[Groucho]

I noticed one of the main complaints in that recent Car & Driver magazine has in the 2005 GTO vs 2005 Mouse-tang article is that they say the pedals in the Goat make it "nearly impossible" to heel-toe effectively. WTF? I have little problem doing it in my '04 (though admittedly the brake throws are a bit long)...have they changed the pedal positioning/throws in the '05?

The lack of a dead pedal in the 2004 is a drag, but hopefully I'll be able to pick up one when the '05s come in.

 

[SDMF Jon]

Did they add the dead pedal for 2005? I hadn't heard that.

The lack of dead pedal and poor positioning of the clutch and other pedals is my chief complaint of the car. I'm not a big guy at all, but my left foot would barely squeeze through the space between the clutch and the side of the car. In fact, most often my shoe got caught on the clutch on the way back to putting it on the pedal. It was a major PITA and I couldn't see myself putting up with it as a daily driver. The clutch and brake both need to be moved over to the right, closer to the accelerator.

 

[Groucho]

Yeah, SDMF Jon, the '05s supposedly have a dead pedal. I was going to retrofit my 2004 with it. Somewhere on this site somebody rigged up a clever home-made dead pedal, but I'll wait for the OEM one.

It took me a bit to get used to the lack of a dead pedal, as my 323i had excellent pedal placement and the GTO's is less so.

But I don't have much trouble modulating gas and throttle simultaneously...which C&D claims to be near impossible.

 

[SDMF Jon]

Yeah, SDMF Jon, the '05s supposedly have a dead pedal. I was going to retrofit my 2004 with it. Somewhere on this site somebody rigged up a clever home-made dead pedal, but I'll wait for the OEM one.

But I don't have much trouble modulating gas and throttle simultaneously...which C&D claims to be near impossible.

I agree, C&D is being nit-picky. It's not that hard to do.

I, too, saw the thread about the home-made dead pedal. I would do that if I were buying the car I test drove, but since leasing would be the only way to get it in my driveway, any home-made mods go right out the window. Too risky to chance it. So.....no GTO for now.

 

[Neo-GTO]

Also C&D said the car was supposed to have a dead pedal, but their pre-production ’05 GTO did not have one.

You see, C&D has to find something bad to say about the GM car. They always do. It always amounts to nit-picking, and unfortunately promotes a bad image of GM cars with the public.

 

[SDMF Jon]

You see, C&D has to find something bad to say about the GM car. They always do. It always amounts to nit-picking, and unfortunately promotes a bad image of GM cars with the public.

C&D is terribly biased, which is why I don't subscibe to them. Motor Trend is the only one I like, and they are still mega-biased towards German cars, especially the BMW. With that said, you kind of have to read between the line and take everything they say with a grain of salt. Sometimes they write back-handed compliments, other times they are more gracious than you'd expect.

 

[Groucho]

You see, C&D has to find something bad to say about the GM car. They always do. It always amounts to nit-picking, and unfortunately promotes a bad image of GM cars with the public.

I don't believe that's the case...I think for the most part C&D does a damned good job in reviewing cars. Their points are well taken with most of their gripes.I just thought the pedal one odd because it seemed off base-- I thought maybe GM mucked about with the pedal placement for '05. Shrug.

On the side, I write reviews on flight simulation software for a, aerospace history magazine, so I know...you have to find something to bitch about, or else you look like a brainless shill.