Looks too much like a Catera, Grand Prix, Malibu, or Saturn L series! It would never make my shopping list.

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Red 2002 Trans Am WS6
Red 1994 Probe GT
Red 1986 Fiero 2M4
Member, Michigan Fiero Club (www.michiganfieroclub.org)

 

I almost bought the G35, great car, 0-60 in 6. I was all set for a red mettalic with black leather but I gave in to my white trashieness and bought the SS. Th G35 will raise the bar for a lot of cars but it will be average in a couple years. The SS offers the possibilty of 400 to 500 horses with Mods.

 

As someone who has actually seen the car, driven it (briefly), and the fact that it makes the Cobra feel just plain junkyard cheap, I can say you are wrong in every count.

*Gas guzzler tax? So what! it has 350 horsepower, no skip-shift, and it's about time GM becomes more concerned about performance than a $200-$300 gas tax.

*As far as successful cars imported from Austraila, Newsflash: Mitsubishi Diamonte is made in Austraila . The only car from Austraila, the Mercury Capri, was Ford's pathetic attempt to build a Miata, but didn't grasp the fact that sports cars are RWD. A lesson Lotus, Cadillac, Chrysler, & Buick also had to learn as they brought out 2 seat, FWD "sports" cars.

*As far as being outdated & unproven, how can something be both?? If it's out dated, it certainly has been around awhile & therefore proven, if it's unproven, then it must be new, right? Monaro is neither. The Austrailian version of the V-car is perhaps the toughest & most durable car in the world (by no means an exageration).

Think you might want to wait to check out this car yourself before slamming it as a product unable to compete in the market, let alone being unworthy to keep up with the tastes of us "downmarket" types?

 

The sad fact of the matter is that the upcoming "GTO" will be inferior to the now defunct Camaro Z28 in every way - less acceleration, lower top speed, less attractive styling, a GAS GUZZLER, and more EXPENSIVE. The only advantage this boat will have is a bigger back seat and trunk - does this really matter in a coupe?

The sad fact of the matter is that the "junkyard" Mustang Cobra will be the superior car - something we have Mr. Lutz to thank for, not the efforts of FOMOCO. I don't like the engineering decisions Ford made with the latest Cobra, like reverting to an iron block, but at least the "crude" Mustang is relatively trustworth from the standpoint of reliability.

You can hang your hat on all the promises of re-tuned engines and spiffed up styling, but this GTO is still a pig. When the concept sketches are less attractive than the 1997(!) Grand Prix, you should know something is wrong.

 

redzed - you clearly have a bone to pick with Holden/Monaro/GTO for some reason - why all the apathy and clear taunts?

 

GTO is not meant to be a Camaro any more than a 1969 GTO was meant to be a Camaro. It's pretty amazing that people make that comparison, but those same people have not seen one 1st hand, so it'd be dumb of me to lay blame here. Just the same I'll say this & leave it at that.

I've seen Monaro & driven it (only for half an hour, but still enough to get a feel for it). I also spent almost 2 weeks with an LS1 6 speed Commodore 2 years ago, and had more than a few rentals (Commodores & Falcons) over the last half of the 90s. I'm not Austrailan or have a "flag to wave" here. I'm also not afraid to say when the other guys are doing a better job than we are, or we are doing a better job than them.

No car is perfect, but if GTO comes here with the quality & even more performance than what I saw in Monaro, it could easily become the hottest car in GM has had here in the US in a very, very long time.

I think that about covers it.

 

I don't hate big coupes, just what they have become. The 1968-1972 midsized cars (Chevelle, GTO, Cutlass, Buick GS, El Camino/Cabillero etc.) were some of the most progressive designs that GM every produced. Somehow GM managed to produce a line of coupes, convertibles, sedans, wagons, and yes, a pick-up, that was attractive and well engineered. Holden has attempted the same feat, and come up short.

GM needs to design and produce cars more like the 1969 GTO - not import a flawed foriegn attempt. It isn't that GM of North America can't do it, as their recent line of light trucks proves, they simply lack the will.

 

So you're praising the 4th gen, which is basically not all that different than a 1982 Camaro, then calling the 5 year old Monaro "outdated"?

The Mustang will be cheaper and more efficient? More efficient at what? The Civic would be cheaper and more efficient than both, so? What the hell are we buying V8s for, then?

And the Mustang GT would be faster?

Mustang: 260hp, ~3300lb....
GTO: 350hp, ~3600lb....

Yeah, ok.

You can say you don't like the styling, or your hate Australian cars because your stepfather was Australian and he was mean to you, but don't just pull numbers out of your ***.

A G35?

260hp I6 in a car that weighs 3300lb (oh wait, you mean the coupe? Then knock it down a bit in weight, whoopee)...how is this a performance benchmark? Why is that car even considered to be in the same marketplace as a Mustang or an F-Body?

I guess with the GTO going for luxo, you can almost kind of fit it in there, but I mean come on.

If you're wanting to have a Nissan to be as the benchmark for "performance, affordability and styling" then why don't you at least throw the 350Z on the table.

Your main concerns seem to be praticality and fuel economy, why are you even looking at any of these cars?

I'm pretty sure you'd be happier in a Civic hybrid. It has the praticality, efficiency and price you're looking for.

Now let us talk about performance cars, and stop being sad because they're "gas guzzlers"

Edit:

In most of his posts, does everyone else notice that redzed just seems to have a big bias against the GTO simply because it's an Australian car? Then he'll contradict himself trying to prove it's bad?

Just my observations.

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Jason

<A HREF="http://camaroz28.cardomain.com/id/munche" TARGET=_blank>1997 A4 Z28 "Mongoose"
</A>

<A HREF="http://www.iz-us.com/images/cars/cougar/" TARGET=_blank>New Project: 1969 Mercury Cougar 351W
</A>

[This message has been edited by MunchE (edited September 01, 2002).]

 

Newsflash regarding that "Mustang will be more efficient" mindset:

Mustang Cobra at 16mpg city & 22mpg highway will have a gas guzzler's tax.

The Mustang GT with automatic and 17mpg city & 24mpg highway just barely gets by.

I'll be willing to bet that the 5.7 350hp GTO 6 speed matches or betters the 4.6 265hp Mustang automatic, and the tax is on the automatic.

 

Why not?

Simple. It's not a Camaro.

 

Newsflash: The 2003 Mach 1 will be cheaper, lighter, and have beter fuel economy than the GTO.

 

So if you don't like it don't buy one...

buy the Mach1... simple...

in any-case whether they imported the GTO or not, the f-body would be gone for now regardless.

 

So will a Toyota Echo.

Why do you care about fuel economy in a performance car?

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Jason

<A HREF="http://camaroz28.cardomain.com/id/munche" TARGET=_blank>1997 A4 Z28 "Mongoose"
</A>

<A HREF="http://www.iz-us.com/images/cars/cougar/" TARGET=_blank>New Project: 1969 Mercury Cougar 351W
</A>

 

And in all fairness it's probally just as fast too. However, IRS weighs more than a solid axle (unless extensively done in alumunum), and it's Cobra that the GTO will likely compete against.

Again, I'm willing to wait till someone besides me compares the way GTO is made to the way Mustang is made...especially in interior quality.