I have raced my buddies GTO and taken him every time till we get on the highway. Then he goes bye bye. I needed a truck to haul stuff, and now I have one that hauls stuff very very fast.

 

he said v8 cavalier lol lol lol I almost spit on the screen..

Dale

 

With the current (o4/05) GTO not even looking as nice as a Grand Prix, I'd have to say L. They are 2 different beasts. If your stuck on a GTO, I'd wait until next year, as rumors are floating that it will look like the Woodward Dream Cruise GTO (do an internet search), and all the '04/'05 GTO owners will be crying they didnt wait a year.

Maybe the bodykit will be available to upgrade, but fit/finish wont be as good as factory and price will most likely be higher in the long run.

Im biased, I say get an L. But if your stuck on a sedan and want a GTO, wait a year until the '06's are released. You'll have the power of this years LS2 (400HP) and awesome looks. The 04/05 goats are just too plain for my tastes. Pontiac really dropped the ball on styling, but drivetrain is said to be spot on for a muscle sedan.

 

The fit and finish on the GTO is more like a German car. It is the best I have seen on an American car. I also owned both, and now have just the GTO. I absolutely LOVED my L. It would blow the doors off my GTO in a race, but that's not what I do 99% of the time. It really came down to which would hold my family, be comfortable to commutte in, and fuel ecconomy. The GTO won out on that one.

If I could have afforeded the payment and insurance for both, I would have kept the L, but that's not in the cards right now.

Bottom line, you can't go wrong with either, just select based on your needs.

 

I'd take the GTO's LS2 over our engine ANY day, but good lord that picture sealed it for me. Lightning all the way. The GTO is so damn "vanilla" it's not even funny. Lightning's have personality AND and engine. You're only getting the engine with the Goat. I was VERY close to going with a GTO before I bought my L a few months ago, but the back seat to me is useless (I hate 2 doors with 4 people), so the L gives me the same people space, and a TON more options for capacity.
Get the L now or wait for GM to come out of their styling coma with the 06 Goat.

Just my .02 cents..

 

Why not a new Mustang GT? That way you can still stay in a Ford. It's performance is similar to the GTO and much cooler looking.

 

I agree with MaxTorque, stay with Ford. The new Goat has only one thing good about it, the engine. The new Mustang has good guts and style. I personally would just get a Lightning. Mine goes 10.75 @ 127 MPH and can still go to Home Depot to pick up plywood or whatever. The best thing is a fast truck, plain and simple.

 

A friend just got an '04 GTO, so we went to the track last night.

Me and 500 dollars in mods -> 12.88 with crappy 60'
Him with stock car -> 13.71 with massive wheel hop and crappier 60' time.

Interiors much nicer on that car, and the manual transmission is much more fun.

 

First of all, those bashing the GTO's fit/finish and build quality haven't driven or ridden in one. I have, and this is not the cheap-****, "plastiky", Pontiacs we are used to seeing (ala: F-body twins). You may not like the exterior styling (I don't particularly care for it), but it is a great 2+2 as far as performance (acceleration, handling, and braking). It blows the "all new" Mustang GT into the weeds, and there is more potential with aftermarket goodies for the LSX based motors.

I am _sorely_ disappointed in the Mustang GT. 300hp in a 3500+lb car is bringing a knife to a gunfight in the pony-car wars. It will not come close to running with a GTO or a Lightning.

As a number of people have stated... you need to figure out if you need a 4 seater or a 2+ seater. Sporty car or sporty truck. Both are priced comparably, both perform well. I would put this question out there above and beyond things like 1) styling or 2) ease of modification. If its your only mode of transportation you have to live with it, and selling the vehicle within a year or two after you buy it (and wish you'd gotten something else) will put you in a hole fast.

 

Even tho the new gt only has 300hp the aftermarket world will be 10 times bigger for the new mustang then the gto. In a year you will prob see the new mustangs running close to 10s.


P.S. Get the lightning

 

I've never sat in or driven the GTO but we have a '97 GP and I hate it. The seat bottoms are hard and I'm not 'heavy'(164lbs). You have to hit the 'un-lock' button to open any door and the hood is heavy(steel) as 'hale'.

Now my '01 L has each of those 'negatives' beat. Of course, maybe that's all changed now .

Dan

 

10x bigger than the GTO? You've got to be kidding me. The GTO has an aftermarket built up from 7 years of LS1 motors being around. The only thing different on these compared to the F-bodies and Vettes is the headers...and there are already GTO-specific headers for them.

Heads/cam/exhaust and you can easily have a 440+rwhp car. Not to mention they already have blowers for them (Eaton M90) that push the thing close to 500rwhp.

There may indeed be _some_ new Mustangs running 10s. That's fine. Are they 100% legal and getting 20mpg? No, they'll be fully caged and gutted race cars that people will trailer to the track.

The '03-04 Cobra powerplant is 100x better than the lame-o 3v 4.6. Ford builds a mid-13 second Mustang ... that's progress?

 

Alright you guys have convienced me, I think I will go for the L. Being that I'm 6'5" and I've only sat in the GTO at the auto show, I think a car just isn't going to suit me. I'm worried about fuel economy since either one will be a daily driver to work. I hate to say that, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice to have the vehicle I want. This is a dumb question on this site, but what kind of mileage are you guys getting(with or without mods)? How much can I do to an L before I start seeing a drop in mileage? I assume any bolt-on wouldn't hurt mileage, but I'm thinking of either getting a kenne bell, and/or a built motor. That new 4v has caught my eye, can that possibly be a daily driver runnin it on 93 octane? What kind of mileage are you built motor guys getting? Are they daily drivers? Thanks to all.

 

Mileage will NOT be your friend
My mods:
4# Lower
JLP Forced Air
FTVB


I get ~11 in town, 15-16 on the hwy.

These trucks are thirsty, but man are they fun!

 

Driving my L and my GTO on the same route to work I got 12.5 MPG with the L, and get 19+ MPG with the GTO. GTO is much quiter inside, much smoothesume any bolt-on wouldn't hurt mileage, but I'm thinking of either getting a kenne bell, and/or a built motor. That new 4v has caught my eye, can that possibly be a daily driver runnin it on 93 octane? What kind of mileage are you built motor guys getting? Are they daily drivers? Thanks to all. [/B][/QUOTE]



Driving my L and my GTO on the same route to work I got 12.5 MPG with the L, and get 19+ MPG with the GTO. GTO is much quiter inside, much smoother ride quality. L was more spacious for the driver and wayyyyyy faster.