From what I have seen/read here...it seems to good to be true...a car with exceptional fit and finish...a "reasonable" price with good HP/TQ??? The biggest gripe has been weight...Could the weight be wrong???? If I wanted to cut corners...I would start with "lesser" and "lesser quality" materials...What kind of accuracy can we attribute to the published curb weight???

From my understanding the Manaros had to be built with more armour. They have to withstand much harsher terrains than we do here. I am sure the next few models will be cutting down weight wherever they can. I am sure this is going to be the biggest thing that is going to be looked into (besides the looks). By reducing the weight of the car they easily get faster 0-60 and 1/4 mile times. The body is thicker than standard vehicles produced.

So Lutz probably didn't cut corners, he just didn't have enough time to do the minor improvements that will come in the future. They wanted to get the GTO on the streets ASAP, and in doing that they didn’t get to refine the car as much as they wanted to. It is just the beginning and I am sure the goat will exercise to eliminate the fat and build up some more muscle.

what i dont get is, GM had 30 F'in years to make a perfect up to date model of the GTO. it seems to me that when they say they didnt have time to do some things, then they RUSHED the car and didnt really make it as good as it should/could be. it seems to me they should have been designing this car for the last 30 years, improving upon it.

It all comes back to, Do you want a GTO now? Or do you want to wait another 2 or 3 years or so? Because thats how long you would of had to wait for one, since GM doesnt have any american product it can base it off at the moment. The GTO is based off the monaro, which itself was based off the holden commodore. Maybe the extra weight is because of it being a redesign of the sedan?

As I'm sure Odin and others can attest the GTO/Monaro is a quality car with no corners cut. Our spec is a mild re-engineering without any real wholesale changes, save for the gas tank.

Regarding the Aussie conditions, as I read reviews from Australian car magazines they always reference unimproved roads and actually quote 0-60 times on gravel and pavement. There must be a lot of gravel and dirt roads in Australia vs. the US. Maybe Odin can shed some light on this as well.

When GM builds them in the USA they'll have plenty of time to cut corners.
I'll bet the quality won't be any better than my 2000 TransAm when they start building them here. I want one from OZ.

Originally posted by Speedfreak@Nov 11 2003, 06:17 PM
When GM builds them in the USA they'll have plenty of time to cut corners.
I'll bet the quality won't be any better than my 2000 TransAm when they start building them here. I want one from OZ.
I think GM will stay true to the Holden quality when they start making GTOs here. They have no right to start skimping on quality just because they are officially American cars.

I think you missed the point: American Manufacturing is Bloated / overpaid Executives + Listless employees = poor product...Toyota uses more automation, better parts and cheaper labor to produce a better product!! Toyota / Nisson and others have used what has been termed TQM (Total Quality Mangement) for years and years...this is absent for the most part on your Chevrolet / GM products...I have no flipping idea what kind of quality is produced "down under"... I guess we will find out...

I see what you are saying... And the Australian build quality is supposedly very good. Holden's interior is praised greatly also. But Car and Driver did say 'iffy build quality' when commenting on the GTO. But you can't believe everyting they say.

Nissian's quality is in a downward spiral. Nissian currently has a policy that they will only grant componat contracts to suppliers that quote the lowest price and quailty of the componet isn't taken into account. As for Toyota. My girl friend has a 2003 Camry with 18k on it. The thing doesn't shift right, it surges, the interior carpeting is coming unglued in many differnt areas. You are going to see the gap between the US automakers and the Japanees become much smaller in terms of both initial and long term quality.

The difference in quality now is public perception. The US automakers did make some pretty crappy products years back but things are much better now. My 2000 GTP never went back to the dealer either has my Sonoma. We will see what happens in the future.