Pontiac GTO - Fourth Generation - 2004

2004

In 2004, the Pontiac GTO was relaunched in the United States in the form of a rebadged, third-generation Holden Monaro.

The VZ Monaro-based GTO was Pontiac's first captive import since the 1988-1993 Pontiac Le Mans. The V2/VZ Monaro was a 2-door coupe variant of the Australian developed VT/VX Holden Commodore. The Commodore had, in turn, been developed by enlarging the European designed 1994 Opel Omega B, which was marketed in its original form in the U.S. from 1997 to 2001 as the Cadillac Catera. The Monaro was also exported to the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Monaro and to the Middle East as the Chevrolet Lumina SS.

The revival was prompted by former GM North America Chairman Bob Lutz, who had the idea of importing a Holden Commodore-based vehicle after reading a Car and Driver review of the Holden Commodore SS, published circa 2000. Car and Driver praised the performance of the V8 powered, rear-wheel drive Holden Commodore SS, but noted that even though it was one of the best vehicles that GM offered at the time, it could not be purchased in the United States. The idea of importing a rear-wheel drive Holden as a GM North American performance offering gradually transformed into importing the Monaro. Lutz, as well as other GM executives, later drove a Holden Monaro while on a business trip in Australia, which convinced them that importing the car could be a profitable venture.

From promoting his initial idea to the time the GTO reached North America, Lutz had spent much time trying to convince GM executive hierarchy to import the car, and overcoming the obstacle of a corporate culture that promoted regional autonomy between GM North America and its overseas divisions. This resulted in an "unnecessarily long gestation period," as Lutz put it, and the final product arrived much later in its design cycle and at a much higher cost than anticipated. The Monaro design had existed since 2001, but by 2004, its design already appeared "dated" when it was released in the United States. It was also originally slated to sell in the US with an approximate $25,000 price. However, by the time the car was released, the Australian dollar's growth against the US dollar inflated the final price of the car to well over $34,000. Both of these elements played a significant role in the car's lukewarm acceptance by the general public.

The GTO was assembled by GM's Holden subsidiary in the suburb of Elizabeth, South Australia. It was equipped with the 350 horsepower, 5.7 liter LS1 V8 engine for the 2004 model year, the same engine found in the concurrent model year Chevrolet Corvette, with a choice of a 6-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic. Changes from the Australian-built Monaro included bracing additions to the body to meet US crash standards, a "corporate Pontiac" front facia, new badging, "GTO" stitching on the front seats, and a revised exhaust system. GM Engineers benchmarked the sound of the 1964 GTO held in the Pontiac historical collection, as well as other LS1-powered vehicles, while working with the exhaust vender to tune the system. The effort was made to make the new GTO invoke the same sound as the original while still meeting the noise threshold required by some states. The 2004 GTO exhaust was a true dual system that followed the original Monaro exhaust routing, thus both tailpipes exited on the driver side of the vehicle. General Motors claimed performance of 5.3 seconds to 60 and a 13.8 second quarter mile time, which was closely verified by several magazine tests.

GM North America's deal with Holden was to produce a maximum of 18,000 vehicles per year starting in late 2003 and going through to the end of the 2006 model year. The 18,000 units was the production limit for the model at the Australian assembly plant.

Initially in 2004, the car was offered in several colors: Barbados Blue Metallic, Cosmos Purple Metallic, Quicksilver Metallic, Phantom Black Metallic, Impulse Blue Metallic, Torrid Red, and Yellow Jacket.

GM had high expectations to sell 18,000 units, but the Monaro-based GTO received a lukewarm reception in the U.S. The styling was frequently derided by critics as being too "conservative" and "anonymous" to befit either the GTO heritage or the current car's performance. In addition, the classic GTO faithful felt further insulted by GM's failure to present a U.S.-built car that incorporated any design lineage from the muscular icons of the 1960s and 1970s. Given the newly revived muscle car climate, it was also overshadowed by the Chrysler 300, the Dodge Charger, Dodge Magnum and the new Ford Mustang, which all featured more traditional "muscle" aesthetics. Critics also pointed out the car's high sale price, commenting that a lower price would have made the car's apparent faults far more forgivable. Sales were also limited because of dealer tactics, such as initially charging large markups and denying requests for test drives of the vehicle. By the end of the year, the 2004 vehicles were selling with significant discounts. Sales were 13,569 of 15,728 cars for 2004.

To help squelch comments about the car's appearance, the hood scoops that originally were slated for production in 2005 were pushed into production as part of an over-the-counter Sport Appearance Package. The 2004 Sport Appearance Package also included a taller and more angular rear spoiler as well as deeper inset grilles.

Closing out the 2004 model year was the W40 package. Rumored to be a stillborn 40th anniversary package, it gave the buyer an exclusive paint color called Pulse Red, red GTO embroidery on the seats, and a grey colored gauge cluster. The last 794 of the 2004 model year GTOs were built with the W40 package.