This Pontiac GTO commercial reminds us of the short-lived LS1 coupe.
This week’s Throwback Thursday video features a commercial for the 2004 Pontiac GTO. While the GTO is now more than a decade out of production, this Holden Monaro-based sports coupe was a popular option when the Camaro and Firebird left production after 2002. This GTO never built the following that the F-Body twins did before (and after) the Aussie coupe, but the LS1-powered Pontiac did a good job of bridging the performance gap between the end of the 4th gen Camaro and the beginning of the 5th gen car in 2009.
The later Pontiac GTO models in 2005 and 2006 would be offered with the LS2, but when the car was introduced for the 2004 model year, it was only offered with the same LS1 that powered the final Firebirds and Camaros. With 350 horsepower, the LS1 GTO was among one of the quickest cars sold in America during that era and in this commercial – the driver is clearly looking for a race.
The black Pontiac rolls to a stop light as it turns red, sitting there with the LS1 grumbling through the throaty exhaust system. The light turns green, but the Goat doesn’t move, allowing us to get a closer look at the car as the camera cycles through the various viewing angles. The car sits there long enough to have the light turn yellow and then red again, making us wonder what is going on.
However, just before the light turns green again, a BMW of some sort rolls up next to the GTO, at which point we realize that the LS1-driver was simply waiting for someone to beat at the light.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
