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Pontiac GTO
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After that, the cyclone grey or the black on black.
Couldn't take the yellow or red - I could just see the tickets ;~}
Colma does (or did) have the lighter blue with blue interior.
Thanks a lot more for the heads up on the engine management stuff. I suffer from similar issues on my Aurora, it destroys performance...
I know people don't buy cars like this for their fuel economy, but I'd like to know if others are getting similar milage. I need ammo to sell the Idea of a GTO as a family friendly muscle car to the wife. Help!
Average temperature also has a big effect on mileage... it's been mostly in the 50's and 60's around here. Wonder what others are experiencing...
--Robert
Better than I expected.
They had an 05 GTO set up on a dyno which ran a simulated quarter mile and gave HP and torque readouts for each run. They must have made this run 10+ times while I was in that area. There was actually piles of shredded rubber behind the car form the tires. I think this showed confidence in the durabilty of the car to make maximum perfomance runs all day long for the 4 days the show was here. I sure wouldn't want to buy that car!
They were also using 6 GTO"s for the test drives, 3 auto and 3 manual. And the lines were long all day for both. I thought I was going to fall in love with this car as soon as I got behind the wheel. But I was very disappointed with the steering input on the tight low speed turns. There was noticeable lag or understeer, like a slight delay before the car responded and turned in. It was very pronounced and I drove several other cars and did not experience this, the Grand Prix and even the Bonneville had tighter handling. Is this normal for these cars or was the test track magnifying the issue?
Does anyone else think the 29mpg for the 04 6spd hiway must have been bought from the EPA??? :confuse:
Latest rumor is that Holden will continue to build the Monaro/GTO (as well as the Statesman/Ute) on the VZ chassis for another couple of years. So, 2006 may not be the last year GTO on the current platform:
http://goauto.carsales.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/57C117F6E1D19405CA2570060008263D
Have you noticed that one of the changes for 06 is that the seat motor speed has been increased - because of consumer feedback. It is ridicously slow.
Got my 2005 hood installed about 3 weeks ago.
makes the car IMHO.
No, I hadn't (only perused the GM Fleet PDF which had some new GTO highlights).
So far, we know the '06:
1) has a second power outlet under the radio (can get one now if you order the Smoker's Package, I believe)
2) has a button on the dash for power locks
3) drops Midnight Blue Metallic and Yellow Jacket/Devil Yellow for Flame Red and Brazen Orange. No orange interior, just black with orange stitching on the shifter, darn it!
4) has darker taillamps (myself, I just ordered some smoked Monaro CV8-R tails from JHP - http://www.jhp.com.au)
Anything else new for '06?
--Robert
Thanks
1) The good - the GTO gets viewed like the '94-'96 Impala SS and becomes a "wanted" used car by GM performance aficionados
2) The gasoline situation spirals out of control... can't give muscle cars away (just like in the early 70's)
The truth is probably somewhere in between...
--Robert
Also, I haven't seen any reports of any major problems with this car...or is it still too new at this point?
The engine in the 2004 is the tried-and-true LS1 which has been in use since 1997/1998 in the Corvette and F-body. The 2005 has the new LS2, which is significantly changed, and probably too early to pass judgement on as far as reliability. There was an issue with coolant leak from freeze plugs on the LS1. On the LS2, the GTO uses drive-by-wire (i.e. no throttle cable), and there's a problem with this system - only a handful of '05 owners posted about it on another forum - new part is in development/should be available by mid-June (car goes into reduced power mode when this happens).
There were a number of teething issues (thunk in the trunk, rear axle bolts, door lock assembly) which were problematic on '04's. There are a number of Technical Service Bulletins out for the car. Later built cars (my first one was 281xxx, replacment 301xxx) have these fixes and seem to be a bit more solid. '05's are very solid, with the only questions being the drivetrain (due to its newness). Remember, this is basically a 2-door Holden Commodore (same chassis since 1998 or so), and the Monaro's been built since 2001/2002, so this is not a brand new platform.
Since it uses Holden's V-chassis, it's not familiar to a lot of U.S. dealerships, and many of them frankly don't know how to service/troubleshoot the car. I would probably not have purchased my GTO from the dealership that I did had I known this... suggest you look around, ask other Pontiac owners, and see if you can find a good one.
Having said that, my replacement car's been my daily driver now for 2 months, and I'm finally going to take it in for a couple of cosmetic problems (nothing mechanical). Very pleased.
--Robert
as for problems with the cars, from what i've read, not many, not major, nothing unfixable... i plan on ordering a 2006 (or 2007?) at some point, hopefully at invoice price!
This is the only problem I have encountered so far in this incredible car (900 miles, 2005, automatic).
Guess I'll go to the dealership and get it fixed - such a minor thing, but it is annoying.
One car is a GT/muscle car while the STi is a rally car.
I only enjoyed the sound of the GTO's V-8 in that video.
Only four weeks away!
I also assume the dealer cannot offer any dealer discounts in addition to the GM employee pricing..right???
--Robert
What a great job this stuff does on a new car - I'm very pleased.
I also used it on my old Honda Civic (98) and it gave that car a new lease on life.
I thought the Perfect Tire Gloss could have done a better job but that was my only complaint.
I did not buy the gloss enhancer and now I want that so I'll be going back to their web site.
Thanks very much for the excellent tip.
I'm hooked on Zaino for life.
i say no way, no $1k max (please).
i want to use $3k from my GM card . i don't think there is a limit for the kind of GM card i have (original).
--Robert
Your results may vary, but these are the steps I used on my GT:
1) Z6 Gloss enhancer
2) Z8 Grand Finale spray sealer
3) Z1 Polish lock
4) Z2 Show Car Polish charged with ZFX show car polish accelerator
5) Z6 Gloss enhancer
6) Z8 Grand Finale spray sealer
I use Zaino on my other car, too. We've had rain all week. After having used the Z8 Grand Finale last weekend, you can barely tell that the car has been driven in the rain. At the next washing, all I'll need to do is pressure wash it and reapply the Z6 and Z8.
So far, I've got to give Zaino two thumbs up on the new Z8 Grand Finale. The only thing is it's kind of pricey; but it's worth it.
I did this:
- Wash with the Zaino car wash (nice stuff, smells like shampoo)
- Z2 with ZFX, two coats
- Tires with the tire stuff
- Interior with the leather cleaner
- Buff out the exterior with clean, white 100% cotton towels (edges trimmed off)
This worked great on my black GTO. I notice that after a few days driving it has picked up a lot of dust and is looking dirty again (what is a Ca. Duster?).
I did not buy any of the enhancer or finale spray but will be doing so today.
I used the Polish Loc on my Civic - worked well on that but I didn't think I should use that on a brand new car so I went with the ZFX/Z2 combo instead.
Trying to get that ZFX out of the applicators and bottles is no easy task.
As I understand it, you only need do the ZFX & polish about every 6 months.
Do I have that right?
What is your ongoing Zaino regimen?
You should check this stuff out.
It really does do wonders for the appearance.
And although it sounds time intensive, that's only when you do the original sealers, etc. Once you've got that done, for the next 6 months all it takes is a quick wash, dry, applying some spray products and you've got a car that looks better than it did on the showroom floor.
The original treatment took me about 3 hours.
I would say that it is definitely no more time consuming than a wax job and the results are superior to any wax job I've seen.
In case you want to check it out, go to www.zainostore.com
The only thing that touches my paint is water and 100% cotton towels (the color varies). (Besides dust, bird poop and road grime.)
Dust? Long ago here in San Jose you could wash your car and it would stay clean for a week. Nowadays it's covered with dust the next day. I read one time that most of the particulate matter in the air is ground up rubber from tires. With 3 million or so cars in the area it makes sense.
Here was my regimen with my GTO once I got it out of storage on April 1 (it had 42 miles on it - my second car, after the first was exchanged).
1) Washed with Dawn to strip any existing wax
2) Used a clay bar (and some Z-7 and water mixture in a spray bottle) to remove contaminants (believe you me, after 3 months of traveling across the Pacific, and then across the U.S. on trains and trucks, then sitting at a dealer for 3 months and in storage for 3 months, I got a lot of crud off my car). You can tell the paint is smooth by putting your hand in a plastic baggie and running it across your paint - try this on an unclayed section and then on the part you've clayed and washed - you'll feel the difference).
3) Washed again with the Z-7 wash (I find this to be exceptional - really helps the car shine and the water sheet off of it)
4) Mixed up some ZFX and Z-5 swirl mark remover (my car must have gone through an automatic wash at least once). Applied two coats, VERY thin (1 oz. should do the car twice - it's not like wax, you barely see any haze). The Zaino dries in no time (temperature and humidity permitting), and comes off very easy, unlike wax.
5) After each coat of the Z-5, used the Z-6 Gloss Enhancer. This stuff is awesome - helps the shine pick up. It also has antistatic properties - without using it, my car does become a dust magnet, particularly the rear end below the spoiler :-(
That was about 4 hours. Went to work on the interior cleaning.
Next day washed again with Z-7, then mixed up a couple of ounces of Z-2 and ZFX. Applied each coat, waited, dried, and used Z-6 in between/after coats. Also used the Z-6 on the windshield and glass, and the wheels. This really helps water bead off the window (kind of like Rain-X, except it doesn't get nasty if you don't keep applying it, unlike Rain-X), and keeps brake dust from biting into the paint.
Another 4 hours spent. Car looks awesome (had it into the dealer yesterday, and they couldn't believe the shine). My maintenance routine is that I can wash the car with Z-7, a microfiber wash mitt, an Absorber, and a microfiber towel. Can do it in 25 minutes, 35 if I spend the time to wipe down under the trunk lid, inside the doors, et. al. If I have another 30-45 minutes, I'll knock out another coat of Z-2/ZFX. As an aside, to clean out the little bottles you use to mix the stuff, run cold water in them (hot will "set" the leftover polish) and put some Dawn in. Let it sit for awhile, if necessary.
My car will NEVER see an auto wash. I only work on it not in direct sunlight (with my driveway orientation, that's before 10 a.m. or after 5 p.m.). I do have the Z-8 but have only used it once (I think I posted a picture of the car a few posts up). Zaino is great stuff! No I don't sell it or profit from it.
And, I'm sure the hosts will be here shortly to say that there's a (fairly dormant) Zaino discussion over Maintenance and Repair.
Hope this helps,
--Robert
P.S. Their leather stuff is the best I've used - I even use it on my leather furniture. I didn't like the tire dressing, but am told it makes a great dash protectant. I use Meguiar's Gold Class Endurance and am pretty happy with it.
Sadly, Zaino polish application is an all day event for me; all weekend if I'm doing multiple coats. Then again, I am doing two cars, and I do a Z6 and Z8 buffing between each and every coat of polish. But I have plenty of time to drive my car, sputterguy. Yeah, it's a lot of hard work when doing the polishing, but the way people gawk at your car after a Zaino treatment makes it well worth it. Matter of fact, I can't wait to get two more coats on my GT! :-)) I can't tell you how many coats I have on my 300M Special. It's almost 2.5 years older than my GT and shines better; then again it's black, and NOTHING shines like black.
gottabgto, a California Duster is a handheld dust mop whose fibers are fused with parafin wax to pick up and trap dust without scratching your paint. You can pick one up at your local Wal-Mart's car care section or any auto parts store for less than $20 for the large one.