>From Automotive News
Matt Murray
http://www.autonews.com/news.cms?newsId=2585
Pontiac says new GTO shows division's future
By Reuters
June 20, 2002
General Motors will revive the Pontiac GTO in late 2003, based on
the Holden Monaro, which the company assembles in Australia. The
company released this GTO image last week. Holden will produce up
to 18,000 GTOs each year. The GTO will be powered by a version of
the 5.7-liter V-8 also used in some Chevrolet Corvette models.
Six-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions will be
available.
DETROIT - General Motors is counting on a modern version of the
Pontiac GTO sports car to help reverse a decline in sales of its
Pontiac nameplate, whose luster has faded since the GTO's "muscle
car" heyday in 1960s.
GM on Thursday released a sketch and more details about the
Australian-built GTO, which is to go on sale in the fall of 2003.
The GTO, powered by a version of the Chevrolet Corvette's V-8
engine churning out more than 300 horsepower, will carry a price
tag between $30,000 and $35,000, said GTO marketing manager Bob
Kraut.
GM aims to sell about 18,000 GTOs a year, a negligible number
compared with the two million cars the company sells in the
United States every year. But Kraut said Pontiac would use the
GTO to get customers interested in the brand again, and that the
GTO offers a preview of how future Pontiac models would look and
drive.
"A lot of manufacturers put out 'halo' vehicles that are supposed
to spread goodness and light to other vehicles in the showroom,"
Kraut said. "But there's nothing like them to buy.
"The GTO will represent what every Pontiac can be and will be in
the future."
The new GTO will be the latest in series of cars that draw on
famous names from the past to stand out in a crowded market. Ford
Motor Co. brought back the Thunderbird last year. BMW AG began
selling a redesigned Mini this year in the United States and
Japan, and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. will start selling a new 350Z
sports car later this year.
Pontiac car sales fell 16 percent last year, as the division's
aging lineup competed for buyers' attention against several new
models from import automakers. Through May, Pontiac's sales are
down 4 percent, with only the mid-size Grand Prix outselling its
prior-year results.
In addition to the GTO, Pontiac will get a reworked Grand Prix in
the first quarter of 2004, followed by a revamped version of the
smaller Grand Am a year later. Kraut said performance would be a
strong selling point for the new cars, and that the GTO's sleek
styling would be reflected in the new models.
GM will build the engines for the GTO in North America and then
ship them to Australia, where the cars will be assembled. GM Vice
Chairman Bob Lutz chose the unusual arrangement because he wanted
to revive the GTO as a rear-wheel-drive sports car, and GM's
Australian division was already offering such a vehicle, the
Holden Monaro.
Dave Himmelberg, the GTO's program engineering manager, said the
changes required to make the Monaro into the GTO -- including
bringing the car into compliance with U.S. safety standards --
were challenging, mostly for the 18-month deadline set by the
company. That is about half the time such a project would usually
take.
Himmelberg and Kraut said the exact output of the GTO's V-8 had
not been determined, and that it was not clear whether the car
would face a federal "gas guzzler" tax for cars that fall below
fuel economy targets.
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