mikeyb
05-17-2006, 07:12 PM
Additonal signs of GM's inevitable bankruptcy...NOT!
There are rumors going around that GM is currently mulling two GTO design concepts and a winner has either been selected or will be soon. The GTO design competition is VERY similar to the one that lead to this year’s NAIAS concept Camaro. In that competition, GM pitted two design studios against one another to make a design for the new Camaro. In the end, one studio made a design that was very true to the 1969 Camaro while the other team came up with the retro-futuristic design that ultimately won and was shown in Detroit.
It now appears that the GTO design competition is following a similar path. The primary concern is that an all-out retro GTO would capture the hearts of older buyers while failing to bring new/young customers into Pontiac showrooms. A modern concept could grab new buyers, but possibly could get a strong backlash from heritage GTO fans. It can be safely assumed that GM wants a balanced design recipe similar to the Camaro for the new GTO. It also seems that Pontiac’s plans for a large RWD sport sedan (likely named G8) based on the long wheelbase Zeta chassis is back on. Design work is essentially done with Pontiac simply waiting on the engineering for the chassis to be completed to move forward. The GTO will essentially be a two-door version of this car but with highly revised styling. Since Pontiac is getting a Zeta sedan, one can assume that the rumored plans for a quad coupe GTO are dead in the water. Also, if the GTO is built on the long wheelbase Zeta, it could leave the door open for a future Pontiac Firebird. I want to stress that there are currently no plans for a Firebird, but that does not mean the door is slammed shut. Remember that Pontiac was not supposed to get the G5 (Pursuit) in the US and now it is. Unfortunately, GM is in no shape to consider spending even a fraction of its very limited cash on a car like Firebird that would sell in minimal numbers despite that fans are wanting it.
In terms of when we will see the GTO is mostly a matter of manufacturing logistics, and GM’s priorities. With the GMT-900 trucks essentially done, it seems as though Zeta is GM’s number one priority. GM is steamrolling the Camaro through development fast enough we could see it by late next year. Camaro is such a high priority that GM has separated it from the rest of the Zeta line and let Holden take the lead in development. This is because Holden is known for getting cars to market quick, and is far enough from GM’s Detroit red tape to reduce setbacks. Due to Holden’s involvement, it seems they will also be getting a sister car to the Camaro that could be an Australian Camaro, a Torana, or a Monaro.
Rumor has it that the Camaro may be built at the Wilmington, DE plant that has the unused capacity great enough to build 100,000 vehicles. Though most people have been targeting GM’s Oshawa, Canada plant as the Camaro’s home that’s becoming more unlikely as GM cannot build Zeta cars there until the current W-body’s production ends sometime around 2008. After that, GM will have to either move, or tear down W-body tooling and redo Oshawa as a C-Flex plant to build the Zeta. Wilmington already has unused space, and to make the Camaro, all GM would have to do is move the tooling in and start building. GM’s other short wheelbase Zeta coupes would also likely be built on this line. Depending on capacity, and the flexibility of the line installed in Wilmington, it’s possible the GTO could be built there too. More likely though, GM could decide to build all the long wheel base cars (Impala, Monte Carlo/Chevelle, GTO, G8, etc.) at the Oshawa plant which has much more capacity. Either way, expect the GTO to come 6-12 months after the Camaro no matter which plant it is built in. This is because even if Wilmington came online first, GM would likely stagger the launch of Zeta’s built there. Since the Camaro has becomes the symbol of GM’s turnaround, it is already guaranteed to be the first US made Zeta on the road. This would leave the GTO to be part of the cars produced in later ramp ups, or at Osahawa once it retools.
In closing, I just want to state that this article is based on rumors. Furthermore, even if the rumors are true, with GM’s financial situation things could change on a dime. I can say however if the rumors do pan out, save up your money because there are going to be so many GM RWD performace cars to choose from your head will spin!
There are rumors going around that GM is currently mulling two GTO design concepts and a winner has either been selected or will be soon. The GTO design competition is VERY similar to the one that lead to this year’s NAIAS concept Camaro. In that competition, GM pitted two design studios against one another to make a design for the new Camaro. In the end, one studio made a design that was very true to the 1969 Camaro while the other team came up with the retro-futuristic design that ultimately won and was shown in Detroit.
It now appears that the GTO design competition is following a similar path. The primary concern is that an all-out retro GTO would capture the hearts of older buyers while failing to bring new/young customers into Pontiac showrooms. A modern concept could grab new buyers, but possibly could get a strong backlash from heritage GTO fans. It can be safely assumed that GM wants a balanced design recipe similar to the Camaro for the new GTO. It also seems that Pontiac’s plans for a large RWD sport sedan (likely named G8) based on the long wheelbase Zeta chassis is back on. Design work is essentially done with Pontiac simply waiting on the engineering for the chassis to be completed to move forward. The GTO will essentially be a two-door version of this car but with highly revised styling. Since Pontiac is getting a Zeta sedan, one can assume that the rumored plans for a quad coupe GTO are dead in the water. Also, if the GTO is built on the long wheelbase Zeta, it could leave the door open for a future Pontiac Firebird. I want to stress that there are currently no plans for a Firebird, but that does not mean the door is slammed shut. Remember that Pontiac was not supposed to get the G5 (Pursuit) in the US and now it is. Unfortunately, GM is in no shape to consider spending even a fraction of its very limited cash on a car like Firebird that would sell in minimal numbers despite that fans are wanting it.
In terms of when we will see the GTO is mostly a matter of manufacturing logistics, and GM’s priorities. With the GMT-900 trucks essentially done, it seems as though Zeta is GM’s number one priority. GM is steamrolling the Camaro through development fast enough we could see it by late next year. Camaro is such a high priority that GM has separated it from the rest of the Zeta line and let Holden take the lead in development. This is because Holden is known for getting cars to market quick, and is far enough from GM’s Detroit red tape to reduce setbacks. Due to Holden’s involvement, it seems they will also be getting a sister car to the Camaro that could be an Australian Camaro, a Torana, or a Monaro.
Rumor has it that the Camaro may be built at the Wilmington, DE plant that has the unused capacity great enough to build 100,000 vehicles. Though most people have been targeting GM’s Oshawa, Canada plant as the Camaro’s home that’s becoming more unlikely as GM cannot build Zeta cars there until the current W-body’s production ends sometime around 2008. After that, GM will have to either move, or tear down W-body tooling and redo Oshawa as a C-Flex plant to build the Zeta. Wilmington already has unused space, and to make the Camaro, all GM would have to do is move the tooling in and start building. GM’s other short wheelbase Zeta coupes would also likely be built on this line. Depending on capacity, and the flexibility of the line installed in Wilmington, it’s possible the GTO could be built there too. More likely though, GM could decide to build all the long wheel base cars (Impala, Monte Carlo/Chevelle, GTO, G8, etc.) at the Oshawa plant which has much more capacity. Either way, expect the GTO to come 6-12 months after the Camaro no matter which plant it is built in. This is because even if Wilmington came online first, GM would likely stagger the launch of Zeta’s built there. Since the Camaro has becomes the symbol of GM’s turnaround, it is already guaranteed to be the first US made Zeta on the road. This would leave the GTO to be part of the cars produced in later ramp ups, or at Osahawa once it retools.
In closing, I just want to state that this article is based on rumors. Furthermore, even if the rumors are true, with GM’s financial situation things could change on a dime. I can say however if the rumors do pan out, save up your money because there are going to be so many GM RWD performace cars to choose from your head will spin!