The Car that Killed Pontiac: The 2004-2006 GTO

 

When it comes to muscle cars, I have always been a GM guy. I spent the better part of my teens and early twenties driving a 1973 El Camino, a wreck with a distracted soccer mom in a minivan destroyed my 1991 Camaro RS, and I own a TPI 5-speed 1988 Firebird Formula that could use a valve job much sooner than later.

 

It should thus come as no surprise that I grew up with a manly crush on the 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge. With a standard Ram Air III 400-cid engine that pumped out 366 horsepower, and performance parts options like a close-ratio four-speed Hurst T-Handle shifter, posi-traction, power steering, and front disc brakes, together with a rear-deck spoiler, hood-mounted tach, and a blackout grille, the Judge embodied Pontiac’s muscle car era.

 

pontiac gtoHence, I, like many muscle car enthusiasts, could not have been more disappointed in the fourth generation GTOs, which (in case you forgot, and you probably did) were sold from 2004 to 2006. Everything I loved about the ’69—a stripped-down Roadrunner that looked American and badass without taking itself too seriously—was gone. In its place was something quasi-European that looked like a throat lozenge with “GTO” stamped on it. None of the car’s aesthetics recalled anything vaguely resembling a muscle car, let alone the iconic Goats. I did not realize it at the time, but this was, in fact the result of the neo-GTO not being a GTO at all.

 

That is, the fourth generation Pontiac GTO was merely a rebadged Holden Monaro, an Australian coupe that was based on the European Opel Omega B, which had actually been sold in the U.S. as the Cadillac Catera from 1997 to 2001. Assembled in a plant in Elizabeth, South Australia, all it took to transform a Monaro into a GTO were some bracing body modifications to meet American crash criteria, adding the familiar Pontiac front fascia and new badging, then simply stitching “GTO” on the front seats. Unbelievably, this ostensible GTO was sold in the Middle East as a Chevrolet Lumina SS.

2006 pontiac GTODespite its incredibly disappointing styling and its decidedly un-American origins, the GTO housed an incredibly muscular power plant: the Corvette’s 5.7L LS1 engine in 2004 and the 6.0L LS2 in 2005 and 2006. The GTO was available with a six-speed manual transmission in all three years. After selling only 13,569 of 15,728 cars in 2004, in 2005 Pontiac added the LS2 together with standard hood scoops and split rear exhaust. This pushed the GTO’s specifications to 400 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque, and its 0-to-60 time to less than 5 seconds with the manual transmission. An optional Sport Appearance Package rendered the GTO somewhat less lozenge-like, but Pontiac offered only 11,069 GTOs for sale in 2005. 13,948 GTOs were produced in 2006, for just over 40,000 fourth generation GTOs.

 

Reviews of the fourth-gen GTO were mixed.Critics tended to praise the car’s specs and performance, but were, like most of us, baffled by its aesthetics. They also panned the car’s bloated MSRP, with a base price of more than $31,000 during all three of its years. True to its heritage, the ‘04-‘06 GTO was best when driven in a straight line, while its six-speed manual transmission was hampered by an overlong throw distance.

 

So, did the GTO kill Pontiac? Maybe.

 

With the end of the Firebird in 2002, the 2006 GTO was the last muscle car the automaker ever produced. The worst part is that, despite its awful aesthetics and Australian origins, with its Corvette C6 powertrain the GTO easily outperformed (and outperforms) its neo-muscle competitors—the Charger, the Mustang, the Camaro, and even the Challenger. The good news, then, is that an incredibly fast 2005 GTO with low miles is easily attainable and relatively affordable.

 

Just keep in mind that you are really shopping for a Holden Monaro with “GTO” stitched into the seats.

SOURCE: http://gearheads.org/the-car-that-killed-pontiac-the-2004-2006-gto/

 

What do you guys think?

I think the article's claims that the GTO was the last Pontiac Muscle is completely forgetting the G8's existence.  I think it's written purely as an opinion though since he has very few facts to support his assertions and it's all his perception of the car.  Only good in a straight line?  I thought the new GTOs were praised for their drifting abilities?  

 

I feel like this is the opinion of a guy who never actually drove a GTO (or a G8) and is solely going off of what he read in other car magazines.  The same magazines who rarely have anything good to say about cars that don't hail from Japan or Europe.  (Disclaimer:  I've never been in a GTO either.)  

 

Yes, I would have liked to see the GTO in more of a retro styled body but if given the choice between a rebadged Monaro and a car that would cost too much to design/produce, I'll accept the GTO that we got.  In a time where Mustang ruled the muscle market during the Camaro's absence, the GTO made a pretty good "mullet car" for keeping the Mustang fans in check.

Agree with you a lot, @FuriousG. This seems like a very personal (maybe misguided?) opinion and I thought the over idea of it was laughable. There is a very mixed audience in this (see our FB page ) but I think that the GTO was very much a muscle car and worthy of the name. If anything it allowed the prolonged life of Pontiac and ability to see such cars as the G8 and Solstice.

Gm's mistake with this, was not following the badging of the times with the G5, G6, G8......Should have been the G10. GTO with an uncrossed T.  Let it build its own legacy.

I think the GTO could have been styled meaner. I would hands down take a G8 over a GTO simply because of that front end.

It was a true muscle car though. I always get sad when I think about how Pontiac finally found the brake but couldn't stop the train before going off the cliff. I hope one day I can find a G8 for myself.

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...Yes, I would have liked to see the GTO in more of a retro styled body...

 

 

I think the GTO could have been styled meaner.