and i run 34 psi cold pressure.
there may well be alternative tires that fit and meet specs for the car, and which will wear more slowly. but that would surely be a cost of grip. tradeoffs.
Another consideration... many of these GTO's have alignment issues from the factory. Over time, this can lead to strut rub and premature tire wear. I had my dealership check the alignment at the first tire rotation, and look for strut rub - none was found, but the alignment was off. Below are the alignment specs that GM TAC is suggesting for the GTO, to avoid strut rub (info from Mike White of Dublin Motor Sports in the S.F. Bay Area):
camber: -.2 plus or minus .5 (.-.7 to .3)
caster: 7.75 degrees plus or minus 1.25 (9.00 to 6.5)
cross caster: plus or minus .6 degrees
toe for the front: .17 degrees plus or minus .17 degrees (0 to 3.4 degrees)
Stick close to 0-.17 degrees
rear
camber: -1.05 plus or minus .63 (-.42 to -1.68 degrees)
toe: is .4 plus or minus .34 (.06 to .74)
Again, keep this number low. The rear cambers should be as positive as specs allow (-.42 degrees)
As far as tires go, the 18" wheels that are optional on the '05 GTO are Bridgestone Potenza's, but they are a summer-only tire. Others like the "New Tread" variation of the BF Goodrich KDW tires (though I have a friend/co-worker with them on his Lexus IS300 and they are so loud you can't hear anyone on a cell phone call on the freeway at 65+ mph - not sure if it's the tire or poor insulation in the wheel wells of the IS, but I'm leery of them for this reason). I know some folks who have gone to Toyo Proxes and are happy. Others like the Pirelli P-Zero Nero tires (which are standard on the '05 Mustang GT). Another thing you can do to prevent strut rub is drop from a 245 to a 235 size. Not sure of all of those tires come in OEM sizes, as many are moving up to 18" wheels (what I will do when it comes time for new tires in a year or two)...
--Robert
Anyway - GTO on the other hand, is not a new launch vehicle and has not been so for a couple of years. There have been a number of improvements to the vehicle - most noticeably the hood scoops, but nothing drastically new.
As for GTO sales - last year was a struggle for GTO. Why, I'm not sure. But this year sales are up 48%. That's huge.
Pontiac has had its struggles in recent years. No one will deny that. But the new designed vehicles they have are terrific. Find me a better looking car on the road than the G6 Coupe, and for $25K. You can't do it.
In addition to the hood scoops are the red painted calipers and new rear fascia/dual chrome exhaust.
However the most noticeable improvements to the 2005 GTO are the ones you don't see, under the hood. 50 more hp, 40 more torque on the bigger V8 and bigger brakes! Car now stops 20 feet shorter from 70mph.
Where did you read that Pontiac sales are up 48% this year? G6 GTP coupe is nice for $25k, but GTO is better if you can afford it, quality/interior etc.
Remember that even a very CHEAP ad campaign (TV ads and some print media) can very quickly exceed $10 million.
For 12,000 cars (expected '05 sales), a 12million dollar ad campaign equates to $1000 worth of advertising per '05 GTO sold. This is why you see ad campaigns for stuff like the G6 where GM can spread the cost out over a much larger # of projected sales.
Would you guys have happily paid another $1k just to have the GTO advertised heavier? And for what? They'll sell all the '05 GTO's they planned to import so why boost the advertising?
The new Pontiac halo car is the Solstice. Another low volume vehicle. Other than the appearance on "The Apprentice" I haven't seen much advertising for it. I have heard that dealers are asking more than msrp for them (see '04 GTO). How's that for a huge effect on potential buyers?
Regarding GTO sales, YTD 8419 cars sold compared with 5551 last year, a gain of 51.7%. However, a significant portion of those were leftover '04s sold during '05. Plus they cut production to 12K cars total from about 16K last year. August sales were down 35.7% and now it's back on the employee discount program. I'd be willing to bet there will be '05s still for sale when the '06s hit in January (and maybe a few brand new '04s still available too).
As far as an alternative to the G6, I'd go with an Acura RSX or a Scion tC for my $25K.
i've been driving around without the bottom half of the rear bumper for a couple weeks now - dealer body shop has been unable to obtain an undamaged replacement. i talked to them today and said i'd actually prefer the holden piece which doesn't say "GTO" but would take whichever piece they could get first. i haven't paid them for the repairs, but then again the repairs are not 100% complete either. i told them i'd give them credit card # on the phone on the spot but they declined - they are treating me just fine.
i think the "half rear bumper" look might have contributed to me getting pulled over by an unmarked statey over the weekend. of course, my driving style was a factor too
dealer has replacement radio for me. hopefully that will fix the absence of AM radio reception. they already replaced antenna modulator. service cat told me if the new radio doesn't fix it, they'll have to replace the whole coax cable next. if that doesn't work, yuck, what next - new rear window? ugh. replacing glass is tough to do perfectly, especially difficult to do as good as the holden factory i guess.
also the left windshield sprayer has stopped working. it was a bit "off" since day 1.
as for the advertising, i think i've stated previously that it's a no-brainer, if i was chief GM marketeer i wouldn't spend a dime advertising GTO. all the GTOs will sell themselves sooner or later, no matter the price per gallon of gas.
You rang?
Side markers, including sockets and bulbs: approximately $75 + $12 s & h from jhp.com.au. Or, check ebay.com.au for deals (but not as fast shipping/prompt service). I haven't done this myself, but understand it's very easy. From someone who has: "Run 2 wires under the fender plastic trim (in loom) and tap into the orange markers in the front bumper. Both now light up when signaling and when the alarm is activated."
Geoff can also send you that blank Monaro piece - for $262 shipped from Australia, ouch.
As for getting pulled over, must be the season. My plates expired in August - sent in the renewal early last week - well, last Friday I was MMOB (right lane, cruise control on, doing the exact speed limit) when I got pulled over 5 minutes away from my house (first police incident in about 9 years). Pulled me over for expired registration. Got a "fix it" ticket and have to have proof in 10 days to make it go away. Only problem is that I checked with the state DMV, and, due to a new computer system, they are backlogged - presently processing renewals sent in on July 21 - oops.
Gotta go plead my case to the cops (still have my duplicate check for proof, thankfully),
--Robert
ps - from what i saw on insurance paperwork & from talking to body shop, the USA rear bumper piece which says "gto" costs about the same as the holden/non-gto piece. i'll just go with whatever the dealer comes up with... hmm, maybe it would help if i removed all the GTO badges and put on TDI badges.
OMG, you really think the RSX or TC is an alternative to the G6???
The meybe the base g6, but even with the base you get a much higher class of car than the TC and the GTP version which is about 25K blows both of these cars out of the water!
The Pontiac G6 GTP has 240hp, the TC has 160, the RSX has 200. The pontiac also has alot of chrome on the interrior, im willing to bet it is more roomy that either TC or RSX, and in general you get more car with the G6.
I could understand you said an Accord or Altima, but TC and RSX? I'm suprised they are in the same planet.
Guys, so whats going on for 2008? Is there still a GTO?
The current model GTO will stop production no later than August of next year, maybe sooner (its Monaro counterpart ends production at the end of December). It can't be continued in North America because it doesn't meet 2007 MY crash standards.
GM is still trying to figure out what they are going to do with respect to a next-generation GTO (i.e. what platform to use or develop, where to build it). The platform codes GMX-282 and GMX-284 have been tentatively assigned to a next-generation GTO and Grand Prix/G8, respectively, and I believe that a product manager/VLE (Vehicle Line Executive) has been assigned. The inside info still calls this a 2008-2009 model year vehicle, though I think it's more likely it will be a 2009 model than a 2008.
The rumor was that the next-gen would be built on Zeta, in Australia, alongside a next-gen Monaro, but the inclusion of the presumably higher-volume Grand Prix/G8 (sharing the same styling, chassis, and powertrain options) may scuttle that. As an aside, this is why the rumor of a "four door" or "suicide door" GTO started, when in fact it's a separately-named vehicle.
I have no clue if we'll see any concept cars or prototypes at NAIAS in January - the rumor is that a Camaro concept will be shown there. Follow the example of the Solstice - it was a show car in 2002, and now 3 1/2 years later it finally appears, on a new platform. Figure it's going to be difficult for GM to do something similar (Camaro or GTO) in much less than that timeframe...
--Robert
ps - any one of yall live on a mountain? how about license plate: MTNGOAT ! ?
They sell a hood that does an actual RAM AIR into newer GTO. Only 10hp increase if that. http://www.slponline.com/view_product.asp?P=100196&BIG=100196-1
GTO.R takes second win
GTO doing a red burnout
car last year was "where are the hood scoops" They were literally inundated
with e-mails, letters, and phone calls expressing disapointment about this.
Pontiac listened and remedied this blunder with the 05.
Actually, the story that I've heard is that they planned all along to have a scooped hood, but could not get a new hood developed and crash-tested in time for the car to come out as an '04 model (ditto the revised rear fascia/separated exhaust). Since '04 was the 40th anniversary of the GTO, they made the decision to go scoop-less... and why there were rumors all during 2004 that the '05's would have scoops and the LS2.
Hey, don't laugh, marketing folks from Pontiac actually considered putting STICKERS on the hood to give it the appearance of scoops (can you say Screaming Firechicken?). Thankfully that idea got shot down...
--Robert
I have an 04 silver gto, are you still looking for the stock hood?? Also I have onle had the car for 1 week and just yesturday It started misfiring on multiole cylinders. I can not drive it and have to get it to the dealer tommorow... it has 5000 miles on it. Have you ever had a problem like this??
I have heard of folks having this problem, yes. Some dealers will replace the shifter, others say that this is "normal" and refuse to do anything about it. Typical GM dealership service... it's like tossing a coin as to whether they'll fix it or not.
--Robert