was cruising up I-4 in cnetral Florida and going southbound was a black car, I looked at it real fast and it looked like a GTO so I looked some more, and it had a hoodscoop almost like the ZL1 4th gen but not so wide, as it went past it had black rims with siver outline, and almost S#!T when I saw the back it was the Ute's bed... as it passed..I could not get a good look at it but what else looks like a GTO but has a bed...?????

I am 90% sure this is what I saw....
http://www.saturnfans.com/photos/sho...cat/all/page/1

but with a hoods scoop... found this with the newer front end...

http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_1572/...popularArticle



Can someone actually import one here, or is it totally impossible??

I have no idea what else it could be.......

 

I don't see why one couldn't be imported. The question maybe is was the steering wheel on the left or right hand side of the vehicle? If on the right side then without a doubt it was an imported vehicle. If on the right...well, either some kind of test or someone did a conversion which would be somewhat unbelievable.

 

Holdens can be imported here, but it really isn't worth it. I believe Guy stated it takes a boatload of cash....and even then the U.S. government only allows the vehicle to be here for 1 year or something like that....my guess is, if this is what you saw, GM was behind it. Perhaps they brought it over to do some testing on American roads for the US market. A couple of summers ago I spotted a Holden Commodore near Chicago.

 

could be or somone has alot of $$$ to do something,

what sucks is that this car would of been the ElCamino and thats now canned since Zetas dead so testing for what???

 

No doubt you saw the Holden UTE, but GM doesn't have to be behind it. About a year and a half ago, I came across a Ford Falcon UTE in LA & took a picture of it next to my Camaro, and had it linked here.

Even discounting the very weak US dollar, it's cheaper for someone coming from Australia to the US for a year to simply bring their car than to rent or lease a car here for a year. The problem is that after a year, you have to ship it back or destroy it.

There was someone on e-bay (around the same time) selling a new Chevrolet Lumina SS (it's a middle eastern Holden Commodore SS) in Florida for $25K I believe. However, the person who bought it would be responsible for either clearing the thing with the US, or the buyer would have to export it back to Oz, or they'd end up having it confiscated and destroyed.

In short, the buyer would have to be pretty well off, or he'd be screwed. Having a car clear the feds is more difficult than having a truck clear.




You can bring in your own car to keep and there's a couple of companies in LA I know of that will clear it for you. But unless you really wanted a Holden (which essentially is a foreign Chevrolet), the only vehicles really worth going through the hoops are megabuck exotics.

Not only do you have to clear the Department Of Transportation, but you also have to clear Customs, the EPA, pay whatever tarrifs, make whatever changes are needed structurally, federal or state taxes, and registration, and finally and insurence company that will insure the car.

BTW: you also have to leave a bond on the car till it clears everything it needs to clear. Then there's storage.

If I really wanted to keep a Holden for personal use, I'd:

1. Start off with the UTE. It's the cheapest version of Holden & qualifies as a truck meaning bypassing crash standards. You'd likely have the 25% tariff, which for a $29Kaus LS2 UTE (about $20Kus) would be only about $5K in addition to the grand to ship it here.

2. Special order a Mid east Chevrolet version of Holden UTE with GTO spec powertrain. That makes car both left hand drive and ready to pass US emissions off the assembly. Holden would probally do it, for you but no telling if they'd charge you extra for it. However, you'd breeze through the EPA testing and would be driving from the correct side.

3. Have alot of money, alot of patience, and something else to drive. The government takes a LONG time to clear things like this, and you pay for all testing & modifications if necessary. A private agency can make things move quicker, but they charge ALOT!

 

Back when I used to frequest ssrrs.com before the site folded a few people over there looked into importing the Ute SS. It was determined that the cost was too high as Guy has pointed out.

I see them around here. I live in Roseville, Michigan, which is about 10 minutes away from the GM Tech Center. They are great vehicles and I was pretty shocked when I saw my first one about a year ago.

 

wow man that does look like what I saw the Tornado...

guionM, why cant that car be imported here as a El Camino?? looking around for info in english on it and cant find anything...

now I am wondering what I saw....was it the Ute or the Tornado??? Im in Florida so its not a far stretch to see this car, more than the Ute...but it was all tricked out with rims and a hood scoop, grrrr so confused now...

 

Just over a year ago, I saw a Ute and a Commadore here in the Bay Area on Highway 85 south. Each had manufacturer plates on them and they were both left hand drive.

 

yea it seems from Cheers and Gears that with the Chevelle will bring the El Camino as well... so it could very well be a test, ive seen a chop from them that pretty much looks like that car but a bit different

http://chevelle.candgunderground.com...o/overview.htm

 

dude, C+G has nothign to do with GM that Chevelle project is a dreamwork, not a GM thing...Chevelle is not comming back like that at C+G...and this car was not a test car..and ElCamino was supposed to come from Oz but the new info from GM there might be no GTO or ElCamino..just read a little in here before posting about something..


the car I saw it was done up nice..not a mule

 

With the work done on the GTO, the only thing that prevented the UTE coming here as the GTO was the 25% truck tarriff.

With the tarriff about to be eliminated, well, there's nothing keeping from here once GM decided to bring it over.

 

guy,
not talking about the Ute..Im talking about the Tornado from Mexico..where and who makes it just mexico RWD FWD where do I find info on it



but aboutthe Ute and GTO..
and the GTO not continuing?? or is it?? and what about the Ute..the platform is old would GM import it and for what?? is it still possible...or that out of the question...just wondering whats on the horizon for the GTO and holden...and possible Camino...

 

I found this on that site. It doesn't need translation...
Motor 1.8L MPFI 4 cilindros SOHC
Potencia 100hp@5,400rpm
Torque 122lb-pie@2,800rpm




However, if it's RWD then there is a chance that a V8 can be wedged in there

Here is a picture from below the car. RWD or FWD? I can't tell. http://a248.g.akamai.net/f/248/325/2...ages/seg_1.jpg

 

I can tell you whats happening at Holden. Downsizing (lots of engineers being fired), cutting back of products (no more flexability that you see now), cutting back of Holden concepts (Like the Torana, don't expect to see anything like it in the near future) to focus on what they are releasing. Lots of programs seem to have been cancelled, and many within Holden are unhappy with the new CEO. It seems Holden went from a car loving CEO with an Australian/German background to an American beancounter who is americanizing Holden. I fear Holden's glory days are nearing an end if this continues. See this thread for some info on what is happening, and if you read ls1.com.au frequently there has been some info poping up here and there on the unhappiness within Holden.

 

I still love the CandGUnderground.com project as others obviously do as welll. Lets live and learn......shall we