Initial sales of GTO not meeting expectations

[Vintalage]

DETROIT - The Pontiac GTO, a pet project of General Motors product czar Robert Lutz, is off to a slow start.

Dealers say the GTO - touted as a halo car for Pontiac - suffers from bland styling, a high sticker price and no incentives.

"The car is more conservative looking than today's customer expects," says dealer Hugh Fiore, owner of Harbor Motors in Old Saybrook, Conn.

So far this year, Pontiac has sold just 2,451 units. Discounting seasonal differences, that amounts to an annualized rate of 7,300 units - well below Pontiac's 16,000-unit target. GM has a 168-day supply of GTOs, well above the 60-day supply that is considered ideal. A December launch slowed sales of the Australian-built car, says Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson. "Winter probably isn't the best time to launch a rear-wheel-drive vehicle," he says. "However, we're already beginning to see sales pick up with the nice weather."

Pontiac sold 719 GTOs in March and 650 in April.

GM launched an advertising campaign for the GTO in November. Pontiac hopes the USA Network cable TV movie The Last Ride will help spread the word. The movie features the GTO.

Lutz, vice chairman for product development, pushed the Australian car to the United States with only minor changes.

GM engineers reworked the Holden Monaro, giving it left-hand drive and a Pontiac front end. The V-8 received 48 more horsepower, for a total of 350 hp. The exterior received a new front fascia and a spoiler.

Lutz praised the car's "brawny, muscular stance." But many enthusiasts say the reborn GTO lacks the in-your-face styling of the original muscle car, fondly nicknamed the Goat.

"When you come back with a name like GTO, you need something more," says one Detroit area sales manager who declined to be named.

Last week at a press event in Detroit, Kip Wasenko, director of design for GM's performance division, said, "You heard me talking about heritage. That's probably one of the things the GTO could probably use a little more of. But other people find it quiet and reserved because not everyone wants in-your-face, look-at-me kind of style."

Some dealers say the market for coupes is limited, and the sticker is high. The GTO starts at $33,495, including the destination charge. The 2004 Ford Mustang with a V-8 starts at $24,300.

The GTO lacks popular extras such as hood scoops, a sunroof and factory chrome wheels, some dealers say. Rumors have circulated that the 2005 model will have different styling and more horsepower, but GM declined to comment.

Uneven allocation to dealerships may be one factor in the slow sales start. One dealer, for example, says the Detroit area is flooded with GTOs. Hopson says the company has changed its allocation, shipping more vehicles to dealerships where the car is selling.

Some dealerships report brisk sales. Dennis Hadd, sales manager of McNamara Pontiac in Orlando, Fla., says, "All but a couple of our allocation are sold. A vast majority were pre-sold." McNamara has sold about 10 GTOs.

Last year the company said it planned to sell 18,000 GTOs. But Holden plans to assemble 16,000 GTOs this year in Australia. The GM subsidiary can produce up to 18,000 GTOs annually in coming years.

As of last week Holden had built 8,500 GTOs. At least 6,000 are in the United States, and another 1,000 are in transit, GM says.

- Autoweek

[hotgt]

doesnt suprise me...

[AznGA]

Nope, not at all...

[cavingman]

got another fiero on our hands me-thinks (not performance or sticker wise or anything, just sales and meeting expectations)

[AznGA]

Let's just hope that this will sell better than Aztek. I have said before that I like the luxourious looks of GTO, but if a Mach 1 Mustang can compete with this GTO for cheaper price, I wouldn't mind getting the Stang.

[hotgt]

^^tell me about it, i completely forgot about the '05 stang...when the GT comes out with the V8, people wont even look twice at the GTO

one way to resolve...change up the appearance, make the Holden HSV GTO body kit and option or somethin, and change the wheels, more options available maybe??

[Vintalage]

If a 300C with it's Hemi V8 can perform or out perform a GTO, then we've got a problem. Like i've said before, the 300C is just as fast or faster than the GTO. And it's a saloon.

"The GTO lacks popular extras such as hood scoops, a sunroof and factory chrome wheels, some dealers say." With the exception of chrome wheels, this is what i've been saying basically. The GTO has no options. It's just a plain looking vehicle.

[Mike3800]

You mean people are not impressed with a heavy watered down Camaro imported, with the looks of a Cavalier and a GTO badge slapped on it with a $35,000 price tag? No way!! How could that be? It's all about the marketing. They insulted the public 2 times (well more but..)... 1.. KILLING the Camaro/Trans Am rather than re-designing it, 2. Badging an otherwise nice car with "GTO" it's not a ****ing GTO! If they had simply called it the "Monte Carlo SS" or somthing more befitting of it's luxury performance, than it might have sold better... that and putting some lines and curves on the car.


Anybody see that new 13 second RWD sedan with an automatic from Daimlerchrysler?

[TJ95GAGT]

Yeah that doesnt surprise me. when I drove by the dealer last week there were 6 of them in the front row of the lot and 1 in the grass infront of the show room. 1 or 2 of them had a set of chrome wheels on them, but they didnt fit the car very well IMO.

It's all about price. They killed the Camaro and Trans Am due to lack of sales. Well no kidding. They had a car that appeals to younger people and charged a price tag only middle aged men could afford. Even then, not all men are middle aged crazy and a performance car doesn't appeal to them. The solution, kill them and bring in another car that costs even more. That'll work. And now here is the result.

[Panacea]

The 2005 Mustang is going to kill GM's perfomance sales. Hell, I would even buy one of them just cause it looks focking badass!

Originally Posted by Vintalage

I"The GTO lacks popular extras such as hood scoops, a sunroof and factory chrome wheels, some dealers say." With the exception of chrome wheels, this is what i've been saying basically. The GTO has no options. It's just a plain looking vehicle.

I read an artical last Friday in the local paper, that said bascily the same thing as above, it needs more options. The artical noted: XM, onstar, Hood scoops, sunroof, heated seats, chrome wheels, and at least one or two other things.

Give me one with the works.

[digitalballz]

It doesnt help aroung here that the dealer was actually talking me out of buying one. No I cant afford it but he didnt know that, and I wanted to test drive it.

[naich]

I think the problem is two fold. First of all, dealers are marking up the prices of the GTO. The 2 dealers I've seen with them in my area both were looking for $2000+ on top of sticker price. The car is already too expensive, so to mark it up is nuts.

Secondly, people see the 05 stang, which actually looks like a muscle car (not a german car wanna be) priced $10,000 less... with similar performance... guess what they're gonna pick?
GM needs to offer a $1500 rebate and the dealers need to realize that they can't mark them up anymore.

[kubiache]

I hate talking bad about it because it's such a nice car...but I suppose that's the problem.

How can you replace THIS



With this



And $35k? What's a Cobra cost?

i would just like to post this to give some poeple insight

[AznGA]

Originally Posted by rodd62

i would just like to post this to give some poeple insight

That's a nice forum. Thanx for posting.

[AznGA]

Originally Posted by kubiache

I hate talking bad about it because it's such a nice car...but I suppose that's the problem.

How can you replace THIS



With this



And $35k? What's a Cobra cost?

I heard brand new Cobra is $38k.
More HP and faster.

[Mike3800]

Originally Posted by kubiache

I hate talking bad about it because it's such a nice car...but I suppose that's the problem.

How can you replace THIS

*tears are starting to well up in Mike's eyes*

IDIOTS should have just re-designed it... YES I agree with alot people that it was a un-refined etc... but they could have re-done it and still kept the weight and the costs down...

Makes one want to become a Ford guy.

[omaha04GA]

gee why ever would a souped up CAVALIER not sell well?

oh thats a GTO, i couldn't tell, nice cavalier.