New Classic- 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO pics

In 2004, you could venture out and buy yourself a wide range of retro vehicles from the any of the big three automakers, including the Tony Soprano 300C, the puke worthy Magnum, the ever popular Crustang, or the Pontiac GTO. Sadly, as the vast majority of American performance car buyers are products of incest, the GTO was quickly pushed aside, for little more than aesthetics.

So, lets make this the first speaking point, as I find the GTO a very attractive GT car that looks something like the accidental love child of a BMW and Chevrolet. The sides bolster, the hood is long and slumping, the front is simple yet angular, and the hunkered stance screams ‘Get the hell out of my way!” So where did it go wrong? Well, it didn’t look enough like the original ’64 and ’67 GTO’s, thus somehow making this one less desirable. But to some point, as a buyer you may not always want cars that look like they are from the 60’s; I mean, what screams mid life crisis more than a retro styled car? For instance, I once worked at MINI Cooper, a car designed by BMW to attract young drivers, but was instead adopted by 50-somethings who were ‘trying to relive their younger years’. I think Pontiac knew this too, as they even made a 2005 GTO in Viagra purple.

So instead of fixating on why it all went wrong, let’s instead focus on all that is right with this car, and there is just so very much going right here. Lets begin with the two power plants offered in the GTO, the LS1 and LS2 v8’s. The LS series is one of the very best ever made in regards of efficient, light, and tremendously powerful units. Developed for the c5 Corvette, the LS has since served in nearly every performance car developed by GM, and continues to offer incredible performance in every application ranging from the CTS-V to the ZR-1 Corvette. In the GTO, expect power figures between 350-400 horsepower, and with a few tweaks you can find production reaching 450 whp. Statistics? 0-60 in 4.6 seconds and a 1320 score of 12.8 seconds at 100+mph; beating out the likes of Ferraris, BMW M3’s, and AMG Mercedes.

But one of the best points of the GTO is that you do not sacrifice comfort for performance, and you will find one of the very best interiors in the GTO in recent years. Which is really quite unusual for an American car, which is usually held together with spit and wood chips. Jump into the GTO and find embroidered seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, well placed and readable gauges and buttons, and a laundry list of options.

Slightly Modded

And for all of this, you would expect to pay upwards of $40,000, no? Well, you can find a clean example of the new generation GTO for much less than $20,000 dollars. In fact, I have routinely found 2004 models for less than $15,000! So, you can get all of the goodness found in a BMW M5 for a fraction of the price, what a deal!