I found a black on black, 6 speed, 18K mile, 2005 GTO locally and I'm very interested in it. I've read online that there are some suspension issues with the car, some parts are pretty odd and have to come from down under, they're almost the red headed step children of the service centers. I guess I'm asking if the problems are wide spread, only on the '04 models, or are exaggerated by 'internet information'.

While at the dealer I drove an '08 Malibu. The salesman (fellow gearhead) said it is such a better car than the previous versions that it shouldn't be called a Malibu. I agree. It has a great ride and more power than you would expect. It was raining so I didn't get a full appreciation for all the power. The transmission seemed to shift nicely (6 speed paddle shifted automatic) and wasn't clunky on the downshift, just kinda slow.

Also, when you search for GTO on this board it comes up empty. I found the post by 2000Z-71 because I remembered his GTO was hit by a suburban.

They are kind of heavy for road racing/open track/autocross, but if you could pull some weight out of them, they could be decent. Their wheel wells/fenders do not leave much room for wider racing rubber either.

There does seem to be a lot of Monaro aftermarket support for them from down under (Harrop, Starr, etc.).

I've also heard of some alignment difficulties with their indie rear axles. Seems you have to (be able to) loosen/disconnect/move the WHOLE rear subframe in order to get an accurate performance alignment on the Ozziemobiles.
I think this is why TTP quoted someone a REAL high price on a GTO alignment for the new rack at their shop. They are around the corner from you, I would ask them about this.

Also, REAL glad to hear that the new Malibu is living up to it's pre-release hype (maybe even exceeding it!!??). This thing looks to be a solid Camry/Accord/Maxima KILLER!!

I should have added that the GTO would be my daily driver, I'm keeping the ugly orange thing in my avatar for all the really fun stuff.

The Malibu was also really quiet. Another observation was that the torque converter isn't nearly as tight as the converter in my 2000 Malibu. I think the GTO will hold it's value longer than a new Malibu, my insurrance quote was $100 more for the 3 year old GTO than the brand new Malibu.

The 06's were having front strut issues - but other than the IRS alignments, that's all I've read about. Check ls1gto.com - lots of good info over there.

Pedders has some nice suspension packages for the GTO, if you decide to go that direction.

Yeah, I found LS1GTO and I think the cars have too many issues. I mean some of them can't even fill their gas tanks all the time!! A bad fuel gauge requires a new instrument cluster, the keys cost $200, a bunch of basic parts aren't listed in the parts stores (no rotors, alternator, starter), they have bad bushings/struts, the door locks get sticky... etc. To top if off you're supposed to use high test, and thats with gas prices on the rise again.

Having said that I've been changing my mind every 5 minutes, and it would be really nice having a 400hp daily driver.

How about a 'stang? Not 400hp, but not 4000lbs either. I'm loving mine so far. Takes regular gas, too.

Obligatory F-body content:
Another cool thing about a mustang, it makes an f-body look small when they are parked next to each other!

Nope... a Ford isn't in my future. But I hope GM know this is what happens when people get desperate for a cool car. A friend of mine has an '06 GT and loves it. I'm sure it is a good car, but just not for me.

I have a friend who owns a 2005(?) 6 spd. He loves it. He is a regular autocrosser (his wife is a multi-time FS champ), and has even autocrossed the car a couple of times. He says it makes an awesome DD, and he is quite pleased. He thinks it is a little heavy and under-tired for autocross, but can fill in in a pinch. The additional back seats are good for when he has to haul the kiddos to and from soccer practice (he claims to have the fastest Soccer-Mom-Mobile out there).

That weight is due to a lot of double-panels, which, while not really necessary here in the states, results in a very quite riding car. That, 400 HP, as you say, and upper-20s to 30's MPG, and you have a nice commuter car. I have been eyeing one for my daily commute, but would opt for an auto.

Other choices I have been thinking about:
Sky Redline
Solstice GXP
C6
LS*-powered Fbod.

Not necessarily in that order.

I was thinking about one as well for a DD, I love the seats. Best in any GM car. I was also looking the new Pontiac G8 which, I think, is the Holden Commador. Same great seats, 4 doors and huge back seat and trunk. They say a 6 speed manual will be available to go with the standard 6 speed auto. They say the v8 version should be about $30-32K. Sounds pretty good to me.

Let me tell you I was 'this close' to putting a deposit in the car Saturday. They even knocked $1,000 off the car when I stood up to leave. But I'm comparing it to the Malibu I currently have. I've done brakes, oil, and an intake gasket... with almost no other attention. I would like to keep daily driver attention/maintenance to the same point and decided the GTO is not the car for that. But I wish it was!

I've also been keeping tabs on the G8. The latest I've heard is $29,995 for a base GT. That gets you 360hp, cloth seats, and 18" rims. The downside is the 3,995 lb curb weight and possibly the 6 speed auto. The manual gearbox will come out later, as soon as few months or as late as the next model year.

I've briefly considered the Solstice/Sky but I would still want something for the winter (I have 2 cars now, do i really want 3?) and they have no real trunk. I should be able to manage the heavier GTO in the snow better than a Solstice/Sky.

I did tons of soul searching before I bought the 'stang. I looked at just about everything GM makes, but I couldn't justify the cabbage for even a used CTS-V. The supply of new GTOs seemed to be dried up, and the used ones weren't much less than a new 'stang.

In 2004 the manufacturers swore that the coupe was dead, then the S197 comes out and everyone is in a rush to make ponycars again. Lemmings. Serves GM right, though I'll be happy to trade in my car on a new Camaro when the time is right.

I had thought about a GTO as a daily driver as well about two years ago. I test drove one, and thought the quality was better than expected, was classy inside, and was smooth. If felt mushy as all hell though for a performance car, but my car has been solid bushings everywhere for so long, I don't know what a "stock" performance car should feel like anymore. The thing that scared me away was that it would be expensive to maintain and DD. Was thinking of 18" tires that will wear out every 20k, premium fuel, higher insurance, etc. If I didn't track the Camaro, then it wouldn't be a big deal...so I settled on a Corolla at $15k, which I regularly get 38mpg (with 80mph commuting and stop and go). It's got 47k miles and all I've done is oil changes and an air filter. When the tires wear out, they'll be $40/piece. Of course it's no performance car and I'd much rather drive a GTO to work every day :-)

Everything has its drawbacks... they overwhelmed the good points this time. Hopefully I'll wind up in something fun to drive next year.

When I made the decision to get a DD and retire the Rhino from street duty, I decided on a Saturn Ion. First off, the price online, is the same price on the sticker, which is what you pay. No haggling, no hidden costs. That's worth at least a thousand to me.

Secondly, for under $20k, you get 170hp (2.4L engine), leather seats, sunroof, auto, XM radio, cruise, and enough of a backseat and trunk for 8 315/35-17 Hoosiers.

Thirdly, they take regular gas, but can use premium for an extra power boost. And, I get 35mpg on the highway (80mph on cruise control for 100 miles, every day).

Finally, if you NEED an autox car, I think it's the HS sleeper. I ran it on street tires at 40psi during our Trans Louisiana Autocross Challenge in September. 100% stock. I was only 1.5 seconds off a completely prepared GS Mini cooper S that was 1 position out of trophies at Nationals with a 94.938 combined time. (FYI, the best HS time was 98.583.) If I'd have had R-comps on for that race, I think I could have beaten him. Like I said, I was on street tires, with leather, sunroof and auto.

Of course, you certainly ain't gonna get any looks or dates because of the car. But, you can cruise by a cop without him even glancing in your direction!

I'm thinking the Astra might be worth at least a test drive too, but I have to stick to my original plan and at least test drive a G8. I'm sure the Astra is about half the price. The downside to any Saturn is that they don't honor the points from my GM card. I don't have much now but 2 years ago I got a mailer from GM doubling my points, and it doubled the amount you can take off of a new car. Fortunately I was able to transfer it all to take $3k off my mom's trailblazer.

I got a voice mail from the GTO salesman today... and had to talk myself out of calling him back.

They are hurting....I'm sure he'll call back again. I test drove a Tundra about 6+ months ago, and he still occasionally calls me to see if I'm ready yet even though I told him I wouldn't consider buying it until I get a house next year and my commute gets cut in 1/3. Some are so persistant.

GM could really do something special with the Astra. It is a GREAT platform, and could be made into a world-beating turbo AWD monster with a little effort. I'd love to see them make a WRC car out of it, and go STI, Evo, Focus, and Peugeot/Citroen hunting with it. But yes, sadly enough, I realize they are in NO position financially to even think about this with any commitment. It is a shame because I'd bet that would garner them a big sales boost in Europe, Asia, and even here among the ubiquitous "sport compact" crowd.

I went with a 07 Saturn Vue Hybrid for a DD. It's everything the Camaro isn't! It's spacious, easy to get into and out of, extremely comfortable, rides silent, can seat 4-5 people + skis/boards and still get 30 mpg. The rear seats fold down to give a ton of cargo room and I've carried anything from bikes to an engine back there. Kinda wierd, but it has the same power that my Camaro had stock (170 hp) and weighs close to the same don't think I'd ever take it to an Auto-X though!

Heh, you should. Honduh minivans do pretty well.

Just to close this story I wound up buying an '08 Aura XR in Techno Gray with black cloth interior and no sunroof. It is the cheapest way to get the 3.6L engine with the paddle shifted 6 speed automatic. I also took advantage of the red tag event so the rebates came out to $2250. So far the car has 255 miles on it, and I can't complain about much. The transmission likes to shift a little too often so in traffic I just keep it in manual mode. It still downshifts on its own and I accidentally hit the downshift button just after the number on the dash changed so it dropped 2 gears instead of 1, 4th to 2nd. not a big deal but I'll have to keep an eye out for that one.

The ride is great even with 18"s, but the car will burn the front tires off the rims before the traction control kicks in. There have been reports that the tires are pretty crappy (confirmed with Tire Rack.)

Wish me luck.

Those looked like great vehicles when I was at the Saturn dealership, I think they won quite a few awards too, no? Congrats and good luck!

Tony

I'd ask what your final price was on the car, but I could just as easily go look online for myself! Wasn't that refreshing - no haggling over price, just plunk down some cash and go.

Ummm... yeah there was no negotiating for the price of the Aura, but we went back and forth a little with the trade in. My 2000 Malibu had 118K miles and they said the book value was $875, but would give me $1500. We finally settled on $2500.

The only downside to buying a Saturn is that they don't take the points from my GM card. I had a whole $600+ I could have used.

Saturn is GM always has been. Not taking GM points is BS.

I agree. This is the only place they seem to have fallen down in this deal.
I guess they are trying to claim that Saturn is a separate entity/company from GM (like they did in the beginning), a la Saab/Hummer, etc. It's crazy, but my brother got all of his discount points counted when he bought his '06 C6 Vette (even though there was talk some time back of making Corvette it's OWN separate company from Chevrolet).

Funny you mention that! I've ran our '04 Odyssey at a CSCC AX last year and whipped up on several competitors, all while having three passengers and "Finding Nemo" on the rear DVD! If it had a LSD and race tires... Runs mid 10's in the 1/8 mile, too
Sadly, Clemson University has installed huge speed bumps and curbing in their commuter lots, leaving the CSCC no where to hold events.