Check this holden out and see the height difference and overall size difference between the GTO or monaro (red car)
http://www.pbase.com/image/25120777.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/25120781.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/25120783.jpg

I like it!

It has Chevy El Camino 2, written all over it. Hear that Chevy!

Thanks for the pics. Now if Chevrolet would dump the worthless SSR and bring this and the Ute on over they might sell a few more "trucks".

How much higher is the ride height I wonder?

PS: It looks so green and warm down there. I'm looking out the window at a cloudy dreary washed out brown landscape with a temp. below freezing. Must be nice being Summer down there and Winter up here. I'm jealous.

GM is already evaluating selling the Ute and RWD Crewman in the U.S. as the Chevrolet El Camino two and four door.

The SSR is a whole different animal than an El Camino or any Chevrolet truck.

Nah its 37C today or there abouts, humid as hell, and it rained not an hour ago aswell, it needs to cool down just a tad to be comfortable.

I'd leave its name alone, i'm not a fan of the El Camino name at all! GM should just start importing the Holden name plate rather than re-badging everything and taking credit for it for the general public! They make it look as if Pontiac made the GTO rather than Holden. You wont find anything mentioned of Holden untill you scratch below the surface, all the brocure says is "...assembled or produced by different operating units of General Motors..." I'm sorry but I think that is a little low, because to the general public, Pontiac takes full credit for the GTO when they didn't do anything more than to change the front bumper!

I agree with you there HSV. However I think it would actually be safer and better for GM if they didnt inform the public of the GTO's origin. From message boards I get the impression that some Americans ONLY buy AMERICAN PRODUCTS.

And those Americans are very ignorant also monarocountry. There are very little to no cars that are 100% part sourced from America - not even if you count CanadA and Mexico. Then you add in that many of the Japanese cars and parts are now built in the US. It's very hard to 'buy American' in the truest sense of the word. At the end of the day, the check for the GTO goes to GMAC - which is American.

Oh, and over 1/3 of the parts my company processes go to Japanese companies - so if everybody bought American, my company might go out of business, along with many like mine. It's quite a dilemma.

Now, on the El Camino name - it has the exact opposite connotation of the GTO. For most, it has stood for vehicles with junk piled in the back and a rusted fishing boat being towed behind them. Now, knowing the retro nostalgia craze - it just might work to name the Holden the El Camino...

Originally posted by HSV_255GTO@Jan 20 2004, 10:39 PM
They make it look as if Pontiac made the GTO rather than Holden.
Gee, by that logic Holden should give Opel due credit for developing their chassis', and for letting them rebadge their cars. Or how about giving Chevrolet and Buick credit for their V8s and V6s that they use? Afterall, they make it look as if they made the cars themselves instead of with parts and engineering from GM as a whole.

Heck, Holden isn't even an independent Australian automaker, there is not such thing. Holden has been a division of General Motors since the 1930s, and Ford is well, Ford. Both are American automakers with arms in that country.

Oh, and to address buying American. Buying a new GTO is buying American, because GM is an American company, and it is a GM product. Every automaker in the world has been producing, and selling their products in countries other than where they are based as long as the business has been around.

Just because Honda assembles Accords in Europe that doesn't suddenly and magically make them a European automaker with European cars.

Well you'd have to agree that holden has done a lot with the international bits and pieces it has been given to make one fine car!

Soon the HFV6 will be going into the Commodore, so at least the 6 cylinder will be aussie made.

Yes it is true that Holden is using the platfrom from the Opel Omega (aka, cadillac catera) but then again, it was an abandoned platform. It didn't sell for Opel and it didn't sell very well as the Catera here either due to poor marketing and techinical problems. Opel has discontinued the Omega, and look what Holden has done with it. Trucks, crossovers, high performance sport sedans, and one hell of a sports car all from one platform that was once doomed to be extinct for good. Not to mention Holden took the Monaro from concept to production in just 9 months for the same cost it takes GM to change its north american color pallate if you ask me, they have earned the right to take credit for it. On another note, Holden and other Australian cars are very much like American brands...they are big, lots of V8 power, and lots of value...whats not to like? For the die-hard "Buy-American" fans its a shame to turn down some really great products no matter what they may be, because the truth is, American isn't always the best. Many foreign companies such as Toyota and Nissan assemble many of their products here right on American soil, creating new jobs and giving back to our economy. These days, there is no true All-American product, its made from partnerships from around the world, so we might as well just accept the facts and get used to it, and enjoy the benifits of higher quality!!

P.S. Holden is considering building a plant here in the US for upcomming models such as the Ute!

Originally posted by Odin@Jan 22 2004, 05:16 AM
Soon the HFV6 will be going into the Commodore, so at least the 6 cylinder will be aussie made.
It'll be Aussie assembled.

The HFV6 is the new 3.6L Cadillac V6 currently offered in the CTS and SRX.

It's an American engine just like the LS1 and "Ecotec" V6 Holden has been using, and replaces the Ecotec V6 (3800 V6 to us Yanks). GM is building a plant in Australia to assemble them there, it isn't an Australian designed engine like Ford's 4L I-6.

Most new vehicles from the Big Three (even though Chrysler has been German for years now) are still designed, engineered, use parts, and assembled entirely in the U.S. if that's really important to you.

If the GTO catches on, retooling an existing North American GM plant to assemble them and other Holden models here is a high probability, since UAW contracts and U.S. import tariffs limit how many cars GM can bring here from Australia.

Holden HFV6 Engine Plant (http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/news?categoryID=6&articleID=1001&navCategoryId=all)

WEDNESDAY 05 NOVEMBER 2003:
$400 MILLION ENGINE PLANT POWERS HOLDEN'S GLOBAL DRIVE

General Motors today opened its largest single investment in Australia in more than 20 years - Holden's $400 million global V6 engine plant in Port Melbourne, Victoria.

The plant will generate up to 900 engines a day or 240,000 engines a year, with capacity to expand to 300,000 engines a year, which will ultimately create more than 500 jobs.

The Port Melbourne facility is Holden's first new engine plant in 22 years and will deliver fully locally produced six-cylinder engines for the first time since 1986.

Holden expects to generate up to $450 million a year in V6 engine exports, boosting the company's contribution to balance of trade to more than $1.5 billion a year.

The global V6 engine family will be exported to GM brands around the world and power future Holdens for domestic and overseas markets.

The Port Melbourne facility is the second GM operation to manufacture the global V6 engine.

Holden will share this responsibility with the GM of Canada plant in St Catharines, Ontario, which commenced production in March 2003. St Catharines also produces the Generation III 5.7 litre V8 engine for Holden and Holden Special Vehicles cars.

The first engines from the Port Melbourne plant are destined for GM de Mexico, where they will be installed into the 2004 model Buick Rendezvous crossover vehicle.

These engines will power future Holdens from 2004 and plans are being developed to export to other markets in the United States, Europe and Asia.

The global V6 engine family was developed by GM Powertrain, which has a mission to develop the world's best powertrains. The engine boasts all-aluminium construction and comes in three displacement sizes - 2.8 litre, 3.2 litre and 3.6 litre - with the capacity to be expanded to 3.8 litre.

Originally posted by TriShield+Jan 23 2004, 01:13 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (TriShield @ Jan 23 2004, 01:13 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Odin@Jan 22 2004, 05:16 AM
Soon the HFV6 will be going into the Commodore, so at least the 6 cylinder will be aussie made.
It'll be Aussie assembled.

The HFV6 is the new 3.6L Cadillac V6 currently offered in the CTS and SRX.

It's an American engine just like the LS1 and "Ecotec" V6 Holden has been using, and replaces the Ecotec V6 (3800 V6 to us Yanks). GM is building a plant in Australia to assemble them there, it isn't an Australian designed engine like Ford's 4L I-6.

Most new vehicles from the Big Three (even though Chrysler has been German for years now) are still designed, engineered, use parts, and assembled entirely in the U.S. if that's really important to you.

If the GTO catches on, retooling an existing North American GM plant to assemble them and other Holden models here is a high probability, since UAW contracts and U.S. import tariffs limit how many cars GM can bring here from Australia. [/b][/quote]
I do know that it is an american designed engine, my point was it was aussie made/assembled, compared to the imported 3800 engine. BTW the engine plant is already up and running.

its not an opel chasis its bigger.

Holden made it own v8s for 30 odd years aussie design and manufacture. A double overhead cam v8 was developed to replace the old 308 cu in 1998, but with gms global plans of sharing etc we got the cheaper option, the ls1.

The HFV6 is the new 3.6L Cadillac V6 currently offered in the CTS and SRX.

Holdens use the 3.8 not 3.6.

Originally posted by monaroCountry@Feb 4 2004, 02:40 PM
The HFV6 is the new 3.6L Cadillac V6 currently offered in the CTS and SRX.

Holdens use the 3.8 not 3.6.
I know, the 3.6 is eventually going to replace the 3.8.

the holden version of the HFV6 will be a 3.8 litre. it is rumored to put out almost 200kw and a turbo version is also on the cards

Holden better make a good engine.... ford BA's have got one of the best v6's around. I even rate the ford v6 as better than the 5.4 v8

Monaro Country
Ford use an L6 in the BA

Mike