This whole idea about current cars bearing resemblance to their forebears is getting quite old. I mean, exactly which car, by any US maker other than the Mustang, bears any resemblance at all to its 50s, 60s, or 70s counterpart? The other question I have is, would the 60s Goats have acheived their sales numbers if the US had been inundated with the various imports that are currently offered in their class? A lot has changed in our world and our country since the 60s heyday. Much of that change is solely due to the exaggeration of our freedom of choice. Did you know Mustang sales have had two consecutive months of 19% declines? Wanna bet what happened to 300, Magnum, Charger sales?
I know many feel the name GTO hurt this car's sales. But consider the expense of bringing the car over under an unheard of, unfamiliar name. The advertising alone would have made it impossible to obtain this car at a 30k price point. Lutz knew this and made a decision, a right one in my opinion, to reinvigorate performance at Pontiac. THIS WAS ONLY A STARTING POINT.
The most irritating thing is, most of the whiners crying "it's no GTO" have never even owned a GTO of any year. Fact is, this car does what it's always done, just does it a whole lot better. It is still the car to beat. And that subjective category of styling will always be open to debate.
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