What About the GTO?

Thirty-some years after the heyday of the GTO, GM's Vice Chairman of product development Bob Lutz (better known as "He Who Cuts Red Tape And Knows What The Public Wants") decided that the GTO should be resurrected as a modern Pontiac model. That decision sparked much debate within the halls of GM, many centering on whether or not to make the car a "retro" design, `a la T-Bird. PT Cruiser, Bullit Mustang, Ford GT, Chevy SSR, etc.

Lutz said no. He wanted the new GTO to stand on its own merits and be designed with only a nod toward the past. The new GTO will sport a fender badge that duplicated the old GTO's, but that's about where the similarity ends.

Well, there is one additional similarity, and that's in the world of performance. The new GTO is an Australian Holden Monaro fitted with a 340-horsepower LS1 V8, coupled to either a 6-speed manual or 4L60E automatic transmission. This Vette/Camaro/Firebird-inspired setup will launch the new GTO to 60 mph in less than 6 seconds and make it capable of nearly 160 mph, performance well in excess of that of its original namesake.

Styling of the new GTO is pure, 21st Century "bland" with no real dramatic styling cues, but it's another rear-wheel-drive platform for GM to offer. It will appeal to anyone currently buying GM cars but not to anyone looking for a re-make of the original 60s muscle car.

The new GTO joins the pantheon of muscle cars now available to the buying public. Contrary to popular belief, the "golden age" of muscle cars wasn't 1964-1971, it is right now. Back then there were only about a dozen cars that - out of the showroom - could do 0-60 in less than 7 seconds and only a couple had braking and handling to match straight-line performance.  Today there are at least 40 cars on the market that have similar acceleration and every one of them has the chassis and brakes to easily remain controllable.

The big question is: will the new GTO get lost in the shuffle or will it gain the owner loyalty - bragging rights, if you will - that the old one still enjoys? Not likely, I think, because the new one is just sharing an old name and none of the heritage of the original. It's a little like naming a new puppy the same name as your recently-deceased dog. It's just not the same...