HuJass

Is it just me, or does the Monaro look better as a Pontiac than it does as the Monaro.
It just looks so much more flowing and smoother as the GTO.
That brings me to one of my many theories.
Did GM design this car FIRST as a Pontiac, but give the design to GM Austrailia to do all the developmental work (hence, have them pay for it all). Then, if our market changed, the car could be brought over and made into a GMNA product relatively cheaply.
Why have Monaros and Commodores been stateside so much in the past 3 or 4 years?
Why didn't it take them very long to come up with a Pontiac look for this car? That nose (and other enhancements) must've been done a long time ago in order for GM to get all the developmental work and certicfication work done so quickly in relation to the release of an official sketch. They don't show the car first and then hope to get everything nailed down. It's the other way around.
In other words, it just seems awful fast from announcement of the car to official sketch.
What do you think?

98 Blue Formula

You may have something there. I do like it better as the Pontiac GTO, and some of that seems to have appeared on Grand Prix show cars recently. Maybe the ideas have been there for a while, and now theres a car to use them on.

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1998 Dark Blue Metallic
Formula
327 hp
K&N air filter
chip mod
Brut stop brakes

guionM

I can assure you that Monaro is a purely Holden design. But you do bring up a good point. That GTO front end sure was designed very quicky.

Though some here view GTO as a bit plain, it is certainly Bob Lutz's style. He doesn't seem to like alot of add-ons & body cladding on his cars, but prefers smooth lines & curves. Solstice is his baby, but also look at Chrysler's designs throughout the 90s. Not alot of design gimmicks or add-ons, but still good looking cars.

Doug Harden

Let's not forget that this is just a sketch and final development may still be underway....honestly, it really looks like a Grand Prix, so they aren't exactly starting from scratch.

AS far as it's looks....I own a GTP so it certianly isn't something I don't like.......but it sure seems like a way too safe of a design.....that and they did stop making two door GP's too......hhhhmmmm.....

HuJass

I'm tellin' ya, this car was designed to be a Pontiac first, and GM just made Holden pay for all of it. Because they knew the car would sell well down there AND, as the Monaro, it was a great way to judge American's opinions of the car without actually going thru the hoops of designing and building a show car and all that.
Plus, if it was looked upon favorably here, it could be brought here in an instant (in new-model-appearance time).
And I would imagine car companies don't release an official sketch unless that is what the finished product is going to be.

Decromin

Then why all the fuss about getting it fedralised? Surely if it had been desinged as a US car from the start, they would have spent that $$$ at the begining rather than the end ...

ponchoV8

Only thing I don't like about this new GTO is talks of a price-hiking gas guzzler tax. If they can avoid the tax on a Z06, then why not the GTO?

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'81 Turbo T/A
-'75 Pontiac 400
-Richmond 5-speed/3.70's
-Holley 650cfm 4-barrel on 1/2 in. spacer, blocked exhaust crossover, 160* thermostat, Blackjack 1-5/8 in. 4 tube headers, Thrush 2-1/4in. dual exhaust kit w/ Thrush California Turbo mufflers, no A/C-no emission controls; drunk bitch induced front-end damage, placed on indefinite hiatus.

'97 Z-28
-LT1 350
-Borg Warner T56 6-speed
-descreened MAF, blocked off air silencer, TB bypassed, Flow Tech Warlock 3in. muffler w/ built-in cutout, Moroso CAI, custom cold air scoop = 277.7 rwhp/ 301.9 rwtq; add-on's since last dyno = Hypertech airfoil and 160* thermostat, B&M Ripper.

guionM

2 words: Skip shift.

HuJass

Decromin,
Why all the fuss? I have 2 theories:

1) To blow smoke up the public's butt. GM probably thinks that the public needs to see them working on a project.

2) To cover their butts in case something went wrong. They could just say "we couldn't federalize it".

And I'm not saying the car was totally designed here in the states. But rather the body was mostly a collaboration between GMNA designers and GMA designers and all the mechanical stuff was done in Austrailia (with GMA sending cars to the states for periodic check-ups, testing, and tweaking).

FormulaLT1

I don't know about your theories on where the design was directed from....but I do think it looks better as a GTO than a Monaro.

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1997 Formula: Black, M6, !CAGS, Flowmaster muffler, Moroso CAI, Meziere water pump, TB bypass, 160 stat