Antoine
Administrator
GM officially dumps the Pontiac GTO
-AutoBlog
Due to slower-than-expected sales and the expense of recertifying the vehicle for 2007 emissions and safety standards, GM has told dealers that this year will be the last for the Pontiac GTO, with the last vehicles hitting US shores in September. Having sold 13,500 units in '04 and 11,600 last year, the GTO never quite lived up to expectations.
In this case, I feel a bit sorry for GM. It did exactly what its fans wanted it to - bring over one of the magnificent rear-wheel-drive Holden products from Australia. Pontiac never quite figured out the marketing, though; it was too expensive and sophisticated for the muscle-car crowd, too GM-ish to attract buyers away from other $35K coupes, and of course its bland styling was glaringly apparent to anyone who ever laid eyes on an '05 Mustang. Let's not forget the nasty price-gouging that occurred early on, either.
The power was there (400 HP - I mean, come on - that's serious), the interior was terrific, the chassis was excellent - had this product launched in the late 90s when the buzz about Holden began, I think it could have made a major impact. Launching a full lineup including a sedan and maybe a droptop would have certainly helped as well, and maybe this was more of a Chevrolet all along. Feel free to do a bit of Monday-morning quarterbacking in the comments.
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-AutoBlog
Due to slower-than-expected sales and the expense of recertifying the vehicle for 2007 emissions and safety standards, GM has told dealers that this year will be the last for the Pontiac GTO, with the last vehicles hitting US shores in September. Having sold 13,500 units in '04 and 11,600 last year, the GTO never quite lived up to expectations.
In this case, I feel a bit sorry for GM. It did exactly what its fans wanted it to - bring over one of the magnificent rear-wheel-drive Holden products from Australia. Pontiac never quite figured out the marketing, though; it was too expensive and sophisticated for the muscle-car crowd, too GM-ish to attract buyers away from other $35K coupes, and of course its bland styling was glaringly apparent to anyone who ever laid eyes on an '05 Mustang. Let's not forget the nasty price-gouging that occurred early on, either.
The power was there (400 HP - I mean, come on - that's serious), the interior was terrific, the chassis was excellent - had this product launched in the late 90s when the buzz about Holden began, I think it could have made a major impact. Launching a full lineup including a sedan and maybe a droptop would have certainly helped as well, and maybe this was more of a Chevrolet all along. Feel free to do a bit of Monday-morning quarterbacking in the comments.
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