2004-2006 Pontiac GTO – Is It Worthy of the GTO Name?
Pontiac is guilty of revisionist history in the 2005 GTO sales brochure. In the brochure, a timeline of significant milestones in the 41 year history of the GTO is presented. The 1964 model naturally leads off the timeline. After all, this car flagrantly violated GM’s anti-racing edict of 1957 and single handedly defined an entirely new category of automobiles. The 1966 GTO also earns mention as the first of the Ram-Air models, followed by the 400 cubic inch 1967 and then the fabled GTO Judge in 1969. However, from 1970 until the 2004 rebirth – the timeline is blank. It’s as if Pontiac has excised all memory of the potent-but-porcine 1971-72 GTO or the underachieving Nova derived 1973 models. And, of course there is zero mention of the puerile Grand-Am based GTO concept that GM paraded around the show circuit in the early nineties.
With the missteps that sullied the reputation of the most famous icon in muscle car history, we can appreciate Pontiac’s selective corporate memory. They do however raise legitimate questions about the 2005 GTO. Is this car worthy of the GTO name? Will the new GTO be remembered 20 years hence as one of the “great ones” or will its memory be the victim of a Stalinist purge from the record?
In our opinion, the 2005 GTO is the real article – and in many ways a perfect modern interpretation of the legendary 1964 GTO. We urge you to drive one, because to drive this car is to love this car. Read more