Down8 0 Posted December 27, 2003 Being a big Corvette fan, seeing the engine go into something that's less expensive (i.e. somethign I could afford before I'm a 60yr old CEO) is pretty cool. Seeing RWD V8s in general is nice, after a Fast & Furious fueled society of slow FWD 4cyl. And, if it manages to weight less than the 'Vette, gas mileage should be great (for a V8), as the C5 gets in the neighborhood of 18/25+mpg (city/hiway). -bZj Share this post Link to post
CUViper 0 Posted December 27, 2003 I don't know - this doesn't really look like a sports car to me. It's got more a feel of a sporty coupe. Reminds of a Cavelier or something. Of course the performance should blow away a Cavelier, but that's still how it looks to me. For an additional comparison, this car is a far cry from the concept GTO they showed in 1999: Share this post Link to post
jmmijo 1 Posted December 27, 2003 Well I guess this is time for putting fuel on the fire I'm a FORD man so I've always liked T-birds myself. The recent retro-rod as APK likes to say is just that, a throw back to the original two-seater that competed against the vette. I guess if I had the time and money I'd like to restore a 1957 bird to a candy apple red paint job with white leather interior and the removable white hard-cover with those nice looking port-holes on each side Don't know if any of you catch the Discovery/Learning channel's or not but they've had a show on that detailed how Ford commisioned to have a show stopper Super Bird when it was relaunched. I think the designer was Don Foose, iirc. Basically they retuned the stock v8 and suspension to handle and perform better and chopped the windscreen down a bit. Seemed like only a couple of inches but left the riding hieght the same. Also reworked the grill and hood to better suit what the Super Bird would look like. The other muscle car I would like to own is the 1970 F1 Mustang that Steve McQueen drove in Bullet, loved that chase scene with the Charger 8) Share this post Link to post
Down8 0 Posted December 27, 2003 I did catch part of that Discovery Ch. show on the reworked T-bird. Awesome looking custom. I was happy to see the T-bird 'go back to its roots' w/RWD/V8, but they could've done better (being a bowtie fan ). At least it's dying/dead - Ford may bring it back in a couple years, à la the GTO & Mach1 (the Mach1's being my favorite blue ovals). I do agree that this new GTO still has some of that patented 'Pontiac Ugly'© to it, but it's the power I'm concerned with! -bZj Share this post Link to post
jmmijo 1 Posted December 27, 2003 Wasn't the original GTO a big block GM or was it from the small blocks or was there an option for both engine types ;( The one GM muscle car I really liked the looks of was a convertible Olds 442, that was a sweet looking ride Share this post Link to post
felix 0 Posted December 28, 2003 I thinkit was just easier for GM US to grab the Holden Monaro off the Australian production line, change the drivers side and give it a new grill/bumper combo. http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/modeloverview?modelid=12001 The first runout of the Monaro was a little dodgy - just a chop and weld of the Holden Commodore SS to take it from a sedan into a coupe, but now they are producing a much nicer unit. Having said that, I think that this vehicle would see a nice sales figure in the american market: http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/modeloverview?modelid=15002 RWD 245kW V8 Utility vehicle with power to burn. Share this post Link to post
Down8 0 Posted December 28, 2003 I think that modern El Camino would sell well here, though I've never been a fan of the original (excepting the horsepower potential). Off the top of my head, I'd guess the original Goat was a big block, with it's predecassor keeping the small block (I forget the name right now). But today, there's not much need for a big block with SBC putting out 350hp+ from the factory. We'll find out in January, at the unveiling of the C6 Corvette, if GM managed to bump that number to 400hp+. -bZj Share this post Link to post