Three years later - PY Online Forums

pont3 · #1 08-13-2007, 11:02 PM

Three years after my initial purchase of my '04 GTO, I have to say I absolutely love these freaking cars. I currently own an '04 and an '06, both autos and am totally content with them. I briefly owned an '05 M6 but quickly realized I bought into the hype of M6's rather than what I personally most appreciated. Kept the '04 A4, (wife loves it now), sold the '05 M6, and bought the A4 '06.

Despite the car being unappreciated here, apparently it's appreciated elsewhere. It's value is holding steady and quite a few initial doubters have crossed over. It's very sad that this particular section has become practically abandoned due to all the hate.

Nevertheless, I'm as excited every single time I turn the key as I was the very first time. Over the last three years, I've come to love the car even more. And to this day, despite what others think of Lutz's decision to make it happen, I thank Mr Lutz. It's the first car since 1976, (when I bought my first Goat), that makes me smile every time I even think about it. It's as solid as a rock, drives beautifully, sounds great, even stock, and feels right at home no matter where you take it.

Should the decision be made to not produce the next gen Goat, I won't feel bad, I'll just step into the CTS coupe, (no four-doors for me), and have my new Goats to thrill me whenever needed.

Jeff R · #2 08-14-2007, 12:02 PM

Excellent post and I wholeheartedly agree.

Except for that part about the M6

...I prefer banging through the gears myself.

But I'm on vacation right now, and I haven't seen my car in over two weeks. I miss it horribly.

HUMBLER · #3 08-14-2007, 01:50 PM

I'm not sure what is going on this month and last but I am seeing cars dissapearing like crazy. All 06s are gone from the 10 or so dealers close to me. Finally...LOL. Guys who have had their cars for sale for the Summer are selling now. Interesting really...

JLHarper · #4 08-14-2007, 03:16 PM

They are incredible driving machines.

Really a lot of fun driving this car. I now have 4,000+ miles on my 05 and driving it more.

pont3 · #5 08-14-2007, 08:19 PM

Good to see that at least some of us still check this forum. After three years of ownership I feel I'm qualified to attest to the greatness of this car. Those that have been whining about the styling for the past three or four years really don't know what they're missing out on. Before I bought my '05 I thought, why not give the ever-famous Mustang a try, so, since I already owned an '04 Goat, I thought, why not? So I did just that and ended up buying the '05 M6 Goat. When I decided I wanted another auto, I tried an '07 Mustang, and ended up buying an '06 Goat.

I expect Red70goat to show up any time now and regurgitate just how much these new Goats suck. But I don't know of a better way to spend 30k on a car. If you want smooth ride quietness, it's there. If you want the sixties muscle car sound, it's there. If you want to run ahead of the pack, you can easily do so. If you like attention, it gets that too. What's most impressive, though, is the car's long distance comfort. I drove my '04 from St. Charles, MO to Charleston, SC, (my hometown) stopping only twice for gas. No discomfort or aches whatsoever. Averaged 24.3 mpg in the process. And the car tracks straight and true without unnecessary driver input. Just a great car that I'm thrilled to have had to opportunity to own. Definitely looking forward to the next great GM coupe, hopefully a Pontiac.

Mr_GTO · #6 08-15-2007, 06:44 AM

Still can't get one yet.

cdb · #7 08-15-2007, 07:42 AM

My wife and I took our '04 from Norwalk CT to Norwalk Ohio show this past week. It is the best long distance car I have had to date. It does not fatigue you to drive over 500 miles with just one gasoline stop and a quick lunch break. In 6th gear you just apply light pressure to the throttle to up your speed and the car never did anything to spoil the ride. I now have 5200 miles on it after 3 years, I rarely drive it, but I will take out there again next year. I am very satisfied with my car..........

FHummel · #8 08-15-2007, 07:49 AM

To all devotees,
Glad to see the 'Love' side of the "'04-'06" GTO being extolled for a change.
The industry scuttlebutt now seems to be that the GTO will not be reproduced again (at least not in the forseeable future). Maybe that is why the available cars have suddenly begun disappearing from the 'for sale' category. I think people finally woke up to the desirable collectablilty of this model, aside from the great performance and comfort of the cars. I, too, smile every time I get behind the wheel of my '05 Torrid Red, M6, and turn the key. Smooth, powerful, throaty, comfortable driving ensues. Generally gas mileage, just bopping around, is in the 18-20 mpg range and highway mileage checks out in the 24-27 mpg range. This is a far cry from the 10 mpg (no-matter-what) mileage from my '70 GTO, 455HO, 4 speed car (frame-off restoration 6 years ago) with A/C. The '05 will pull away from the '70 on any given day - and the '70 is no slouch. It's just hard to beat the technology of the modern GTO!
I've owned and driven any number of desirable Pontiacs in my nearly 70 years and the '05 is definitely the best so far. I'd love to have a new Solstice GXP, but budgetary considerations don't allow that, and where would the grandsons ride?
Just an 'old man's' ramblings, and I've done my share of that too.
Frank

JLHarper · #9 08-15-2007, 10:58 PM

How do you turn off that BREAK/REST REMINDER? On my 05.

I pushed every button to be found. I couldnt get it to disarm while running.

I havent read owners manual I will admitt or listened to CD that far. It went off on first road trip I took going to Ocean City Cruise event and wouldnt stop until I pulled over and shut ing. off for one second.

It was very frustrating and distracting to me anyway. I couldnt pull off for a good ways coming home and had to endure the beeping. Message pops up on screen showing a picnic table.

FHummel · #10 08-16-2007, 07:12 AM

It is best to read the manual. Look at page 2-31 in the Vehicle Personalization section for the instructions. It really is neat stuff and there may be some other options you''ll see that can be customized to your personal preference.
However, here's a quick primer: To enter the program mode - when the vehicle is stopped, hold down the MODE button while turning the ignition to ON (don't start the car). The OPTIONS MENU will display. Use the up or down arrows to scroll through the options that can be programmed. There will also be HELP screens that come up for the various options. When you get to the REST/BREAK reminder you can select YES or NO with the up or down arrows as to whether you want it to function and also the interval between reminders. To exit, press the MODE button until you get to the exit screen. I personally use that option and set it for 2 hour intervals.
Have fun and enjoy the car.
Frank

JLHarper · #11 08-16-2007, 10:12 AM

Thanks for the info!

engineer · #12 08-16-2007, 12:50 PM

anyone care to comment on their gas mileage with their 04-06. mine seems terrible.

Mr. P-Body · #13 08-16-2007, 01:38 PM

Well, I can't afford one, but sure would love to! i drove one when they first arrived and was very impressed. Haven't driven a 6-speed LS2 model.

I said all along, GTO is right on the mark for the true GTO owner. As a youngster, looking at muscle cars, I couldn't care less about exterior styling. I was most affected by the instrumentation and view over the hood, the ease of driving in normal traffic, and what happened when you hit the "loud pedal". Let the "Hey! Look at me!" crowd buy the retro crap. GTO is a modern high performance car! How many of those new Rustangs run low 13s in true stock form? ALL the GTOs do... (well, '05 and '06 anyway)

Glad to hear they pass the "test of time".

Jim

87LC2 · #14 08-16-2007, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by engineer

anyone care to comment on their gas mileage with their 04-06. mine seems terrible.

17~18 mpg around town and 22~24 highway with my A4.
Best mileage from a 400 hp coupe I've ever gotten.

87LC2 · #15 08-16-2007, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pont3

Three years after my initial purchase of my '04 GTO, I have to say I absolutely love these freaking cars. I currently own an '04 and an '06, both autos and am totally content with them. I briefly owned an '05 M6 but quickly realized I bought into the hype of M6's rather than what I personally most appreciated. Kept the '04 A4, (wife loves it now), sold the '05 M6, and bought the A4 '06.

Despite the car being unappreciated here, apparently it's appreciated elsewhere. It's value is holding steady and quite a few initial doubters have crossed over. It's very sad that this particular section has become practically abandoned due to all the hate.

Nevertheless, I'm as excited every single time I turn the key as I was the very first time. Over the last three years, I've come to love the car even more. And to this day, despite what others think of Lutz's decision to make it happen, I thank Mr Lutz. It's the first car since 1976, (when I bought my first Goat), that makes me smile every time I even think about it. It's as solid as a rock, drives beautifully, sounds great, even stock, and feels right at home no matter where you take it.

Should the decision be made to not produce the next gen Goat, I won't feel bad, I'll just step into the CTS coupe, (no four-doors for me), and have my new Goats to thrill me whenever needed.

Well said.
I've had my '06 A4 for eight months and have over 13,000 miles! I can't stop driving it.

FHummel · #16 08-17-2007, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by engineer

anyone care to comment on their gas mileage with their 04-06. mine seems terrible.

As I said in my earlier post, I'm getting in the area of 18-20 mpg in local driving and 24-27 cruising the interstates or lightly traveled 'back roads'. This is with the 6M. I do drive conservatively, such as getting into 6th gear asap - often shifting 1-3-6 into 6th at 40 mph. The car is an incredible performer all around. For instance, if you shift from 1st to 5th gear at 20 mph it will idle along at that speed (no additional accelerator pedal needed), or shift from 1st to 6th at 30 mph and it will idle along there. This is, of course, if there are no real upgrades to contend with. Otherwise just a bit of accelerator additional will keep you moving. I don't know about the A4 cars, but guess they won't do what I just described. Here's a kind of 'scary' scenario: you can get into the 5th gear as I described at 20 mph and, if you desire, just start pressing the accelerator and speed up to 140+ mph without ever shifting to 6th gear! Who needs an automatic? The computer compensates for the loading and gives you 'knock-free' operation throughout.
The A4s won't get the mileage of the M6, that's why you paid the 'gas guzzler' tax when you bought an A4.
Anyway, have fun with the car, but don't go 'crazy'!
Frank 'old-man' Hummel

dragula81 · #17 08-18-2007, 10:15 AM

7000 miles on my '06/M6 and not a single regret yet.

I only get about 14mpg around town because I can't keep my foot out of it. But on a long trip, I can easily get over 25mpg.

BTW FHummmel, just to show off to passengers I've started off in 4th gear from a dead stop and reached 100mph very quickly. The next time that I go to the track when they aren't busy, I intend to make a 1/4 mile run in 4th gear only just to see what it'll do.

I bought mine new last November for only $29k OTD and I don't think that there is another car out there that can compare in that price range. I wanted a Vette but I needed a back seat (two kids); I received the best of both worlds for half the price. Just before I bought the GTO, I drove a friends '05 Mustang on a 500 mile roundtrip for him. That was enough to tell me that I didn't want one. The car had decent comfort but it had several rattles and just felt cheap. Granted, that they look very cool but it just wasn't for me.

Also, for anyone who doesn't think that this car generates much interest should visit LS2GTO. That site is only dedicated to the "new" GTO but it has easily 2-3 times the traffic that this site (the largest Pontiac community) does. Not bad for a car that was only produced for three years.

75ta4spd · #18 08-19-2007, 11:08 AM

Couldn't be happier with my '04/M6. I just added a Magna Charger and long tube headers are going on in a few days. THIS CAR IS AN ANIMAL!!! I absolutely love it.

mkturtle · #19 08-19-2007, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 75ta4spd

THIS CAR IS AN ANIMAL!!! I absolutely love it.

+1

Just wish I can afford a winter beater so I can store Goat in my garage.... I guess you can't have it all.

Skip Fix · #20 08-22-2007, 11:52 AM

I really like my Pulse Red 04/A4 20K miles. Bought it after the 05s were out $24.5L NEW added the SAP (05) hood, have the grilles and ricer spoiler in the attic probably hit E bay with them,crazy prices for the grilles now.
Good broad torque curve, great handling.Nice to jump in and cruise in to the store or wherever. I just CAN'T drive conservatively,and I only have the 350 hp motor. I have noticed my mileage dropping to the low 20 when cruising though.

The AC will flat freeze your a$$ even with a black interior, a good thing here in Texas

Have to turn it down to just the second blower notch.

One thing I still do NOT like is rear seat access. Roomy back seat if you can get there. Had to take a sick cat home from work , carrier wouldn't fit in the front seat, not betweeb the front seats to go in back, nor would the front seat slide far enough forward to get it in back. If they had just added 4" rail slide to the front seat the roomy rear would be alot easier.