Again looks are subjective. For instance I would NEVER buy an fbod because of its ricey boy racer type of styling. Trust me when I say that the fbods is laughed at around the world (when I say world I don’t mean just America but Europe and asia etc). Looks has nothing to do with performance, if you want to buy a v6 gt then go for it its you choice and your money. IMO a true car guy appreciates all types of performance cars (japs, American, aussie, euro) no matter the looks- you my friend I call riceboy.

What are you on about? The gto is around 3765lbs (way off the mark), looks dosent make the car physically heavier.

 

Seriously there’s a lot of misinformation here, use the net, read mags, ask dealers, and drive the car.

 

I can speak from having read and seen and driven these cars.

The GTO for Pontiac was the first time 'GTO' was used in a non european sports car way to designate the finest in sports cars. The greatest part was that the GTO by Pontiac was allot less expensive and offered huge horsepower and was to be respected by all, even if you owned a Porche or Ferrari. The Humber was a nick name it acquired. For Pontiac it carries a diiferent meaning then the original GTO badging and that is part of It's Nastalgia in the USA. The 'Judge' was probably the most popular or recognized. And, it was not a by product of a foreign car but changed forever the 'GTO' name to not only encompass the expensive sports cars of Europe at that time.

So, please educate me on what I am missing in all these other media forms that I am missing and am ignorant to.

 

There are numerous sedans that will shame an F-body in AutoX, road racing, and the slalom, the GTO is one of them, pretty much every late model BMW are others, many FWD Mazdas, and I could go on.

Two doors and hard suspensions do not mean anything about handling.

 

Ditto. You took the words right out of my mouth. I love the f-body just as much as everyone else here does, but I appreciate every car for what it's worth and what it's made for. Sure, I think a S2000 is junk if you think it's a fast car, but it will sure whip up on a road course.

It's also not like the WS6 is a real huge improvment. Different shocks/springs, and sway bars. Woopee

 

I would love to see that happen. A real road race between the 2. My money is on the WS6. And, do not forget the polyeurothane bushings since you are listing some of the WS6 differences from the base TA. And, what does the GTO have? The added weight is not in its advantage. I did not see the skinnies as an advantage to the 17x9. So, what do you back this up with besides your opinion????

 

[QUOTE=monaroCountry]
PONTIAC GTO



QUOTE]
All I have to say is

 

I am not bashing the GTO. I am stating the facts whether you like them or not.

The GTO is quick (0 to 60 in 5.3 with a M6 and 1/4 mile in 13.62 sec).
The 02' WS6 is quicker (0 to 60 in 5.0 with an A4 and 1/4 mile in 13.5 sec)

Both are pretty close, but the WS6 is faster and older and with less HP. The curb wt of the GTO is 3725 so it is no wonder.

The GTO cannot beat the WS6 in those areas. Instead, it beats it in a luxury stand point. And, this does not allow for best corning and such. As Motortrend seaid, and I quote "The GTO, in stark contrast--both to Ford's outgoing Mustang and to many previous GM machines--is all finesse and gracefulness." It is not what the F-Body was. The F-Body was a beast and was the top Pony around. The GTO is not a pony it is a 'pleasant' ride. To get a GTO is like buying a BMW 3 series. The Mustang is the last pony car with the Cobra SVT. See another motortrend quote: "When we last tested a supercharged Ford Mustang SVT Cobra (another front-V-8, rear-drive two-plus-two priced in the mid-$30s), it bettered those numbers, reaching 60 mph in just 4.8 seconds and nailing the quarter mile in 13.0 at 110.7 mph. But the track stats tell only a small fraction of the story. The aging Cobra is quick, sure, but driving it means putting up with its clunky personality and a suspension that clomps over the road as if it's wearing horseshoes (which explains why Ford will be releasing an all-new Mustang in months)."

This is more than the opinion of myself. But, I welcome any counters to my claims......

 

Much of the road racing you are talking about will come down to driver. I think a better driver will get the WS6 to beat the GTO. I think an average or worse driver would win in the GTO. As stated - the WS6 - like most Corvette's - are beasts. The point was to get from here to there the fastest period. The GTO takes a car that is comfortable to drive (although not so comfortable to sleep in while riding according to my fiance - but I think she just needed to recline the seat further) and throws a big engine from one of those beasts in it.
More and more I realize people just don't get that. I'm exactly who Pontiac targetted with this car - and it's perfect. As I've stated before - I wasn't thinking about buying a car, and was floundering with the idea of BMW's and Audi's - but not really wanting either because I can't really afford the ones with enough power. Then I heard about the GTO coming out. It took me a couple of months to go check out the website, because I was assuming it was the last retro GTO concept from the auto show a few years ago. When I finally went and looked at it, read the spec's and heard it start and rev - I was hooked. About a year later I've had my car for 3 weeks and it's perfect. To compare it to the f-body is about like comparing a Cadillac to a prelude. Not much work and the prelude can run circles around the caddie - but who cares? I don't race to work every day. But it's a much more bearable drive in something that's comfortable and has some *****.
Dan

 

why does everyone compare it to the WS6? it was meant to replace it, and its targeted towards a different crowd. IMO, the car is gorgeous. i never drove it though. although, i agree that throwing the GTO emblem on it isn't too cool.

the WS6 and Camaro's are young guys cars, the problem is that they were sold for prices only mature guys with stable jobs could afford. the GTO is the proper balance between the two.

as for styling, the GTO is sleek and sexy, but at the same time feels a bit more beefy and muscular. IMO, a great combo. combined with the high power, its a nice sleeper. also, i coulda sworn Muscle Cars were family cars with big, high power engines in them....the GTO achieves this quite well.

how many people here that dont like the GTO (name the aspect u dont like) have actually seen the car in person and/or driven it?

 

The gto is leaps and bounds ahead of the fbods. One is getting discontinued while the other is a success story. Face it being fast is no longer good enough in todays society.

 

how is gto a success story? it just came out and i bet it's not going to sell like pontiac thought it would. take off the gto badges and you have something that looks just like a grand prix. a friend and i have been to the local pontiac dealer and test drove one. it's an alright car and has no creativity to the exterior, very very lame. i'm just extremely disappointed in the appearance.

 

i think the GTO is kind of a Catch 22 thing. if it wasn't named GTO, then there wouldn't have been so much whining about it, but on the other hand, if Pontiac wanted to make a GTO (and already had this car out), that spot would already be filled. another thing about styling, i think the GTO faces the same problem the older BMW M3's faced, they look too much like the lesser models (M3's looked too much like the 330ci's and such). as seen with the newer M3's, Pontiac can still fix this issue


sorry if my posts dont make sense rite now, i have a fever and dont feel well, and just got out of the shower and im kind of cold.

 

Take the badges off the old GTOs, and they looked like any other Pontiac on the road.

Tempest



Le Mans



Grand Prix



Bonneville/Catalina



GTO



The tradition continues in 2004.

 

Usually whenever a brand comes out with a hot performance car or variant, it tends to have the same styling cues as the rest of their products. Some examples,

Subaru Imprezza -> Subaru STi

Audi A4 -> Audi S4/RS4

BMW 3-Series -> BMW M3

Cadillac CTS -> Cadillac CTS-V

The GTO looks like a Pontiac and performs better than any other GTO Pontiac has ever sold.

Again, why exactly is this a terrible, awful, horrible problem?

 

All I have to say

 

An owner of a completely bone stock M6 GTO with 1,000 miles on it just ran a 13.320 quarter mile at 104.16 MPH.

Many in this batch of 2004 GTOs are turning out to be real ringers.

 

The GTO has never been a pony car like the Firebird.

It's always been a larger, more comfortable, more practical, more elegant muscle car in the same vein as the Buick Gran Sports, Chevrolet Impalas and Chevelles, Oldsmobile 442s, and Mercury Cougars and Cyclones. All gentlemen's muscle cars.

So, why the intense dislike? Did you hate the Buick turbo Regals, G-body Hurst Olds/442s, turbo GMCs, and 94-96 Chevrolet Impala SS cars because they all weren't retro, and weren't pony cars too?

 

Why exactly shouldn't it be called a GTO? Why shouldn't Subaru call the STi a Imprezza instead? Should Chevrolet have called the last Impala SS just the black Caprice?

Seriously, think about how contradictory holding that opinion of only one car is.

That's like saying "Hey, in 1964 they should have just called the original the "Pontiac Tempest", because that is what it was!" It was a Pontiac economy car with a larger engine wedged in, and the nameplate copied from Ferrari.

How does the new GTO differ at all from this auto industry wide precedent? Hell, in Australia it's a GTO too.

 

I'm sorry....I'd have to buy a 2002 WS6 w/an Auto, Put MTI heads back on it, a bigger cam than the X1, that I had, same verter....or, I honestly would get an 03' Cobra put a KB supercharger on it, some nitrous, headers, etc. I don't think I would buy a GTO there's just so many more "Better" platforms to purchase.