Home » The Last Pontiac GTO Is Criminally Underrated: GM Hit Or Miss

The Last Pontiac GTO Is Criminally Underrated: GM Hit Or Miss

2004 Pontiac Gto Topshot
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Can a car be ahead of its time without being radical? After all, some of the great landmark cars of the past 100 years seriously moved the game on in some form. The Citroen DS still feels like the future, the original Mercedes-Benz CLS changed sedans forever, and even the Pontiac Aztek is currently enjoying its day in the sun. However, sometimes a car isn’t a game-changer, yet it still doesn’t see proper appreciation in its day. Take the final Pontiac GTO, for instance. In the words of Marty McFly, “I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it.” Welcome back to GM Hit or Miss, where we enter the walk-in freezer of GM’s pre-bankruptcy product planning, hoping to find delicious appetizers and not rats or whatever.

In the early 2000s, GM was sunsetting its pony car production, but Bob Lutz still wanted something muscular in the lineup. However, the General was in a tight spot. With the F-Body exiting production, the Kappa platform still several years out, and Cadillac looking to hog two rear-wheel-drive platforms, the company didn’t have many options for something that could take the role of the Firebird as a halo car for Buick-Olds-Pontiac showrooms. Fortunately, GM’s excitement brand ended up getting by with a little help from its Australian friends.

Vidframe Min Top
Vidframe Min Bottom

Out Where The River Broke

Holden Monaro

To the casual observer, Australia looks a bit like what a British Texas would be. We’re talking about a nation of beer, utes, vast stretches of emptiness, wildlife that wants to kill you, regulations up the wazoo, and a penchant for fast, rear-wheel-drive cars. Relatively unbothered by the corporate overlords in Detroit, possibly because they were dealing with a domestic clusterfuck of their own, Holden kept cranking out rear-wheel-drive V8 passenger cars long after, say, the B-Body exited production. The  was really a simple matter of taking an Opel Omega, changing everything, and dropping in an Aussie-built version of GM’s third-generation small-block V8. Americans will better know this engine as the LS.

Along the way, Holden cooked up a large, rounded coupe variant called the Monaro, a moniker throwing things back to the heyday of Australian supercars. As the story goes, Bob Lutz took one look at this big bruiser, imagined it ripping up American highways, and then moved heaven and earth to bring it to America, because fast, rear-wheel-drive coupes are an American thing. There was just one thing to work out: What to call it.

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Italian Lessons

Gran Turismo Omologato. That’s Italian for Grand Touring Homologated. It’s an evocative name, used on properly old-school Ferraris, and one that Pontiac shamelessly pilfered for an option package on its 1964 Tempest Le Mans. For a mere $295, shoppers could add a 325-horsepower (gross) 6.4-liter V8 engine, a three-speed manual transmission with a Hurst floor shifter, a four-barrel carb, dual pipes, a seven-blade fan, stiffer suspension, redline tires, and a list of cosmetic sundries. Unsurprisingly, it was a hit. The working, middle-class young people of America wanted horsepower and wanted it now. Little did everyone know that this hopped-up Pontiac was a declaration of war.

Over the next eight years, warheads bearing names like Cuda, 442, Boss, and SS ripped down American streets as a decade about peace and love in paranoid times showed its underbelly of hot, nasty, badass speed. In response to competition, the GTO just got faster, with big block motors, ram air induction, hood-mounted tachometers, and wild paint schemes. However, by 1973, the party was pretty much over. New emissions and safety requirements along with an oil crisis marked the end of the muscle car, with the American automotive industry plunging into a state of deep malaise. Fast forward to late 2003, and domestic performance was back. From supercharged Mustangs to the freaking Chevrolet SSR, America was in a new renaissance of muscle, and a reborn GTO sounded like just the car to take on the competition with.

Rumble In The Bronx

Pontiac Gto 2

Was the 2004 Pontiac GTO fast? Does an underprepared camper shit in the woods? Here’s what Car And Driver managed to get out of the 5.7-liter GTO — the slowest one sold.

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If you want necks snapped, row hard and keep the gas pedal flat. The all-season 245/45 BFGoodrich g-Force T/As are mere shrimps on the barbie of the LS1 V-8. The GTO charges headlights ablaze out of a toxic cloud of tire smoke to turn 5.3 seconds at 60 mph and 14 seconds flat in the quarter-mile at 102 mph, clobbering with big-bore snort new import coupes such as the Infiniti G35 and Mazda RX-8.

Speed is wonderful, but it needs to come with sensation to be memorable. Whether the “oh god” spleen-mashing silent violence of a fast electric car or the primal banshee wail of an Italian V12, speed should feel a little bit antisocial, lest we become complacent. Thankfully, the GTO obliged, and Car And Driver summed it up best:

Best of all, the GTO vents USDA Prime V-8 grumble out of a genuine dual exhaust (the Monaro’s interconnecting H-pipe is there, but blocked off for meatier noise). The pops and thuds of backfires on the overrun sound positively illegal, like you’d pulled the cans and were heading for Paradise Road.

Now that’s what a fast, V8 coupe should be all about. However, the acceleration and noise might be the least-impressive part of the Pontiac GTO. I’ve been lucky enough to experience one, and came away enamored with its velvet-glove refinement.

Pontiac Gto 1

It’s a big, soft grand tourer that still handles better than you’d expect. Not only is the steering well-weighted, the chassis balance is set up in a properly approachable manner, hanging the tail out should you ask, reining it in with ease, and still defaulting to manageable understeer when seriously overdriven. Ride quality leans more Bavarian than anything, the whole car is surprisingly precise for a 3,800-pound bar of soap, and the GTO feels better screwed-together than any American GM product of that time. Forget a Cadillac, this was the best GM car you could buy for several years.

Growing Pains

Pontiac Gto 3

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Despite spine-snapping bark and Rottweiler bite, the Pontiac GTO did have a few problems. Arguably the biggest problem on a day-to-day basis was the fuel tank. Due to pesky American requirements for not barbecuing occupants in rear-end collisions, the tank was moved from under the trunk floor to inside the trunk, right up against the rear seats. This raised the center of gravity and cut trunk space down to a mere 13 cubic feet. That’s less than you get in a Toyota Echo.

Pontiac Gto Interior

Of a more pressing matter in the GTO’s day was its styling — it just wasn’t lairy enough for American tastes. Instead of being some macho-posturing, testosterone-laden object of bedroom poster lust, the GTO was conservative, demure, and under the radar. Oh, and it’s not just me who thinks this way — Car And Driver noted the GTO’s tame appearance back in 2003, calling the styling “a snooze.” The soap bar looks and derivative greenhouse did make it look a bit like an oversized Sunfire, and I can totally understand that failing to resonate with American audiences.

Bulking Up

Pontiac Gto 5

In an attempt to overcome the somewhat anonymous styling, General Motors did the only thing it knew how to do — it threw more power at the problem. For 2005, the 5.7-liter, 350-horsepower LS1 V8 was out, and the six-liter, 400-horsepower LS2 was in. Oh, and the GTO also gained an unceremoniously grafted-on pair of nostrils as standard equipment, rather than as part of an optional package. The extra kick in the trousers pushed the GTO to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, as per Motor Trend, but the car still didn’t look particularly wild. Keep in mind, the Chrysler 300C and retro-style 2005 Ford Mustang were on the market at this point, both offering far more flash with reasonable performance.

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For 2006, the Pontiac GTO carried over almost unchanged. A few new colors joined the palette, new taillights joined the party, minor switchgear changes occurred, and that was it. Sales jumped from 11,069 units to 13,948 GTOs, but the car still never met its initial 18,000-per-year sales target. Australian publication Drive reports that by June 14, 2006, the last GTO rolled off the line in Adelaide, and it was curtains for Pontiac’s two-door import.

Time Is A Healer

Pontiac Gto 6

Over the past 17 years, something funny has happened to the GTO’s competitors: They’ve all aged like milk. The 2005 Ford Mustang now looks like the cartoonish pastiche it is, and it has some hilarious build quality issues like paint not adhering to its aluminum hood and leather door card inserts flopping down at the drop of a hat. The Chrysler 300C that was so cool in the mid-aughts was another fashion car that now looks like the four-wheeled equivalent of a Von Dutch trucker hat. Sure, it’s nostalgic, but its trashy nature is showing. Besides, those Chryslers go through front end components like no tomorrow, and often weren’t cared for particularly well.

In contrast, the Pontiac GTO has only grown better with age. Sure, parts support can be a bear, but the staid lines have aged well, and the interior stands the test of time. It’s a wonderfully mature yet sinfully powerful bruiser that seems to transcend class much the way that the Volkswagen GTI does. You can turn up to a no-prep race or a corporate managerial job in a GTO and not look like a complete buffoon at either location. What’s more, it’s still quick and lovely to drive by today’s standards. These days, with a little bit of digging, you can pick up an LS2-powered GTO for under $20,000, and still have it be sublime. For anyone infatuated with the car when it was new, it’s still a hero worth driving. If that doesn’t make it a hit, I don’t know what does.

(Photo credits: Pontiac, Holden)

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Silent But Deadly
Silent But Deadly
7 months ago

The thing that most Americans don’t get is that the modern Monaro really wasn’t developed with their market in mind. It was more of a late coming happy accident that US corporate caught on to its potential.

So, with that in mind, consider that Holden developed these things on the comparative smell of an oily rag in terms of budget. Even the fact it did arise was more down to the popularity of a one off show car and a just gonna send it attitude given the likely low sales figures and low chance of profits.

As a result, lots and lots of the look carried over from the generic contemporary Commodore – something that copped some criticism down here too but also a lot of understanding. The GTO grille was simply a quick, cheap and not very appealing way to kind of make it look Pontiac.

These days, the New Monaro is a rare sight as most that remain are now garage queens…and expensive ones at that.

Xpumpx
Xpumpx
7 months ago

What makes you think that most Americans don’t that this wasn’t developed for their market? It was very widely known that this was from Australia and rebadged for America. It was on every magazine cover and talked about in every article.

Silent But Deadly
Silent But Deadly
7 months ago
Reply to  Xpumpx

You’ve missed my point. The US market wanted it to look different/’better’. It could have looked different/’better’ if it had a development budget that had targeting the American market in mind in the first place…as opposed to a low volume niche performance product solely for the AU/NZ market.

AceRimmer
AceRimmer
7 months ago

UGLY, uninspired and they sounded like a truck when labored w/ that 4-speed auto. And considering that first year LS1 only put up numbers of the ’99 Mustang GT w/ nearly 100 less HP is laughable. Least the LS2 versions had some pep. Basically, these are competent (in LS2 guise) but wholly uncharismatic.

Ariel E Jones
Ariel E Jones
7 months ago

I remember this car suffered so much criticism for its bland styling. This after Pontiac had spent the last decade being bashed for their overwrought styling. I guess they just couldn’t win. I thought it looked fine initially and the hood scoops looked a little tacked on. Really they looked like what they were, a fast “fix” for the bland styling. Two decades on, I think the styling has weathered well.
That said, noone argues that the power and performance were there. The updated one especially. That was pretty serious business in 2005. Also remember the F bodies had recently been put out to pasture. If you wanted a cheap (ish) V8 RWD coupe from the general, this was it.
Let’s play a game. Imagine for a moment that the brass had decided to label it with a different hallowed name. Firebird. Maybe they tried to adapt the front and rear fascias with a little bit of Firebird flair. A screaming chicken on the hood. Too much? Would the negative reaction have been more or less visceral? Or positive? Thoughts?

JDE
JDE
7 months ago
Reply to  Ariel E Jones

I would definitely want a GTO with and LS2 over a same year corvette with the same drive train. They definitely almost did what you suggest though in the G8. it was more angular with more retro inspired grill. but it was a little too late and the stink of an orphan car company was already emanating off the hides of all Pontiacs by then. Also 4 door only.

The Solstice would have been pretty epic had it been called a Banshee and offered with an atlas inline 6 as the base motor and a rowdy LS2 in GXP form. that would have been ok to use the Screaming chicken on I think.

PaysOutAllNight
PaysOutAllNight
7 months ago

I love the modern GTO. I even love the forgettable styling.

I doubt I’ll ever get one. Although they seemed like a solid deal when new, anything used in good condition has always been expensive.

Also, they’ve caught the eye of more than a few collectors. Those who love them really love them. I know one person who has seven of them between him, his wife and his college aged sons. Another guy has one on the street and three in his barn after selling his worst two.

It’s one of those cars I’m constantly watching for, but never expect to find one at the right price. Either I don’t know the true value of these, or I’m just too cheap to own one.

Andreas8088
Andreas8088
7 months ago

There were a couple of weird takes here, but, the weirdest for me was that the CLS “changed sedans forever”…. what am I missing here?

ProudLuddite
ProudLuddite
7 months ago
Reply to  Andreas8088

That was a bit of a head scratcher for me too, assume they are referring to the swoopy almost fastback styling with a sharpie angled rear window and short rear deck that is pretty common on mid to upper class sedans these days.

Andreas8088
Andreas8088
7 months ago
Reply to  ProudLuddite

I guess…. if I ever thought of it, and I doubt I had before, I’m sure I thought of it as just another boring Mercedes Benz.. I don’t see what was really different about it.

Logan King
Logan King
7 months ago

The problem with these isn’t just that they look generic but that it doesn’t look special and it looked old (this looks every bit as much of a Catera coupe as it more or less is and the Omega was already 10 years old by then). Nothing about it says that it’s a performance car, and there is a line between “understated, sleeper” and “complete nothingness” that I think the GTO went well past even if it didn’t exist alongside the 350Z and the S197 Mustang. While I’m sorta mixed on the grafted-on hood scoops from 2005, the original car didn’t even have dual exhausts.

I do like them and even as compromised and expensive as they are they remain great cars, but if GM wanted any success from them they should have debuted them at the same time the Monaro itself debuted so they shared showroom space with the Firebird as it was going out of production; as well as making it look like the 2005 cars did from the start. Especially since GM had been fiddling with getting cars on that platform in the US for a decade by the time the GTO came out; between the Buick XP2000 and the Catera and the various Holdens that GM was testing in the US in the late 90s (I’m pretty sure Car and Driver wrote a review on one that GM lent them).

Last edited 7 months ago by Logan King
Squirrelmaster
Squirrelmaster
7 months ago
Reply to  Logan King

Interestingly enough, the 2004 did actually have full dual exhausts – the two tips on one side were real, separate (with an H-pipe) exhaust runs from each bank of cylinders. I recall there being a bit of a media (auto journalists, mostly) circus around the exhaust setup, which ironically was loved by those same journalists when the optional SLP “Two-On-The-Left” exhaust was installed on a 4th Gen F-body. If memory serves, they even touted in the 2005 update that they separated the exhausts so everyone would know it was a true dual setup just from a glance, but that there were no performance gains if you were to put the setup on an LS1 car (which I had a friend do, and the only thing gained was a lighter wallet).

Dodsworth
Dodsworth
7 months ago

I flipping loved the GTO interior. It looked great and the seats were confortable.

John Norris
John Norris
7 months ago

The article and the comments miss an important detail. After GM made the decision to go with Holden production of the GTOized Monaro, the Australian dollar went up in value compared to the US dollar. This made it extra expensive to manufacture and import to the US. It may or may not gave been successful with favorable Aussie Dollar Value. But it certainly couldn’t overcome the unfavorable trade situation.

I bought one new in 2004. I took really good care of it until 2012 or so. Then I started beating on it at drift events. Not the best drift car, but not the worst either. I’ve had a ton of fun with it. I still have it. No regrets.

Me, beating on my GTO:

https://youtu.be/k7zkEbSRHu8?feature=shared

Last edited 7 months ago by John Norris
Vanillasludge
Vanillasludge
7 months ago

No matter how good the car was the styling shouts “GM bla!” It looks like those generic renderings of cars on tire and battery display racks in the 2000’s.

ProfPlum
ProfPlum
7 months ago

I had a 2006 GTO that I bought new and had for 10 years. It was a great car, so much fun and I had zero problems with it as well.

GreatFallsGreen
GreatFallsGreen
7 months ago

I generally prefer clean understated designs and the GTO still looks good to me today. I used to be of the mind that the styling was just an issue because of the retro craze at the time – bad luck with the timing of the S197 Mustang, after Pontiac’s own retro GTO concept for 1999, etc. But at that point the design was a few years on even for Holden, who was on the cusp of the VE Commodore which looked much more contemporary. And it was on the pricey side for the time.

Really it’s a shame GM never saw through syncing up the Commodore with a NA model line sooner – like they previewed with the Buick XP2000 concept in 1995.

PajeroPilot
PajeroPilot
7 months ago

Of course it’s wonderful, it was built in my city!

Maybe it’s just because I’m used to it, but I think the grille Holden used gave the design a more cohesive look. The GTO grille looked like a bit of an afterthought to me.

My father in law owns a yellow Monaro just like the one pictured in the middle of the article. It’s a complete garage queen – spends its whole life in a climate controlled bubble because “it’ll be worth something one day, you know!” Not so sure about that mate, but I won’t argue!

“and the GTO feels better screwed-together than any American GM product of that time. Forget a Cadillac, this was the best GM car you could buy for several years.” WOW! That’s a worry! Holden build quality at the time, particularly in the interior department was “good from afar, but far from good!”

Nsane In The MembraNe
Nsane In The MembraNe
7 months ago

These are one of the ultimate examples of an “if you know, you know” car. Maybe my memory is fading a bit, but I actually recall these getting some negative press and attention at the time. A lot of folks more or less thought that such a subtle car was an insult to the GTO namesake. With the power of hindsight in tow I think most of us would agree that they’ve aged well and are rather elegant for what they are now, but you’re correct Thomas-at the time they were overshadowed by thing like the Mustang that took a “more is more” approach.

I agree that the first round of S197s hasn’t aged well-but IMHO the refreshed ones that came about in 2010 look a lot less awkward. I actually kind of like those ones and I lust after a Boss 302 to this day. But I’m getting off track. We didn’t know how good we had it with the GTO.

I’d also add that, unfortunately, lots of them were automatics…and if I recall correctly it’s a shitty 4 speed slusher designed for trucks. That is absolutely not the way to experience these. While I am more than accepting of an automatic in a touring car, when it comes to miserable 2000s and early 2010s American automatics, in the words of the the great Hall and Oates, I can’t go for that.

A fair amount of these are still around today and I’ll encounter one in the wild every so often. If you can afford to spring for one of the nicer manual examples they’re a lot of car for the price. Obviously you’re playing Russian Roulette to an extent with any of the rebadged Holdens when it comes to parts and the like, but hey…nothing fun that you can get for around $20,000 is going to be worry free outside of a Miata.

I do worry that these will shoot up in value soon though…between V8s going away and elder millennials/young Gen Xers finally being able to afford to buy some of the cars of their childhoods, I don’t think they’ll be cheap forever. Especially since the similar the Chevy SS from a full decade later is so annoyingly expensive. Folks will find their way to these.

Lokki
Lokki
7 months ago

“…and it’s not just me who thinks this way — Car And Driver noted the GTO’s tame appearance back in 2003, calling the styling “a snooze.”

Call for our resident designer: Make the GTO look the part!
However, remember you are working for the Cheap Bastards®️ on the 5th floor at General Malaise so your budget is limited.

What can you do?

Last edited 7 months ago by Lokki
TOSSABL
TOSSABL
7 months ago
Reply to  Lokki

That’s a great idea.
Quick! Someone turn on the Bishop signal!

Bongo Friendee Harvey Park
Bongo Friendee Harvey Park
7 months ago
Reply to  Lokki

It looks good in black.

Fred Fedurch
Fred Fedurch
7 months ago

$20K for a 17 year old Pontiac with the obligatory Michigan Plastic interior?

Uh, no.

JKcycletramp
JKcycletramp
7 months ago

When the Holden came stateside, GM promised us the ute version as well. I started saving up my down payment. Alas, Pontiac died without bringing insane V8 utes back to America. So, I had no recourse but to name my cattledog Maloo HSV.

UnseenCat
UnseenCat
7 months ago

My biggest problem with the tis GTO generation was definitely the styling. Or, maybe more correctly, the distinct lack of it. I’ve never been that much of a fan of the excessive plastic cladding and superfluous ridges and scoops that came to define Ponitac styling in the 90’s, but the car desperately needs something in the styling department to give it some character. The pudgy, droopy bodywork is horribly phoned-in. Comparing it to the Sunfire (and by extension to the last-gen Chevy Cavalier) is spot-on, and captures how damningly mediocre and dull its appearance is.

I definitely appreciate a good sleeper, but the styling goes over-the-edge into the Pit of Irredeemably Bland. Consider the Lotus Carlton — at least the Vauxhall/Opel sedan it was built from had pleasant, attractive lines to begin with. A good sleeper dresses up nicely with meatier wheels/tires and maybe some necessary attention to fender arches/flares and minimal lower-body aero like a proper air dam lip and rocker panel moldings. This GTO got the barest minimum of any of that — It was as if GM wasn’t willing to spend even a penny more to give the car some respect in the design department. The last GTO deserved more care and attention to make it distinctive.

Joe The Drummer
Joe The Drummer
7 months ago
Reply to  UnseenCat

They could have at least done the decent thing and designed some new honeycomb wheels for it.

Marc Fuhrman
Marc Fuhrman
7 months ago

I recall the new GTO being one of the few new cars I liked during this period of time, but there was always one thing that I had against it: this wasn’t, and shouldn’t have been, a Pontiac. What this should have been was an Oldsmobile Cutlass. To me, the GTO would have worked far better in Oldsmobile’s lineup than Pontiac’s. The understated but handsome design fit better with what the last Olds had been doing. And I think the some what high MSRP ($33k IIRC) was more than people were willing to pay a Pontiac (Pontiac’s at the time seemed to be what cash strapped young adults drove) but it would have been a reasonable amount for something with a more premium image. Unfortunately, Oldsmobile was killed off right as this was going online.

GreatFallsGreen
GreatFallsGreen
7 months ago
Reply to  Marc Fuhrman

The Commodore line in general always felt kind of like an imagining of what a GM intermediate-to-large lineup would have looked like in the present day had they continued – not just multiple bodystyles but trims with distinctly different names, design cues, etc.

And same thought on the price, you had to really want it or know what it was to go for it. If you just wanted a RWD American car with a V8, a Mustang GT was several thousand less if you’re coupe-focused, and if you didn’t care about doors or automatic (which was an additional gas guzzler tax on the GTO) there was the Chrysler LX cars – same price as a 300C or a couple grand more than an R/T Dodge.

Chris Hoffpauir
Chris Hoffpauir
7 months ago

My brother has one of these. Yes, the stories are true. It is a very fast car that handles way better than you’d expect.

You’d be surprised how many people have lived blissfully unaware of the fifth-generation GTO. The styling is a little mundane, but I think it stands up pretty well. Its looks are sporty, yet generic enough to fly under the radar. It just doesn’t look like a car that would share its powerplant with a Corvette.

That makes it a great sleeper. It harkens back to the original Goat in a way, endowing the mild-mannered Tempest with way more power than it ever deserved. I knew a kid in high school who had a ’62 Tempest with the “Trophy 4.” The best thing you could say about it was that it was adequate transportation.

Cool Dave
Cool Dave
7 months ago

Any Holden that made it to the US is underrated and under-appreciated BUT the flip side is they all looked better as Holdens than as Pontiacs. There’s a reason the Holden badging was an option for the G8 (what a boring name).

And on the Mustang, the ‘05-‘09 body style is the best looking since 1970. I’d also say it’s still a nice design, it’s just that most of the ones you see out are on their 4th owner with mismatched tires and some sort of ‘custom’ vinyls.

Stacks
Stacks
7 months ago

Does an underprepared camper shit in the woods?

I’m here for the RV coverage, but some of us would say it doesn’t count as camping unless you’re shitting in the woods.

The 2005 Ford Mustang now looks like the cartoonish pastiche it is

This is crazy talk. The GTO, while no doubt a GM hit and one I’d be psyched to own, still looks as bland as the reviewers back then said, but add dated on top. The 2005 Mustang looks like the basic template for every American muscle car since then. Ford barely messed with it for a decade. I bet a normal person couldn’t tell you when in the last 20 years it was made!

Andreas8088
Andreas8088
7 months ago
Reply to  Stacks

Totally agreed on the 2005 Mustang. I’m not a mustang person, at all… but I think that car still looks as fresh today as it did when it came out. It was the first time I’d ever looked at a mustang and said, “Huh, that’s actually a darned good looking car.”

Squirrelmaster
Squirrelmaster
7 months ago
Reply to  Stacks

I’m going to back Mr. Hundal on this one – the S197 hasn’t aged well. I recall seeing my first S197 in-person, a green GT, at a local car meet and thought the design was almost too retro so as to be sort of goofy looking. The later S197 cars evolved out of this, especially after the 2010 styling update, but the early ones have aged about as well as the PT Cruiser and HHR in my eyes.

Also, I went camping this weekend, and defecation in the woods is how you know you have properly left civilization behind.

Dogisbadob
Dogisbadob
7 months ago

They failed to offer a cheaper V6 base model, which would’ve helped. The AUDM Monaro offered NA and supercharged 3800 plus the LS1/2 we got over here.

Also, we never got the sunroof that Australia got in their Catera Coupe. That would’ve also helped sales.

GM brought too little of its Australian lineup here, too late.

The ute could’ve been sold here as a GMC El Camino. GMC would have a unique car/truck in its lineup but with the more recognzable El Camino name.

*Yes I know about the GMC Caballero, but the Caballero name doesn’t have the brand cachet of the El Camino.

Last edited 7 months ago by Dogisbadob
GreatFallsGreen
GreatFallsGreen
7 months ago
Reply to  Dogisbadob

Probably not. The GTO was already coming in pricier than intended, and that was with a powertrain they already offered here. Going through the motions of testing and certifying another one probably wouldn’t have panned out to sell at a lower price. The 3800SC was only in the Monaro at that point, a 3800 in a RWD application was no more in the U.S. after the F-body died, and both were about to be dropped from the Commodore in favor of the DOHC 3.6.

Even if it did knock $4-5k off, that was still a $26-28k car and higher than a Mustang. Maybe it would have found favor as a budget BMW 3 coupe alternative just like the Commodore SS was hailed as an M5 beater, but honestly I think it would have invited comparisons to other larger coupes even if they weren’t direct competitors, like a V6 Accord.

But yes, it’s too bad finances meant GM never synced up the Commodore to a brand here sooner like they previewed in the 90s. Even something like the Adventra, like a Commodore Outback, would have been a neat experiment for GM, but no doubt an overlap risk with their SUVs.

Nic Periton
Nic Periton
7 months ago
  • In the staid and sensible land of the tiny twitty lanes and home of the speed camera that is England these were available from ones local Vauxhall dealer. One tick of the box and, there you go, have a Vauxhall Monaro VRX500. For a few extra warm beer tokens there was a really quick one too. The supercharger was the least surprising bit. Quite a rapid bit of kit really.
Matt Gasper
Matt Gasper
7 months ago

When I was a kid, we had a ’65 GTO that my dad hoped would be his forever car, but unfortunately things took a turn and he had to sell it. Years later, my dad picked one of these up, I believe it was an ’05. It was black with a red interior and, of course, a stick. At the time, my brother had an ’95 Eldorado (my incredible love for the Eldorado is a whole other story) and whenever I visited them, I thought they had the coolest garage on the planet. His daily, though, was a quad-cab Ram 1500 with an 8-foot bed he’d supercharged (among other things).

The GTO was sick and with a few modifications unbelievably fast for its time. I remember loving the red interior and thinking it was incredibly comfortable for what it was, and I hated every time we took the Ram somewhere.

My dad made the horrible decision to trade the Ram and the Eldorado in for a new Tundra, and my brother was lucky enough to inherit the GTO.

Anyway, he drove it into a ditch.

Acid Tonic
Acid Tonic
7 months ago

Was thinking the same thing watching Next Friday and seeing that old bmw which still looks sharp.

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