The 6.0 GTO was no joke. 400hp and 400tq was ridiculous for 2005 and is still a lot of power almost 20 years later. I always loved this version of the GTO because it rock and rolled, but it didn’t blare “look at me! I’m a MuScLe caAR!!”. It was low key.
I remember way back in like 06 seeing a 6.0 gto make a hit taking off from a stop light. He punched it like from 15 and I just remember seeing a little rag doll get slammed back into the driver's seat lol. I was on the sidewalk watching. I've been in love with silver 05/06 gto's since that day.
Supppeerrr underrated! 6.0 LS2 w/6spd was a FUN FUN car. I was so jealous of a guy in my old neighborhood that had an 6.0 GTO and an '09 G8 GXP. I always wondered what would've become of the "excitement" division had it not been for the bankruptcy.
I thought the '05/'06 version looked great. Only thing I would have changed, was that something with the rear fender didn't jive so well with the rear wheel. I can't even really describe what I'm saying, but maybe you can see what I mean. Something about the proportion is a bit off to me. Maybe a flare in the fender could have fixed it. Still, I like the car overall, and would be thrilled to own one.
400 was a lot back in 2005 for sure, new Mustang GT only had 300 and the outgoing Terminator had 390, but imagine seeing a 4 door Mercedes sedan with 600 hp (S 65 AMG)! haha. I bet most people didn't even know such crazy Mercedes existed back in 2005!
Don’t ever sell it! Take care of the paint and interior in that desert heat! These cars rust and crash from digbats back east, 20 more years and few will be left!
Bob Lutz is responsible for the bland styling that made this such a colossal failure for Pontiac. He stripped the entire brand of any distinctive design, which had been one of its competitive advantages.
The GTO's understated, subtle styling is what instantly drew me to the car. Its performance is excellent, and its reliability has been outstanding. My wife didn't understand why I bought it until 12 years into ownership when she finally learned to drive a manual. She learned in our Miata and has never looked back. I bought my GTO from a dealer that dumped it because the production run had ended. It was the last on the lot, and it was winter. I received a GREAT deal. I guess they didn't know what they had at the time.
I had an '05 for a couple of years, and the styling is why I sold it. It was just so dull looking ... and then the beautiful 2nd gen CTS came out, and I was off to the dealership. But really, outside of the styling, the GTO is a great luxury-sports coupe, and really they should have played up the luxury angle since it drives like a Cadillac and the interior build quality I always thought was great.
@@CJColvin It was a tad heavy and many considered the styling plain. It had to fill the shoes of the Camaro, but it came up short. Sadly, because so few were made aftermarket parts were few and far between.
Not 'based' off the Monaro, it WAS the Monaro with minimal changes such as a different front bumper and steering wheel on the 'other' side. It was even still made in Australia.
@@Matticus289 agree 💯, I know Pontiac didn't have much money but they could have put some effort into styling the bumpers, lights, hood scoop etc and interior to make it stand out as a Pontiac
This was a car for adults who enjoyed subtlety. Like a bank robber in a grey suit disappearing into the crowd. Dead-reliable and they shared none of the recall/poor build quality controversy that plagued GM's American built cars. Does it resemble a Grand Prix? No. It resembles a Pontiac because that's what it is.
I always thought that the GTO had better build quality than the avg GM car of this era. Interior assembly and materials always seemed a step ahead of what we got out of Detroit. Thanks Holden!
As a kid I played Need for speed underground 2, and this car was my car of choice when playing. I still play this game to this day, and always use the goat!
Cool story kid. Meanwhile I owned one of these - it was OK, but I've owned many other cooler and fun to drive cars. But yeah, you keep playing NFSU2 instead of getting a job and buying something int he real world.
I purchased a black 2006 GTO with the 6.0 LS2 and the 6-speed manual, back when it was new. I regret selling it today. It was a very nice car with surprising quality, fit & finish. I loved that car, for what it was. 400 HP in 2006 was very respectable. The interior was actually a bit more premium than most cars of that year. If you can still find one that hasn't been beat-up, modified or drifted, buy it!
I briefly test drove a 2005 automatic when it was new. And loved every second of it. It was either pay for college or pay for the car though. Couldn't do both at the time!
Zero unless you tracked the car and starved it of oil due to it being front sump. I have 142,000 miles on mine clutch dump and a couple pulls every weekend
Tbf if you are tight on cash and looking for a good deal this might be good? Back when the 2011 model year Mustang with Coyote V8 came out, the 2010 MY with 4.6 got steep discounts at the area I lived in.
Not that big a deal bc the 6.0 was a little more expensive, a little heavier, cost a little more to insure and it drank a little more fuel. So a smart buyer was ask his or herself is all that added expense worth 50 more horses? The answer is NO. For the extra expense that came with the 6.0, you can buy a supercharger that'll embarrass the 6.0 all day and still have change left over to get a custom true dual exhaust system.
You guys don't seem to know that the 2004 5.7 GTO did have true dual exhaust.They just had the 2 pipes exiting on one side.Each pipe was separated from the other and went to it's own muffler underneath the car.
@@DanielW-wz4gj We know that, I think he was referring to visible "dual exhaust outlets", like one per side. Not getting 350hp from that 346ci LS1 with single exhaust yes we know lol
i got one a year too early back then! lolz, the 04 that had same engine as my LS1 SS. still was fun a ride, and had the manual. i know some folks here that have an old 05, and still looks brand new, they drive it daily too
When I was 18 I somehow bamboozled a car salesman into letting me test drive one of these when they first came out. At the time, it was the fastest car I'd ever driven. The dealership wasn't happy when they realized I had no intention of buying it, but I had a blast!
Ironic. I was in my early 20s, and couldn't get a dealer to let me test drive a Ford Escape Hybrid for a university project (that ultimately would've led to the school buying the cars as campus security vehicles.)
I did the same thing when I was around 18...I got to drive a mid 80's Toyota Supra turbo and an MR2 turbo! Don't know how I managed to get away with it when I obviously had no intention of buying either car!
Wow. There's a lot of love for this vehicle now ...(In the comments, anyway) The 04-06 GTO, the "bloated cavalier", used to be hated like a motherfucker back in the day lol
People came up with any reason to hate it, but the truth was they couldn't afford it. 🤣 If it was $25,000 like the Mustang GT at the time (instead of $35,000) it would've been a runaway success.
The Holden Monaro had really aggressive but still subtle styling. Not sure why Pontiac made it bland when it already looked good. They learned their lesson with the G8, even if it was too late at that point.
Thanks for the re-upload here. These cars are still fantastic and hold their value extremely well. Theres no other make i can think of that gives you reliable power like this without breaking the bank.
I drove one of these when it was new at a car dealership I worked at. It was a really nice and quick car. I remembered riding with the service manager and got up to 120mph. Fastest I’ve been in a car and it felt stable.
Felt stable because all the engineers were AUSTRALIAN and our suspension engineers are the best in the world. These cars were POUNDED relentlessly for 1000 of hours of testing before being exported to America
Great looking car with clean, understated lines and a modern interior. A far cry from the bulbous, plastic-clad interior and exterior designs of other Pontiacs of the time.
Australian designed and built. The base model SEDAN version of the GTO, the Holden Commodore, in Australia has the Bullet proof GM 3800 V6 either NA or supercharged.
@sjhudon386 that's what I'm saying it's really not that much faster lol. The 3v could turn 13s at 105 mph pretty easy so it isn't that far off considering 100 hp and 1.4 liters more displacement. They weighed 200+ lbs more than a loaded 2006 gt.
@@midnight347I owned a '05 and would eat annoying welfare Mustang GT bois all day long. Anywho, the GTO was not a good off the line car, it wasn't anything impressive - however, once you were moving, in particular at highway speed, the car would literally throw you back in your seat. No idea why GM did it that way, but if I was doing 60 and floored it, WOW did it take off. I'm not a GTO fanboy, I sold it because I thought they were too boring looking - but a Mustang from that time period is complete junk and not even remotely in the same class as this really well built luxury-sports coupe.
@@sjhudon386it had 100 more horsepower than a 3-valve Mustang GT. Combined with the IRS, the GTO was the overall superior muscle car. The problem was that the Mustang GT undercut the GTO by almost $7000 and the retro-styling attracted boomers that felt nostalgic for the original Mustang.
Owned an 06' GTO manual for 7 years and put over a 100,000 miles on it and loved every mile. I should have kept it since looking back it was one of my favorite cars I ever owned
I liked this GTO. It was nice looking and was a great performer. It didn't sell well because people wanted a modern interpretation of the 1968 GTO. Pontiac simply didn't have the budget for that.
@@evorider3689 I am not surprised by what you are saying. That sounds like something a bean counter from GM would say. I agree with you. It was stupid to do that. When people want a car a certain way, you are supposed to give the people what they want. Otherwise, people will turn on you at a moment's notice. That's what happened with Pontiac.
I think it looks fantastic. If the western world somehow manages to free itself from its current psychopathic management, these'll one day be considered highly desirable classics.
$32k in 2005 wasn't cheap - that would get you a 2005 Mustang GT convertible at the time. Today, that $32k is worth about $50k, which remarkably, gets you a 2024 Mustang GT convertible.
The Monaro on which it's based was launched in 2001... and a concept for it came out in 1998. Which means the initial designs probably dated back to the mid-90s. So... it makes sense!
@@dariog36th It looks more like a Grand Am coupe than a Grand Prix. In fact, the GTO was only 3.5" longer than a Grand Am and about 9" shorter than a Grand Prix.
I got my 06 in 2011 with 9k miles and i have spared no expense on upkeep. I have also done tasteful mods and some carbon goodies now with 48k on the odometer. I always take a second glance when i walk away from it.
No matter how many times I saw a 2-door GTO, half an hour later I still had the impression it was a 4-door grocery getter. One of the reasons Pontiac regretfully had its plug pulled.
4:07 - Comparing the GTO to the likes of an Evo, a Merci, a CLK and a 911 and then criticizing it's ride and handling as too soft shows that someone was clearly missing the point. The GTO was designed to be a grand touring luxury coupe, while the rest of these were sports cars made for track use. We seem to have forgotten that soft springs and large sidewalls on tires are there for comfortable and quiet rides which the GTO was a hell of a lot better at than any of these other cars. I don't know if that's a marketing problem or a review problem, but if you look at the market today for automobiles, there is certainly still a demand for big quiet power in a soft and supple ride, and nobody is meeting that demand.
I know that the 2004-2006 GTO was made by Holden in Australia and sold in the U.S. as a Pontiac and in the UK as a Vauxhall. Still, it was the last V8 coupe offered by Pontiac, I’m sure that if Pontiac had survived instead of Buick, they would have made a new GTO or Firebird based on the Camaro, but sadly that never happened.
What's really crazy is people are comparing The Terminator and all kinds of stuff in the 2000s. But it's nothing compared to a buick gnx. That put out the same specs 18 years ago so most of these cars aren't so special. Are they if there are 20 years newer and they're putting out the same exact specs? And a hundred more horsepower
Powerful and different, but high with too much competition at the time. I think the sedan version was a better choice. I have seen a lot of the sedans, but rarely the coupe.
If you are referring to the G8, they made fewer of those than the GTO -- 38,159 vs 40,808. The difference is that the GTO was only available as a performance car with a V8 engine, where the G8 was available a V6, a lesser V8, and a high-performance V8 with a manual transmission, so it had wider market appeal. The GTOs are probably all garage queens at this point, but the G8 V6 cars are still daily-driver winter beaters.
Those last gen GTO's were cool cars. The exterior design was a nice modern aerodynamic version of the 1970 GTO. They are fast and have a beautiful exhaust.
Such a cool vehicle, Pontiac should have been selling vehicles like this a few years earlier, and I think they would have had a very different future. It's incredible how GM's then international divisions could produce a gorgeous interior, while the domestic GM models of the time were mostly saddled with terrible design and an overabundance of very cheap plastics.
I was in 1st grade when these started coming stateside. My dad managed to get one for a few days and I remember it being such an exciting car because of how much speed it could build up.
That’s because those tyres are SUPPOSEDLY all weather tyres whatever the f!ck that means. They look like cheap shit and would NEVER be fitted to these Monaros in Australia
That test driver didn't have a clue of what they were doing. Over reved starts with lots of wheel slip and an over reved and slopy slow shift into 2nd gear with throttle lift after the clutch was let out, causing a delay on getting back into the throttle after the shift was completed
I owned and 05 GTO, and those numbers are what you got - these were not fast cars off the line, and instead built up power. No idea why GM torqued it that way, but most of the power seemed on the mid-high side, so while it wouldn't throw you back in your seat when you were at a dead stop, if you floored it while doing 60, it would - and you'd be at 120 and the thing would be pulling hard.
I had an '06 silver just like that one but with the black interior not the red and an auto cuz where I live there's tons of traffic so dealing with steak as a daily driver wasn't going to happen. These guys always post slow numbers in the 0 to 60 in quarter mile I ran a 13-2 at eTown all I had was a k&n drop-in a bottle of octane boost and a couple gallons of race gas added to my half a tank of 94 octane Sunoco. And it was getting faster cuz that was only my third run and I got faster each time and of course I lost on the third one cuz I broke out lol
I had an '05 GTO, and I always thought it felt pretty slow off the line, certainly not like a car with 400hp. However, drive on the interstate doing 60, then floor it, that's when the car felt like it had 400hp because it would take off like a rocket ship and literally throw you back in your seat. At least with the automatic transmission that's the case with a pure stock setup.
@@kalgstol well GM doesn’t have a muscle car offering at that time they had to come up something quick. Super bland back then but looking at it now, it’s a nice muscle machine.
Funny how the styling was celebrated in Australia as clean and restrained but regarded as underdone in the USA, where there weren’t enough cladding and add on “themes”. 🤔
I loved my 2004. The G8 GT was even better. The only three complaints I had about the car, that could also carry 4 people in comfort (they're wrong about the space), was the tiny trunk with a gas tank in it, and the front tires that rubbed in the wheel wells and wore out early. They had to switch to 235 tires on 18s after that. They looked awesome but had even less grip. By far the worst problem though, was no side airbags. Was amazing fun to drive though.
Sounds about right. My 05 I never thought was that great off the line, but once you hit about 60, the thing took off like a rocket ship - seemingly GM put those extra 50hp all into the upper end of things.
@@jason-1015 That's what happens when you watch too much Top Gear. LOL They're probably confusing it with the Vauxhall VX220/Opel Speedster...which was never sold in the US.
They SHOULD HAVE brought back the FIREBIRD instead of THIS CAR. The Original GTO only lasted for 10 YEARS: 1964-74. The FIREBIRD lasted 35 !! Which car would YOU have brought back? It was a NO BRAINER!! Bob LUTZ said the FIREBIRD’S day was DONE. Maybe he should have asked the PUBLIC !! Mistakes like THIS are among the reasons why PONTIAC is not HERE anymore…
This model of the GTO was to compete with the tuners, rice burner cars it has the same styling as those cars, but it’s got the heart of American V-8 not one of those Wampa
Drift. Rear wheel driven. You need 6mtr of tarmac. In panic situations nor wiz aggressive driving this has advantages. What use is "controllable" stuff, if you bump into the Kadett next to you? And.. define control, Janet says so too, not to take this matter too lightly (she has lots of it) What the Prelude has elsewhere on the channel is 4 wheel steering. By definition, losing grip is the wheel not following the rails in a train metaphor. The characteristics weight, wheelbase and tyres of th e vehicle decide what happens next, (apperently Maserat 430 is most conteollable f the channel). 4ws means rear wheels steer *in* side, or left is left r=r. Drift (not on the rails) edge is laid further away sort off a more principle'ed approach. On paper. Torque vectoring differentials, and 4ws both allow a higher onset of drifting, but make the car very very very un forgiving, i.e. as with airplane and pilot that only can set autopilot on, known from youtube clip "the indonesian airline and the sleeping copilot, who don t even know English, thus cant be helped in emergencies, in fact..
It's never going to be a G.T.O. No matter how much they keep pushing for it. It wasn't even made in America. Sad because, a true G.T.O. is an 'American' Muscle car. Not this 'Australian' Holden rebadged. G.M shame on you !!.
Up until 2020 I had an red/black 05 A4 w/ 485wrhp & 35K miles, when this guy in a hooptie had a "medical emergency" and drove head first into it parked. It was supposed to go to my son in time. sadge
I remember when these first came out. First take was, aye it's a souped up Grand Am.Big V8, side skirts and large 5 spoke wheels. Lol I guess I was one of many that just didn't want a V8 Grand Am.
lol! It’s not based on the Australian built Monaro - it literally is the Monaro! A tweaked bumper and some Pontiac badges is about all that’s different aside from the having the steering wheel on the wrong side.
The 6.0 GTO was no joke. 400hp and 400tq was ridiculous for 2005 and is still a lot of power almost 20 years later. I always loved this version of the GTO because it rock and rolled, but it didn’t blare “look at me! I’m a MuScLe caAR!!”. It was low key.
Sleeper!
I remember way back in like 06 seeing a 6.0 gto make a hit taking off from a stop light. He punched it like from 15 and I just remember seeing a little rag doll get slammed back into the driver's seat lol. I was on the sidewalk watching. I've been in love with silver 05/06 gto's since that day.
Supppeerrr underrated! 6.0 LS2 w/6spd was a FUN FUN car. I was so jealous of a guy in my old neighborhood that had an 6.0 GTO and an '09 G8 GXP. I always wondered what would've become of the "excitement" division had it not been for the bankruptcy.
I thought the '05/'06 version looked great. Only thing I would have changed, was that something with the rear fender didn't jive so well with the rear wheel. I can't even really describe what I'm saying, but maybe you can see what I mean. Something about the proportion is a bit off to me. Maybe a flare in the fender could have fixed it. Still, I like the car overall, and would be thrilled to own one.
400 was a lot back in 2005 for sure, new Mustang GT only had 300 and the outgoing Terminator had 390, but imagine seeing a 4 door Mercedes sedan with 600 hp (S 65 AMG)! haha. I bet most people didn't even know such crazy Mercedes existed back in 2005!
R.I.P. Pontiac 😢
You mean rip HOLDEN MONARO
I had a 1965 gto, a 1969 Bonneville, a 1970 firebird, 2 different 1971 grand prix and a 2008 g6 gxp. when they canceled pontiac, it hurt.
@@ToranaA9X308 Pontiac is no more so RIP
Even though it's a rebadged Holden Monaro from Australia 🇦🇺
Rest in Peace to both Pontiac and Holden. Both were well respected brands that people loved. Politics brought both of them down
Excellent Vehicle! I still daily drive a 2006 GTO here in Arizona my Father purchased brand new!
Miles?
I bought an 06 with the manual, brand new. I still regret ever selling it.
Don’t ever sell it! Take care of the paint and interior in that desert heat! These cars rust and crash from digbats back east, 20 more years and few will be left!
Thank Aussies for designing and building it
Thank you Bob Lutz for fighting the bean counters to breathe life into GM performance in the 00's!
Wouldn't have been much of a fight if it weren't for the exchange rates at the time. That's really what made the business case difficult for the car.
And, thanks to Mr. Soetoro, for killing the iconic Pontiac brand.
@@500erider Correct! Very unfortunate my brother.
And thanks to Holden for designing a car that was considered OK here in Australia and somehow amazed the American market with its low standards.
Bob Lutz is responsible for the bland styling that made this such a colossal failure for Pontiac. He stripped the entire brand of any distinctive design, which had been one of its competitive advantages.
The GTO's understated, subtle styling is what instantly drew me to the car. Its performance is excellent, and its reliability has been outstanding. My wife didn't understand why I bought it until 12 years into ownership when she finally learned to drive a manual. She learned in our Miata and has never looked back.
I bought my GTO from a dealer that dumped it because the production run had ended. It was the last on the lot, and it was winter. I received a GREAT deal. I guess they didn't know what they had at the time.
How come they didn't sell very if it was so good?
I had an '05 for a couple of years, and the styling is why I sold it. It was just so dull looking ... and then the beautiful 2nd gen CTS came out, and I was off to the dealership. But really, outside of the styling, the GTO is a great luxury-sports coupe, and really they should have played up the luxury angle since it drives like a Cadillac and the interior build quality I always thought was great.
Production was about 13,000 for each of it's three years. So, under 40,000 made in three years.
@@CJColvin It was a tad heavy and many considered the styling plain. It had to fill the shoes of the Camaro, but it came up short. Sadly, because so few were made aftermarket parts were few and far between.
@@GTOGregorythe Australian version looks so much better
Not 'based' off the Monaro, it WAS the Monaro with minimal changes such as a different front bumper and steering wheel on the 'other' side. It was even still made in Australia.
This was an understated adult's hotrod. Style still stands up today.
Eh...not really. The style is why this car was such a flop
Stands up a lot better than the G8 imo
@@Matticus289 agree 💯, I know Pontiac didn't have much money but they could have put some effort into styling the bumpers, lights, hood scoop etc and interior to make it stand out as a Pontiac
This was a car for adults who enjoyed subtlety. Like a bank robber in a grey suit disappearing into the crowd. Dead-reliable and they shared none of the recall/poor build quality controversy that plagued GM's American built cars.
Does it resemble a Grand Prix? No. It resembles a Pontiac because that's what it is.
@@kowalski5599 it's a Holden I wish they styled it to look more like a Pontiac
16 years with my 04. Still enjoy driving, maintaining and modding it. Thank you australia for a fun car!!
Your welcome
I always thought that the GTO had better build quality than the avg GM car of this era. Interior assembly and materials always seemed a step ahead of what we got out of Detroit. Thanks Holden!
You're welcome.
@@hellkitty1014 and the base model Holden commodore sedan version has the Bullet proof 3800 V6, both NA and supercharged.
2005 Need for Speed Most Wanted
Yes
“Riders on the storrmmm…”
As a kid I played Need for speed underground 2, and this car was my car of choice when playing.
I still play this game to this day, and always use the goat!
There's also a Holden Monaro in the game as well you know.
@@CJColvin there is?
Cool story kid. Meanwhile I owned one of these - it was OK, but I've owned many other cooler and fun to drive cars. But yeah, you keep playing NFSU2 instead of getting a job and buying something int he real world.
@@rodmunch69 you must be fun at parties! GFYS
@@CJColvin Underground 2 only had the GTO, but Most Wanted and Carbon had both the GTO and Monaro VXR.
I purchased a black 2006 GTO with the 6.0 LS2 and the 6-speed manual, back when it was new. I regret selling it today. It was a very nice car with surprising quality, fit & finish. I loved that car, for what it was. 400 HP in 2006 was very respectable. The interior was actually a bit more premium than most cars of that year. If you can still find one that hasn't been beat-up, modified or drifted, buy it!
I briefly test drove a 2005 automatic when it was new. And loved every second of it. It was either pay for college or pay for the car though. Couldn't do both at the time!
You had one hell of a car! Hard to find one in all oem condition now.
@@Skyisthelimit4meI have one! And I'll never sell it!!
@@scottmorrison147 Nice! I wish I'd have kept my Mark VIII LSC & Mach1. I'll never find any now just like mine. Keep it!!
The interiors on those cars were so nice. The matching seat and cluster colors were always awesome.
Absolutely underrated car. Its drop dead gorgeous and had the awesome combo of heritage of the Monaro and the GTO. I LOVE my 06 GTO. Fantastic car.
Australia 🇦🇺 👍
I don't like the grilles. Looks like a dollar store BMW.
What job do you have to afford the rebadged Holden Monaro?
love metal gear solid profile pic and I have an 05....I agree it's an awesome and fun car to have
I always liked these. With that said, when they came out, my dad said they look like a fat Pontiac Sunfire / Chevy Cavalier. I can’t unsee it now 😅
I had an 06… was definitely my favorite car I ever had
I still have my 2006 Silver GTO...
Owned it since new...
It's a good car
@@pjcornell9691 mine was Torrid Red got complements all the time
What were the mechanical flaws though??
Zero unless you tracked the car and starved it of oil due to it being front sump. I have 142,000 miles on mine clutch dump and a couple pulls every weekend
@@teehud313 literally zero.. I absolutely loved it. The LS2 engine is bulletproof. Amazing car. I had it in 6 speed manual too.
Imagine getting one with the 5.7 and single exhaust and then the next year the 6.0 with dual exhaust came out
Tbf if you are tight on cash and looking for a good deal this might be good?
Back when the 2011 model year Mustang with Coyote V8 came out, the 2010 MY with 4.6 got steep discounts at the area I lived in.
Not that big a deal bc the 6.0 was a little more expensive, a little heavier, cost a little more to insure and it drank a little more fuel. So a smart buyer was ask his or herself is all that added expense worth 50 more horses? The answer is NO. For the extra expense that came with the 6.0, you can buy a supercharger that'll embarrass the 6.0 all day and still have change left over to get a custom true dual exhaust system.
Imagine coming to Australia where they’re everywhere and getting the big daddy HSV GTS 300 kw version. Look it up
You guys don't seem to know that the 2004 5.7 GTO did have true dual exhaust.They just had the 2 pipes exiting on one side.Each pipe was separated from the other and went to it's own muffler underneath the car.
@@DanielW-wz4gj We know that, I think he was referring to visible "dual exhaust outlets", like one per side. Not getting 350hp from that 346ci LS1 with single exhaust yes we know lol
400hp(and pure American ponies) for $33K. What a time to be alive.
i got one a year too early back then! lolz, the 04 that had same engine as my LS1 SS. still was fun a ride, and had the manual. i know some folks here that have an old 05, and still looks brand new, they drive it daily too
Best car that I've ever owned.... and I still do! :)
When I was 18 I somehow bamboozled a car salesman into letting me test drive one of these when they first came out. At the time, it was the fastest car I'd ever driven. The dealership wasn't happy when they realized I had no intention of buying it, but I had a blast!
Ironic. I was in my early 20s, and couldn't get a dealer to let me test drive a Ford Escape Hybrid for a university project (that ultimately would've led to the school buying the cars as campus security vehicles.)
Did the same thing. Said I was thinking about trading my 01 Z/28. Still have the Z/28 and a 02 WS6.
I did the same thing when I was around 18...I got to drive a mid 80's Toyota Supra turbo and an MR2 turbo! Don't know how I managed to get away with it when I obviously had no intention of buying either car!
Wow. There's a lot of love for this vehicle now ...(In the comments, anyway)
The 04-06 GTO, the "bloated cavalier", used to be hated like a motherfucker back in the day lol
People came up with any reason to hate it, but the truth was they couldn't afford it. 🤣 If it was $25,000 like the Mustang GT at the time (instead of $35,000) it would've been a runaway success.
Not even close to a cavalier. Not even the same chassis
@@moejr1974 no shit. It's referencing the looks.
@@ragingbull94mtx it's too bad the Camaro platform wasn't out yet at the time. That would have been a great one to build this off of
@@EMdemo It looks more like a Grand Am coupe than a Cavalier. (It was only 3.5" longer than a Grand Am, and 9'' longer than the Cavalier. )
The Holden Monaro had really aggressive but still subtle styling. Not sure why Pontiac made it bland when it already looked good. They learned their lesson with the G8, even if it was too late at that point.
The greatest car to ever wear a Pontiac badge (aside from the G8 of course).
I still have my 2005 Red Autocross edition Pontiac GTO
Thanks for the re-upload here. These cars are still fantastic and hold their value extremely well. Theres no other make i can think of that gives you reliable power like this without breaking the bank.
I drove one of these when it was new at a car dealership I worked at. It was a really nice and quick car. I remembered riding with the service manager and got up to 120mph. Fastest I’ve been in a car and it felt stable.
Felt stable because all the engineers were AUSTRALIAN and our suspension engineers are the best in the world. These cars were POUNDED relentlessly for 1000 of hours of testing before being exported to America
I wish these sold better they were great cars.
Great looking car with clean, understated lines and a modern interior. A far cry from the bulbous, plastic-clad interior and exterior designs of other Pontiacs of the time.
Australian designed and built. The base model SEDAN version of the GTO, the Holden Commodore, in Australia has the Bullet proof GM 3800 V6 either NA or supercharged.
We dont like great cars in america.
Way faster and nicer than a 2005 mustang gt.
Not really
@sjhudon386 that's what I'm saying it's really not that much faster lol. The 3v could turn 13s at 105 mph pretty easy so it isn't that far off considering 100 hp and 1.4 liters more displacement. They weighed 200+ lbs more than a loaded 2006 gt.
Its not that much faster honestly it was a good bit more expensive. Base 5.0s were selling for 32k in like 2014 a 2006 gt was much cheaper.
@@midnight347I owned a '05 and would eat annoying welfare Mustang GT bois all day long. Anywho, the GTO was not a good off the line car, it wasn't anything impressive - however, once you were moving, in particular at highway speed, the car would literally throw you back in your seat. No idea why GM did it that way, but if I was doing 60 and floored it, WOW did it take off. I'm not a GTO fanboy, I sold it because I thought they were too boring looking - but a Mustang from that time period is complete junk and not even remotely in the same class as this really well built luxury-sports coupe.
@@sjhudon386it had 100 more horsepower than a 3-valve Mustang GT. Combined with the IRS, the GTO was the overall superior muscle car. The problem was that the Mustang GT undercut the GTO by almost $7000 and the retro-styling attracted boomers that felt nostalgic for the original Mustang.
I will never understand for the life of me GM decided to kill off Pontiac but yet kept Buick around after all these years 🥴🥴
At least we still have Cadillac CTS-V’s,CT4V black wings & CT5V Blackwings
It's because Buick is a big seller for GM in China.
@@stevenr1354: More Buicks are sold in China than the U.S.
The reason, the last emperor was a Buick man. 🙂👍
Owned an 06' GTO manual for 7 years and put over a 100,000 miles on it and loved every mile. I should have kept it since looking back it was one of my favorite cars I ever owned
I liked this GTO. It was nice looking and was a great performer. It didn't sell well because people wanted a modern interpretation of the 1968 GTO. Pontiac simply didn't have the budget for that.
@@evorider3689 I am not surprised by what you are saying. That sounds like something a bean counter from GM would say. I agree with you. It was stupid to do that. When people want a car a certain way, you are supposed to give the people what they want. Otherwise, people will turn on you at a moment's notice. That's what happened with Pontiac.
Based on aussie Holden Monaro.
Exactly what John said 🙂
It is?!?!?!?!?!? 😮
@@CornPopandCrew😂
Look at youuuuuuuuuuuuu!
@@CornPopandCrewdude seriously it was Australian designed built tested and engineered and had NOTHING to do with Americans.
I can’t stand GM but always liked these. 😂
Because it was built in Australia and had NOTHING to do with America
I think it looks fantastic. If the western world somehow manages to free itself from its current psychopathic management, these'll one day be considered highly desirable classics.
Remember when GM had awesome cars for relatively low prices?
Ah I’m hoping you realize this had nothing to do with GM US and was Australian
@ToranaA9X308 yes but the car was introduced as an American brand
$32k in 2005 wasn't cheap - that would get you a 2005 Mustang GT convertible at the time. Today, that $32k is worth about $50k, which remarkably, gets you a 2024 Mustang GT convertible.
Loved the refresh with the new motor and dual exhaust layout.
great car, it just looks too much like the front-drive Grand Prix.
It looked 10 years old when it finally came to the US
Looks like a Grand Prix.
The Monaro on which it's based was launched in 2001... and a concept for it came out in 1998. Which means the initial designs probably dated back to the mid-90s. So... it makes sense!
@@dariog36th It looks more like a Grand Am coupe than a Grand Prix. In fact, the GTO was only 3.5" longer than a Grand Am and about 9" shorter than a Grand Prix.
But '90s cars looked better. This is just an oddball cosmetically. It never looked good in any era.
@@JacobPaul-ix7ocno, it looks like a Holden Commodore VT. That's where the design came from.
I got my 06 in 2011 with 9k miles and i have spared no expense on upkeep. I have also done tasteful mods and some carbon goodies now with 48k on the odometer. I always take a second glance when i walk away from it.
I think we americans were too obnoxious to appreciate this when we had it. Subtle, Powerful and reasonably reliable.
No matter how many times I saw a 2-door GTO, half an hour later I still had the impression it was a 4-door grocery getter. One of the reasons Pontiac regretfully had its plug pulled.
4:07 - Comparing the GTO to the likes of an Evo, a Merci, a CLK and a 911 and then criticizing it's ride and handling as too soft shows that someone was clearly missing the point. The GTO was designed to be a grand touring luxury coupe, while the rest of these were sports cars made for track use. We seem to have forgotten that soft springs and large sidewalls on tires are there for comfortable and quiet rides which the GTO was a hell of a lot better at than any of these other cars. I don't know if that's a marketing problem or a review problem, but if you look at the market today for automobiles, there is certainly still a demand for big quiet power in a soft and supple ride, and nobody is meeting that demand.
Pretty sure that lambo is actually a gallardo, but your point still stands and is 100% correct in my opinion.
Pontiac’s ultimate coupe, and one of my top 5 cars of all time. I still want one with blue interior and exterior.
Nah you need the Monaro HSV GTS 300 kw version we built in Australia
It's a rebadged Holden Monaro from Australia 🇦🇺 and definitely not a pure Pontiac unlike the original GTOs from the 1960s.
I know that the 2004-2006 GTO was made by Holden in Australia and sold in the U.S. as a Pontiac and in the UK as a Vauxhall. Still, it was the last V8 coupe offered by Pontiac, I’m sure that if Pontiac had survived instead of Buick, they would have made a new GTO or Firebird based on the Camaro, but sadly that never happened.
@@jorgerodrigogomezflores5711 I hear you brother
You ever seen the purple ones with purple interior? 04 only color. Soo sick
I remember watching Top Gear and watching Jezza drifting that thing and just cracking up.
What's really crazy is people are comparing The Terminator and all kinds of stuff in the 2000s. But it's nothing compared to a buick gnx. That put out the same specs 18 years ago so most of these cars aren't so special. Are they if there are 20 years newer and they're putting out the same exact specs? And a hundred more horsepower
Great looking car! I would love to get one of these. Underrated for sure.
Man I felt sorry for the early adopters who got the smaller engine.
No need to, that High Output 346 LS1 was straight out of the Vette.
Just be glad they didn't put a V6 in it ffs
5.7 to 6.0 is nothing to be sorry about.
@@Skyisthelimit4me Tell that to a 350z owner.
Really not that big of a difference. If it was an LS3 instead of an LS2, then yes.
Powerful and different, but high with too much competition at the time. I think the sedan version was a better choice. I have seen a lot of the sedans, but rarely the coupe.
If you are referring to the G8, they made fewer of those than the GTO -- 38,159 vs 40,808. The difference is that the GTO was only available as a performance car with a V8 engine, where the G8 was available a V6, a lesser V8, and a high-performance V8 with a manual transmission, so it had wider market appeal. The GTOs are probably all garage queens at this point, but the G8 V6 cars are still daily-driver winter beaters.
Good car, but man they really missed on the styling.
Its unique compared to everything else on the road. Mine always turns heads.
Ah, yes. The V8 Grand Am with an amazing glass diff
Those last gen GTO's were cool cars. The exterior design was a nice modern aerodynamic version of the 1970 GTO. They are fast and have a beautiful exhaust.
It was the more modest "gentleman's muscle car", like how the GTX was to the Road Runner.
I truly love these old motorweek videos.
One of the plainest, most boring looking fast cars ever made. The color matched gauge faces were the only cool thing.
Such a cool vehicle, Pontiac should have been selling vehicles like this a few years earlier, and I think they would have had a very different future. It's incredible how GM's then international divisions could produce a gorgeous interior, while the domestic GM models of the time were mostly saddled with terrible design and an overabundance of very cheap plastics.
I was in 1st grade when these started coming stateside. My dad managed to get one for a few days and I remember it being such an exciting car because of how much speed it could build up.
Weird to see an Aussie Holden with those strange badges and the steering wheel on the wrong side!
Well that was sobering seeing those front tires chewed up after only 2 laps.☹️
That’s because those tyres are SUPPOSEDLY all weather tyres whatever the f!ck that means. They look like cheap shit and would NEVER be fitted to these Monaros in Australia
Man what a car! Damn shame everything went to bloated SUVs😢
Very Aussie looking like the Holden it is
Best GTO by far.
Except for looks.
@@blisterbrain later model looked OK.
@@runoflife87 It did. I mean, I would be happy to drive one, but I don't think it was flash enough for its target audience.
@@blisterbrain😂😂😂😂 the early GTOs were wallowing boats and this thing would leave them for dead in EVERY aspect. 🇦🇺👍
@@ToranaA9X308 so would a Honda Civic. That's not the point.
Call me crazy, I always thought these looked good. The seats were pretty comfortable too
Scotty had this car yesterday on his channel. Now motor week is doing it too. Coincidence. Maybe….
That test driver didn't have a clue of what they were doing. Over reved starts with lots of wheel slip and an over reved and slopy slow shift into 2nd gear with throttle lift after the clutch was let out, causing a delay on getting back into the throttle after the shift was completed
I owned and 05 GTO, and those numbers are what you got - these were not fast cars off the line, and instead built up power. No idea why GM torqued it that way, but most of the power seemed on the mid-high side, so while it wouldn't throw you back in your seat when you were at a dead stop, if you floored it while doing 60, it would - and you'd be at 120 and the thing would be pulling hard.
I had an '06 silver just like that one but with the black interior not the red and an auto cuz where I live there's tons of traffic so dealing with steak as a daily driver wasn't going to happen. These guys always post slow numbers in the 0 to 60 in quarter mile I ran a 13-2 at eTown all I had was a k&n drop-in a bottle of octane boost and a couple gallons of race gas added to my half a tank of 94 octane Sunoco. And it was getting faster cuz that was only my third run and I got faster each time and of course I lost on the third one cuz I broke out lol
I had an '05 GTO, and I always thought it felt pretty slow off the line, certainly not like a car with 400hp. However, drive on the interstate doing 60, then floor it, that's when the car felt like it had 400hp because it would take off like a rocket ship and literally throw you back in your seat. At least with the automatic transmission that's the case with a pure stock setup.
What a flop
These cars are awesome, even more so today.
@@voodoodiecast it was just a lazy rebrand but hey, to each their own.
@@kalgstol well GM doesn’t have a muscle car offering at that time they had to come up something quick. Super bland back then but looking at it now, it’s a nice muscle machine.
@@voodoodiecast to each their own
I sold these new. We had two left in the end. They were on the lot for over two years. We couldn’t give them away.
Always liked these, one of the last cool & halfway decent cars GM ever made.
Made in Australia
@@liamgross7217 I’m well aware, it’s a rebadged Holden.
My favorite Holden!
Funny how the styling was celebrated in Australia as clean and restrained but regarded as underdone in the USA, where there weren’t enough cladding and add on “themes”. 🤔
I actually like this GTO over the other gens. Even if it's just a rebadged Aussie car. Actually, I think that makes it better.
I still want one 😔 those backfire flames 🔥🚒 💪😈
I loved my 2004. The G8 GT was even better. The only three complaints I had about the car, that could also carry 4 people in comfort (they're wrong about the space), was the tiny trunk with a gas tank in it, and the front tires that rubbed in the wheel wells and wore out early. They had to switch to 235 tires on 18s after that. They looked awesome but had even less grip. By far the worst problem though, was no side airbags. Was amazing fun to drive though.
I absolutely love mine 💯
I was able to click off a 13.7@105mph in my 2004 GTO with the Automatic transmission
Sounds about right. My 05 I never thought was that great off the line, but once you hit about 60, the thing took off like a rocket ship - seemingly GM put those extra 50hp all into the upper end of things.
Gorgeous car that aged beautifully, the best looking model ever to come out of the Holden factory.
I have a 2006 with lowered suspension, larger brakes and 3.91 gears. With the six-speed it's a nice cruiser that gets great mileage!
ITS A HOLDEN MONARO FROM AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺
The only way GM could offer a decent car in the US is by importing one from another manufacturer overseas. (See also: Pontiac G8, Chevy SS.)
uhhh... . The Soltice and Sky were built at GM's Wilmington Assembly plant in Wilmington, Delaware...
@@jason-1015 That's what happens when you watch too much Top Gear. LOL They're probably confusing it with the Vauxhall VX220/Opel Speedster...which was never sold in the US.
@@ragingbull94mtx He would of done better to say the Pontiac G8 or Chevy SS (both Holden Commodores the VE and VF respectively) lol
@@jason-1015 Right you are. I forgot the Opel GT came from the Sky/Solstice not the other way 'round.
John the kinda guy who come visit your home n leave a huge bowl winder in your toilet without flushing.
Was always one of the few domestic cars I really liked. Kinda funny that it's not REALLY domestic. lol
Ford made the 2005 Mustang look awesome. If Pontiac did anything like that this car would've singlehandedly kept the company name alive.
My dream car growing up
They SHOULD HAVE brought back the FIREBIRD instead of THIS CAR.
The Original GTO only lasted for 10 YEARS: 1964-74.
The FIREBIRD lasted 35 !! Which car would YOU have brought back?
It was a NO BRAINER!!
Bob LUTZ said the FIREBIRD’S day was DONE. Maybe he should have asked the PUBLIC !!
Mistakes like THIS are among the reasons why PONTIAC is not HERE anymore…
I have owned my '05 since new, still going strong with just 44k on the clock.
This model of the GTO was to compete with the tuners, rice burner cars it has the same styling as those cars, but it’s got the heart of American V-8 not one of those Wampa
Justice for Pontiac
Drift. Rear wheel driven. You need 6mtr of tarmac. In panic situations nor wiz aggressive driving this has advantages. What use is "controllable" stuff, if you bump into the Kadett next to you? And.. define control, Janet says so too, not to take this matter too lightly (she has lots of it)
What the Prelude has elsewhere on the channel is 4 wheel steering. By definition, losing grip is the wheel not following the rails in a train metaphor. The characteristics weight, wheelbase and tyres of th e vehicle decide what happens next, (apperently Maserat 430 is most conteollable f the channel). 4ws means rear wheels steer *in* side, or left is left r=r. Drift (not on the rails) edge is laid further away sort off a more principle'ed approach. On paper.
Torque vectoring differentials, and 4ws both allow a higher onset of drifting, but make the car very very very un forgiving, i.e. as with airplane and pilot that only can set autopilot on, known from youtube clip "the indonesian airline and the sleeping copilot, who don t even know English, thus cant be helped in emergencies, in fact..
It's never going to be a G.T.O. No matter how much they keep pushing for it. It wasn't even made in America. Sad because, a true G.T.O. is an 'American' Muscle car. Not this 'Australian' Holden rebadged. G.M shame on you !!.
Up until 2020 I had an red/black 05 A4 w/ 485wrhp & 35K miles,
when this guy in a hooptie had a "medical emergency" and drove head first into it parked. It was supposed to go to my son in time. sadge
I remember when these first came out. First take was, aye it's a souped up Grand Am.Big V8, side skirts and large 5 spoke wheels. Lol I guess I was one of many that just didn't want a V8 Grand Am.
lol! It’s not based on the Australian built Monaro - it literally is the Monaro! A tweaked bumper and some Pontiac badges is about all that’s different aside from the having the steering wheel on the wrong side.
fantastic car, especially with the 6 speed
probably would have sold better as a chevy, was never going to meet peoples expectations for a GTO
Was murdered to sell Buick in China. For shame GM. Should have fired CEO and recoke golden retirement
iTS rEaLLy a hOLdEn -- every GTO and G8 comment section 🙄
Lol American Muscle! It's an Aussie built Holden Monaro badged as GTO
Ugly overpriced fat Grand am. Pontiac shouldve been ashamed of themselves calling that a gto.
Wow, those tires 😮...better pony up for some real performance tires, or stay OFF the track...😅
It's Australian