Pontiac – Car of the Day

The Ultimate Sport Truck

garythepowers — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:35:58 +0000

October 16th, 1959 the original El Camino was born. At Car of the Day we don’t spend a lot of time looking all the way to the 50s for topics. The El Camino is about to be reborn. And not simply reborn as half-car and half-truck. It will be reincarnated as sports car — er — sports truck.

Can you call an El Camino a sports car? In 2010 the Pontiac G8 ST will hit the market. It will be powered by the same 361hp 6.0 V8 found the G8 sedan. And it will be a sports car.

Pontiac is publishing a 0-60 time of 5.4 seconds and be able to tow 3500 pounds and carry 1300 pounds of payload. There is a possibility that this Pontiac could end up with the El Camino name, but that is still being worked out.

If the G8 ST ends up with the 6.2 LS3 engine from the Corvette it could be the best sport truck ever. Faster and better handling than any truck to come from a factory. An El Camino revival may not make sense to you, but it will some and to those people, this is a very special car. Stay tuned for more sport truck news. Jalopnik has more G8 ST details for those who are interested.

As the El Camino celebrates its 50th year, Car of the Day also celebrates a minor milestone of its 100th post.

Sport + Ugly = Spugly

garythepowers — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:54:01 +0000

The Spugly Car of the Day is the Pontiac G6 GXP Street Edition.

I’m actually a fan of all things GXP even the G6 GXP. GXP represents the best Pontiac has to offer in each model. The G6 GXP features a 3.6 liter V6 good for 252hp, not the most powerful V6 on the market, but the best you can get in a G6.

The crime of the spugly car is more “show” than “go”.

The Street Edition is guilty of being spugly.

(The G6 GXP sedan non-Street Edition however is not guilty)

The Wind in your Hair

garythepowers — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:14:26 +0000

There’s that “wind in the hair feeling” that people say they have when they are enjoying their car or motorcycle. I’ve been enjoying that feeling with my new GTO. I don’t think that feeling has anything to do with wind or hair. It is about everything in life lining up and making sense. It is about a time that everything seems right with the world.

It reminds me of the days of driving my first car that I had a hand in selecting. It was a 1979 BMW 320i with a fresh paint job and a few mechanical mods to make it a little quicker than stock. And the 320i needed all the help it can get to get additional power. It was only rated for 110hp and 157lb ft from the factory, but it was still fun to drive with the famous BMW suspension and a 4 speed manual transmission.

Whenever I would wash my 320i I pop out the rear vent windows roll the windows down and cruise over to pick up my girlfriend. All was right the world. Will Smith did a good job of capturing this feeling in his song “Summertime”.

Now I have another car that bring that feeling with simple 2^nd gear scratch brought forth from the LS2 V8 overpowering the rear tires.

Get a car you love. Get a car that is fun to drive to you. Get a car that makes every trip a chance to get that magical “wind in your hair feeling”. How you define fun to drive is up to you and there are plenty of cars to match whatever your definition of fun to drive is, whether it is style over performance or fun to drive in the twisties or high mpgs or ultimate power. Figure what is fun to you and starting enjoying your ride every time you get to drive it.

The GTO is THE Car of the Day

garythepowers — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:31:56 +0000

The GTO is the car of the day and will continue to be the COTD for some time since I now have one my garage.

After years of following the Pontiac GTO and its rebirth with the 350hp LS1 to the next year with 400hp LS2 and the subsequent addition of the dual exhausts and hood scoops. I was at GM’s Auto-Show-In-Motion and drove the 2004 GTO. 4 years ago I remember being impressed with the GTO’s interior treatments. Everything I touched a feeling of quality that belied it’s Pontiac badge. There was a Blaupunkt stereo staring at me from the cockpit. Blaupunkt was the same company that was supplying stereos to BMW in years past. It was a big surprise to see the German stereo in an American car.

A couple of years ago Jeremy Clarkson did a special where he came to America looking for a good car. He only found two cars worth praising one was the Ford GT, the other was the Chevrolet Corvette. The Corvette has a long history of being the American automotive benchmark of performance and power. Sometimes the Corvette engine finds its way into other GM vehicles. The GTO was blessed with the same LS2 engine that powers the Corvette.

There is definitely something to be said about 400hp, it makes for an extremely quick vehicle. Are there cars faster than the GTO? Sure. Is the car next to you faster than the GTO? Probably not. The list of cars that can actually outrun GTO is a short and exclusive list of the most powerful cars on the planet. Cars in the same price bracket that can outrun the GTO are nearly non-existent.

The short drives I did tonight gave me a taste of how ridiculous 400hp is on the street. The GTO already comes with too much power to easily put down on the pavement, which may be one of the first places I look. Some drag bags and stickier tires may just be the ticket. That plus a couple of simple mods seem like a nice place to start.

A big thanks to the previous owner taking car of the GTO, for putting the car up for sale and being cool to deal with. He even gave me recommendation on the best sticky tire for the GTO. You should see the car he is looking at replacing his GTO with….but that’s another article.

You can read a little bit of Laura’s point of view on the GTO on Laura’s Blog.

The Holden Monaro

garythepowers — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:16:20 +0000

The Pontiac GTO actually didn’t start its life as an American car. It is an import from Australia. The Holden Monaro is how the car is known “Down Under”. The Holden Monaro is built under the GM corporate umbrella. When GM was looking to bring a rear wheel drive coupe to the American market Bob Lutz found the Holden Monaro to be the right car for America. The car was re-badged as a Pontiac and the GTO was reborn.

The Monaro presents an intriguing option for the American GTO owner and that is a full on Monaro conversion to create a truly unique and special car. I’m very interested in driving an unusual car that people don’t recognize. And if people don’t recognize your car, then that can turn a 400hp GTO into a real sleeper.

To be honest I’ve never been much of a fan of exterior mods to a car that are simply for “show” and add no “go” to the vehicle. However, if those exterior mods can convert to the car to an extremely rare Australian import, that is a completely different prospect. The ability to take a mildly rare 400hp coupe to a true one of kind makes the GTO/Monaro a unique car. I’m looking forward to the performance and exterior mod options that the GTO presents.

The Test Drive – 2006 GTO

garythepowers — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:31:30 +0000

Today I had the good fortune to test drive an enthusiast’s GTO. The nice thing about the enthusiast and a test drive with one is that they want you to really “test out” the car.

The owner even had secluded test drive route where a person could really wring out a GTO without worrying about traffic or law enforcement.

Now this wasn’t my first experience with driving a GTO. It actually was my 4th. I drove the 2004 LS1 GTO and the 2005 LS2 GTO at a couple of the GM “Auto-Shows-in-Motion”. And in 2006 I drove the last edition of the GTO. Today I drove another 2006 GTO.

The GTO was a 6-speed manual, Impulse Blue Metallic with black leather interior, it is one of 529 in that color combination and transmission.

The GTO is one of those cars that looks better in real life than in pictures. There is a strength and power that is conveyed in person that isn’t shown in two dimensions. Once you step inside the car you are met with one of highest quality interiors in an American car. The driver and passenger are supported by a couple of leather buckets that give away the car’s sporting intentions. Even the backseat area is surprisingly roomy with two similar bucket style seats molded into the rear bench.

But the reason a I’m looking at a GTO isn’t because of its styling, it isn’t its interior or mildly roomy backseat, it is for the 400 horses under the hood, it is for the drive, and boy what a drive! The LS2 really pins you back into your seat during hard accelleration. The rear tires are simply a gas pedal stomp away from breaking loose and allowing the driver to enjoy some tail-sliding fun. The GTO has an electronic nanny in the form of traction control to keep you safe, but like all good sports cars you shut off the traction control with the push of a button.

Now the GTO isn’t a canyon carver, it isn’t a super luxury automobile, it is a powerful sports car from Pontiac that has plenty of “Go” to match its “Show”. The GTO is a great mix comfort, speed, price and performance.

And I think I just might buy one.

600HP for $25k

garythepowers — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:37:07 +0000

So the 2006 GTO has resurfaced as my “Car of the Day”. (COTD) The 2006 GTO received the same 6.0 liter engine from the Corvette.

With a stock 400hp and 400lb-ft of torque it is has some pretty stout performance out of the box.

However, under the twin scoops of the hood, sits a very tunable motor. The LS2 engine has a lot options to get even more horsepower out of it. The GTO is a great platform to handle more power.

One of the easiest and most cost effective ways to really “boost” the horsepower is a supercharger. There are plenty of supercharger systems designed specifically for the GTO. They are relatively low cost, around $5,000 and can add as much as 200hp to the GTO. All a supercharger really does is simply push more air into the engine. More air = more power, it is that easy.

This can be very appealing to speed freaks out there and would allow a person to keep a relative stock feeling to car without modding the engine to the edge of reliability. A supercharger with a low psi on this engine would have little to no effect on reliability.

In fact, a lot of manufacturers are supercharger their cars from the factory or including a supercharger dealer option. Companies like Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Chevy, Saturn, Toyota, Ford and Lotus just to name a few are all have or are currently offering supercharging options.

One of the problems with boosting the horsepower on cars is the reliability problems. This isn’t a problem with the GTO and one of the kits made specifically for the Pontiac. It is being done a lot out there, so watch out for any GTOs that seem to have a little extra whine. They could be sporting a 600hp boosted engine.

Reliable, powerful, and a good deal, what more could you want? This makes a GTO an even more appealing option. At 400hp the GTO is fast, at 600hp it would be a real sleeper capable of running with nearly anything.

If a GTO lands in my garage it wouldn’t stay stock for long and is a big reason the GTO is the COTD. I’d be looking for a power boost.

400hp for $20k – The LS2 powered GTO

garythepowers — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:21:57 +0000

A few years ago GM tested the American market by bringing over one of their Australian models. GM slapped a Pontiac logo on it and called it the GTO.

The GTO was panned by most consumers and the automotive press. If you were reading the reviews when the 2005 GTO with the 400hp LS2 hit the market, the reviews weren’t all bad. The GTO had solid performance numbers. Numbers like 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and a 13.0 second quarter mile. These numbers were a few ticks quicker than the 2004 LS1 powered 350hp GTO and seemed to satisfy the need for speed that people thought that the GTO should fulfill.

However, the GTO was still losing comparisons to slower, cheaper, less refined cars like a simple Mustang GT. And the GTO lost for 2 main reasons, reason 1 was the styling and reason 2 was the price. As far as styling goes, if a car has enough hp then it looks good to me. (That’s probably why I like STIs and Evos.)

Around the same time another car was hitting the market and receiving resounding praise for its “bang for the buck” ratio. The Dodge SRT-4 was the fastest car under $20k and many of its flaws were over-looked because it was such a good deal. The GTO never got that recognition, even though it was just as good a deal and a much better car than the SRT-4

If you remember back to 2005, that is when the “employee pricing” craze hit the auto industry and there were deals to be had everywhere. It wasn’t uncommon to read reports of a $34,000 GTO being purchased for $28,000. And that price put it pretty close to a fully loaded Mustang GT.

Alas, these factors were never really considered by the general population and GTO died an early death with the last model year being 2006. There was a group of people that knew what was happening and they are the modern GTO owners. They realized that GM had sent them a high-powered gift from down-under.

Here in 2008, in the used car market there are plenty examples of the 6.0liter GTOs for sale right now around the $20k mark. If you want cheap horsepower in a modern car it doesn’t get any better than this.

Sure gas prices are creeping up and maybe a V8 muscle car isn’t on your short list of options, but the GTO with a manual transmission is actually rated for 29mpg on the highway and 17mpg in the city, not too shabby for 400hp.

If you’re looking for some fun this weekend find a 2005 or 2006 GTO and take a test drive. You will be impressed by the build quality and the performance of the goat from the land down under.