As most of you know I get pretty vocal regarding our GTO. I'm also quick to email Jim Hopson when I just can't take it anymore. Tonight I'd had enough of the rumors and emailed Jim once again. Here is the exchange.

Jim,

Chris here again. We're hearing some very discouraging news regarding the GTO's
MSRP on New Age GTO. A dealer has told a customer that MSRP will come in at $35,500. Rather than rant about what may or may not be true let me just say the following. Many, including myself have ordered the GTO on hopes and promises. Obviously none of us has driven or even sat in a GTO. In spite of that, literally hundreds of us have pre-ordered our GTO's based on the information provided in the brochures and some early impressions by "experts" at auto shows. It appears that Pontiac is delivering on EVERY promise regarding the GTO with regard to performance, content, build quality and more. You have an excellent opportunity here to win over a whole new group of Pontiac loyalists. My hope is that the MSRP comes in at $33,000 as promised. I don't expect a reply, however I do appreciate all your communication in the past.

Respectfully,

Chris Van Parys


Chris,

Allow me to put your fears to rest. Pontiac is indeed going to deliver on our promises, including price. I expect the "official" price to be released on November 3, but I can tell you today that we are going to be VERY close to that $33K mark we set so long ago.

I (and everyone at Pontiac) really appreciate the faith that you have in us
by being so supportive of a vehicle you have never driven. I can tell you
from my own experience that the car drives like a dream and is every bit as
much fun as I thought it would be. I was just out on the track a couple of
weeks ago and had the car up to 135 mph before I ran out of room and had to
back it back down to about 70 mph to go into some of the tighter turns.

I hope you have as much fun with your GTO as I have had playing with ours.

Jim



I know this is long but I have to add the following. I AM NOT AN INSIDER, A SPY or anything like that. I'm just a normal customer like you guys who ordered a GTO. Everytime I have emailed Jim Hopson he has answered every question quickly, honestly and in some cases been the only source for early and accurate information (tires, XM Radio, On-Star, etc). I emailed Jim tonight at 7:03 pm, he answered at 7:12 pm! He also answered a previous email after 9pm on a Sunday. Let me tell all of you something about commitment. Jim Hopson has shown this customer every courtesy possible and gone out of his way to keep me informed. I can only show loyalty with my consumer dollars, it's the only "vote" I have and I assure you I will reward Pontiac because Jim Hopson's efforts and commitment.

Preaching over for now. :type:

WHEW That Wind you felt was the collective sigh from several hundred prospective owners.
:laughbounce: :laughbounce: :laughbounce: :laughbounce:

The automatic car will be $33,995...

Wow! That's awesome and I agree with everything you said Chris. Between your email and the high res photos of the GTOs shipping, I'm as EXCITED AS I COULD POSSIBLY BE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm ready for my GTO NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Oh, by the way, excellent scoop! :D :D :D :D :D

I really HOPE this is true! I was not to happy to hear my Dealer tell me what they
thought the MSRP would be.

Originally posted by MILLPOND@Oct 27 2003, 10:23 PM
I really HOPE this is true! I was not to happy to hear my Dealer tell me what they
thought the MSRP would be.
Millpond, you GOTTA believe Jim Hopson. He has always been right (as pointed out by Chris) and early with the scoop. You know he is FAR more in the "know" than any dealer.

Originally posted by chotton@Oct 27 2003, 09:18 PM
The automatic car will be $33,995...
chotton

Could you reveal your source or shed some information on where you found this number? Thanks. :)

And thank you cvp33 for your posts! :D :D :D

Originally posted by chotton@Oct 28 2003, 02:18 AM
The automatic car will be $33,995...
Well, I hate to nitpick over $995.00, but where is this info from?

Anyone else remember the early stories on the GTO, perhaps from Autoweek, quoting a price of "under $30,000.00?" The $33,000.00 figure was already a slip from that figure. Honestly, I'd like to see the car come in at $32,995.00 and put the fiver left over toward lunch.

When I heard $35,500.00, I told everyone that if that was the case, I'd ask for my deposit back. Luckily, it seems that I wont have to.

I should have put that was my educated guess and the experiences that I have had in vehicle pricing meetings that I attended while I was with SVT. When a vehicle is packaged like the GTO the ending is almost always $XX,995. When you see 33,995 you still have the perception that the car $33,000, even though it's only 5 dollars away from $34,000. Look at the 2003 SVT Cobra for example, the coupe was $34,995 and the vert was $37,995.

So no source just going off of experience.

Originally posted by Davbo+Oct 28 2003, 02:25 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Davbo @ Oct 28 2003, 02:25 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-MILLPOND@Oct 27 2003, 10:23 PM
I really HOPE this is true! I was not to happy to hear my Dealer tell me what they
thought the MSRP would be.
Millpond, you GOTTA believe Jim Hopson. He has always been right (as pointed out by Chris) and early with the scoop. You know he is FAR more in the "know" than any dealer. [/b][/quote]


I believe Jim Hopson. Well, I want to believe him anyway. There is no doubt he knows FAR more than any Dealer but the only number I will believe is the one I see when I pick up my GTO.

Just remember, nothing is ever final!

Look at me.....and I am starting to get negative about this whole thing.
Someone HELP!!!!!!!!!! :(

cvp? Are sure that's not MVP?

Thanks for the update! I think we hang onto every little crumb of info - it keeps us sane (or nearly so) during this long, grueling wait...

BTW, anyone find out if the "goat boat" is the Chijin or not? Heard conflicting stuff.

P.S. Next time you talk with Jim let him know how much we all appreciate his timely responses to you. NOW WHEN DO I GET MY RIDE?

Originally posted by kbaba@Oct 27 2003, 10:47 PM
BTW, anyone find out if the "goat boat" is the Chijin or not? Heard conflicting stuff.
It's definitely the Chijin.....you can see it in the photos.

Millpond,
I hope your dealer wasnt trying to prepare you for a dealer markup. Is this possible?

Any chance they will install the GM equivalent to Toyo-Gard and jack up the price?

Guys,

Thanks for the 'thanks'. Again I'm just a guy like you who ordered a GTO. The waiting is killing ALL of us. The not knowing is the worst of all. But what I can't stand and what usually sparks a curt response from me is misinformation. Everyone on here deserves better. I'm just doing my part.

Thanks again,

Chris :)

My order is written up as MSRP so no markup here. For their markup my dealer has what they call the "northwest package" Basically this is a clear coating with a five year guarantee. Since it does tend to rain a fair amount around here I was thinking of that. It adds $750.
:laughbounce: :laughbounce: :laughbounce: :laughbounce:

Originally posted by cvp33@Oct 27 2003, 10:59 PM
Guys,

Thanks for the 'thanks'. Again I'm just a guy like you who ordered a GTO. The waiting is killing ALL of us. The not knowing is the worst of all. But what I can't stand and what usually sparks a curt response from me is misinformation. Everyone on here deserves better. I'm just doing my part.

Thanks again,

Chris* :)
True, but you can be too modest..........we set the record tonight with 25 users online. I think your email from Jim Hopson had something to do with that. ;)

Wow proud to be one of the new record 25!!! Good Job CVP33!!!!
:laughbounce: :laughbounce: :laughbounce: :laughbounce:

I've talked to Jim on a regular basis and he's a very straight shooter! If he says it's gonna be very close to the $33k mark I believe him. After that I'll just wait till I read my window sticker! :ph34r:

I'm glad we hit 25 users online tonight, but thank Jim Hopson he's the one who's really trying to help us. I'm sure he would love to hear from everyone on here. I'm also sure as the Director of Communications he's aware of OUR website and at least reads some if not all of our posts. It's his job to know what's being said about the GTO. Finally, this site belongs to all of us and it will be as good and informative as WE make it. I'm just trying to do my part. I can assure you, I'm getting far more out of this site than I've put back in. :)

Originally posted by pook@Oct 28 2003, 02:51 AM
Millpond,
I hope your dealer wasnt trying to prepare you for a dealer markup. Is this possible?

Any chance they will install the GM equivalent to Toyo-Gard and jack up the price?

The written agrement I have with my Dealer states I pay what ever the MSRP is. They stated there would not be a mark-up.

Good news indeed. Hopefully, $32,995 will be the number...That is closer to $33K than $33,995. :)

That Northwest Package sounds kinda steeply priced. Dont GM cars come with a rust-thru warranty? I heard that a lot of the panels are galvanized too.

I have also heard about non-factory undercoating actually voiding a factory rust-thru warranty. Here in florida, I dont see a lot of rust, so I am no expert. Anyone who knows more about this, please bail me out. :eatarrow:

Do they ship with window stickers? Maybe some HAM or somebody with a Marine Band could contact the ship and have one of them just go below and look!! Yeah, I know, doubtful...

Originally posted by cvp33@Oct 28 2003, 02:13 AM
As most of you know I get pretty vocal regarding our GTO. I'm also quick to email Jim Hopson when I just can't take it anymore. Tonight I'd had enough of the rumors and emailed Jim once again. Here is the exchange.

Jim,

Chris here again. We're hearing some very discouraging news regarding the GTO's
MSRP on New Age GTO. A dealer has told a customer that MSRP will come in at $35,500. Rather than rant about what may or may not be true let me just say the following. Many, including myself have ordered the GTO on hopes and promises. Obviously none of us has driven or even sat in a GTO. In spite of that, literally hundreds of us have pre-ordered our GTO's based on the information provided in the brochures and some early impressions by "experts" at auto shows. It appears that Pontiac is delivering on EVERY promise regarding the GTO with regard to performance, content, build quality and more. You have an excellent opportunity here to win over a whole new group of Pontiac loyalists. My hope is that the MSRP comes in at $33,000 as promised. I don't expect a reply, however I do appreciate all your communication in the past.

Respectfully,

Chris Van Parys


Chris,

Allow me to put your fears to rest. Pontiac is indeed going to deliver on our promises, including price. I expect the "official" price to be released on November 3, but I can tell you today that we are going to be VERY close to that $33K mark we set so long ago.

I (and everyone at Pontiac) really appreciate the faith that you have in us
by being so supportive of a vehicle you have never driven. I can tell you
from my own experience that the car drives like a dream and is every bit as
much fun as I thought it would be. I was just out on the track a couple of
weeks ago and had the car up to 135 mph before I ran out of room and had to
back it back down to about 70 mph to go into some of the tighter turns.

I hope you have as much fun with your GTO as I have had playing with ours.

Jim



I know this is long but I have to add the following. I AM NOT AN INSIDER, A SPY or anything like that. I'm just a normal customer like you guys who ordered a GTO. Everytime I have emailed Jim Hopson he has answered every question quickly, honestly and in some cases been the only source for early and accurate information (tires, XM Radio, On-Star, etc). I emailed Jim tonight at 7:03 pm, he answered at 7:12 pm! He also answered a previous email after 9pm on a Sunday. Let me tell all of you something about commitment. Jim Hopson has shown this customer every courtesy possible and gone out of his way to keep me informed. I can only show loyalty with my consumer dollars, it's the only "vote" I have and I assure you I will reward Pontiac because Jim Hopson's efforts and commitment.

Preaching over for now. :type:
Awesome!

I guess it depends on what "Very Close" means.... we shall see in a few days. 10% and you are looking at +$36K

Don't say that! :)

My guess is that the M6 comes in at $33,995 - making the A4 just over $33k - but that's just a guess.