Pontiac can't seem to give away the 2004 GTO's. A $33,000 350 hp car that looks like a Chevy Cavalier. A local dealer is advertising a yellow 2004 6-speed for $21,459 after discounts and rebates! I predict after the current discounts/rebates expire January 3rd that Pontiac may have to blow them out at $19,999 to clear them off the lots. Hmmmm...Hurry up with the Solstice Pontiac!
Location: Yuba City, California -- The Little Cowpie!
It must be the homely exterior. Because it really is a wonderful car, with one of the nicest interiors I've sat in lately. At $21,000 it would be a steal (barely more than a loaded Honda Civic). It really is too bad it is so bland, uninspired looking. If the looks were good, it would be one of the nicest GT cars on the road.
It must be the homely exterior. Because it really is a wonderful car, with one of the nicest interiors I've sat in lately. At $21,000 it would be a steal (barely more than a loaded Honda Civic). It really is too bad it is so bland, uninspired looking. If the looks were good, it would be one of the nicest GT cars on the road.
I agree 100% jimbo. Car enthusiasts won't pay $30K for a high performance vehicle if it looks like a car from the Budget rental fleet. I drove a 2004 6-speed GTO at the GM car show and WOW! This thing hauls ass and has a beautiful leather interior to boot. The engineers really did an excelent job dialing in the exhaust note. It's PERFECT!!! I did a power slide on the course and almost got kicked out!
I have been very tempted to pick up a leftover GTO as a daily driver! I have been thinking of getting a sportier daily driver to begin with (currently I have a Jeep Wrangler).
Best deal I can find is getting the car at invoice (about $31000) minus a $5500 rebate plus $1000 in certificates, which puts the purchase price at $24,500. I could probably get another $500 certificate, but after that I would need other GM rebates to get it lower. The lower prices generally are including GM Credit Card rebates, which GM is boosting to try and blow out GTO's. I just don't have a card. Still, at $24,500 it is one screaming deal.
Two things have been holding me back. First is drving this beast in the winter. High horsepower RWD vehicles with wide tires are not the ideal for Buffalo winters. I probably could survive ok with snow tires, but it would not be easy.
The second is the Solstice. If the Solstice comes out in the fall, I am likely to wait until early spring 2006 to get it, since it would just sit in my garage over the winter anyway. However, if it shows up late spring to summer next year, I will be dying to get one and wouldn't be able to right away until I recover the $$ spent to get the GTO.
As for the GTO itself. I guess I am in the minority, but I think it looks really good. Clean lines, strong character line down the side. In person it looks low and wide, giving it a fast appearance. Yet, it doesn't look boy racer at all. More of a mature sporty car. Most people have complained about it not looking much like an old GTO, but I wasn't born yet when the last GTO rolled off the line, so that is not a big deal for me. So the lack of nostalgic styling doesn't bother me. Its also got the best interior of any GM product in this country, only rivaled by some Cadilacs.
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Last edited by Fformula88 : 12-23-2004 at 07:26 PM.
Checking online inventory searches at local So Cal dealers shows many 2004 GTO's sitting on dealer lots. I predict one last incentive/rebate boost after the new year to clear out remaining 2004 GTO inventory. $21-22K for a brand new GTO would be a killer deal!
Hell I might buy one at that price. How does it handle? For those of you that have driven it. I know it's a pretty heavy car. But the interior is soooo nice.
Excellent handling, but car is a bit heavy due to robust construction for rough roads down under. Here is the ad in my local So Cal newspaper classifieds for a new 2004 GTO. Check out that blowout price!!! $9,701 dollars off the discounted selling price...
Ya there was a red GTO here in town that was under 24G sticker and incentives from GM ontop of that. It was a Six speed.
The car looks good to me, not perfect but good. The big problems I have with it is there is absolutly no leg room in the back seats and no trunk space at all. Looks like the Sol might have a bigger trunk than the GTO.
But the new GTO's will get the 400HP LS2. Maybe that will help?
I kinda like the GTO. I agree that the styling is very plain, but in this day and age, it's nice to see a new design that's plain, rather than ugly. I'm tempted by the low prices that dealers are getting now, but still think I'll hold out for the Solstice. If the Solstice really bombs (which I doubt), maybe I can pick up a leftover '04 GTO this summer! :smile
The new hood definetely helps give it some better looks. However I love the bright orange Woodward Dream Cruise employee program GTO they showed off. It was one very nice looking piece of machinery.
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As much as I hate (not really) to be the "ole fart w/ sour grapes". I have said it before, I known GTO's...This ain't no GTO! :rant This so called GTO has no soul!
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Maybe theyre inadvertently staying true to the original GTO idea of just stuffing a big engine in a plain jane grocery getter. Looks to me though like theyre staying with the styling cues of the GTP and the SSEI.
The problem with the GTO, as most of us agree on, is its plain styling. For its asking price it does not look different or special enough. Once you start to enter the 30 to 35 k range there are many many options out there that make the GTO less compelling. Also, I believe some of the slowdown is because of the new mustang. The mustang is slightly cheaper, almost as quick, and looks a hell of alot better. Another reason for a slowdown is that next year the GTO comes with 50 more hp. If i were to drop that much money on a new car I would wait for the 2005 GTO or would buy a mustang before I spend 30k on a 2004 GTO. However at 20,000 the GTO becomes very compelling.
The problem with the GTO, as most of us agree on, is its plain styling. For its asking price it does not look different or special enough. Once you start to enter the 30 to 35 k range there are many many options out there that make the GTO less compelling. Also, I believe some of the slowdown is because of the new mustang. The mustang is slightly cheaper, almost as quick, and looks a hell of alot better. Another reason for a slowdown is that next year the GTO comes with 50 more hp. If i were to drop that much money on a new car I would wait for the 2005 GTO or would buy a mustang before I spend 30k on a 2004 GTO. However at 20,000 the GTO becomes very compelling.
I was thinking the problem was just the opposite. The styling is fine, its the name badge! Too many people dislike it because it is not a "real GTO." The styling is otherswise on the conservative side, but so are a zillion high performance 2 door coupe/sedans. Its a sleek look that has an aggressive sdtance to it without looking boy racer. Had they given it an original name, and not GTO, I think it would have done what they expected. Maybe not too, but you never know. At least it wouldn't have received so much negative press for not being a GTO.
I think its a funny complaint anyway, but I am not old enough to remember an original GTO (actually, they are all oder than me!). So the lack of a styling connection doesn't bug me much.
I wish they would have redeisnged the Trans Am myself. The GTO is nice, but I have always loved Trans Ams! Ny uncle hooked me as a youngin on his 79 TA (which he bought new and still has, its an awesome car!).
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