The reason why I think the next generation Pontiac GTO (and/or Firebird) won't have retro styling is because Michael Simcoe, GM's executive director of body frame integral design, makes a small statement about it in the article below.
Buick plans lineup expansion; rear-wheel-drive premium vehicles to be featured
JASON STEIN | Automotive News
Posted Date: 12/20/04
DETROIT -- General Motors' next rear-wheel-drive premium vehicles will expand Buick's product line significantly and give consumers more options - sporty cars and comfy sedans.
Michael Simcoe, GM's new executive director of body frame integral design, says the automaker's new Zeta architecture will extend Buick's product portfolio.
"We will play at both ends," Simcoe says. "We can have prestigious luxury and prestigious sport."
Within two years, Zeta will debut on a Buick sedan. A coupe and possibly a convertible will follow.
Simcoe says Zeta, which will be engineered by GM's Australian subsidiary Holden Ltd., will be a key component in GM's overall strategy for global products.
Simcoe should know. Before being appointed to his position on Aug. 1, Simcoe was executive director for design in GM's Asia-Pacific region. He was responsible for the design strategy at GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. and Holden.
Zeta is an evolution in the way GM thinks about product development, he says.
"Zeta is the classic case of GM seeing an architecture around the globe," Simcoe says. "The way it used to work was if it wasn't North American, it wasn't appropriate.
"But there is a lot of potential there with Zeta. There is freedom to do more."
As such, Zeta will offer that freedom to GM's product planners."We are getting encouragement coming from all sides to do as much as we can with it in terms of flexibility," Simcoe says. "That means more variants and more ability to move up and down when it comes to price."
Zeta will debut with Pontiac in the next-generation GTO - but the design won't be retro, he says.
"I wouldn't want retro," Simcoe says. "What the market wants is something that will stand out."
GM uses the term architecture to signify a common set of components, performance characteristics, a common manufacturing process, a range of dimensions and connecting points for key component systems.