End of Road for new GTO

[Kirby]

GM finally gives up on the GTO - but will they learn from this colosal marketing blunder??

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp . said Tuesday it will end production of the Pontiac GTO this summer.

The last high-performance GTO, which is made in Elizabeth, Australia, will roll off the line in June and hit the U.S. market in late July or August, Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson said.

The iconic muscle car traces its roots to 1964, when the first GTO hit the market. The GTO went through seven body styles before it was discontinued in 1974, Hopson said. After a 30-year hiatus, the GTO was revived as an all-new 2004 vehicle.

The current GTO has a 400-horsepower, six-liter V-8 engine and accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in six seconds. It starts at $31,990.

Hopson said GM decided to phase out the GTO for several reasons. A new U.S. air bag regulation was going to require a substantial redesign of the instrument panel, he said. Also, the GTO's Australian-designed architecture is being phased out worldwide in favor of a new platform.

GTO sales also have been tapering off. GM sold 11,590 GTOs in 2005, down 14 percent from the year before. In January, year-over-year sales were down 33 percent.

 

[frolf]

400bhp --> 0-60 in 6.0
190/3bhp --> 0-60 in 6.2

gto vs. 328is?

 

[tool fan]

400bhp --> 0-60 in 6.0
190/3bhp --> 0-60 in 6.2

gto vs. 328is?

265bhp 0-60 5.2 seconds
My newly aquired 2001 Mustang Bullitt GT

 

[jrt67ss350]

Hmmmm. This is interesting. EVERYTHING I have read has said that the GTO is going to be redesigned and built on the new Zeta global platform to be shared with the new Camaro and possibly an upcoming rear wheel drive Impala. I wonder if they have changed their plans now? If so, that really sheds doubt on the potential future of the Camaro.

 

[shadymilkman]

The GTO was a silly car and frankly an embarassment to the originals. It was only a matter of time before they pulled it.

 

[epj3]

I loved the new GTO. One of the three GM variations I could ever see myself driving (Vette, GTO, solstice)

Good job GM!

Justin I have a feeling they are planning on bringing the camaro back and wouldn't surprise me if they bring the firebird back...

Where the hell did they get their numbers from? 2006 GTO 0-60 is 4.7 seconds...

 

[frolf]

i'm glad you brought this up. reread the article kirby posted, right above my post, i got my numbers from the artilce posted. you can take that to the next level, and then think of why i would post my car vs. a car with 400bhp and then add the question marks.

all in all it should point to my skepticism of the GTO's said 0-60 time reported in that article

 

[PhatBimmer]

I think the GTO would of sold more if they had called it something else like maybe the new GP instead of GTO. IMO

 

[epj3]

i'm glad you brought this up. reread the article kirby posted, right above my post, i got my numbers from the artilce posted. you can take that to the next level, and then think of why i would post my car vs. a car with 400bhp and then add the question marks.

all in all it should point to my skepticism of the GTO's said 0-60 time reported in that article

Yea thanks that would explain the post edit 5 minutes after I made the post (would've been 20 seconds after, but sometimes the site doesn't load till ten F5's)

Any manual GTO will rape your car though. I think they posted slowmatic times.

 

[Abdoman]

I'm with epj, the GTO was a nice car wrapped in camary styling. I have a friend that owns one and its a nice car, especially for just a little over 30K. The interior has to be one of the nicest GM builds.

 

[frolf]

Yea thanks that would explain the post edit 5 minutes after I made the post (would've been 20 seconds after, but sometimes the site doesn't load till ten F5's)

Any manual GTO will rape your car though. I think they posted slowmatic times.

really? i was pretty sure that 4.7 and 6.2 were really close. thanks man, now i won't get humiliated when i go race GTOs

 

[adrean8j]

Awwww...man....I was seriously thinking about getting one of those when i went back to the states.......sigh...how come the states gets good cars and then buries them....and then bring out POS's like the....300c?(i hate the optics on that car..."shudders"...wannabe bentley/rolls-royce)

 

[epj3]

really? i was pretty sure that 4.7 and 6.2 were really close. thanks man, now i won't get humiliated when i go race GTOs

Dude stop being retarded [8)] [8)] [8)] [8)]

I'm not exactly sure how you interpreted my post, but i'm pretty sure nobody else took it the same way you did.

 

[MrElussive]

400bhp --> 0-60 in 6.0
190/3bhp --> 0-60 in 6.2

gto vs. 328is?

The new GTO does 0-60 in less than 5 seconds, that article is definitely wrong.

A lot of times on the West Side Highway, young punks in E36's ALWAYS want to race me and it's ALWAYS over by the time I get to 5K rpm's in 1st gear (I think they despise my Jap car). I beat them without even getting to the 35mph speed limit without launching....no offense, I just don't know where all the E36 (excluding M3) owners get off saying their car does 0-60 in the low-6-second range because the cars definitely aren't even close to that.

Horsepower is horsepower...the GTO isn't heavy and 400hp is monsterous, along with all that low-end grunt from the big V8.

Edit: I'd kill for a new Pontiac GTO if the car was more my style.