2004 Pontiac GTO Review

The iconic Pontiac GTO muscle car has waited a long time to make a comeback. It's been 40 years since the first GTO was introduced and 30 years since the last one was made -- after more than half a million were sold.

"I agree with car magazines, which say the new GTO is a worthy successor to the old GTO,'' said auto analyst Jim Wangers. He was presented with the first GTO off the line in a recent Pontiac ceremony near Detroit on Woodward Avenue -- the 1960s' street racing capital of America, where GTOs trounced rivals.

"Chicago was the No. 1 market for the old GTO, and the new one might draw import-car-oriented customers to Pontiac showrooms for the first time -- along with older baby boomers who remember the car,'' said former Chicagoan Wangers. He ordered a red GTO with a black interior and the well-equipped car's only option -- a $695 six-speed manual transmission. (A four-speed automatic is standard, but comes with a $1,000 gas guzzler tax.)

Wangers, who owns six classic GTOs, was the marketing whiz behind the original GTO and a GM consultant for the new version. He convinced large shoe producer Thom McAn to make a "GTO'' shoe, made sure the car on the hit TV show "The Monkees'' was based on the GTO and was behind the 1964 hit record "GTO.'' It essentially was a 2 minute and 29 second commercial for the GTO and was played on the radio an estimated seven million times while on the charts.

The GTO is relatively inexpensive -- $31,795 -- for a specialized high-performance car with lots of equipment, which includes air conditioning, cruise control, power front seats and AM/FM radio with in-dash 6-disc CD changer and ten speakers. But there's no sunroof, heated seats or navigation system.

Potential buyers may have to move fast; only 18,000 GTOs will be offered annually in America for three years. After that, the picture is cloudy, although GM may bring out a new-generation, American-built GTO based on a new rear-drive chassis. The current car is made in Australia.

Why the long wait for the 2004 GTO? Because no General Motors executive had the clout or imagination to bring back the car, which launched the big, colorful high-octane muscle car market in 1964. Nearly every American automaker, including Buick, offered a hot muscle car for the young and young-at-heart by the late 1960s.

New emissions controls, a fuel crunch and stiff insurance premiums virtually killed the muscle car market in the early 1970s. The last genuine GTO was the 1972 model. Soon after, the GTO became a largely ignored option package for the compact Pontiac Ventura. It was a pathetic end for one of Detroit's most colorful cars.

The GTO was just a fond memory of older boomers when flamboyant auto industry executive Bob Lutz was hired as GM's powerful product czar about two years ago. One of the first things Lutz did was resurrect the GTO. GM long had called lagging Pontiac its "excitement'' division, and Lutz figured a new GTO would give it a shot in the arm.

The new GTO had to be true to the original in that it needed a front engine/rear-drive layout with a powerful V-8. GM had no American models it could modify to bring back the GTO fairly quickly. But Lutz soon found that its Australian subsidiary sold the slick, fast rear-drive Holden Monaro coupe, which could be modified without spending a lot of money to become the resurrected GTO.

"Without Lutz, there'd be no GTO,'' said Wangers, a former champion Pontiac racer. "It was like the old days at Pontiac, when a strong boss just gave the order to build a specialty car like the GTO and took no excuses.''

There's nothing like the GTO, which is the fastest GTO ever built. Its 5.7 liter, 350-horsepower modified Chevrolet Corvette V-8 lets it streak to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds and hit 100 mph in 13.4 seconds. The car loafs at 2,000 rpm at 75 mph in sixth gear and has a top speed of about 160 mph.

As with all old muscle cars, the classic GTO had marginal steering, handling and braking by today's much higher standards. It did better than conventional cars with such things as a sport suspension, but tires in its era didn't let it deliver all its power to the road.

The new GTO, which is a blast to drive, has huge modern tires that have no trouble delivering power. The steering is fast, although a bit mushy. The car has superb handling, helped by an all-independent suspension, traction control system and limited-slip differential. The ride is comfortable despite a firm sport suspension, and the strong anti-lock brakes have good pedal feel.

The manual gearbox shifter works well once you get used to its rather vague feel. It works with a clutch that has only a moderately long throw but soft feel. A downshift from fourth to third gear is needed for really quick 65-75 mph passing times despite the high-torque engine.

The potent V-8 delivers an estimated 17 mpg in the city and 29 on highways with the manual gearbox and 16 and 21 with the automatic transmission, which has no manual-shift feature. The GTO, which requires 92-octane fuel, probably would have better city economy figures but is heavy for its size at 3,725 pounds -- partly because the car has a decade-old platform.

Styling is controversial because old GTO fans expected it to be more flamboyant. However, the body looks slick, with a nicely integrated rear spoiler, and generally looks like what the old GTO would look like if it had been continued.

The nicely painted GTO is solidly built. It has decent room for four 6-footers in four leather-covered bucket seats, and a tilt-telescoping steering wheel helps drivers of various heights get comfortable.

But entering or leaving the rear-seat area is a hassle partly because front seatbacks don't tip forward far enough and thus leave a narrow passage. Long doors don't help here and are clumsy in tight parking situations.

The quiet, high-quality interior has a generally nice design and elegant detailing. Front seats provide very good support for spirited driving. But gauge numbers should be a little larger, although there's a duplicate digital speedometer. The thick rubber climate controls have a spongy feel and may seem strange to Americans. (Power window switches are placed rather inconveniently on the center console, but front doors have storage pockets.

The nicely shaped trunk is fairly wide and deep, but not very long. That's because the 18.5-gallon fuel tank had to be moved from below the trunk floor to inside the trunk to help prevent fire in rear-end collisions.

There are the usual dual front air bags and sturdy safety belts, but no side airbags are offered.

The 2005 GTO gets more power from a larger, 6-liter V-8 and twin hood scoops to give it a more distinctive appearance. But, after a 30-year wait, will GTO fans have the patience to wait yet another year for that upcoming model?

THE RETURN OF AN ICON

2004 PONTIAC GTO

Price
$31,795.

Likes
Blazingly fast. Superb handling and braking. Solid construction. Comfortable. Iconic nameplate.

Dislikes
Small trunk. Difficult rear seat entry and exit.