Yesterday, on my way back from looking at a house to buy, I was driving through that neighborhood when I had to stop and do a double take..... a red GTO was parked in the street. Naturally, I pulled off to take a look, and the gentleman came out, so we started talking about it. It was a pilot pre-production vehicle, and he was using it to check for last minute flaws. He asked if I wanted to drive it, and how could I pass up. Turns out he works at GM's R&D department in Detroit, and was home visiting his Mom.... he was originally from the area, grew up in Cleveland, and worked his way up from one of the assembly plants here to R&D in Detroit. So, enough of that..... now the car! It's unbelieveable! It's a blend between a BMW 330 and a Corvette (same LS1 engine, and six speed trans). My God this car is awesome! No shakes, no rattles, everything in it is good quality. The brakes are solid and linear, steering is precise and not sloppy at all, clutch is smooth -- as smooth as my Prelude! In fact, this car felt more solid and refined than my Prelude. In all aspects. I could not believe this is a GM vehicle (well, acutally an Australian vehicle, but close enough). He said MSRP for the stick should be 33k. I took it on the freeway, and sure it has balls. But the way it handles is really more German than American. It's ballanced. Feels lighter than it is. I could go on here, but I don't want to take up the whole thread. Feel free to ask qustions. I spent about an hour with the car, and asked him alot of questions. Bottom line, the GTO is American muscle meets import refinement and quality. I love it.