[Ming]

Motor Trend LOVES the GTO. They also LOVE the Interior.

The one thing that kept irking me, however, as I was reading through the article, was that the more praise they heaped on the build quality, panel gaps, and upholstery ("at a level not seen in decades from GM"), the more it became painfully clear WHY it is so well put together.....:

It's not built by Unions in the U.S.A. and not engineered by guys in Detroit, but made Down Under, where they apparently care more about the quality of their interiors. That's the painful truth. Pick up a copy of Motor Trend off your local magazine rack and see if I'm not right.

They don't mention this fact (I don't think), but this point struck me hard.

Unfortunately, we may well have to wait DECADES before the UAW and Detroit white collars build an interior like the Monaro's. (Well, the CTS is pretty darned good)

Whether it be the fault of Beancounters, Engineers, the UAW, or all 3 in the U.S., there is no excuse why Holden should be able to garner such praise over GM North America.

Someone in Detroit's design, R&D, or assembly lines, must be sweating, reading all of the well-deserved praise for "GM" in that article.

Kudos to Holden, may they be a model for GM here.


:zippy:

Yeah, yeah, I know it's not fair to compare an 18,000 dollar Sunfire to a 32,000 dollar GTO, but I'm just saying...

 

[99Hugger]

Havent got my Motortrend yet but got my Car annd Driver and they say the same thing.They praised the fit and finish,and seats saying there the best seats they have ever sat in a GM car.The only thing they somewhat complained about was the exterior styling.One note is that the 3rd brake light lense did fall off on their test car and the battery hold down bracket broke.GM said that this wont happen on the full production cars being the test car was a early pilot car.

 

[Hudson]

FOR RELEASE: November 3, 2003

CONTACTS

Pontiac Announces GTO Pricing, Fuel Economy

DETROIT - General Motor's Pontiac division today announced introductory pricing for the 2004 GTO, arriving in dealer showrooms in December. In addition, EPA city and highway mileage ratings were also released.

The GTO's manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) is $32,495, which includes destination and freight charges of $700. The only available option is a six-speed Tremec manual transmission for $695.

EPA fuel economy for the manual transmission is 17 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 29 mpg on the highway, for an EPA composite mileage rating of 24.8 mpg. A GTO equipped with an automatic transmission is rated at 16 mpg in the city and 21 mpg on the highway, for an EPA composite rating of 21.5 mpg.**

"In this price range, there are few cars that can match the GTO in terms of its blend of performance, handling and sophistication," said Lynn Myers, Pontiac-GMC general manager. "With vehicles like the Vibe, the Grand Prix, the GTO and the Bonneville GXP leading the way, Pontiac is building a line of no-compromise performance vehicles."

** - The GTO equipped with an automatic transmission will be subject to a $1,000 federal gas guzzler tax

 

[TAFreak]

Pontiac is building a line of no-compromise performance vehicles.

What? They stopped building the T/A already.

 

[gerardo_zg]

Emm... a stupid question... what is a beancounter :blink: ?

 

[troll]

The Cadillac engineers and designers have struck gold; Pontiac at least has the interior of the GTO to brag upon-the exterior surely shows they have no imagination. TAfreak probably feels as I do: that Yoblues' suits strike again, and again ad nauseum.

 

[Ming]

Originally posted by gerardo_zg@Nov 3 2003, 05:43 PM
Emm... a stupid question... what is a beancounter :blink: ?

bean counter
n. Slang
A person, such as an accountant or financial officer, who is concerned with quantification, especially to the exclusion of other matters: ?Companies tended to recognize two cultures -that of the technologist and that of the bean counter? (Financial Times).

I use it to refer to the accountants at GM who emphasize cost-cutting at the expense of quality, performance, or living up to the promises of concept cars.

 

[gerardo_zg]

Originally posted by Ming+Nov 3 2003, 10:54 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Ming @ Nov 3 2003, 10:54 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-gerardo_zg@Nov 3 2003, 05:43 PM
Emm... a stupid question... what is a beancounter :blink: ?

bean counter
n. Slang
A person, such as an accountant or financial officer, who is concerned with quantification, especially to the exclusion of other matters: ?Companies tended to recognize two cultures -that of the technologist and that of the bean counter? (Financial Times).

I use it to refer to the accountants at GM who emphasize cost-cutting at the expense of quality, performance, or living up to the promises of concept cars. [/b][/quote]
Thank you :lol:

 

[sceltor]

Originally posted by Hudson@Nov 3 2003, 04:58 PM
** - The GTO equipped with an automatic transmission will be subject to a $1,000 federal gas guzzler tax

I wonder what effect this will have on the number of autos vs. manuals ordered?

 

[gerardo_zg]

Originally posted by sceltor+Nov 4 2003, 12:07 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (sceltor @ Nov 4 2003, 12:07 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Hudson@Nov 3 2003, 04:58 PM
** - The GTO equipped with an automatic transmission will be subject to a $1,000 federal gas guzzler tax

I wonder what effect this will have on the number of autos vs. manuals ordered? [/b][/quote]
Well you could use the $305 for a lot of fuel to the LS1 :lol:

 

[nsap]

A qoute off of the MT article:

[/QUOTE]Several of our drivers commented that they had driven few coupes so poised, so well-balanced, so confindence-inspiring when your in full-hustle mode.

 

[goatfarmer]

Man, i'm gonna have me car at the end of this month I think. and it's thousands cheaper than I thought it would be..Torrid red w/the red and black interior...hurry up and get here dang it..I've got dates with a mustang...I see one inparticular on the way to work...we leave from the same subdivision..we are stopped at a red light alot together and he always wants to race me in my monte carlo ss (like i have a chance) little punk thinks he's so cool...i know that my gto is way better than the mustang gt but i am gonna smoke that kid and feel good doing it....MY dealer also told me Gm is saying the gto will do 0-60 in 5.3 secs...can anyone confirm this? If true does this mean that even the mustang cobra is now in trouble...hehe i hope so

 

[TAFreak]

I hate to break this to you, but 0-60 in 5.3 seconds isn't enough to beat a Mustang Cobra. All things being equal anyway...

 

[goatfarmer]

I just found that out..read it in the motor trend..oh well..I also saw the picture of the judge in motor trend..honestly all said about hood scoops and all, i like the 2004 gto better

 

[mason]

I just got my copy of Automobile Magazine and they said a couple of things like:

"GM managed to avoid the UAW"
and
"It's sad that they had to go to Australia to get it"

But at least we got it!

Now maybe we can hire Holden engineers and workers to build all of our performance cars, just keep the guys who did the Corvette and Cadillac CTS. :ninja:

 

[sceltor]

Is that Judge pic in MotorTrend the real deal? I sure hope not. The Hood scops are rather plain looking and the wing looks like something borrowed from a Civic. I like the LS6 part, though. :lol:

 

[Odin]

The funny thing is though, the GTO's interior is only a year old (design wise) it shares the dash with the holden commodore, and its interior was updated last year. The old holden interior wasnt too bad though

old vs new

btw couldnt resist posting this 3/4 shot. NICE B)

 

[Ming]

Even Holden's old interiors look better than most GM North America interiors out now. That Commodore reminds me of an Oldsmobile interior, some of the best GM did in the 90s in my opinion.

'Cept the CTS and Colorado. I really like those 2.

And yes, that is a sweet rear shot. I can't understand the people who don't like the new GTO's looks.

What were they expecting, this?

 

[sykboy]

Sceltor, if you read closely they mention it is just a photochop but I felt like you when I first saw it, though I didn't mind it too much. I liked the side skirts.

 

[nightwave]

Well, Ming, that's why everyone's talking bad about the GTO...they were expecting the '64. I talked to a friend who's a die-hard Pontiac fan, and she thought it was ugly. After talking to her, and telling her that Jim Wangers thought that the new GTO was a modern version of the original, she said she'd have to drive it. I like the new car. It's nice, clean, and stealthy... :eatarrow: