yanks to get aussie commodore

ok ok this is a thread about cars but i have no friends outside this forum...... how fricken sad is that?

anyway you guys got the Pontiac GTO which is our Holden Monaro. it is an Aussie icon muscle car reborn from the '70's.

now your getting our latest family car, the commodore rebadged as a Pontiac. its a 4 door family car which comes in many different guises from a stock V6 base model to a 5.7litre V8.

the commodore is pretty much our most popular family car amongst the rev-heads. i'd like to know what you guys think when it arrives.

I've been following this for a while....I own a 1997 Chevy Lumina, which was the sister car to the Commodore in a loose way, they share body parts and glass, have a similar appearance. But the Lumina is a FWD V6 platform.

I posted a spy video on the Lumina forum from last year of an unbadged Commodore V8 RWD that was seen rolling the streets around Chevy headquarters and then pulled in there...it was speculated that they might be bringing back the Lumina in this platform...they killed the Lumina in 2000 (limited production in 2001 for fleet sales only) after coming out with the new Impala, which is basically the same car with new sheet metal and interior.

The GTO is a handful to drive, buit in appearance they are so low key generic looking, I can look right at one and not realize what it is...the only time I take notice is when one has the full body package and some mods to set it off...lotta times I'll be sitting behind one at a light and not even realize from that close what it is until I hear the V8 rumble as it takes off...it'd be nice if the styling was a bit more distinctive, I think they'd sell better.

I just took a look at Holden's site and was wowed by the new Caprice and Statesman...holy shit...why do they keep all the good stuff there? We get all these generic looking econboxes that you can't tell one from another, you got these knockout looking V8 monsters....it's just not fair....

PS I think the time is right to bring the Ute here too...people are getting tired of the same old cookie cutter SUV's...a V8 neo El Camino could be just the ticket...

Aussie, Jeffcoslacker and myself frequent many GM forums, so you do have friends on the forums other than here. I like your sense of humor and knowlegeable insights. You have that keen ability to tell someone straight up that they're a knucklehead without pissing them off. I can't wait until GM brings a practical, 4 door, rear drive hot-rod here to the states. The only failure of the GTO was it's relative plain jane looks compared to the icon it was named after (that didn't set well with the baby boomers that grew up in the muscle car era the car was targeted to). If it had retro styling, fine, but don't call it a GTO if it doesn't look menacing. Calling the new platform a G8, instead of trying to resurrect a muscle car era nameplate will serve this car well I believe. I've driven an 06 GTO 6 speed, and would own one if I could afford it. What a grin inducing car. The 4-door G8 would suit my needs better, having 2 teenage boys, and 2 big dogs that love to go bye-bye. I thinks that's the reason (practicality) 2 door coupes don't sell well here in the US.

our Monaro (gto) was actually built in secret by the engineers at Holden without the knowledge of the bosses years ago. it was found out and displayed at on of our motor shows as a concept. all the bogans (rednecks) kept harassing Holden till they decided to build them. now they are every where!

one guy bought what was to be the last one ever for $250,000 (rumoured) until holden announced it may come back again with the new shape. he took them to court but i never heard the outcome.

heres some more for you. this is the Holden Special Vehicles website. these are the race bred versions for those that can afford them.

http://www.hsv.com.au/index_eseries.asp

our ute is the most popular car on the road. every second person has one or lives next door to one. awesome trade vehicle, recreation and just plain fun vehicle.


"I like your sense of humor and knowlegeable insights. You have that keen ability to tell someone straight up that they're a knucklehead without pissing them off. "
this is the aussie way. your best mates are bastards and pricks. the more you like someone the more you give them shit. if we don't like ya, we don't talk to ya. we don't waste our breath.

I could ignore the looks if it performed well. Main key is losing lot of weight and firmer suspensions, 50/50 balance. I think 400HP is more than adequate if they're usuable. I would rather prefer it to be called sports coupe than muscle car. And price was right if all of those things could be achieved, more bang for the buck than 350Z or M3.

But may be the aussie crowds are like the US here, more about straightline that cornering like Japanese and European countwerparts. Bimmers and Porsches are not that up in HP, but they make up the price tab by sheer handling, balance, and powersliding out of a corner gracefully (like a sportbike).

Part of the reason why it didn't sell so well because it was under the flagship of GTO, so people were expecting a fresh design based on the whole retro revival, going back to the lines of the original. And more performance, because I don't think it came under 0-62 under 5 secs stock as it claimed as a 'muscle car'. And more importantly, people here are struck by looks. But I know they probably love this car in Australia as much as people love Mustangs here.

Here's Top Gear video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Md7tJYX2lpI

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pyavnoG_60Y
http://youtube.com/watch?v=D3EWbPP0nL4