GTO, Mustang and Charger bring back the Big-3's war of horsepower

[Ming]

Muscle round-up: GTO, Mustang, Charger
GTO, Mustang and Charger bring back the Big-3's war of horsepower.
July 19, 2005: 4:25 PM EDT
By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN/Money staff writer



NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - I had one of those rare, truly beautiful driving moments behind the wheel of a 400-horsepower 2005 Pontiac GTO.

At the precise moment I approached a favorite twisty piece of road, a song came on the radio as if sent from heaven just for me: "Ballroom Blitz."

For those of you too young to remember -- I just became my parents -- "Ballroom Blitz," by a band called Sweet, was a hit in 1975. That was just after the last desperate breaths of the original muscle car craze. Muscle cars were done in by rising gasoline prices, they say, and by giant-sized insurance premiums.

Now they're coming back with more powerful and more efficient engines and safer, better handling cars.

Pontiac GTO: My introduction to the GTO was as a passenger with Consumer Reports test driver John Ibbotson on the magazine's test track in Connecticut.

Think those guys are all about how many grocery bags you can fit in the trunk? Let me tell you, those eggs would have been scrambled long before they got to the fridge.

The GTO can get loose and swing when you want it to, but it can also hold the line just fine when you don't. Step on the throttle and the car shoots forward in a fluid, controlled way. It's fast but not jumpy or skittish.

You can spin the tires, sure, but you have to want it. If what you really want is a no-drama express ticket to highway speeds. . . . Vroom! Off you go.

The GTO is built in Australia as a modified version of the Holden Monaro. Its interior look and feel is better than any other GM car at the price. Thanks to an engine it shares with the Chevrolet Corvette, the GTO has huge, gut-punch power and an engine sound to match.

The car really has just two major problems. One is a sticker price over $30,000 for the GTO's single trim level. No cheaper versions are available. That's steep for a car aimed at the young -- or as a midlife-crisis rescue car.

The other problem is that, particularly when equipped with a manual transmission, this car does not like to be driven slowly. Not even a little bit. A feature called "Skip shift" forces you to go from first gear straight to fourth in order to smooth things out under light acceleration, but it's a pain.

As long as you keep driving like a nut, though, it's great.

Ford Mustang GT: Of these three cars, it's the least expensive and has most personality by miles. In driving fun, it gives up nothing to the more powerful GTO. It's also a far easier car to drive and live with on a daily basis.

The latest Mustang doesn't just look like a Mustang. It feels like one, even from 20 feet away.

It feels even more like one from the driver's seat, looking at the retro-styled steering wheel and fat-numbered gauges and listening to the carefully tuned burble of the 300-horsepower V-8.

Dodge Charger: Stretching the definition of muscle car, Dodge added back doors and usable trunk space. Well, actually what the did was remold the Chrysler 300C into it's bad-boy brother. But it's got the Charger name and the engine is called a Hemi.

It's a half-beat slower than the Mustang or GTO and it rolls around the corners with a bit more heft. It is, after all, a large sedan, not a coupe. Four people can get in and out of this car easily and sit in it comfortably -- five in a pinch -- and they can take all their luggage with them, too.

The interior is bland and, in places, cheap-looking and ugly. Rear visibility can be a little challenging, due to the high back fenders and cut-down rear windows.

While the Charger's thrills are bit more muted than the Charger's or GTO's, it's the only one of these three cars that could stand alone as a family's primary rolling stock. It also offers stability control -- which neither the Mustang or GTO has -- along with side impact airbags, which the GTO lacks.

Full Article Here: http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/18/Auto...uscle_roundup/

[Carguy]

((((((REAL CARS!!))))))-----Now were is the CHEVELLE!?!?--CAMARO!?!?--ROADMASTER!?!?----ECT!

[Boost]

To War GTO To War

[actionjack]

Why does GM even bother with the 'skip shift'? Is it for some kind of sound level thing for getting approved in the 53 states?


You should be able to buy the car with out all these little federally mandated guideline BS...



But the article was OK it was just that 'skip shift' thing that was nagging me...

[Buick61]

Originally Posted by actionjack

Why does GM even bother with the 'skip shift'? Is it for some kind of sound level thing for getting approved in the 53 states?

Whoa whoa whoa. There's 53 states now? Man, where have I been since 1959.

[awalbert88]

I suspect the skip shift has to do with emissions and fuel economy, though I may be completely wrong there.

[ChevyRules]

Originally Posted by Buick61

Whoa whoa whoa. There's 53 states now? Man, where have I been since 1959.

Well the 51st state is Britain since they pretty much do what we do. The 52nd will be Cuba if Castro dies with a Bush in office(haha), and the 53rd is Japan so we can end it with the import bias.

[Dirk Wiggler]

Originally Posted by awalbert88

I suspect the skip shift has to do with emissions and fuel economy, though I may be completely wrong there.

Yes. Skip-shift improves better fuel econmy and without it the GTO and Vette would suffer gas guzzler penalties. So, for all who cry skip-shift, it is actually a savior in some ways.

Want to avoid it? Just drive the car like a REAL man. It's that easy.

[Buick61]

Originally Posted by Dirk Wiggler

Yes. Skip-shift improves better fuel econmy and without it the GTO and Vette would suffer gas guzzler penalties. So, for all who cry skip-shift, it is actually a savior in some ways.

Want to avoid it? Just drive the car like a REAL man. It's that easy.

Oh good god. Real men? Real men drive minivans with their kids and wives next the them. Boys drive muscle cars like they stole them.

[asim]

cant wait till a new GTO comes out. GM hear this the GTO seats are probably the best you have ever designed. I can fall asleep in this in 2 minutes.

[VivienM]

Originally Posted by Dirk Wiggler

Want to avoid it? Just drive the car like a REAL man. It's that easy.

Or do some quick Googling... it can be disabled with a $20 mod. (Mucho cheaper than the gas guzzler tax, too).

[fatratchevy]

First, yes, skipshift helps the GTO and Vette avoid the gas guzzler tax due to improving gas milage, even though it is a pain. Easy fix though. $50 for a skip shift eliminator kit, and 15 minutes (with a 5 min break in the middle), and no more hassle. . .

Second, decent review, but did anyone read the "owner review" for the Charger? It rated the highest for the owners review (9.7 charger, 9.0 GTO, 9.2 Mustang). It's funny to read these reviews, like the one guy that has a 3.5l and says he is sure he can beat most cars with V8's. Or the one that says that "finally an American car company made a true muscle car", and how he is going to keep it for the "next generation" of muscle car fans in his family. . . WHAT!!! Yea dude, a 4 door, rehash of a family car, with a truck motor, but hey it's a HEMI!!! Now, less anyone think I hate the Charger, that is not so. I do think the SRT-8 version is nice, and the 6.1 liter HEMI is a great motor, but a muscle car it is NOT!!! Anyhow, just my thoughts. . .

Third, driving a minivan with wife and kids in tow makes you no more of a man than driving a muscle car. . . hell my Chevelle holds the wife and kids (if I had any). . . and smokes the skinnies all the way to the grocery store!!!

[Kar Krazie]

Too bad the Camaro isnt in that list!

[fatratchevy]

screw the Camaro. . . where is my CHEVELLE!!!

I love the Camaro too, but a Chevelle would be sweet!! And please, no "blasphemy" accusations from you Camaro fans, if I had my way, both would be out right now, with a Skylark for Buick too. . .

[fatratchevy]

Oh, and I predict mucho grief, Kar Krazie, for bringing up the "C" word. . .be prepared.