A way to give Pontiac a GTO and a Firebird, and have pretty much no overlap!
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From: Chicagoland IL
Re: A way to give Pontiac a GTO and a Firebird, and have pretty much no overlap!
Originally Posted by NikiVee
And the fact that the new GTO is a 2+2 and the classic GTO's could seat 3 people in the back is just splitting hairs.
I understand why this is in the current car - it being a stopgap product. It just burns me when people say a 2+2 RWD IS GTO's heritage.
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Re: A way to give Pontiac a GTO and a Firebird, and have pretty much no overlap!
I don't honestly don't understand this hangup with 3 people in the back seat or 2.
The next GTO's success, if there is one will not hinge on whether it seats 3 or 2 people in the back seat IMO.
The next GTO's success, if there is one will not hinge on whether it seats 3 or 2 people in the back seat IMO.
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Re: A way to give Pontiac a GTO and a Firebird, and have pretty much no overlap!
Originally Posted by NikiVee
I don't honestly don't understand this hangup with 3 people in the back seat or 2.
The next GTO's success, if there is one will not hinge on whether it seats 3 or 2 people in the back seat IMO.
The next GTO's success, if there is one will not hinge on whether it seats 3 or 2 people in the back seat IMO.
I think the advantage of making a 3-place rear seat is that it opens the car up to be used as a more practical daily driver for a lot of people... especially those with a few kids.
Again, I agree that I don't think it is essential to GTO success... but I think it could help, and it will help seperate the car from Camaro even further.
The big thing I don't understand from Charlie's past arguements is that he is basically saying that he would buy a GTO if it had 3-place rear seating to meet his needs... but , at the same time, he doesn't have any qualms about buying a future Camaro which will undoubtedly be a 2+2... that is the part where I get lost..... unless the GTO is to be a daliy driver, and the Camaro is to be a weekend car or something like that.
Last edited by Darth Xed; Mar 1, 2006 at 10:20 AM.
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Re: A way to give Pontiac a GTO and a Firebird, and have pretty much no overlap!
Found this news also. Hope it's not a repost.
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer...
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer...
New GTO coming around the bend,Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Joshua Dowling, Special to The Plain Dealer
Geneva, Switzerland- The Pontiac GTO isn't dead after all, says a top General Motors Corp. executive, who also hinted there might be a new ultra-fast Corvette coming. The current GTO will be phased out at the end of this year, but an all-new model is expected to return at the end of 2008 as a 2009 model, said Bob Lutz, who heads GM's global vehicle development.
In an interview at the international auto show in Geneva, Switzerland, Lutz also suggested an even more powerful version of the Corvette might be on the way. Industry insiders have talked about a "Blue Devil" Corvette that would be more powerful than the 505-horsepower Z06 that is currently the fastest Corvette. Lutz stopped short of confirming that, saying: "There will be something special for the Corvette soon." When "Blue Devil" was mentioned, he simply smiled.
The GTO, however, is definitely on the way. Last year, it appeared that GM had canceled any future GTOs as part of its efforts to reduce costs. And a Pontiac spokesman confirmed this year that the last GTOs would be sold this summer because the model wouldn't meet a new airbag standard taking effect in the fall. The spokesman said that the automaker would like to have another GTO but that there was nothing to announce.
But in the interview Tuesday, Lutz said the GTO plans were just off the shelf for a few months and he always wanted a new version. The new GTO might be built in North America, particularly if the Chevrolet Camaro concept gets the go-ahead for production, he said. Both the Pontiac GTO and Camaro could be based on GM's Zeta mechanical underpinnings, which are being developed by the company's Australian outpost, Holden, Lutz said.
With the current strength of the Australian dollar and the recent free-trade agreement between Australia and the United States, it would be more feasible to build the GTO in North America and export a version called the Holden Monaro to Australia, he said. The GTO, which is based on the Monaro, has been built in Australia and shipped to America.
Dowling is motoring editor of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Joshua Dowling, Special to The Plain Dealer
Geneva, Switzerland- The Pontiac GTO isn't dead after all, says a top General Motors Corp. executive, who also hinted there might be a new ultra-fast Corvette coming. The current GTO will be phased out at the end of this year, but an all-new model is expected to return at the end of 2008 as a 2009 model, said Bob Lutz, who heads GM's global vehicle development.
In an interview at the international auto show in Geneva, Switzerland, Lutz also suggested an even more powerful version of the Corvette might be on the way. Industry insiders have talked about a "Blue Devil" Corvette that would be more powerful than the 505-horsepower Z06 that is currently the fastest Corvette. Lutz stopped short of confirming that, saying: "There will be something special for the Corvette soon." When "Blue Devil" was mentioned, he simply smiled.
The GTO, however, is definitely on the way. Last year, it appeared that GM had canceled any future GTOs as part of its efforts to reduce costs. And a Pontiac spokesman confirmed this year that the last GTOs would be sold this summer because the model wouldn't meet a new airbag standard taking effect in the fall. The spokesman said that the automaker would like to have another GTO but that there was nothing to announce.
But in the interview Tuesday, Lutz said the GTO plans were just off the shelf for a few months and he always wanted a new version. The new GTO might be built in North America, particularly if the Chevrolet Camaro concept gets the go-ahead for production, he said. Both the Pontiac GTO and Camaro could be based on GM's Zeta mechanical underpinnings, which are being developed by the company's Australian outpost, Holden, Lutz said.
With the current strength of the Australian dollar and the recent free-trade agreement between Australia and the United States, it would be more feasible to build the GTO in North America and export a version called the Holden Monaro to Australia, he said. The GTO, which is based on the Monaro, has been built in Australia and shipped to America.
Dowling is motoring editor of the Sydney Morning Herald.
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From: Chicagoland IL
Re: A way to give Pontiac a GTO and a Firebird, and have pretty much no overlap!
Originally Posted by Darth Xed
I think the advantage of making a 3-place rear seat is that it opens the car up to be used as a more practical daily driver for a lot of people... especially those with a few kids.
.
.
That's kind of the whole point of a GTO. Otherwise, might as well get a Corvette.
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Re: A way to give Pontiac a GTO and a Firebird, and have pretty much no overlap!
GTO would be more pratical and conservatively styled.. be alot more refined. Nobody will whine that its too wide to park or you have to crawl in and out...and the rearseats will be actually usuable.
While the Firebird will be very aggressively styled (like the Camaro Concept), a little impratical for daily use (low roofline, aggresive windshield rake, wide body, long doors, styling cues for the sake of styling and performance), a little cruder(as in more aggressive suspension tune, maybe not quite as a fancy interior), much wider tires, wide body with flares and more aggressive tune.
Ditto between the Camaro and Monte Carlo (assuming that goes RWD)
Corvette is the purposefully lean and mean athletic machine.
Thats the way I would do it.
While the Firebird will be very aggressively styled (like the Camaro Concept), a little impratical for daily use (low roofline, aggresive windshield rake, wide body, long doors, styling cues for the sake of styling and performance), a little cruder(as in more aggressive suspension tune, maybe not quite as a fancy interior), much wider tires, wide body with flares and more aggressive tune.
Ditto between the Camaro and Monte Carlo (assuming that goes RWD)
Corvette is the purposefully lean and mean athletic machine.
Thats the way I would do it.
Last edited by Ken S; Mar 1, 2006 at 01:44 PM.
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