Car Porn

Cool, I’m not dogging on their performance, they had excellent performance which you can attest to. I was referring to the body that was chosen to badge as the new GTO. None of the lines [except the haphazardly designed scooped hood] are reminiscent of any model year GTO of years past. At least Mustang, Thunderbird, Challenger and Charger newer models have some lines or resemblance to models that gave the model it’s reputation.

When bringing back a model name from years past the body should have some resemblance to the previous years. To pay homage to the name in my opinion.

 

Yes, but I'm not sure what you're asking?
I looked up the exact numbers, in case you're questioning my comments about power? In '73 the 400 had been derated to 230hp, and the 455 was down to 250. A few years before, in 1970, they were available with at least 350 & 360 HP each.


Regardless, I still like the original Goats the best.

In my head, you looked different.

 

Interesting. I test drove a handful of GTO's that bodystyle and had the opposite experience. My 5.7L 02 Camaro SS was quite a bit quicker than my friends 06 6.0L GTO. And IMO felt more stable at speed. I will give the GTO the cornering ability though, that fat ass kept it planted really well.

 

The problem with trying to recapture the look of a certain model is deciding which model you’re paying homage to. Honestly, how similar was the 1965 GTO to the 1970 GTO.

 

And the most popular and distinctive body style was the '66/7...

An easy choice, IMO.

 

I won’t disagree that they missed a chance, but I think by the time they last GTO came out, Pontiac was already on its last legs. They hadn’t built a real Pontiac since they quite using Pontiac motors.

 

Yeah, GM seemed to use the dying brands, Olds and Pontiac, as guinea pigs for advanced technologies before giving the brands the axe. The Aurora was another example of a pretty interesting car which ended up teaching GM a lot, but was ultimately destined for failure.

 

My nephew has a 2004 Pontiac Vibe that is something like 95% Toyota Corolla parts.

Claims it's the best, most dependable Pontiac ever built.

 

Who would've thought...

 

I had a Vibe as well. It and the Toyota Matrix were identical inside. Toyota developed the chassis and power train and Pontiac designed the interior. They each then designed their own body. I really like the car. Maybe it’s because all the interesting bits were Toyota, although I did like the Pontiac exterior better than the Matrix.

 

My mom had a V6 Aurora. It was an awesome car except for one MAJOR flaw. The rear suspension geometry caused a resonance vibration through the floorpan at highway speeds. GM recognized the problem (three different factory reps drove her car and said, yes there is an issue) but also said everything is operating as designed and there is nothing to be done to correct it short of converting the rear suspension to an entirely different geometry. It was traded in on a 2005 Envoy Denali shortly afterwards. The envoy ended up in a rollover accident at 135,000 miles. That engine is finding its home in my 99 SS.

 

Pontiac lost me when they started putting Oldsmobile engines in the Trans-Am.

 

All they had to do was pick one. Probably the 1968-1970 body style ques for the aerodynamic factor over the 1964-1967. Don’t get me wrong I love all from 1964-1970. All past 1970 were not just way down on power but lacking in style.

 

My comment to you was in regards to you dogging on the power of a 1973 GTO. I was just stating that all models of all manufactures made in the US or shipped here were forced to meet new emission standards from 1972 on. So all suffered huge power losses after 1971. I’m well aware of the power outputs of all early GTO’s having had a 1969 Ram Air IV which was faster in stock trim than any of the models from 1964-1974. I sent two 455 1970 Judges packing as well as a 1973 SD455 Firebird. A 1967 HO400 and a 1966 389 Tri Power car. I raced all and beat them all. The 455 guys thought I had nitrous, not! I always got a kick out of guys wanting to look under the hood after blowing their door off. In search of nitrous mainly, some were surprised to not even see headers under there. If you are familiar with a Ram Air IV motor it has factory cast headers. Pretty hard to tell unless you know what you’re looking at.

 

I prefer the "lets put an LS in literally everything" GM.

 

Funny story similar to that. I had a 1991 Camaro Z28 for my first car. It wasnt anything spectacular but with a gear set, tune, and some bolt ons it held its own against the stuff other high school kids were driving. I used to take it out to the Dallas street races after I figured out the the 700r4 trans wouldnt shift into fourth under WOT. Id race people letting it ride out 3rd and they would pull from me, then id rerace them for double and pull off the throttle just long enough to drop it into 4th and get back on it netting a few more mph on the big end. Often id win my money back if I picked the right races. Then my buddy bought an identical car with a nitrous 383 stroker. Wed race my 305 car for awhile, claim a malfunction and take it home and swap for his then come back out an offer to rerace. That last a few weeks until we got caught and a really angry gentleman pointed a gun at us demanding his money back.


Thats the night I quit racing for money.

 

https://www.legacyclassictrucks.com/i-31567818-1930-ford-model-a-pickup.html

 

Aha, I see. I was actually just pointing out the power outputs as another reason I like the '1st gen' more. The 70's cars had all of the bloaty body problems I don't care for in the 2nd gen, but without the power.

I've read that the Ram Air cars were sort of grouchy about driving at lower speeds but turned into a whole different animal above 2500RPM.