This answer will make certain suppositions regarding GM's motivation
for the revival of the Pontiac GTO and how its introduction will
affect Ford's marketing lineup. These suppositions are NOT based on
any inside information but rather analysis of materials available to
the public and to this researcher. Some of the conclusions are mine
trying to determine the "facts" behind the facts.
There has been much speculation regarding the Pontiac GTO and which
design might be chosen from two strongly different concepts that have
been pictured. The first of these is the Australian connection
represented by the following web site picture and write-up:
http://www.motortrend.com/feb02/gto/gto_f.html
"General Motors may tap its Australian division Holden to provide a
high-performance, rear-drive coupe for Pontiac, filling the portfolio
gap to be left by the Firebird when it retires at the end of the 2002
model year"
my opinion...
From a record 448,413 units of Camaro's and Firebirds sold in 1978,
their sales in this year (which will be their last in production) is
expected to be 38,564 units. It is amazing that GM will sell 39M
units this year of a car design that is closer to that of a flashy
buckboard than to a modern automobile. Certainly the Australian
Holden will add functionality to this gap in appeal for GM buyers.
This gap in appeal that the GTO filled back in 1964 when introduced as
a Pontiac Tempest GTO was a sort of "boy racer" appeal. Drive the
family around all week but be ready to race or think you could race on
the weekend. Detroit has no real answer to the current day "boy
racers" which is dominated by Honda. The GTO concept does not seem
like a boy racer concept in the modern sense but more of the original
idea from 1964. The "Holden" is too tame a concept for revolution but
perhaps the bomb of the Aztec was enough revolution for GM at this
time.
Another concept for the GTO is defined in the following story and web
site:
http://www.motortrend.com/news/stories/020620.html
GM has finally confirmed that the Pontiac GTO will be offered in the
United States late 2003 as a 2004 model. Based on the Holden Monaro,
the rear-drive Pontiac will sport few minor changes from its
Australian sibling beyond badging, fresh front fascia, and engineering
adjustments to accommodate the harsh North American climate. Like the
Firebird Trans Am before it, the rear-drive GTO will be powered by a
5.7-liter LS1 V-8. Rumor has it, the GTO will best the T/A by
producing 350 horsepower. Price is expected to be near $30,000, though
official figures are more than a year away.
my opinion
The facia makes a difference...here is a more bloated design concept
with serious power suggested making the concept more appealing to the
family/weekend idea. The serious "boy racer" will not be able to see
over the hood of this model so it better appeal to the family/racer
who has a long garage...The rear wheel drive will make it more
appealing to those climates where snow and long hills are not too
prevalent. I'd like one but I live at the top of a very steep, very
long hill which every rear wheel drive car I ever had was either in
the garage at the first hint of snow or it slept at the botttom of the
hill for several days.
The Ford Mustang would seem to be the competition but if anyone has
ever sat in the back of a current Mustang will attest, the leg room
favors very small children and yoga instructors. Pontiac could gain
some marketing advantage with reasonable rear seating room.
Yup...Ford strategic planner, GM is going after the Mustang and
perhaps on the upper end the Lincoln RS??. The Taurus and Sable are
safe.....whatever that means....and the Thunderbird is beautiful but a
luxury that those under water stock options are not going to buy.
http://popularmechanics.com/automotive/sub_coll_vintage/2002/5/gto_history/index5.phtml
Some history:
"The 1968 GTO
The '68 GTO was all-new from the chassis up. Motor Trend recognized
its unique qualities of luxury, performance and great styling by
naming it Car of the Year for '68. Sales rose to 87,684 for '68 but
the complexion of the car had changed in the transformation and it
would never be the same again. The '68 GTO was on a 112-in. wheelbase,
down from the 115 of previous years. And if anything, the styling was
more sporty than ever before. But the car had crossed into that
netherworld of being more luxurious than performance oriented and it
would remain so till 1974. The engine lineup remained unchanged for
'68, as all the available money went into the new body and chassis."
my opinion:
With the economy still reeling from geopolitical and technical crisis,
the practical sense of people should prevail....but I don't think
so.....When we are down, we buoy ourselves up by buying fancy cars at
reasonable prices. Boy racer Honda's and Pontiac GTO's. We may dream
about a Mustang GT40 and hunger over it but the kids need some leg
room and the groceries need to fit in the trunk even if they do have
to sit on the largest bass speaker outside of a Rolling Stone concert.
Some information about the GT40 which you must be intimately familiar
with:
http://detnews.com/2002/autoshowguide/0201/11/-388640.htm
Key concepts
"GT40: Developed under the fanciful code name "Project Petunia," the
GT40 is inspired by - and named for - the legendary race car with
which Ford won the 24 Hours of LeMans endurance race in the mid-1960s.
Sadly, the automaker reportedly doesn't have enough money to put this
awesome retro rocket into production, as it had once hoped."
Ford is trying to build excitement with their traveling road show:
http://www.corral.net/News/02052501-Ford
DEARBORN, Mich., May 24, 2002 – Traveling from Los Angeles to
Washington, D.C., from Dallas/Fort Worth to Chicago, Ford's Living
Legends will hit the road this summer. The Living Legends Tour – a
one-of-a-kind road show featuring modern day classics from Ford, such
as Mustang, Thunderbird and the show-stopping GT40 concept – will
crisscross the United States, stirring up excitement for car lovers
throughout June, July and August 2002.
http://www.edmunds.com/news/autoshows/articles/44460/page037.html
Pontiac GTO
"DETROIT - What would the Pontiac GTO-a car many credit for launching
the 1960s muscle-car era-look like if it were still around today?
That's precisely the idea behind Concept GTO, a modern-day
interpretation of Pontiac's legendary performance car.
Looking like a cross between a customized Pontiac Trans Am and the
Batmobile, Concept GTO's young designer (who wasn't even born when the
GTO was in its heyday) makes no apologies for borrowing design cues
from old "goats" of the past. Such recognizable features as a
pronounced beak, ram-air hood with exterior-mounted tach, side strakes
with hunched rear quarters and honeycomb wheels trace their roots to
GTOs of the '60s and '70s.
As GM's excitement division, Pontiac has a history of outrageously
styled concepts that never see the light of day in dealer showrooms.
But many design elements from those concepts have found their way onto
production Pontiacs, so GM is fishing for public input on this one.
Simply a design exercise to explore future possibilities, Concept GTO
is not a working mechanical prototype. But it doesn't take an
overactive imagination to see that this shapely styling buck could
easily be adapted to today's current Firebird/Camaro F-body platform
or, better still, based on the new C-5 Corvette chassis. With the
rumored demise of GM's F-body cars at the end of the 1999 model year,
a Corvette-based GTO might not be too far-fetched an idea for Pontiac
to pursue."
my opinion:
The F-Body platform should be retired....unless it can be provided
with back braces as standard equipment....
OK...here's the problem for Ford:
http://money.cnn.com/2002/01/06/news/concepts/
"GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz drives the Solstice reality car into the
Detroit auto show, and maybe into dealer showrooms relatively soon.
"There's a powerful sense of reality to our concepts," said Bob Lutz,
GM's vice chairman and chairman of its North American operations.
"These are vehicles we think people would purchase and drive today."
"Biography - Robert A. Lutz: Vice Chairman - Product Development
Robert A. Lutz was named vice chairman of product development at
General Motors Corp. on Aug. 2, 2001, effective Sept. 1.
Prior to joining GM, Lutz was chairman and chief executive officer of
Exide Technologies. He retains the chairman position.
Lutz joined Excide after a distinguished career with the former
Chrysler Corp. from 1986 to 1998, where he reached the position of
vice chairman. Lutz also served as president and CEO, responsible for
Chrysler's car and truck operations worldwide.
Lutz led all of Chrysler's automotive activities including sales,
marketing, product development, manufacturing and procurement and
supply. He began his service with Chrysler in 1986 as executive vice
president and was shortly thereafter elected to the Chrysler Corp.
board. His twelve years with the company are chronicled in his 1998
book Guts: The Seven Laws of Business That Made Chrysler the World's
Hottest Car Company.
Before Chrysler, Lutz spent twelve years at Ford Motor Co., where his
last position was executive vice president of truck operations. He
also served as chairman of Ford of Europe and as executive vice
president of Ford's international operations. From 1982 to 1986, Lutz
was a member of Ford's board.
Lutz began his automotive career in 1963 at GM, where he held a
variety of senior positions in Europe. For three years, he served as
executive vice president of Sales at BMW in Munich and as a member of
that company's board of management. Lutz is a member of the board of
directors of Battery Council International; Kepner-Tregoe Inc.;
Northrop Grumman Corp.; and SGI (formerly Silicon Graphics Inc.).
He is a trustee of the Michigan Cancer Foundation, and also serves as
a member of the board of trustees for the U.S. Marine Corps University
Foundation and the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas.
Lutz received his bachelor's degree in production science from the
University of California-Berkeley in 1961, where he earned distinction
as a Phi Beta Kappa. He received a Master's Degree in Business
Administration, with highest honors, from the University of
California-Berkeley in 1962.
He also served as a jet-attack aviator in the United States Marine
Corps from 1954-1965 and attained the rank of Captain. Lutz was born
February 12, 1932, in Zurich, Switzerland."
my opinion:
Ford should have never let him go...and the operative words are
"....attack aviator"....Lutz is a master developer/marketeer. The
"reality" quote could spell an uptick for GM. The Pontiac GTO is,
IMHO, a concept whose time has come. Baby boomers yearning for the
Beetle but realizing their behinds do not fit anymore, but wanting
something that is tuned to their imagination have little to choose
from....."boy racer", "nostalgia", "family", poor economy, and what
does it add up to.......Pontiac GTO....Ford does not have a slot and
neither does Chrysler...The Chrysler 300M is too big, the LHS is too
big, the Lincoln LS??looks like your grandfather's car, the PT Cruiser
is too small, the Intrepid is not, the Stratus has no prestige, the
Mustang is really a two placer, the Infinity, Camry, and Acura are too
civilized....I don't mean to make it sound like the Pontiac GTO will
save humanity, but it seems like a niche which could be ready to roll.
Thank you for Googling with us....You can send the GT40 to my house in
Hawaii where I don't have to contend with the snow.....I'd prefer the
millenium yellow one..with the black stripes.
If I can clarify any of the information or opinions, please don't
hesitate to ask.
seedy |
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