Couldn't have said it better myself. Anyhow, for some of us, the GTO is the daily driver / beater. I wouldn't even think of sitting behind the wheel of a 92 Escort, even if you paid me. Why, when I have a GTO to drive? I bought the GTO to dirve it, and drive it I will as well, snow or no snow.
But to get back to the question at hand, even after this weekend in Cleveland, OH, we had about 4 inches of snow on the ground. The GTO handled much better than I thought it would. I was pleasantly surprised. Traction has everything to do with tires, and little to do with ABS, traction control or any of that other crap. All traction control does is throttle down the engine. If you can't do that yourself when the wheels break loose, you shouldn't be driving a 400 HP car in the snow. But the factory all season BFG tires do handle fairly well in the snow. So, don't let winter driving discourage you, or your friend, from getting this car. I can't see why you would not purchase a car because you have to lay off the throttle for about 6 days out of the year. I mean, even in the worst snow conditions, it only takes the plows about half a day to clear the roads. After that, you just have to contend with slush and salt. No big deal. Tell your buddy to go for it, he won't regret it. The reasons to get one far outweigh the reasons not to...