JST said:Lutz kicks ass.
The Holden Monaro coupe is going to be imported into the US as a Pontiac GTO starting in the 2004 model year. Drivetrain will be RWD, with a 5.7L V8 and a six speed manual (!). No word on prices yet.
My first GM? Perhaps.
Automotive News article![]()
Here's the Monaro website. Colors, interiors should be the same for the GTO, according to GM. The engine makes 300 hp in Aussie trim, and the car weighs about 3600 lbs.
Holden Monaro
Kaz said:I'd like to know what Holden quality is like. Who knows, it could be just as reliable as a real Pontiac.![]()
Kaz said:I'd like to know what Holden quality is like. Who knows, it could be just as reliable as a real Pontiac.![]()
Hmmm... Looks like 4 doors/rear seat is not THAT important after all...TD said:
This definitely goes on my watch list along with the Mazda RX8.
$30K for THAT! They'll sell every one they import and quickly.
Reading about the Solstice and the decisions behind it in the current C&D makes me think I should have bought stock in GM back when Lutz came on board last fall. And looking at the stock's performance since then, obviously others thought so and bought.
hts said:Let me see if I've got this straight--you're all getting jizzed up over some stupid GM throw-back to the 70's era of Detroit muscle cars, but yet none of you want to give the new G35 the time of day?
I wonder what the weight distribution of this new POS from Australia will be...?
ALEX325i said:
I'd expect traditional GM quality/reliability. That car IS a high performance Cattera... Heck, even the C5 (which I love and have had two), is still a Chevy at the end of the day = same fit & finish of that of a Cavalier...
Anyway, it's worth a shot @ 30K...
TD said:
Before you rip too many holes in GM quality, go out in your driveway and look at your E46. Sure GM (currently) offers nothing of any appeal to most of us in terms of styling, performance, or "image" (ugh!). But quality is average. Not stellar but average. The same can be said of BMW quality.
If anyone read the Car and Driver comparison test a few months back between a different Holden model (can't remember the name) and the BMW M5 (E39) in which the Holden truly held it's own, you have to assume that the Australian GM special vehicle group CAN design a driver's car.
A watered down Nissan Skyline with ultra-generic styling (and a DBW throttle they even tout in their print ads - double-ugh!) just doesn't do much (anything?) for me. Simply put- If you already own a 3-series, why bother?
ALEX325i said:
Also, I don't see how your first paragraph relates to the second...
TD said:
I was addressing two different issues. (When you start a new paragraph, you're allowed to change your subject somewhat. Segregating topics/sub-topics is a purpose of paragraphs.)
The first paragraph was a slightly exaggerated defense of GM quality. Yeah, I do know it's still lagging, but being fair, it's not lagging by as much as it used to. And BMW is getting worse. Are they even TODAY? Probably not.
The rest was a comment as to why THIS new product offering holds promise (to me) while the Infiniti in question does not.
ALEX325i said:
My bad. I thought quality was the only issue at hand.
I agree on the whole G35 thing. You may have seen my reply to HTS's post. I don't even know why he brought it up... IMO, the G35 is just another frustrated attempt to deliver 3er driving dynamics in a different package. Sure, it's got 280HP, but if power is all one's looking for in a car, go get the "real thing" with a more powerful engine (i.e. E46 M3).
hts said:Let me see if I've got this straight--you're all getting jizzed up over some stupid GM throw-back to the 70's era of Detroit muscle cars, but yet none of you want to give the new G35 the time of day?
I wonder what the weight distribution of this new POS from Australia will be...?
TD said:
If you've got world-class products within the GM family, why not market them to your advantage in your largest market? Makes sense to me.
ALEX325i said:
I agree. I don't know if I gave the wrong impression when I quoted Kaz's post, but I'm actually glad that GM is bringing that car to the US. It shows that somebody finally realized that something was terribly wrong with their current offerings, which IMO are uninspiring at best (except the C5, of course)...
Anyway, while that Holden certainly is no M, I'm pretty sure it's a lot of car for 30K...
atyclb said:3600 pounds?!??!
If the E46 is a fat pig, what does that make this?
ALEX325i said:
I agree. I don't know if I gave the wrong impression when I quoted Kaz's post, but I'm actually glad that GM is bringing that car to the US. It shows that somebody finally realized that something was terribly wrong with their current offerings, which IMO are uninspiring at best (except the C5, of course)...
Anyway, while that Holden certainly is no M, I'm pretty sure it's a lot of car for 30K...