The GTO does seem to take over the place of The Firebird/Camaro "RWD coupe" idea, but I'm hoping they'll do something like they do with the Corvette and make the GTO pontiac's "highest performance" model (hopefully with more HP by then) and still allow the Camaro/Firebird to exist along side it.

 

I don't really think this line of thought eliminates a place for a Camaro (or Firebird)

I don't consider a Camaro and a Monte Carlo or GTO to be the same type of coupe at all. GTO and Monte Carlo are large, upright personal luxury coupes, just a different way of going about the drivetrain.

Camaro is a low-slung, affordable sports car... a totally different animal.


Absolutely, I agree... but it's hard to expect GM to give every one of it's divisions every type of car and drivetrain layout...

 

I hope the GTO isn't the Highest perfomance car in the Pontiac line up for long.....it is a good performer, but still not a 'performance' car IMO....it is more boulevard bruiser/Muscle car to me. With more power it still won't fit my image of a sports car. Besides- with only 18000 of them a year, there won't be an abundance of them to go around.

What was this post about again??:lol I think the GTO is gonna prove that big coupes/2 door sedans can make it. Caddy's got the V8 CTS that'll sell well too I think. As for the FWD fans, I see alot of stuff going back to RWD soon. I think FWD's are going to be all compacts again before long.

 

Trends maybe. Sedans seem to be making a comeback. Performance is no longer measured by the number of doors. One can buy an M5 or in 04 a CTS-V that's as fast as a c5, or even an AMG sedan that'll run with a z06. The funny thing is, all the high performance sedans seem to cost upwards of 30k, and so they've become a luxury item. There are some exceptions (accord, altima, maz6, etc...maintsteam family sedan), but the higher performance sedans still cost a pretty penny.

Coupes aren't dead though. Atleast not with Imports.

 

What I find amusing is all the young kids in 4 door cars. I don't know...I never had a problem shoving someone in the back of my '89 Camaro. They didn't like it once they were back there, but at least they were stuck there

I'm 23, and I don't have the slightest use for a 4 door. I can see with a family, so be it. But I had no problem taking my girlfriend and my parents to dinner last night in the GP. There's more than enough room in a car that size.

Maybe I'm a traditionalist (actually, I KNOW I am), but to me, a 2 door car just plain looks better, and lends a more "youthful" appearance. I can see no 2 door Regal, or Intrigue...but a Grand Prix???? C'mon....sure the Monte is out there. But not everyone wants to have to buy a Monte if they want a big 2 door. I know I don't. Pontiac is about young and performance. Killing the 2 door GP was a big error...

I can see a company like Nissan not having a Maxima coupe...their buyers never had the option. But trust me, from my experiences on the sales floor, people expected to walk into the showroom and see a nicely styled Pontiac large coupe.

And no one can tell me the GTO is an adequate replacement for the average $25,000 V6 buyer If Pontiac was afraid of overlap, then they should have made the 2 cars look more different then!!

 

Because a BMW 330i sedan behaves like a sports car, has a big trunk, and has an accessible back seat. You can drive it like a sports car and still take another couple out to dinner in comfort without having to open a long door and fiddle with a seat back. The sports sedan has killed the coupe/2 door sedan.