5thgen69camaro

I have to disagree. The GTO would offer a slightly bigger Muscle car option and not be in direct competition to the Camaro. More than just a rebadge. A little distance between Chevy and Pontiac. I think its smart to test the waters with Camaro by itself. GM knows what Pontiac and Camaro sold in relation to Mustang. They know what Mustang is selling now. Then they can see what Camaro does in competition to Challenger and Mustang without having to worry about a 3rd competitor from within. Camaros never existed without Transam Im interested to see what its full potential is.

I think if the market demands it after a few years GM could certainly jump on a Firebird and still have a pony car competitor in the mean time. Just my opinion.

Z284ever

If the Camaro and Impala are going to be as good as we're lead to believe, I can imagine the tough sell a new GTO would have with The Board.

stars1010

So that leads to the question.....

What do you do with Pontiac?

They need something......

Z284ever

Well, lots of things.

But on internet enthusiast's sites, if it's not an extensive line of LS7 equipped RWD coupes and RWD sedans.....which BTW, make Cadillac, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari all look silly, AND which are priced at NO MORE than a G6.......the you are a heretic. So nevermind.....

rlchv70

Never say never. In recent years, the SCCA has been licensing the name to CART as a support series. Back in 2002, when the Trans Am series was still strong, the SCCA could demand a significant licensing fee for the name. However, the series's popularity has waned. CART chose not to renew the license, and so, Trans Am currently does not have a racing series for the name.

http://www.scca.com/News/News.asp?Ref=491

There are limitless possibilities here. For example:

SCCA could partner with GM to create a new series. The SCCA could then cheaply license the "Trans Am" name in exchange for the free advertising potential of plastering the name on thousands of automobiles.

Or: SCCA could sell the trademark to GM.

Or: The SCCA could let its trademark lapse, and GM could pick it up.

Just some thoughts,
Randy

Z284ever

Whaddya say we all chip in and buy it ourselves. I'm not kidding!

guionM

Repeating:
Seems more $30K+ GTOs were sold than $30K+ Trans Ams."
Lesser Firebirds essentally canabalized Camaro sales.

guionM

Good thoughts. But till that happens, it's pretty safe to say "extremely NO.

4th gen f-body was a flop as well. Why make it again, right??

GTO sales picked up when scalping stopped. Also, GTO is selling about 15K out of 18K maximun capacity. Cobras ran about 9K and Mach1s rand about 7K.

Doesn't sound like a flop to me.

V8 Slayer

What numbers did 4th gens sell? What about Mustang GT's of those years?

guionM

GT sales were running about 55% depending on year. That's about 60-70,000 Mustang GT sales alone.

Record of 4th gen Camaro sales, including breakdowns are available on this site. Keep in mind, 2002 was an extended year (roughly from May 2001 to the end of August 2002... 15 months).

greg_nate

And what a good question indeed.

One could argue that they have the Soltice, but beyond the Solstice, what else does Pontiac have?

Pontiac: "We build excitement". "The performance division of GM".

Pontiac is most definately not exciting, and nothing in their lineup screams excitement. Therefore, they must have a GTO. Minus the Soltice, the entire division is irrelevent. More than Saturn, Pontiac needs a jump start of something good.

Z284ever

Afew thousand GTO's per year are purely gingerbread. For Pontiac, it's all about the G6. Refine it. Sweeten it. Give it more sizzle.

HAZ-Matt

Yes, the excitement/performance division needs to be based FWD.

stars1010

I have no idea what Pontiac even menas anymore and the more comments I read on this board the less hope I have in it?

Pontiac based on the G6? Pleeeeeeeeeease........

Z284ever

That's it's bread and butter. To say otherwise, would be to be in denial. Not saying there is no room for RWD at Pontiac. Solstice, I think, fits Pontiac very well. Perhaps a Zeta variant as well.

But on a scale of from 1 to 10, rating the importance of the G6 (all versions) vs a 12,000 unit per year GTO to Pontiac.....the GTO comes out somewhere around 0 to maybe a 3.