Got this off of BON.

 

GTO's not cancelled, which I never did believe to begin with. No offense towards anybody but is GM really that stupid to abandon this market given the backlash after the Camaro left the market?

The rest does not really concern me. However, the Ute stays the same until '08, eh? So is it now safe to say the SSR continues until '08 when the revamp of the Ute happens to make it suitable for NA in '08 or '09

 

just how is the 05 GTO doing..GM really did a great job of doing what the GTO "loyal" complained about...hoodscoops..got them, duals on either side..got them too..so whats wrong with it now?? nothing..so is the GTO a sales contender, also alot of dealers sitting with brnad new 04's having to sell them at slashed prices making them think diffrent about the MARKUP of the 05's...

 

GTO sales are doing well now.

The next Monaro IS scheduled to be produced in North America.

I never asked about Holden's station wagon, and it never came up. However, since wagons are still big down under, I find it hard to believe Holden (GM's ONLY successful, profitable, and well run brand on the planet at the moment) would allow itself to give the entire wagon market to Ford.

Holden will have AWD cars, so I suspect the post is either only half a story or or oversimplified.

The UTE will be the last model changed over (just like previous UTEs from Ford & Holden). We may even see a batch here soon.

BTW: Don't make the mistake of confusing SSRs and Utes. They are not the same, don't have the same target market, and most certainly don't have the same price. That's like saying there can't be a Camaro because of the Corvette, missing the fact that Mustangs are selling like crazy.

 

Sedans are looking pretty safe right now. But I certainly wouldn't make any assumptions about any of the coupes, right now.

 

I would. 2 minimum.

Word is the strategy is being reviewed, but the goal remains the same.

 

I wonder what Holden's vision is for a next gen Monaro? I mean, the current one is essentially a 2 door Commodore, built on a business case of 10,000 units spread over 3 years.

I wonder if ideally, Holden wouldn't want a next gen Monaro to be different in certain ways.

 

what?? when did this happen?? I fear for Holden now. How could someone from the bloated pig that is GMNA move to Holden and NOT **** it up? Why was this move even NESSESARY!? and finally, why do I care about Holden so much?

maybe because it's GM's only bright spot at this point. lesson for the next Holden, next time don't get TOO good at what you do so as to stay off of the corporate radar, you'll live longer.

 

Strategy of a bold, aggressive design for the Goat with the goal of keeping it cheap to produce and affordable to the consumer.

 

Denny Mooney has been in charge for almost 2 years now....since June '03.

 

Gee, now where did I hear that before?

 

So does this mean that the GTO will not be going on hiatus after all? A shame if it were to happen - although the real shame of it is that this car isn't available in Canada.

Now, about the move of assembly locale. I think I may have some concerns about a GTO/Monaro built by GMNA. I may be a little off-base here, but given the executions of some of the newer product from the General, there are still improvements to be had in this area.

I really don't want to see any degradation in the execution of the interior (since Canadians are missing out on the current car) and overall durability once the cars assembly moves to somewhere in North America. By all accounts (except for that twit on Car And Driver TV), appear to be endowed with first class interiors and are very well screwed together - given the need to survive on less than ideal roads in Australia (although it's debatable as to whether our roads are really any better:-).

 

Considering the price of gasoline in Canada, and the GTO's gas guzzling thirst, I doubt there would have been very much demand north of the border. Still, if any Canadian was desperate to have a "Goat," they could just import a used example. Trust me, there will be plenty of cheap pre-owned GTO in a year or two. By the that time, the Canadian dollar might be trading on par with the almighty U.S. dollar.

I hate to break it to you, but Australian "build quality" isn't a selling point. It would be fair to assume that a North American produced GTO would be a better built, more reliable vehicle than anything produced "Down Under."

 

I'm not sure that importing a used version of a car that for all intents and purposes is illegal to sell as new in Canada is an option given that the car doesn't meet Federal impact standards. But, I'm not an expert so I can't say for sure.... You may be right about the demand for a GTO in Canada, I'm sure GM would be hard pressed to sell at the levels reached in the US. Guess we'll never know since GM opted not to deal with the Canadian impact regs - tied no doubt to projected overall levels of sales and the 18,000 unit ceiling that Australia could produce. I am however fairly sure that there are potential buyers for a GTO above the 49th who are at the very least quite disappointed that they can't even opt yea or nay with regards to a purchase since we are not granted the option to do so. All we can do is watch from the sidelines.

Don't count on monetary parity, we prefer a strong greenback in relation to
cdn money - export bias you see.

To be honest, I would be more concerned with the penny pinching GMNA does with regards to interior executions. According to reviews I've read, the cars are well assembled and of relatively high quality with regards to the interior execution. I can't comment on any first hand knowledge.... see above comment.

 

I didn't think they were that bad. Since no one is buying one for an "economy" car anyway, none should be pissed with mileage in the 20's.

Do trucks and SUV's do well in Canada?