Good By GTO (Article from 'MOTOR WEEK')
 

(This article is from 'MOTOR WEEK')

Pontiac will drop the GTO this year
DETROIT -- General Motors has told Pontiac dealers that it will discontinue the GTO coupe at the end of this model year. GM will make the last deliveries of the vehicle to dealers by the end of September, sources close to Pontiac say.

GM will produce 10,000 to 12,000 more GTOs before dropping the nameplate, one source close to the situation says. Last year, Pontiac sold 11,590 GTOs compared to 2004 when it sold 13,569. That's a 14.6 percent drop.

When Pontiac launched the GTO in 2003, it projected 18,000 annual sales. The vehicle was criticized for bland styling, and some fans of the original GTO complained that it lacked nostalgic styling cues.

"For the remaining life of the car, it simply wasn't worth the engineering expense or effort to re-certify it as an '07 for a very limited run, when we could continue selling them as '06s," says a source close to GM who is familiar with the program.

The GTO is built on a rear-wheel drive architecture from GM's Holden division in Australia. The present model is going out of production as GM constructs the new Zeta RWD architecture, says the source. There is no replacement coupe planned at this time and because of the strong Australian and weak U.S. dollar, the GTO had to be priced thousands over where GM originally wanted it -- in the mid-twenties, the source says. "It never did as much volume as we had hoped," the source says.

The GTO suggested retail price starts at $31,990, including shipping. One GM source says, "the 2005 and 2006 were pretty well sold out, and sales were especially strong in areas of GM weakness, like Southern California. It's a shame it has to go -- for now."

Another source says that GM has indicated that it would like to have another vehicle in that "space" in the future.

Already posted yesterday. Be interesting to see what they come up with to replace it. I guess the Solstice is the only cool car left in the lineup.

Hey Willwren, I thought you were going to deny this article like when they announced the axing of the Bonneville? You know, dont believe everything you read, wait until more articles appear, ect ect. ;) :poke:

Well, the last RWD car left in the lineup...

I say "cool" still goes to the G6 and Grand Prix

Cool...might goto the 6spd G6 GTP, but not to the GP unless it has a blower IMO. :twisted:

Or the 5.3 DOD for me, although I know it's not everyone's cup o' tea

Ryan your right give me the 5.3 anyday over the supercharger. ;)

Oh don't get me wrong, I love the supercharged mill, but I think the DOD technology will prove itself in the future.

x2 especialy for the G6 (GTP coupe) I love that car