Holden Monaro is being cancelled
- Thread starter Jay
- 96 comments
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OK, fair enough. Well then, upload one of these shots from the HSV website of the Clubsport R8. (yeah, I'm illiterate enough still to need a little help uploading it--besides being at work and not having the right pgm to do it.)
[EDIT] Wait--were'nt we talking about the Monaro, not the Commodore? What's that 4 door Ford doing here? Don't they have a 2 door down under?
[EDIT] Wait--were'nt we talking about the Monaro, not the Commodore? What's that 4 door Ford doing here? Don't they have a 2 door down under?
Sniffs
I'm not going to defend Consumers' Union, they're my arch-nemesis, even more than Road & Track, Car & Driver, and Motor Trend. I meant the consumers themselves. Looking at it from a strictly economic point of view, I'd say 85% of the money in the auto market is in boring, plain-vanilla family cars, minvians, and SUVs and relatively average coupes. Wouldn't you? I mean, even though you or I might love the new Corvette, Chevrolet sells about thirty Malibus for every one Corvette. That would balance out if profit margin were higher for Corvette, but the fast car game is just as competitive as any other market, so you have to keep prices at bay there too.
- 6,769
- Little Elm, TX
- JCE3000GT
skicrush
Even still the Commodore is still better looking than the Ford...but not by much. They both look a hell of alot better than any boring ass American sedan over here. I wish GM would just import some Holdens and at LEAST rebadge them as Cadillacs or Pontiacs. And Ford needs to bring that FPV over. God I swear we get the ****tiest cars in the world over here. If it wasn't for Germany and a small bit of Japanese models we'd be royally ****ed.
I totally agree--I've said for a long time that they could sell Holdens here a LOT better than their current front drive crap. I'd keep them for people that think they need FF cars, but I"d scale them way back and sell the crap out of the Holdens.JCE3000GTEven still the Commodore is still better looking than the Ford...but not by much. They both look a hell of alot better than any boring ass American sedan over here. I wish GM would just import some Holdens and at LEAST rebadge them as Cadillacs or Pontiacs. And Ford needs to bring that FPV over. God I swear we get the ****tiest cars in the world over here. If it wasn't for Germany and a small bit of Japanese models we'd be royally ****ed.
- 2,568
- we're waiting for the PS4
- fishtailrook1 (?)
M5: so, what does that leave? your dissing the safety guys AND the performance guys. what's left, then?
personally, I'd rather have scrooginess (fuelwise) AND performance, but that's an oxymoron.
as for plain Vanilla...well, that's what I don't like about the Monaro based GTO...it SCREAMS vanilla, as does ford's current appearance. I also raise an eyebrow over the current 300C, because, to me, it's fugly, because it looks like a shoebox.
personally, I'd rather have scrooginess (fuelwise) AND performance, but that's an oxymoron.
as for plain Vanilla...well, that's what I don't like about the Monaro based GTO...it SCREAMS vanilla, as does ford's current appearance. I also raise an eyebrow over the current 300C, because, to me, it's fugly, because it looks like a shoebox.
JCE3000GTEven still the Commodore is still better looking than the Ford...but not by much. They both look a hell of alot better than any boring ass American sedan over here. I wish GM would just import some Holdens and at LEAST rebadge them as Cadillacs or Pontiacs. And Ford needs to bring that FPV over. God I swear we get the ****tiest cars in the world over here. If it wasn't for Germany and a small bit of Japanese models we'd be royally ****ed.
What i'm worried about is that GM is trying to extend its "reach" over the companies it owns and bring those down too. GM in America has made heaps of mistakes, and we know they've been going down for a long time. But with projects like this Zeta project where every company owned by GM uses this design as their base model, it may bring down these companies too (Vauxhall, Opel, Holden). I agree with you, GM should be learning from the successful companies under its wings and using the corporate infrastructure that has made these companies work, and not try to be proactive and hence bringabout the ruin of three great companies. They should be importing these cars (car sharing that is already happening between Opel, Vauxhall and Holden) as the whole line up has proven to be very succesful
American car tastes are so different from those of most other countries, its hard to say that we should be selling what everyone else is selling. HOWEVER, I think that there are a good number of the more successful niched cars that would be great choices for importation. Holden LS2 RWD coupes and sedans, Jetta-esque Astras. The Monaro/GTO was a great start. I think they ought to keep it up.The Speedster is a great car, but should be skipped, since they've already got the Solstice/Sky coming out in the same niche. And I think that the '08 GTO (or whenever it's scheduled to come out) should be sold everywhere, too. No reason it can't be the next Monaro, too, as some have suggested the Monaro is just taking a break.Migagee
- 6,769
- Little Elm, TX
- JCE3000GT
skicrush
Agreed 100%. After watching TopGear for a year or so I've seen so many Euro only cars that should be brought across the pond. The Vauxhall Astra being a car that would do well in America I believe. Also, isn't the Cadillac Catera an Opel? It sold well. See, the thing is Americans and Austrailians love thier muscle cars, problem is, America has actually very little when compaired to Austrailia. Almost all holden models get the LS1 or LS2...that's insane. And as for SEDAN muscle cars...America has two...TWO. The Crown Victoria and the new ugly "Charger". But on the smaller side check out the new Vauxhall Astra...it's brilliant and I like it. I drive it's rival currently...the Focus...but having said that I find the Astra a cool little car. I honestly think more of these cars from other parts of the world DO have a market here...and the companies that say they don't have no idea because they were never here to begin with. How can you be for certain if you've never tried it. Check out the GTO/Monaro--it was a success until now since GM killed the Monaro. Since the R32 Golf was brought over last year I've probably seen about 20 of them on the roads around here...and that's a limited car. There IS a market for high performance cars from Europe and Austrailia as well as hot hatches from Europe. I'd even go as far as to say the Citroen C2 (sport model) would do well here in the states. Gah, it really pisses me off that we get absolutely nothing good here. I'm on the wrong damn contienent.
JCE3000GT
I don't think you can even count the crown vic--I'm pretty sure it's front drive (I remember a cop telling me they switched to it because the city was hilly, and too hard to climb hills in the winter time with the Caprice). I think the Charge is a one of a kind at the moment--that's why I'm saying they need bring over some HSVs or FPVs from Australia.
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No, Crown Vic's are all RWD. Same drivetrain as the Mustang.
Some police departments are using Impalas and Intrepids now, both of those are FWD, but neither is as widespread as the Crown Vic. I think Dodge is trying to get the Magnum in general use for the next generation police fleet.
Some police departments are using Impalas and Intrepids now, both of those are FWD, but neither is as widespread as the Crown Vic. I think Dodge is trying to get the Magnum in general use for the next generation police fleet.
- 2,568
- we're waiting for the PS4
- fishtailrook1 (?)
Crown Vic and grand marq along with, i believe, the Lincoln Town Car, were the only surviving RWD US format cars before the sudden upsurge of "return of the muscle car". only very cheap or low budget police precints, etc, still use crown vic for their cop cars. I've seen a lot of Impala cop cars, now. only the PA state Police still use Vic's
M5: the common consumer is what Cu and company had in mind. unfortunately, they now have a rep for being overly scientific about everything. besides, peoples prefrences are determined by the performance and safety guys nowadays. *shrugs* not to mention the price of the things.
M5: the common consumer is what Cu and company had in mind. unfortunately, they now have a rep for being overly scientific about everything. besides, peoples prefrences are determined by the performance and safety guys nowadays. *shrugs* not to mention the price of the things.
- 9,089
- Scotland
noone buys them thoughExigeExcel
- 1,620
My mate's 390KW modified Monaro (520+hp) isn't very economical. 
Its jet black and sounds like a V8 supercar, big gobs of unburned fuel crack out the exhausts and you feel like its almost alive. Spins wheels in 5th gear. I am really quite sad they've discontinued the Monaro, because if you want to get one (and you should) the 2nd hand ones are either gonna be in nice condition and not for sale, or thrashed.
Hope Holden are just waiting for the big launch of a new one based on the next gen commodoore body style... (whatever that'll be, maybe sharper edged like a caddy?)
Its jet black and sounds like a V8 supercar, big gobs of unburned fuel crack out the exhausts and you feel like its almost alive. Spins wheels in 5th gear. I am really quite sad they've discontinued the Monaro, because if you want to get one (and you should) the 2nd hand ones are either gonna be in nice condition and not for sale, or thrashed.
Hope Holden are just waiting for the big launch of a new one based on the next gen commodoore body style... (whatever that'll be, maybe sharper edged like a caddy?)
- 343
The GTO's styling is considered extremely boring by the US auto press and car-buying public, and thus is being humiliated in sales by the Ford Mustang. Expect a much more aggressive 2007 GTO.JohnBM01
