Pontiac GTO
From Wikislippy
The Pontiac GTO was an American muscle car produced by the Pontiac division of General Motors. The Pontiac GTO is now known as the Pontiac G8 and is produced by Holden. GTO is an acronym for Gran Turismo Omologato, Italian for Grand Touring, Homologated and was stolen from Ferrari.
Contents |
[edit] Origins
The GTO was the brainchild of Pontiac engineer Russell Gee and Pontiac chief engineer John DeLorean. The first GTOs were produced in 1964. The original GTOs were built until 1974. Production ended because of failing popularity and the energy crisis.
[edit] Revival
Since 1974, General Motors has thought several times about bringing back the GTO. A GTO was planed for the early 1990s based on the Pontiac Grand Am. However, they knew that it would never sell.
Japanese automaker Mitsubishi marketed a Mitsubishi GTO coupe. However, it was sold in U.S. and Canada as the Mitsubishi 3000GT to avoid legal conflicts with Pontiac. However, Pontiac just stole the name from Ferrari and they never took legal action.
[edit] From American car to Australian car
In the 2000s, GM decided to remake the GTO. However, instead of making a new car, GM decided to just use the Australian version, known as the Holden Monaro. The 21st century GTO was just a left hand drive Holden Monaro.
The new GTO was released in 2004. However, no like liked the car and was never popular. The GTO was produced by Holden in the suburb of Elizabeth, South Australia. It was equipped with the Corvette's LS1 and LS2 V8 engine with a choice of a 6-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic. The same model was sold in the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Monaro and in the Middle East as a Chevrolet Lumina SS.
[edit] Pontiac G8
In 2008, GM decided to try the Holden Monaro trick again. However, instead of calling it the GTO, they are calling it the Pontiac G8. The G8 will officially replace the Pontiac Grand Prix and Pontiac Bonneville. However, the only common element between the Pontiac Grand Prix/Bonneville and Pontiac G8 is that they all have four doors.
The car is the exact same thing as the GTO from two years ago. The only exceptions are that it was redesigned because the Holden was redesigned. The only major difference is that the GTO was two-door and the G8 is a four-door. Again, the car is made in Elizabeth, South Australia.
[edit] Sport truck
In addition to the sedan, a rebadged Holden Ute, originally thought to be called the G8 ST was shown at the New York International Auto Show in March 2008. The 2010 Pontiac G8 sport truck is a two-seater built on the G8 platform with a 73-inch (1,900 mm) cargo bed. The sport truck has the same engine used in the G8 GT sedan. A station wagon was planned as well, but canceled, partially due to poor sales of the market in general, especially of the Dodge Magnum vs its Charger sedan counterpart
