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Pontiac GTO
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They are supposedly on their way to dealers across America!!!
So, how should I tell the CT dealer I'll probably have my GTO (for 35173, total) before he even sees one? Be nice?
Pretty literate group of writers, we GTO nuts.
Why be nice? Tell the other dealer, "Guess what? The other Pontiac dealer has a customer for life because he gave me a MUCH better deal than you."
Don't tell him the price you paid. Leave him wondering.
By the way folks, don't fall for the salesman's line that "every dealer is marking up the sticker price." All the Pontiac dealers in my city are selling them AT the sticker price, and one dealer said to me, "I know everyone is quoting sticker, but talk to me before you make a deal -- we'll, ahh, work something out." (He wasn't going to announce a price break, but that was his implication.)
See? If you do your homework (consult Edmunds!) and demand respect from the dealer, you won't fall prey. Look at the suckers who could have avoided paying $4,000 over list for a PT Cruiser.
Maybe the first GTO sold.
Kudos to you posters. I'd have paid much more for this car without you guys (any women GTO freaks out there? I doubt it). But ultimately the kudos go to edmunds.com.
--Robert
Today info was posted about 2005 GTO pilot cars going down the Holden assembly line.
I am speculating that we might very well see shortened 2004 production and earlier 2005 production.
The 2005 will have hood scoops and dual exhaust and possibly an LS2 engine.
I think it is a very real possibility that Pontiac wants to end 2004 production early and
get on with the improvements.
I hope changes include the sunroof, and maybe some safety related upgrades. Navigation system? Couldn't care less. Otherwise, it sounds pretty well equipped as is right now. Oh yeah - heated seats too for those that get winter.
I know they spent a lot of time tuning the sound of the GTO exhaust, but I doubt it's straight through like a Corsa system. Their patented sound cancellation system gives you straight pipe performance and it sounds great. It's not loud and is extremely quiet on the highway. So you could get a different sounding and higher performing car with this option.
I think such a teaming arrangement would be cool and give buyers more interesting options.
GTO pic.
http://popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars_trucks/2003/12/ne- w_cars_1203/
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- 18" wheels (or 17" that looks like the show car, flatter and therefore taller in appearance)
- Remote start, even Chevy's now have it
- Heated seats
- Make HID lights optional
- Sunroof
Brian
HID's would be cool, and I think any car could benefit by having heated seats as an option. Extra power? Do you mean just because more power is always cool, or do you really think that 30 more hp than a 911 isn't enough?
would have been considered pokey.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Re extended warrany: my dealer didn't offer a GM warranty until I asked about it. He had a non-GM company warrant package lined up, which I'm not going for because: Who's less likely to go bankrupt, GM or brand X? GM will cost more, but some of that will be recovered in re-sale.
Questions: What weight oil does she use? Use synthetic oil, and when? Break-in instructions are generic, so any thoughts on break-in techniques?
Why waste a set of rear tires finding out that a challenger -- can't? What I need is a lamenated list of 0-60's for comparable units like the GTO. That way I'd avoid going against some of these powerful looking monsters, like the four-banger Mazda with an exhaust about the size of a drain pipe that blows you away (with noise).
I did beat a 300ZX Turbo up to 50 mph 1 time.
Jumped him off the line and it took him that long to catch up.
215 hp can beat 300hp under the right conditions.
we aussies have been working on this car for a few years now and we also have a all wheel drive model on the way wich u guys in the states wont have for quite a while our models seem 2 have alot more features than the us model and the hsv's have a fair bit more power to up to 300kw at the moment and 19" wheels satnav and dual zone climate contol for our fussy ladies
BTW - the street start "5 to 60" for the GTO is not quicker than the 0 to 60 times. It is slower. Although for some automatics is can be almost the same as the "0 to 60 " number.
Maybe I missed it, where did those numbers come from anyway?
"factory freaks or specially prepared vehicles............I'd trust a third party before I'd trust a manufacturer's claim or magazine article."
Could you be relating these two points? If so, you are pretty sharp. And then you see all these tv commercials quoting the magazine performance test numbers (magazine cited very small at the bottom of the screen).
Do you have a G-tech or something that you are using to measure acceleration?
For the first time in 20 years, GM has 2 cars that I am actually considering, the CTS and the GTO. In the next 12 months, they may have a decent volume of these interesting performance oriented sedans and coupes available, but they must treat those of us used to buying premium Japaneese and European brands a bit different from the customers that have been buying Sunfires and DeVilles. I really, really want to see GM succeed, but they still have lots of work to do. The good news is, they seem to be finding ways to make more interesting cars available in this market (build CTS or import GTO). The bad news is, they still need to work on many of their dealers.
If GM wants to regain momentum with the people who have been buying BMW, MB, Audi, Lexus... They need to avoid the behavior described in the earlier post. The professional sales people at the better dealerships are constantly selling their brand, their dealership and themselves, even if they don't have the model you are looking for today. GM needs to make sure their salespeople realize they are representing themselves, the dealership, Pontiac and GM.
Affluent, educated people tend to expect a different buying experience than the shift workers at the local plant. (There will always be individual exceptions to demographically-based behavior assumptions.) This is obviously reflected in very different advertising campaigns targeting different types of buyers. This situation presents a bit of an enigma to a Pontiac dealer who has not invested the effort to understand how to build profitable long-term relationships with buyers/clients from different demographic pools. If GM is going to have a successful high-end business in the future, they need to capture the upwardly mobile buyers in their 20s and not lose them to the premium imports in their 30s and 40s. The GTO and CTS are good potential weapons in this war, but they still have work to do with the dealers.
A few years ago I ordered a Tahoe from a sales rep who was still green and enthusiastic. He thought he would do better selling cars than as a manager at Target, a job he had just quit. By the time I took delivery of the Tahoe 12 weeks had elapsed and almost the last four of those were trying to track down the vehicle which turned out to be in "no man's land" in the Jacksonville transit yard. When this guy finally got his piddely commission for all this effort, he told me he would never order a vehicle for a customer again. A few weeks later he was gone.
I suspect with the GTO it is not so much an "order" as it is an allocation, since Pontiac is determining how to configure the GTOs it builds (colors and that one transmission option) because of the lead time issues (this is what the Japanese do with Japan-built vehicles imported to the U.S.). GM still says "late December" but the year is almost out and no sign of any GTOs yet?
In any case there's no excuse for the salesman's indifference to this prospect, it was unprofessional.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
With the GTO, GM is clearly targeting buyers they want to turn into long-term clients. By itself, the GTO will not justify the effort to modify it and import it. It pays off big time if they can create a happy client that comes back to GM for more performance/luxury oriented cars in the future. They have been slowly loosing this market for 30 years and they really need to make major moves ASAP.
GM is spending billions in their attempt to reposition themselves in the market. Better-positioned products (like the GTO and CTS) are about 1/3 of the story. The remainder of the fix must come by reshaping their distribution and services network. This must include changes in both training and compensation packages to encourage behavior that results in establishing long-term clients for GM. Part of the solution will probably include more Internet-enabled ways of avoiding the dealer's salespeople altogether. The changes will not be easy, but the described behavior only results in reinforcing the negative image GM has gained within markets it wants to re-enter.
In 2001 they sold 1200 trucks and only 70 cars.
I asked my salesman how Chevrolet allocated them vehicles.
He said that Chevrolet worked with them because of their situation.
I imagine that there are several Pontiac dealers that have special deals with allocations.
Plus they can always trade amongst each other.
I'm thinking things will settle down in a couple of months; several sales folk I know don't think the GTO will be as popular as Pontiac management thinks. Personally a GTO w/ 6 speed is quite appealing, but I'll wait and see.
I had a very negative experience at a Cadillac dealer in the recent past. I just had some questions and this older salesmen treated me like crap. I'd probably pass for early 30's, and was dressed in shorts. Maybe that was it. However, everyone should be treated seriously. I called the dealership and had a nice conversation with the owner and shared my experience and suspicions about their particular salesman.
Some of these guys on the floor are death to GM. And yes, very few of them know crap about the car either. Pathetic. The salesmen need to be bumped up several notches IMHO.
The BEST example of trying to work something out of nothing came about a year ago at a Honda dealership. I wanted to try out an Accord V6 coupe STICK. The salesguy blinked a few times and said "They are as scarce as hen's teeth but I can try". Some time passed and I lost interest. This past summer I found my way back into the dealership and bought a sedan instead.
The moral is don't be a jerk. I'll never step foot onto that Lexus dealership again but I'll shop first at that Honda dealership.
Reality slap: I've NEVER shopped a GM dealership for ANYTHING. The GTO looks enticing though......