Re: Group opinion - New GTO

Frankly... like you say tastes change between people.

You obviously like your Corvette. And I for sure love the little Pontiac Fieros... actually I'm angling to get an '84SE from up country to use as a donor in my '84 3800-powered beastie's resurrection. And some people like the GTOs in various shapes and years.

I'd love to own a Monaro! Sitting beside one at the lights in the Fiero it was quite a competition between the two for acceleration ;-)

But I can see its added practicality, and it indeed has more distinct features than the Japanese econobox-turned-racecars that the boys all have here and everywhere. And the GTO form won't be any different.

The public mocking of the new model just because 'It's not the same' is crap and should end. It's about as sensible as me yelling 'The 89 Fiero that was never built wasn't a Fiero because the (insert name of component) is different!) Who cares? It's not like it wouldn't make up for it in other areas.

I'm going to stop ranting now but I like your thinking Sting Ray... someone finally noticed that the new GTO is a car worth waiting for.

Nick.

Fiero! Now that's a whole new topic Nick! I still lament the day that GM made the decision to stop manufacturing the Fiero. In my mind, it was leaps and bounds ahead of anything in its class. That 3800 of yours is great in stock form and with a few mods can crank out incredible performance. The Fiero is still an eyecatcher years after production stopped and still draws attention from a lot of car nuts.

Hehehe, the old beastie could keep up with a Porsche 911 without too much effort... and it sounded like it had a smallblock under the bonnet. :-)

The people who disrespect the 3800 need professional help - in a good RWD application they have plenty enough power, sound the part and have plenty of scope for modifications.

The Fiero just abuses the power by putting all the weight on the drive wheels like a FWD, but driving the other end. Wheelspin didn't exist. Just straight traction - and satisfaction. :-D

Nick.

And who cares?

That's your personal opinion brothah, frankly as much as an oldschool musclecar appeals the modern GTO has brawn, and is quite nimble. Stops better, turns better, accelerates better... image is nothing, performance is everything.

Nick.

To GM, performance is nothing. Accounting is everything. The Firebird was made in Quebec, in very low numbers. Too much aggravation for GM.

performance is

The Firebird was designed as a sportscar primarily... the new GTO was not. Under the skin it was originally a 4-door V8 RWD sedan... albeit with ninja performance. Maybe that accounts for something?

Nick.

Correct.

Joe wrote:

To GM, performance is nothing. Accounting is everything. The Firebird was made in Quebec, in very low numbers. Too much aggravation for GM.

Look the bottom line is this. If you want a car with a Grand Am front end and a Dodge Neon rear end with a Corvette Engine then the GTO is for you. Personally I would rather be seen in a Mustang Mach 1. Pontiac could have done so much more if they wanted to resurect the GTO nameplate. I personally feel the car should have been named something like a Potenza or Akomeeza GT or something.

Think the car definitely looks like a mustang in disguise, would rather buy a honda, the one that looks like a box.

message

performance

Everything looks like a Mustang in disguise.

Here's my vote: It's better than nothing, so I'm happy for Pontiac and Holden and all the people that buy one. It's a jellybean in the looks department. All domestic Pontiacs look like rental cars, and the GTO is going to fit right in.

Interesting take on the new goat. I think GM screwed the pooch when it discontinued the F-bodies. (Camaro Firebird) and basically handed that market to Ford. Personally, I'd rather have one of the upcoming 05 Mustangs than a new GTO. Never been what you'd call a Ford guy but it has more style and better performanve than the new GTO for less money. Some where I read that GM/Pontiac was thinking of creating a RWD Blown Bonneville to compete with the BMW/Mercedes high end cars. I would like to see that! When you compare the GTO to Vettes, Vipers, and such cars you are comparing apples and oranges. :)

Well, Apples and oranges it is then! But to compare the Mustang to the new GTO doesn't work, either. I was going by performance numbers (which I don't have in the new Mustang) to find examples of similar cars. Obviously one in the market for a Viper probably wouldn't consider a GTO. But you have to admit, based on the published numbers in Motor Trend's Car of the Year article, it's hard to find another car with as much acceleration. Then my favorite part - it's also hard to find a car with better handling numbers... And here we are worrying that this car looks like an Opel... :)

Popular American car, yes... There was another car produced around the same time as the original GTO that took a full sized engine and stuffed it into a foreign body. I don't hear anyone complaining about the Cobra! Again, apples and oranges, I know. BTW, I looked in the latest Road and Track - the one with the new Ford GT on the cover (and what a sweet ride that is!) I looked through the performance numbers in their chart, and it seems the only cars with similar acceleration numbers have names like Maserati, Ferrari, Jaguar, and Lamborghini. And the slalom and skid pad numbers aren't too bad, either...

Has anyone driven one yet?

They didnt call the Cobra a Pinto or vise versa now did they? If I remember correctly when the engine being made for the AC ACE went flop Shelby bought the AC bodies and it became the "AC" Cobra. It wasnt being passed off as something it wasnt, it was an all new pedigree.

Good link here;

I don't believe you are correct, at least not according to what was presente3d on "Wheels" a couple of weeks ago. Ford is reworking the Cobra for the show circuit this year - a bit of the episode dealt with how Carrol developed the AC body with the Ford engine.

As for your other point, either you missed mine entirely or whatever. There are definately similarities between the development of this new GTO and the original. There are also HUGE differences. My argument here is this car meets my criteria for a GTO. You don't like it, that's fine. When this new model joins my fleet, it will be my 3rd GTO. The other 2 are a 67 convert (driver) and a 64 convert (waiting for restoration). I think they will get along fine!