Waitingformy05

I know this comparison has been beaten to death by magazines and fans of both cars but I'm having second thoughts as to which I should get. I ordered a GT on 3/28 but after hearing some opinions by other GTO owners and seeing their price fall, i'm not so sure anymore if I wanna wait for it or go out next week or so and just drive home right then and there with an GTO.

So far, i've come up with this list for pros and cons.

Mustang:
Pros- uniquely sharp, unmistakable looks, solid power, great exhaust note, great value, runs on regular.
Cons- a little too retro with it looks looks, 8-12 week wait, everyone's gonna have one in a year, is 300 horse gonna be enough to compete in 5 years?

GTO:
Pros- 400 horse, great exhaust note, better interior, not many on the road, rebates, no waiting period, IRS.
Cons- Styling is bland and just doesn't look like a muscle car, premium fuel, 3700-3800 lbs. curb weight, a few thousand more $$, and so far crappy resale value.


I know this is Mustang board so there's going to be some bias but I'd appreciate any objective (somewhat) feedback from Mustang owners and/or people that have driven both. Thanks.

pr

Buyers remorse or second guessing yourself?

Usually, your gut instinct will tell you what you ultimately want. IMO either car is a good choice. And usually impatience will guide you astray.

One other note: GT is American made...


05 GT
Leg Lime

picking it up from dealer tomorrow.

Scottsat

Hey, I dumped my 03 Altima V6 for the Mustang GT.

I actually saw both GTO and GT at the San Antonio Car show. The Mustang just stood out. (Plus the Chick talking about the GTO was not very informed about the GTO.) She was good looking though.....

I prefer Ford products......I get tired of the little bells and gadgets some GM products have......My wife's old 95 Grand am drove me crazy.....

Good luck on the search......Sometimes even the best research will still leave you confused. Go with your Gut feeling.

later,


[IMG]local://upfiles/13237/E51F22C2070F469DAA4426AAEFAE8EB7.jpg[/IMG]

graphicguy

I went through the same type of pros/cons between the GTO and the Mustang GT.

Here's what I came up with.....

Performance.....best numbers I've seen to date are

--Mustang GT....0-60 in 4.9 secs, 1/4 in 13.5 secs (Road & Track)
--'05 GTO....0-60 in 4.8 secs, 1/4 in 13.3 secs (Car & Driver)
So, while the GTO is a little (and I do mean little) faster, the 100 extra HP doesn't really translate to anything significant....just a tenth or two.

Price.....
--GTO's are being discounted and currently have a $1,000 rebate if you finance through GMAC. Word of warning though, the GMAC finance rates are a bit high compared to the on-line finance sources or going to your credit union/bank. Edmunds says you should be able to buy one for about $32K since they aren't moving well. Subtract the $1,000 GMAC rebate and you can buy one for about $31K.
--Mustang GT (if you can find one) will sell for MSRP. Loading one up without automatic, or side airbags (since you can't get them on a GTO) and you're looking at an MSRP of about $27,500.

That's a hefty $3,500 price advantage for the Mustang GT.

Styling....I don't think you'll get much debate about how good the Mustang looks. The GTO, on the other hand, looks like a Grand Prix, which looks like a Grand Am, which looks like a Sunfire, and on and on.

I think the interior of the GTO is nice. But the Shaker stereo in the Mustang is better than the Blaupunkt in the GTO. Plus, I wasn't real fond of the "mouse fur" on the inside of the doors. Some things in the GTO didn't look like they were well thought out....like the passenger airbag cover (look at how well it's integrated in the Mustang and compare it to the GTO). The spoiler on the GTO has a brake light in it that looks tacky since the back window also has the brake light, too....not well thought out. I thought the HVAC controls of the GTO felt like they came from a Sunfire. Whereas the controls in the Mustang operated very smoothly and feel high quality. I really like the aluminum that comes with the IUP for the Mustang. The GTO has painted silver plastic.

The trunk in the GTO is a joke compared to the trunk in the Mustang.

All-in-all, the Mustang was the way to go for me.

Waitingformy05

I thought the mustangs were around 5.0-5.2 0-60 and 13.7-13.9 in the quarter with either trans. The GTO, I thought could hit high 12s with a 0-60 around 4.6 with the 6sp. Correct me if i'm wrong cause im not 100% sure but 100 horse extra has gotta mean at least a little something extra.

showam1

I have also read that the GTO stick shift is "numb" and the pedal placement is "hopeless"
I didn't go drive one as the looks alone ran me off. Pontiac is having trouble selling them
new, how do you think you're coin will do used? GM isn't going to pull it anytime soon so
you're used one will have to compete in the market with the discounted new ones, for a
very limited fan base.
JMHO

graphicguy

Just quoting the car rags......I think some of the GTO numbers you're seeing came from GM. I've never seen those numbers from an independent source. The numbers I quoted are from actual tests from the respective car mags. Remember, that the GTO weighs more than the Mustang GT and the shifter/clutch of the Mustang GT is widely regarded as more direct and smoother than that of the GTO. That will affect the numbers, too.

The GTO will be going away after the '06 model year since GM put the American Zeta platform on ice (which the next gen GTO was based on). There's a lot of talk that the '05 may be the last year for the GTO, too.

Resale value of the GTO doesn't look to be too good, either. Since GM couldn't move the '04s (there's still some out there on dealers lots), they rebated them to death. Plus, the '05 GTO is now being rebated, too. Demand has been pretty poor for the GTO. Any number of reasons for that, but that means that those who may want one (new or used) will be less regarding their demand, too.

showam1

Didn't know they were putting it on ice,
I would to if I were in there shoes.

Derf00

GTO 2004 (350 hp 5.7L)
2004 Pontiac GTO LS1 5.3 13.8
http://www.albeedigital.com/supercou...0-60times.html

2005 Ford Mustang GT 4.6L V8 5.1 13.5 (MT Jan 05)
http://www.albeedigital.com/supercou...0-60times.html

With the extra 50Hp of the 05 GTO (6.0L) they will be dead even in the time slips.

yellowjacket05

[quote]ORIGINAL: graphicguy

I went through the same type of pros/cons between the GTO and the Mustang GT.

Here's what I came up with.....

Performance.....best numbers I've seen to date are

--Mustang GT....0-60 in 4.9 secs, 1/4 in 13.5 secs (Road & Track)
--'05 GTO....0-60 in 4.8 secs, 1/4 in 13.3 secs (Car & Driver)
So, while the GTO is a little (and I do mean little) faster, the 100 extra HP doesn't really translate to anything significant....just a tenth or two.

I have to strongly disagree with this statement. I looked hard at both these cars and test drove both like I stole them and the GTO is significantly faster. To the point that unless I complete fried the tires or missed a gear, my GTO would beat the 5speed GT I test drove 10 out of 10 times. Guys, this is not even a drivers race the GTO kills the GT, 300 VS 400 is easily apparent in back to back test drives. The car mags are there to see, but if you look what real drivers with time under their belts in these cars, your gonna find that the GTO is a 12.8-13.3 car and a GT is a 13.8-14.1 car.
All I can say is do not go by just what you read, do more research and definately drive them both, I did and 400hp was just to cool to ignore. Cannot wait for Shelby Mustang!