yep,
and the stelth is a rebadged 3000gt
the stratus 2-door is a rebadged eclypse
the chevette was a rebadged opel scout
the saturn l serries are rebadged opel (dont know what model)
focus was designed and tested in europ first
long history of it but long story short youll be hard pressed to find a 'domestic' car that wasnt over 70% designed/assembled/parts made over seas.
so you pritty much just have to go by who your cutting the check to as to what nationality the car is.
much easier that way.
oh , and , I thought the ls-1 engine and t-56 (or 53 cant remember which is in the gto) were designed in the states for the vette and firebird (assembled in canada btw.)

 

That is correct. The Camaro and Bird were assembled in St. Therese, Canada.

The Holden Monaro will continue, but the GTO is going to be a totally seperate model. Rumor has it that the GTO will be restyled after the 1967 model. I'd be interested to see how that turns out (or would I).

 

how about they redesign it as a 2007 (or 2008) model?

 

GM doesn't know how to....

 

just went down to talk numbers with a sailes person and got a shocker...
the gto is now sporting a 400hp 6.0l !!! didnt feel any faster but its nice to know you have it.

 

LS2 is it not?

 

Stop jacking my thread you domestic lovers, AMERICAN CARS SUXX0RZ!!11!!@


:-)

Seriously though, let's get back to the issue of why domestic car designers (not makers -- we all know the cars are barely Amercian in manufacture) can't make a car that isn't a bunch of half-assed compromises, rather than the refined and purpose-built designs that have made Japanese and Euro cars famous. I don't think the issue of where something is built is as critical as the design issues that went into the car itself and how the engineering and technology are integrated.

The Honda Civic and Toyota Camry managed to take over the entire US market by making a $12,000 car that is light, reliable, easy to drive and sips fuel. The closest we ever came to that was the Ford Focus, a Euro-designed car that Ford never really supported with features or advertising. Both the Mustang and the Corvette started out with amazing leaps ahead in their initial designs and then stalled out for 20+ years (remember the all-fiberglass Stingrays? Utter crap!) before only recently returning to something that a real driver would be caught dead in. It seems like US car designers have just given up on whole segements of the market and are working on filling little niches with retro-styled designs for the 50-and-over crowd. What is the domestic response to the BMW M3? The Mercedes SLK? The Infinity M45? We're even losing the edge in trucks, the one thing we seem to do well -- the new Tundra with the engine upgrade package can kick the crap out of any Ford, GMC or Chevy in its price range.

American cars just seem to have too many compromises. You get a nice engine, but a junk interior. You get a great drivetrain, but small, easily-overheated brakes. You get RWD and power, but no handling, or FWD and handling but a sloppy automatic 4-speed. You pay $52,000 for a luxury car with the works, and get a recall for fuel leaks and faulty airbags.

The WRX (back to the topic of this forum!) and STI succed because they are purpose-built cars, refined in a way that every part of the car is tuned and designed towards a specific purpose. The AWD isn't an add-on; it was designed as a core part of the car and has a unique application. The boxer engine isn't a trendy idea or a sexy brand name (Hemi!); it is there to lower the car's center of gravity. The interior is sparse and durable because the cars see use, and might even drive on some dirt. Certainly there is plenty of evidence of cost-shaving and a few missed opportunities (more cupholders, iPod jack, variable suspension settings) but there is no part of the car that you can point a finger at and say "this is a useless add-on with no purpose." It is a car designed by a team, one with a single purpose in mind. US cars seem like they are designed by a comittee, each with their own agenda and cobbled together out of as many off-the-shelf parts they can find (like the American genius of picking a single frame and trying to make as many cars out of it as possible).

Japanese cars have a bunch of parts made in China and Korea and are often made in the US; German cars are Brazillian, Mexican and Canadian; US cars will have Japanese steel bodies, Mexican engines and Chinese interiors in the future. that's just the reality of the current market. What really matters is design and execution, and that's where the US makers are failing.

 

Yeah. Having a 6.0-liter 400hp engine in a 3800-lb car will be a real comfort when gas tops $3.75 a gallon this summer.

 

Um, the GTO has been sporting 400 hp......Since 2005.

Check out the Bobcat GTO. 455 hp, 12.50s in the 1/4. $37,000.

 

you wanna play you have to pay.
I personally have no issues with paying for fast gass guzzler.. better than being stuck with a car thats too slow (where I am now).
The unions have been killing the us car comanies for the last fiew years now.
every one can get away with being lazy and in extream cases going to work, punching in, going to the bar to drink, go back to work, punch out, go home.
Us companies cant be compeditive becaues they have to pay out so much in union expences and paying lofers.
Engineers are depressed because they dont realy have a say in what the cars are. The marketing people are calling the shots on what gets built and mareting people are trying to sell to upper mid class suburban types.... so they think every one wants an echono 4-door, or suv's.
of corse japaneese makers are going to make a good mid size car that handels well... thats all there are in japan. even the minivans there are only the size of a usdm midsize car. And lets face it, if 90% of us roads were in the mountans wed make a decent handeling car...

persionally, I found our off topic conversation more entertainin than ragging on US car makers.

 

seriously, would it be so hard for an american manufacture to look inside a honda accord and steal some ideas on how to make their interiors less shi**y

 

I wouldn't want the interior of a Honda Accord in my domestic car. What they need to do is evaluate the quality of the materials used, and not the interior itself.

My parents just bought a 2006 Pontiac G6 GT. Consumer Reports stated that the seats were uncomfortable and the interior was cheap. While there are some hard bits and pieces of plastic, all the panels line up nicely and I didn't find them to feel overly cheap. I also found the seats to be very comfortable, as well as the driving position.

For the record, I was about ready to pass out when I found out my parents were looking at another GM car, but after spending some time behind the wheel of it, I came away pretty impressed. The more I drove it, the more I liked it. I made my decision that the G6 was a pile of crap before I even drove it. I'm glad I gave it a chance. I found that it's a pretty nice car. I was pleasantly surprised, and the G6 is now on my list as a car to recommend to my wife when she buys a new car.

 

^ The G6 is a pretty sweet car. A good alternative to the carmry/accrord/civic/corrola

 

It most definitely surprised me, that's for sure. IF GM can continue to surprise people then maybe they'll have a chance.....

 

How funny, I'm driving a G6 right now. It is rubbish.