[LarryM]

I got a "treat" yesterday and saw one of the new Mustang's go by in the Best Buy parking lot. I was in my Blazer (with a mini-load of pumpkins) so there was no chance to go in hot pursuit - the weather was too yucky anyway.

The guy was obviously enjoying showing off his new toy. The most obvious point is the exhaust note. I would guess it to be about as loud as the GTO, but a really different sound... not sure how to describe it, but its more mechanical/metal-ly sounding. Where as the as the GTO is all low, throaty growl, the Mustang has a high pitch element as well.

The weather is starting to turn against stoplight racing here in Chicagoland, I'll be looking for this guy, but not sure it'll matter much till things get dryer.

---Larry

 

[BLACKTHUNDERGTO]

There is one one display at the local ford dealership in my town...its the V6 Version...i saw the V8 on the road last week. Much like in past generations of Mustangs the v8 has a much better look....But if u go w my philosophy u would think that in that y is there a need to even get a v6 mustang.....

 

[Tuxedo Mask]

Larry, i saw a new Mustang myself this past friday. It was yellow and obviously the guy was showing off. I've seen a red and a skittles green colored mustang at the dealership since this past monday. Out here in Vegas all i see are mustangs, magnums and bmws. But i have yet to see a GTO out on the streets. Have you noticed this too?

 

[LarryM]

Manufactures re-discover performance?

So there's the "new" Mustang (with a retro look that I think is not un-pleasant)
Elsewhere on this board I see Dodge is coming out with a new Charger, there's a rumor Chevelle SS, etc.

Not that I'm complaining, but what happened that the manf all seem to be bringing out muscle cars again?

Personally I find it more than a little ironic, that both Pontiac with the GTO, and Ford with the Mustang have made these performance cars their flagships and hope they'll pull the companies out of the sales slumps.


---Larry

 

[LarryM]

Larry, i saw a new Mustang myself this past friday. It was yellow and obviously the guy was showing off. I've seen a red and a skittles green colored mustang at the dealership since this past monday. Out here in Vegas all i see are mustangs, magnums and bmws. But i have yet to see a GTO out on the streets. Have you noticed this too?

Well, lets see... the new Mustang has been out, what? a week or two? I've seen (for sure) one in that time. The GTO has been out approaching a year now and I've seen two on the street (not counting the GTO club where there were two others) So based on that huge sampling, the Mustang is going to out-sell the GTO something fierce.

On the other hand, I've actually seen Ford hyping the Mustang in print and TV. If I hadn't searched the Internet when I heard a rumor of the GTO I'd still be driving my Blazer full time. For about a week Pontiac had a commercial that played on the radio for the GTO. I just don't think that they are really making the general PUBLIC aware of this car... and that's a real pity. I looked thu the Sunday Chicago Tribune - pages and pages of Ford, Toyota, Dodge, etc ads. One *small* Pontiac dealer ad. How do they expect to sell cars when its like the dealers are on double secret probation???


---Larry

 

[Tuxedo Mask]

Well, lets see... the new Mustang has been out, what? a week or two? I've seen (for sure) one in that time. The GTO has been out approaching a year now and I've seen two on the street (not counting the GTO club where there were two others) So based on that huge sampling, the Mustang is going to out-sell the GTO something fierce.

On the other hand, I've actually seen Ford hyping the Mustang in print and TV. If I hadn't searched the Internet when I heard a rumor of the GTO I'd still be driving my Blazer full time. For about a week Pontiac had a commercial that played on the radio for the GTO. I just don't think that they are really making the general PUBLIC aware of this car... and that's a real pity. I looked thu the Sunday Chicago Tribune - pages and pages of Ford, Toyota, Dodge, etc ads. One *small* Pontiac dealer ad. How do they expect to sell cars when its like the dealers are on double secret probation???


---Larry

i agree with you. I am not exaggerating when i say that i have NOT seen a GTO on the street at all. It is really weird. As for the new Mustang, it is getting all kinds of hype. But to me, it's still a PONY. i had a mustang once and i will not go there again.

 

[rcline33]

It was funny, I was sitting at a tire dealership last Fri. getting new tires on my truck and a black GTO went by. Only the 2nd one I have seen in my town (besides mine). Then not a half hour later, I saw a new red Mustang GT go by. I must admit, it did look really nice. I used to own an 89 GT convertible and I really liked the car. But I like the fact that you don't see very many GTOs around. It makes our car more special in my opinion. It's not good for Pontiac that they haven't sold very many but you wait, next summer you will see the new Mustang everywhere and people will get used to it but our GTO will still be turning heads.

 

[GumbyGoat]

Ditto. All I see are F bodys and Puny cars. I am glad the GTO is so rare. I have had mine almost 4 weeks and I have not seen another one in my area yet!!!

 

[muohio]

Yesterday, a buddy and I where wasting time after the early football game and looked at cars. I thought I would like the new Mustang after seeing it in print, but up close was a different story. Minus the front quarter, the side profile reminds me of the Mazda 8. The car seems really high off the ground which isn't helped by the wheel gap. To my eye, the 04 Mach 1 sitting next to the '05 GT was much better looking. I was also suprised by how the interior and especially the dash looked rather cheap and plain. Seemed to be in the class of an economy car. I could see though how a Cobra with a lower stance, larger rims, and better body work could be a different story.

 

[LarryM]

Unique is good from our perspective I guess, but not so good from Pontiac's perspective.

The GTO a darn nice car, but outside the "gear head" circle, its virtually unknown. Open any "general public" magazine, say "Men's Health" I would bet money there is a Ford ad in there. Maybe not for the Mustang, but at least one Ford ad. Think there's a Pontiac ad?

How do they expect to sell a car that nobody knows about? The p*sser, is that if the car doesn't sell enough units to be worth their bother, it'll get dropped - and do you think they'll say "Oh if only we'd have advertised it more!" Hell no! They'll say "See! We tried to make a muscle car again and it didn't sell. The public WANTS 85HP Grand Ams!!!"

---Larry

 

[BLACKTHUNDERGTO]

Unique is good from our perspective I guess, but not so good from Pontiac's perspective.

The GTO a darn nice car, but outside the "gear head" circle, its virtually unknown. Open any "general public" magazine, say "Men's Health" I would bet money there is a Ford ad in there. Maybe not for the Mustang, but at least one Ford ad. Think there's a Pontiac ad?

How do they expect to sell a car that nobody knows about? The p*sser, is that if the car doesn't sell enough units to be worth their bother, it'll get dropped - and do you think they'll say "Oh if only we'd have advertised it more!" Hell no! They'll say "See! We tried to make a muscle car again and it didn't sell. The public WANTS 85HP Grand Ams!!!"

---Larry

And thats what acares me Larry the GTO isnt selling that well this Past Last mouth marked a year since the GTO was re released in the US and i have seen 5 on the road 6 if you count mine. I have heard on radio add and have seen no commericals except the one about the Dennis Hopper movie and not any magazine adds. I have a 3 year lease on this GTO and the way it looks rite now I would want another GTO im just afraid there isnt gonna be a GTO to lease in 07. I have said it many times and I will say it again. I feel that a bonifyed American Muscle Car is no longer appricated it the US.

 

[LarryM]

But that the makers are coming out with the new GTO, the new Mustang, the new Charger, etc. makes me think that some portion of their corp understands the wants/desires of having a muscle car in the lineup. And I have to assume that there is more than a little overhead in starting up any new model, so it would be very desirable for them to sell it for a long time... Are they THAT smug that they think that just because they make it people will come? That only happens in Kevin Costner movies guys!!!

---Larry

 

[jerhofer]

While the GTO was introduced nearly a year ago, my local dealer didn't get his first one until July, well after the initial ads had ran. As has been said, other than my car guy buddies, no one really knows about the car. And when you say it was built in Austrailia, they get these really funny looks on their faces.

 

[Guido]

Hey all. To throw my 2 cents in, I've seen a couple of new ponys as well. I was actually thinking about waiting for the new '05s to come out, but I caught wind of the new goat and the rest is history. I must admit though, I do like the throwback design. But just like you said Larry, there's too many of the ponys around, and only a select few of the GTO's. I've seen 2 others besides mine in the county, a yellow one and a black one. When we get to be 20 years older than we are right now, we will have a classic collectors item on our hands.

 

[Stayingeast]

I agree

Tux... I live in the Tampa Bay area which is a good size market and I have yet to see even ONE ad for the GTO in the newspaper. Their radio ads sure did it for me though...Ironically, the ad quit airing a couple days after I bought the car.I have seen 2 other GTO's on the street around here and I know of a guy North of Tampa that has one too.I saw a yellow 05 Mustang last Friday at the auto show. I sat in it and have to say I was not impressed with the interior at all. In fact, it was typical Ford. LOTS of plastic. It didn't have near the cool factor of the GTO.

 

[GTO TOO]

The GTO was never intended to sell in great numbers. The schedule was around 15,000 a year I believe. The Mustang is projected to sell in much greater quanity. That said I'm happy the GTO remained a secert until the price dropped to unload the 04's. ( Or else I would never have talked my way into one. My wife still thinks I'm trying to buy back my long lost youth. I did have alot of muscle cars !! She is correct, I just won't confess. But I never had a muscle car as refined as the GTO. I think I'll keep the 04 for a long time ) It is a great car. The Mustang on the other hand has the style of my old 66 and 67 'stangs. They look nice now but get 40 or 60 thousand on the road again and we'll see how 'fresh' it looks. The Mustang has an overhead cam engine ( they had it in the parts bin of course ) but the interior is also reminds me of the 67 "econo" cars interior of the first Mustangs. And it also has the old solid rear axle. No comparision to our GTO's refined suspension. ( I think the GTO interior is one of the best of any vehicle I've ever driven ) It flows from the dash to rear seats. The Mustangs ( manuals ) still have the old transmission whine just like they did years ago. It looks new on the outside but it looks and feels much different to the poor guy that just bought one. He has to sit there and look at the plastic !! They also have not tamed the cowl shake over bumps very much compared to the 04's. it's a little tigher but not much. All things considered, I payed about the same price for the GTO as the new 05 Mustang, and I would have to say I'm driving ALOT MORE well rounded car. ( Last point, really. My old muscle cars all had manuals, I wondered how I would connect with an auto Muscle car. ..really bad knees, but it's still a kick and I can walk when I'm done driving !!!!)

 

[jordangto]

I know. They aren't that bad, though. I saw a V6 at a dealership along with a new Dodge Magnum. Sportwagon crossover? I don't Think so.

 

[Afterglow]

I concurr!!!

I like the fact that the GTO is rare but the only reason GM offered $4500 cash back was that GM had only sold 30% of expected sales for the GTO through August. That's not good for those of us that hope for GM to continue to produce muscle cars outside of the corvette.

 

[Afterglow]

One other point

Ford redid the Mustang which I've hated for the past decade roughly. I thought the body was ugly as sin. The new body is great in my opinion. But I've only seen them from the outside. Apparently the interior is junky. My big complaint, if I were Ford wrench head, it only has 300 BHP. Hello, the 04 GTO has 350 and the 05 due out in a couple months has a 6L 400 BHP LS2

Not that I'm complaining, if there was ever a car to pit a GM muscle car against the Mustang......the new GTO is truly KING of the cheap muscle car road. Hell, correct me if I'm wrong, the GTO is 3rd or 4th fastest US brand car behind the Viper and Corvette. Not to mention all the LS1 mods available to boost horsepower right up there with the Z06. Not a bad deal!!!!

 

[lavette]

I have seen two of the new Mustangs and they are nice. Yes the standard interioir is no where near the quality of a GTO, but the top level is alot better. Still not to GTO quality but very nice. The back seat access is no better and once there not as comfortable or able to accomadate anyone over 5' 8" without bumping their head on the interior roof. The two most recent car mag reports have the Mustang beating the GTO. In the latest C&D they state the stang will beat the GTO but it ran .2 seconds slower in the 1/4 mile. I guess the hole shot provides the lead that the GTO has trouble catching before the end of the 1/4 mile. A 1/2 mile race and the GTO will leave the stang far behind. It's been a long time since I saw two lights a 1/2 mile apart. Ford is probably under rating the stang 300 horse engine. At just under 300 lighter and a motor that actually produces 320? hp the stang will be a chalange for the GTO.