Criticized at the time of its introduction for its somewhat mundane styling, the new Pontiac GTO made up for that underneath the hood. The 346 CID V8 produced a 350 horsepower, which would be replaced with an even more powerful engine the following year.

Other than some rebadging and the switching of the driver’s side to the left, the car was essentially a carbon copy of the Holden Monaro, which was only sold in Australia. The car was manufactured in Australia, and also updated the Monaro’s body to meet U.S. crash standards. The car was typical of Pontiac styling at the time, and did not follow the new retro styling trend of the time. The Ford Thunderbird and Volkswagon New Beetle were among the cars that were reintroduced around this time featuring styling that harkened back to the original incarnation of those cars, and Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger would all follow suit in the subsequent years.

As stated above, the car provided buyers with no options other than the choice of transmission, but the standard model was as well equipped on the inside as it was under the hood. Powered leather seats were standard in all cars, and the red-face instrument dials nicely complimented the polished metal trim. Also standard was the European Blaupunkt CD-changer unavailable in any other American GM product at the time.

Though the GTO had only the one option available when it was introduced, cars made later in the year could chose a Sport Appearance Package, which added a more angular rear spoiler. Additionally, the last cars built during the 2004 model year included a W40 package, which introduced a new Pulse Red color and GTO badging on the seats.

2004 Pontiac GTO

Because of the lack of options, the GTO was only available in one model in 2004. The car would continue the trend until it was discontinued following the 2006 model year.

Despite the wide array of standard features, the GTO had a 2004 production run of 15,740, which was reportedly below GM expectations. Sales would drop sharply the following year. The base price of the car was $33,000, and the manual transmission added an additional $695. More than half of GTO buyers chose the manual transmission.

Edmunds.com noted in their review of the car that the price tag was a major deterrent for car buyers. The review noted many positive aspects of the car, and reported that when compared to other cars in its price range, the car should have been priced around $5,000 less than it was.

Competition

Combining high performance with an extremely comfortable, if not luxury, interior, the GTO had a very wide array of competition. Motor Trend lists the Infinity G35 and Audi TT as close competitors, and both had nearly identical MSRPs as the GTO in 2004.

Unfortunately, the GTO never really caught on with American audiences. The 2004 production numbers would be the highest of the car’s three-year lifespan, and GM would announce the end of the model in February 2006. While it was available, however, the car was seen by critics as one of the best models produced by Pontiac at the time.

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