Next Monaro made in North America.

Some of you will remember I mentioned this some time ago:
http://www.drive.com.au/editorial/article.aspx?id=8862

Now that it's finally made it to the press I feel it's no longer confidential. Just the same, the info IS at least a couple of months old now. ;)

how uninteresting :D

Holden spokesman Jason Laird says GM executives in Australia and the US are still in discussion about the Monaro's future production plans. "It's by no means a done deal and there is still a lot of debate on this issue," Laird says.

Also, it seems that there are a fair number of australians upset about this.

I really do hope that if it is made in the US, that it doesn't go down the crapper, quality wise. I love the quality of the Australian made Monaro.

Well this means the GTO will be American again. And if the 5th Gen will be based off the GTO like some guess, the 5th Gen will be American also.

Maybe American.....maybe not ;)

Eh? What are you talking aboot? ;)

North American perhaps....

Pontiac has sold 9487 GTOs in the US in the first 10 months of 2004....


Is that good?

GuionM- stop teasing yourself and go get the GTO with those $3500 rebates and that sedate-sleeper-look you like and it will never be as generic or as common as a Mustang. Are you waiting to see something at this years NAIAS before making a decision or something?

Huh?

Hey gui,

Here's just a small sample of available 2004 GTO's out in Socal:

CERRITOS BUICK-PONTIAC-GMC
10901 183RD ST
CERRITOS, CA 90703


2004 GTO
$33,190.00*

Exterior: Exterior Color, Yellow
Interior: Black Leather

2004 GTO
$33,190.00*

Exterior: Exterior Color, Yellow
Interior: Black Leather

2004 GTO
$33,190.00*

Exterior: Exterior Color, Torrid Red
Interior: Red

2004 GTO
$33,485.00*

Exterior: Pulse Red
Interior: Black Leather

WESTMINSTER PONTIAC GMC BUICK, INC.
15550 BEACH BLVD
WESTMINSTER, CA 92683

2004 GTO
$33,790.00*

Exterior: Pulse Red
Interior: Black Leather

2004 GTO
$33,495.00*

Exterior: Exterior Color, Phantom Black
Interior: Black Leather

2004 GTO
$33,495.00*

Exterior: Exterior Color, Torrid Red
Interior: Black Leather

BOULEVARD BUICK/PONTIAC/GMC
2850 CHERRY AVE
SIGNAL HILL, CA 90755

2004 GTO
$33,495.00*

Exterior: Primary Color Exterior, Quicksilver
Interior: Black Leather

SIMPSON BUICK PONTIAC GMC
6600 MANCHESTER BLVD
BUENA PARK, CA 90621

2004 GTO
$33,495.00*

Exterior: Exterior Color, Torrid Red
Interior: Black Leather

2004 GTO
$33,495.00*

Exterior: Primary Color Exterior, Quicksilver
Interior: Black Leather

2004 GTO
$33,485.00*

Exterior: Pulse Red
Interior: Black Leather

Monaro/GTO Leather is some of the nicest I've seen on the market. 10x better than any other GM including Caddy. I hope they don't switch over to the cheap chevy leather.

Huh?

The next Monaro/GTO will probably be made at one of the two Oshwa plants. Along with many other Zeta cars.

So if it is going to be made in Canada, which hopefully will satisfy the CAW, and it is a chevy RWD coupe, is there any roadblock to this being the next Camaro?

So if it is going to be made in Canada, which hopefully will satisfy the CAW, and it is a chevy RWD coupe, is there any roadblock to this being the next Camaro?
According to what I have been reading lately. There is some internal confusion about the Chevy Zeta coupe, maybe a disinformation campaign maybe not, on weather this will be the Camaro or a larger more Chevelle like coupe. If this is marked to be Chevelle we could see a modified Kappa chassis, probably to recieve a new designation, Camaro within a year of the launch of the Zeta Coupe. Only time will tell. Not many no what is going on and if they really know they CAN'T say a thing!

Will it be made in Canada...or in America, OR Mexico?

OR...who is to say Zeta will not be produced in all three different regions of N.A.?

Remember, there's lots of capacity in the United States. Two plants alone that I can think of right off the top of my head.

Lots of questions, so very few answers :)

I really do hope that if it is made in the US, that it doesn't go down the crapper, quality wise. I love the quality of the Australian made Monaro.

:lol:
:lol:
Considering that the first GTO I ever saw had a passenger side door that was misalligned, not to mention paint quality that couldn't match a $20K Toyota RAV-4, Australian "quality" is something that should be lost permanently.

Now that it's finally made it to the press I feel it's no longer confidential. Just the same, the info IS at least a couple of months old now. ;)



Combine the rising strength of the Aussie dollar (versus the falling U.S. dollar) with the long anticipated FTA, and the business case for an American assembled Monaro/GTO is only getting stronger in recent months.

Extend that reasoning to the entire Zeta-platform, and the closure of Holden's Fisherman's Bend plant in favor of a U.S. location could be a very real possibility if the decline of the U.S. dollar isn't checked. For instance, the Wilmington, Delaware plant will soon have about 2-times as much RWD manufacturing capacity as all of GM of Australia.

So guionM have you bought your new GTO yet ? ;)

So guionM have you bought your new GTO yet ? ;)

Hanging on till the '05s come out. Should be able to do to the dealers with the '04 that they tried to do to us when the '04s 1st came out. ;)

:lol:
:lol:
Considering that the first GTO I ever saw had a passenger side door that was misalligned, not to mention paint quality that couldn't match a $20K Toyota RAV-4, Australian "quality" is something that should be lost permanently.
Fine...quality of materials ;)

Hanging on till the '05s come out. Should be able to do to the dealers with the '04 that they tried to do to us when the '04s 1st came out. ;)

You should be able to get a 04 GTO for invoice before the $3500 rebate so should be able to get one for around $27,000. That way you could get a GTO for the same price of a 05 Mustang GT but get a car that more rare and has an extra 50HP.

If the optional hoodscoops on the GTO non-functional then don't bother wasting your money on them IMHO :)

If the optional hoodscoops on the GTO non-functional then don't bother wasting your money on them IMHO :)

According to the reviews of the Monaro they are blocked by rubber plugs that can be removed. They will only cool the engine bay.

According to the reviews of the Monaro they are blocked by rubber plugs that can be removed. They will only cool the engine bay.

So now the car is wearing falsies. What's that....Scam Air?

Hanging on till the '05s come out. Should be able to do to the dealers with the '04 that they tried to do to us when the '04s 1st came out. ;)

What exterior options will there be other than the hood for '05? recessed grills? Are they still offering the autocross body kit?

Hopefully us Canucks up here will be able to get our hands on one!

According to what I have been reading lately. There is some internal confusion about the Chevy Zeta coupe, maybe a disinformation campaign maybe not, on weather this will be the Camaro or a larger more Chevelle like coupe. If this is marked to be Chevelle we could see a modified Kappa chassis, probably to recieve a new designation, Camaro within a year of the launch of the Zeta Coupe. Only time will tell. Not many no what is going on and if they really know they CAN'T say a thing!

I hope I'm wrong, but I really can't see Chevy selling three V-8 rear drive coupes (Corvette, Camaro and Chevelle?) in this day and age. The only person I have spoken with from Chevrolet (in person) told me that there would not be, under any circumstances, a return of Camaro, but that there would be a new V-8 rear drive coupe. When I said "Chevelle?" he just smiled. Please take all this with a HUGE grain of salt.

What exterior options will there be other than the hood for '05? recessed grills? Are they still offering the autocross body kit?

From Pontiac, there's the grille insets, ground effects, rear bumper cover (that looks far worse than the good looking, restyled standard ones), a carbon fiber interior trim set, and rims.

HSV parts should be available during the model year.

So now the car is wearing falsies. What's that....Scam Air?

Aww hell, the Mustang has been clad with fake hood scoops and brake cooling ducts for years. The new Mustang includes the cheesy faux gas filler cap in the back (why? The car isn't retro right?) :rolleyes:

Aww hell, the Mustang has been clad with fake hood scoops and brake cooling ducts for years. The new Mustang includes the cheesy faux gas filler cap in the back (why? The car isn't retro right?) :rolleyes:

exactly, but dont say anything against the almighty Mustang. The new Mustang is a modern design with ground breaking performance, dont you know that by now?

but isn't the design from Australia?

Personally, I rather have something desiagned in America, and made overseas.. vs.. someting designed overseas, and then mde in America..

but at this point, for cars, I don't care anymore, as long as I get my money's worth.

HSV parts should be available during the model year.

Interesting, especially after articles like this from goauto (http://www.goauto.com.au)on HSV and their aftermarket performance products.

Blow torch!
HSV to enter performance parts market
By BRUCE NEWTON

HOLDEN Special Vehicles will launch spectacularly into the aftermarket business next year with its performance parts line-up headed by a supercharger kit for the Gen III/LS1 V8 engine.
The Roots-style blower will be the most expensive offering in a line-up initially expected to comprise 25 items. It is expected to retail for around $10,000 with 800-1250 forecast to be sold per annum.
But the most spectacular numbers are the potential performance the supercharger will extract from the third generation small-block Chev.
HSV’s initial dyno testing using the now defunct 300kW Callaway C4B engine extracted around 350kW and 600Nm, with 500Nm kicking in from 2000rpm.
Those figures set new benchmarks in local mainstream performance terms. They outdo HSV’s own newly launched Z Series LS2 6.0-litre range for kilowatts (297), and the brand new FPV F6 Typhoon turbocharged six-cylinder for Newton metres (550).
But those fi gures are only preliminary, based on a relatively low 5.5 psi of boost and without any real attempts at calibration.
The final engine and transmission calibration work has been handed over to Bosch as HSV struggles with its own workload.
The suggestion is that more power could be extracted, although that will obviously vary depending on which Gen III/LS1 V8 is used as a base.
The supercharger is not an in-house HSV development, rather it is the work of Queensland-based PWR Performance and its US partner Magnuson.
The money man behind PWR is Queensland businessman Kees Weel, who established the company with son Paul back in 1998. Weel senior also owns a V8 Supercar team for which his son races.
PWR Performance specialises in the design and manufacture of high-end radiators, oil coolers and the like for racing and aftermarket applications. In 1998 it turned over $30,000; this year that figure should top $7 million with substantial overseas sales.
PWR initially got involved in the supercharger project because Magnuson needed a water-to-air intercooler for the supercharger it was developing
for the Australian-built Pontiac GTO.
One thing led to another and PWR became intrinsically involved in the project – so much so that Mr Weel contacted HSV managing director John Crennan in mid-2003 to ascertain his interest in adapting the unit for use by HSV.
“We are just going to offer a range of products that I think will do a hell of a lot better job in terms of quality, pricing, back-up, service etcetera than
what some of the – if you like – ‘amateurs’ are doing,” Mr Crennan said.
“If we have 25 key products in our tuning portfolio, one or two are under Kees and one or two are from other specialist companies, and another two or three from other specialist companies, then some from our own organisation. These are the things that will make it up.”
Along with the supercharger, PWR will supply Alcon brakes to the HSV line-up. PWR is the Australian distributor for the British braking system.
While ‘HSV Tuning’ has been the working name for Mr Crennan’s after-market ambitions, don’t expect that to make it through to sign-off.
“It probably won’t be. It will be from the House of Clayton or the House of HSV, because we will want to keep the pure brand name in the OE product,” Mr Crennan said.

part 2

Tuning up for more

THE supercharger kit for the third generation Chev small-block engine is potentially only the start of a HSV-PWR engine tuning relationship.
Next up is a plan to develop an aftermarket kit for the LS2 V8 just launched by HSV in the Z Series.
But further out is the prospect of developing a supercharged version of the Alloytec V6 engine for HSV’s VE Commodore-based range due around mid-2006.
According to PWR Performance business manager Mark Roworth, that is “the carrot at the end of the vine” which has been dangled in front of PWR by HSV owner Tom Walkinshaw and Mr Crennan.
“Tom Walkinshaw identified very strongly to us that … his focus was going to be a V6 program,” Mr Roworth said.
“So I guess one of the key goals for us is to utilise the development process for the LS1 and then embark on a joint development program for
a (FPV F6) Typhoon killer.”
The significant difference compared to the V8 projects, according to Mr Roworth, is that Mr Walkinshaw sees the supercharged V6 as a production model rather than as an aftermarket kit.
“PWR is a development company, and if you are going to try and develop something, you want to try and develop it to its full potential, which means having it as an OE product would be highly desirable,” said Mr Roworth.
“However, we are not sure whether HSV would want to go down that path completely yet. It’s certainly been given to us as a task to evaluate whether this is at all feasible.”
And what about HSV turbocharging the Alloytec? After all, Holden has revealed its intentions with the Torana TT36 concept car, complete with twin turbos. Wouldn’t it be easier for HSV to launch off that program rather than go off on another tangent?
Two main reasons are against this, argues Mr Roworth – as a point of differentiation with FPV which has embraced turbocharging for the F6 Typhoon and Tornado, and the long predicted lead time on a twin-turbo V6 becoming available.
“At the moment they have a single-turbo 2.8 for the Saab program and obviously that does not apply to what Holden and HSV would want,” Mr
Roworth said.
“But the twin turbo they have developed from within GM is not planned to be in production until around 2008.”
– BRUCE NEWTON