A good move after a bad decision to bring the GTO back; they're dumping it !
GM and OPEL went the same way... originally, it was imported from Europe, (not the perfect car, but at least better built in the early years) then, when GM got greedy and saw a way to "switch" the car to a "KIA" type "Far East also-ran" so they could improve the financial bottom line, they just changed the car, kept the name and felt Americans wouldn't know the difference. Not sure if it worked or not, at least from the "corporate level" but it failed miserably from the "acceptance level" and OPEL went the way of the dinasour. It looks like GTO is going down that same pathway.
Not to mention the Cadillac Catera which was a rebadged Opel they imported for 4-5 years. My wife has one; great quality and features and superb handling but no guts.
The 'GTO' as it was called here is a Holden from Austrailia. Austrailia is the place where V8 and inline 6 Fords and GM cars never died out.
Like most cars the big three bring over from their other markets they let the car die. Next to zero marketing effort, they junkify them for the US market, etc and so forth. You may think this holden-turned-GTO looks boring, but have you ever seen an original, early, factory GTO? They look like some old man's car from that time period. About the only external difference from a plain tempest is badging. IMO, this GTO held true to the original's theme. But everyone was expecting something more like 'the judge' I guess....
The Opel was changed to an imported Isuzu car with Opel badges. It was a complete flop. But that's how GM started the relationship. Then the Luv pickup and so on. Now the Isuzu pickups are Chevy's
Al
...and nobody would buy it. The same would happen as what happened to the GTO. The Ford you are talking about is the falcon and is just as bland as the monaro.
An interesting bit of trivia...the car in Mad Max and the Road Warrior was also a (older) Falcon. 8-)
The Aussies definitely like their street rods. I saw plenty when I used to fly to Sydney a lot.
Cheers,
It's a little ricey with that fish-mouth lower grill, but certainly not 'bland'.
Ford is just making excuses IMO. They could do it if they wanted to. It's not _that_ hard to change the driver's seat over. Now the 6 cylinder engine certification might be an expense they don't want to pay. But it's not expensive. Same with the V8, but it's not like a suitibly powerful US certified mod motor couldn't be used instead.
Now yes, the base models are probably kind of bland. But they are the equals in the line up the taurus and the 500 here in the USA. so they should be bland.
exactly. the monaro is also bland as hell. They took it and put the vette engine in it. We didn't see any lower end models of it at all. This makes makes sense because GM won't be able tot make money on it. (they need to be shipped here,remember) They are able to make money with the higher end models IF they can sell them. The GTO did not sell. Period. Putting down a car is one thing, selling it is another. (and more important, you need to stay in business)
What you really should wonder is... WHY the heck can't Ford just deisng and build a US car that is nicer ??????
The GTO is an arguement over what GTO is. Too many people seemed to be expecting 'the judge' when what was offered was the initial concept of a a powerful engine in the family tempest.
US automakers due to pressure from unions and who knows what other internal political struggles make sure that vehicles from their foreign markets are made to be nothing more than examples of why the crap they make in the USA is 'better'.
Why? Start with the marketeers and excutives who want margin and sell gagets and put in the cheapest stuff they can get away with instead of performance and durability, then go to the unions who want to members paid not to work, and drive up labor costs so high that the car is made with cheaper designs and components to compensate.
That's why. Also see the story of the fiero. It's a good example of how the internal workings of GM turned a great concept into a flaming turd. (which was of course fixed just in time to be canceled)
On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 01:34:38 -0600, snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (Brent P) puked:
Tell that to Dodge as they sell the hell out of the Charger that is definitely a question in anyone's mind that has ever heard of a Charger before. I'd like to know who is buying that thing...
-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?
Looks like the GTO may come back to life.
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