When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Originally posted by DavidM The chassis began in Europe as an Opel (owned by GM).
I don't think that is correct. It was correct for Holdens from about 10 - 15 years ago, but the Monaro is based on a Commdore VT (ie. the model designation) and that one is 100% Australian. The car is way too big to have anything from the Open.
That means the desing/chassis is about 6 years old (but revised/improived every 2 years or so).
The Holden Commodore is an automobile series built by the Holden division of General Motors in Australia. Introduced in 1978, the original design was actually a rebadged Opel Commodore, which was GM's 'V-car', sold in the UK as the Vauxhall Royale, and the Chevrolet Commodore in South Africa. The first was the VB Commodore which came with a 2.8L engine and 4-speed manual transmission.
Since 1988, it has been largely based on the Opel Omega, a version of which was sold in the United States as the Cadillac Catera.
The Commodore was also assembled in New Zealand, but is now exported completely built up. It has also been also exported to other right hand drive markets such as Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, and to South Africa, badged as the Chevrolet Lumina. It is also exported in left hand drive, to the Middle East as the Chevrolet Lumina, and Brazil as the Chevrolet Omega.
With all of the retro-cars coming out over the past several years. I was really disappointed in Pontiac's attempt at reviving the GTO. The original GTO started the Muscle car era and in its first years, it was the car to beat! Pontiac lost site of that history.
My first car was a 65 Royal Bobcat GTO, 415 hp and 435 ft.lbs. of torque wrapped in a 3,200 car.
That car would eat 427 Vettes for a snack!
Our dealer was supposed to get one last Friday. It's still sitting in Dayton with what GM calls "small" electrical problems. Delivery has been delayed.
in my opinion its just a fast pontiac grand am, its a decent looking car which definetly handles better and is faster than the grand am but it upset me when it came out. when they were talking about it coming out i was visioning something like the old gto to come out, a high horsepower 1/4 mile machine with the looks of the old gto. maybe itll be in the high 13s, im not sure and i havent kept up with the car since ive seen it. but my thoughts arent the highest of it. but its the perfect car for a family man or woman who wants some speed.
I just drove one at the GM "Wheels in Motion" demo day at Qualcomm staudium last weekend. They had the entire line of GM products, from trucks and SUVs to luxury sedans and corvettes, including the new GTO.
Basically they put a throaty V8 in an existing Austrailian car and slapped the GTO badge on it. Tisk, tisk - bad GM.
I have two classic Pontiacs in our family (63 Le Mans and a 70 GTO - both verts), and attend local Pontiac Meetings. The true Pontiac owners are almost embarrased by this car. It has nothing to do with a GTO. No dual exhaust, no hood scoop, none of the things that made the original LeMans a "GTO". It is simply GMs attempt to latch onto the whole "retro" thing. Again, bad GM.
Slap a big motor in any big coupe, and there ya go. They already have the Monte Carlo and Lumina/Impala for this segment, so I don't see it lasting very long.
01-16-2004, 11:16 AM
