Hey falchuk, you wouldn't believe the number of posts on ls1gto.com that had people cross shopping the G35 with the GTO. I haven't been on the lounge there much in a while, but especially last year at least once a week they'd pop up.

There is nothing out there that competes directly with the GTO. It's no more a stretch to cross shop a G35 than a mustang IMO. But at the same time, 2 door sport coupes are 2 door sporty coupes.


If a person values things like heated seats and navigation then the G35 is your car.

If bang for the buck while still having a classy interior and ride quality was the priority, then GTO it is.

If you actually like mustang styling (which believe it or not is not a universal love) and don't care that the mustang interior gets outdone by most hyundai's, but do want the cheapest RWD V8 coupe on the market then get a mustang.

All 3 are completely different cars in the end.

 

I can show you halff a dozen rx8's with 24k stickers. Drive ALL 3 of those cars and tell me they are alike. It cracks me up that they are even compared. Might as well throw a vette in there because its a sporty coupe as well.

 

Few more things to ponder:

1. GM is doing the same thing Ford did. Sweating the details on it it's trucks, then turning it's attention back to a few key cars.

2. Cancelling Zeta for North America easily wasn't a very good idea. It prolonged a few GM cars that needed to be replaced yesterday. But GM's Mustang competitor was never part of Zeta. If even one sedan is moved to a RWD North American chassis, could that make GM's Mustang competitor more likely?

3. The G6 is a fairly bland, though well made looking car. So is Honda. Tuners love to stick wings and stickers on Hondas. A G6 with Cobalt SS' rear wing and Dodge Daytona Charger's wild colors along with this 250 horse V6 is probally enough to make the G6 Hella cool.

4. I've changed my mind on the HHR. I think the thing's going to be a smash hit. GM's going full press with the aftermarket. But even more convincing is when you see it next to a PT Cruiser.... then realize Chrysler is simply restyling the nose and tail lights.

6. If GM put LS1 (or LS2 as it were) badges on the side of cars that had them, wouldn't it become as popular as "5.0" or "Hemi"?

7. Is there a market for a GTO almost as large as a Monte Carlo?

On the subject of GTOs, I recently got my lunch handed to me running with a '05. It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't in my B4C LS1 and was in the '97 instead.

Also, anyone who still thinks these things aren't selling, consider this unscientific item. I've seen 3 '05 GTOs today. I've only seen 1 supercharged Cobra. In Monterey, I count 4 GTO owners, but count 3 Cobra owners (again, supercharged).

 

but the G6s drivetrain is considered inferior (no high-tech engine and only a 4sd auto) as well as the interior so fix those and it will sell extremely well.

 

If this were the case, nearly all GM vehicles would be popular with the tuner crowd.

I thought the HHR would be a hit from the onset. I'm glad some others are giving it a fair shake after all the "me-too" bashing (on a Camaro board, no less). Not that I recall you specifically as in this audience. I have a feeling some have seen this comparison in the current MotorTrend and are reconsidering. It seems like a nice package for the price.

As popular? No, my guess has "Hemi" holding more weight in historical popularity. Just the same, there does seem to be room to use engine or displacement badging to promote GM's performance models and trim levels, such as "LS1" or "350" incorporating crossed flags, etc. in addition to any "SS" badges. I thought the "Supercharged" badges on the Cobalt SS were pretty cool, yet tasteful.

 

It really depends on the number and level of changes being done to the Sigma chassis, it could take a while. Speaking of which what was the final word on those front struts? What happened to the 4th gen SLA tooling? Given the option of going back to struts or going back to an older SLA design, I'd take the older SLA. Input anyone?

 

Yes. Also, I've always wondered why GM doesn't use the word smallblock as much as humanly possible when advertising their V8 vehicles. The LS2 is at least as much a small block as the modern powerplant in the Mopars are Hemis. It's very similar to the Hemi in that it has a cache even with non-gearheads. On the V8 Chevy's (Impala, Trailblazer SS, SSR, etc), some cross flag emblems with "LS2" written on them would be sick.

 

I haven't driven them all, but I see these comparisons made all the time and it drives me nuts. An RX-8 I can see coampared to a G35, sort of. The price is nowhere near it around here(RX-8's equal 23 to 24k) and G35's go for a lot more, but the GTO is nothing like those two to me.

The RX-8 feels like it was built for Keebler elves and is uncomfortable as hell to me, the GTO is surpisingly comfortable(anyone who hates on GM interior quality across the board has never been in an GTO and been objective, because it is quite good), and the G35 is somewhere in the middle. You compare the ride of either of those cars to a GTO, and there is no comparison.

I rode along in the G35 a little while back, and that thing is smooth I will give it that. It almost feels like it has no ***** though, almost too smooth. The RX-8 feels like you are flogging it to make any power, but that is fun in its own right. The GTO rides rougher, has oodles of torque and you can really feel it.

I guess I am saying I understand people comparing them to each other, but I can't understand why they do that. 2 somewhat similar cars and one that is nothing like the other two.

 

Yes I get it, but my point is that the comparisons suck. For a comparison to make sense, the cars should be similar, in the same class. The whole point of what I was saying is that the RX8 and G35 can be compared in a lot of ways and it makes sense. You then try and draw those same comparisons from those cars to the GTO and it's like inviting the class retard to play football. You can do it, but it's not a good idea.

38k for an RX8? Those things sit and sit and sit around here, that is nuts.

 

On a related note.... I still think Chevy should have worked in some "427" hood badges on the Z06....

 

Do they have "427" badges on the side of the car..............I can't recall. If they don't, that is a major oversight and a crime.

 

Nah.... on the side of the car they have "Z06 505hp" badges... not unlike the C5 Z06 badges.


Side note: Before someone bashes me and says the LS7 is 428 cubic inches, because it's 427.6.... well, I truncate instead of round.

 

Well if they griped about that then they'd have to go around ripping 5.0 badges off the sides of Mustangs to replace them with 4.9 badges, as 302 CI is only 4994 or so cubic centimeters.

 

I like the "LS2" idea. In fact to me the Z06 would sound more omminous with "LS7" on the side than "505HP". The problem is ask the average Joe/Jane on the street and they'll say "HEMI" has much more prominance. But then they're sticking HEMIs in everything now, including bloated SUVs.

The way I see it DC has oversold "HEMI" so much that within a couple years it will be a passing fancy.

 

I think "427" would have been absolutely fabulous on the side of the Z06. Not that I'm going to plop down the cash for one....